p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanFive and I had been drawn away from the commotion of the world by a familiar noise outside. The sun was setting in the background, and my brother had gone oddly silent, but the two of us still shared a smile when we emerged out into the world and spotted two familiar, blue-dressed figures standing among the dead bodies. The environmental effects of Harlan's outburst lingered, making their breath form clouds in front of their mouths. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Herb. Dot," Five greeted as they did their best to step over the masses of dead bodies. The horror of that hadn't quite struck me yet, and part of me hoped it wouldn't get the chance to before we abandoned the scene altogether. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hi, Herb." I smiled at him cheerfully, offering a small wave to the two of them. I hadn't known them that well, and yet, they helped me. That was worth a great deal in my mind. More than that, they helped my entire family—a life's worth of debt and gratitude to me. "All good?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's good to see you guys," he responded, reflecting my same expression. He took another glance around at the damage, as though trying to take every ounce of it in. "I still can't believe it. "Is she…?" Herb drew his fingers across his throat./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Really dead this time?" There was something jovial in Five's tone, but this time, I really couldn't blame him. Though I hated to think it about anyone, that woman was better off dead. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, yeah," I confirmed. Herb nodded, his face frozen as he attempted to completely process that the leech had died. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Now that the Handler's dead, what happens at the Commission?" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt wasn't a question I'd thought to ask myself, but I understood why Five did. He'd had a much longer involvement with that group and those people, and even if he didn't love the place, I got why he still cared about what happened. I, myself, had placed quite a few organizations and groups on my shit list, and yet, I'd still found myself worried about what was going on with them from time to time. There was also the added fact that they had, in a way, saved my brother's life. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHaving been there, and learned how they brought people in the recruit them, maybe I could've been a little more understanding about that part of his life. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHerb faltered over his words a bit, his mouth moving with no coherent sounds emerging. His eyes darted around wildly, moving between the ground beneath him to Dot, and then to Five and I before entering some new pattern./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Just tell them," Dot urged, nudging him slightly. Herb's cheeks flushed with bright red blood, and he still jittered with nervous energy slightly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Eh—well, we need to elect a new board of directors." I figured as much, given they'd all been slaughtered. "But, until then, I, um… I've been voted in as acting chairperson."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI gasped as I beamed again, offering my congratulations to Herb. I hadn't known him for that long, but I could still tell he was an ambitious, capable man. Not to mention, the kindness he possessed hopefully would put the Commission on a different track. A new era was dawning, and it looked pretty promising for the rest of the world, past, present, and future./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm so goddamn nervous," he shuddered, bouncing on his toes./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You'll do fine," Five assured him. That was about as close to a compliment as it got from him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, thank you." Herb paused a moment, taking time to look between my brother's face and mine. "Now that you're standing next to each other, I really emcan /emsee the resemblance." The two of us laughed, and I cast my glance over to my brother, who looked up at me with one of the sincerest smiles I'd seen./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, it can be hard to tell when we're apart," he admitted./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"But of course, the whole age-gap thing can sometimes cause that issue." His smile faltered until I spoke again. "What with you being older than me and all," I shrugged. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI couldn't quite place my finger on it, but it felt like something in me had changed. I'd been closed off for so many years, unwilling to accept what wasn't right in front of me; I'd held anger toward those that I felt had wronged me in my lifetime, long past its expiration date. Everything about me had been stuck in my past, frozen in an age I'd long outgrown. My temper and unwillingness to just take a step back certainly proved all that. There wasn't anything in particular that I thought caused the shift, but I definitely felt it in that moment. I could finally admit that Five wasn't the same person who left that day, but that wasn't a bad thing by any means. Luther and Allison had changed since our youth, and my dumbass had failed to notice it until recently. Now, I felt as close to them as the rest of my siblings./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMaybe, with time, I could even begin to forgive Dad. Certainly, I would never be able to completely forgive him, but there was room to at least move on from it all. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Herb, we need a favor." Five's voice cut through my daze, directing my attention back to those around me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, sure, anything," he agreed quickly. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"A briefcase." Five cast another glance to me. "To get back home, where we belong."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThere was almost something sad on Herb's face as he acknowledged the request. It wasn't like we'd never be able to see each other again; after all, they could travel wherever and whenever the hell they wanted if they so desired. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMy eyes widened as Herb gestured over the field of corpses, widening our reach by quite a bit./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Take your pick." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanFive started to advance toward the nearest one, but I stuck an arm out in front of him to halt his movements, then slowly wandered through the maze, carefully looking over each of the former owners of the devices. Most of them were just boring people, but a few had alluring, colorful animal masks, drawing my attention to them immediately. A few of them were carbon copies of Hazel and Cha-Cha's, causing something in my chest to feel hollow for a second, before I focused back on finding the right one. It took me a bit, and I'd made a considerable gap between the other three people involved in this and myself, but I finally stopped in front of an agent whose face had been covered by a bright yellow frog mask. Gently, I kicked him, and when he didn't move, I snatched up the briefcase./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanTriumphant, I marched back toward the others, handing the briefcase to Herb so he could set it properly. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What was so special about that one?" Five inquired, one of his eyebrows raised high in the air. I just shrugged, my eyes wandering back to the body I'd stolen from a moment ago./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I liked his mask." My brother scoffed and rolled his eyes at me, but I saw the smile he didn't do much to suppress. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Is this how you make all of your decisions?" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Of course not. But that made it more fun."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAs the exchange ended, Herb handed the briefcase back to us, stating there was no time limit—we could just go whenever we were ready. Thought it was bittersweet, we had to say our goodbyes to each other, and just like that, Herb and Dot were gone, like they'd never been here in the first place. Hopefully, they'd use those body removal services Herb had mentioned to get rid of all these guys, before someone came onto Sissy's property and blamed her or Harlan./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWith the last piece of our puzzle put in place, Five and I turned and started marching back up the hill, ready to gather up the rest of our siblings and get the hell of out there. We hadn't been walking for very long, when something from earlier came back to gnaw at me. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey, I have a question." Five hummed, indicating he'd heard me. "How'd you know the Handler was going to be in the barn when you disarmed her?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanImmediately, Five stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes pointed straight ahead at some unknown point. It was like his brain had completely left his body, unwilling to allow him to exist for another second. Concerned, I turned around and rushed for him, worried something happened to him in the flurry of everything, and it was just now afflicting him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhen he looked up at me, however, I knew it was something deeper. I'd seen those same eyes before, every time he talked about seeing our family dead./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt took me a second to catch on, but when I did, I completely froze up. It happened emagain/em. This was more than mere coincidence at this point. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMy mind raced when I pulled Five into a silent, supportive hug, reminding him we were here and alive now. All of my siblings had died three times now, myself four. That doesn't just happen. That's not some normal occurrence in the world, though that could be calqued up to several reasons. Still, the only time I'd heard of those sort of things was in novels, movies, and games, and typically, the one that dies frequently, only to be saved by the story's hero, was the one who was the catalyst for the major event they were trying to prevent. Their death was necessary in order to save the world./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOh, shit./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI tried my best to remain strong as I pushed away from my brother and reassured him. Nothing was a set fact, after all. There was nothing that could confirm that one of us had to do with the world constantly ending… except for the Commission's entire philosophy. And the fact Vanya always seemed to set something off./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI mentally shook those thoughts away, choosing instead to focus back on the moment my family stood in. When Five and I made our way back to Sissy's house, the sun had basically completely set, leaving us in darkness. That made it a little hard to spot everyone, given that somehow, all of us—with the exception of Five, of course—had opted to wear black. Still, I could spot Vanya sitting on the back steps, her legs curled up tight against her chest. She wore a solemn look, and the closer I got, I could spot the shimmers of tear tracks running down her cheeks. I couldn't imagine the position she'd been put in, having to leave behind the woman she loved and a boy she'd come to think of as her own. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe longer I dwelled on it, the greater the hole in my heart began to ache, making it feel like I would never be able to exist without it. Lila and I hadn't been perfect, and if viewed from some angles, it looked like we shouldn't have tolerated each other for as long as we did, but I couldn't help but love her. There were so many things the rest of the world never got to see about her, and I walked on with the hope that one day, I'd get to see them again… along with the rest of her, of course. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanVanya offered me whatever semblance of a smile she could muster as I sat beside her, waiting for Five to gather up everyone else. The moment our shoulders touched, I felt a reassurance that not all things would leave. At the very least, I'd always have my family with me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI sighed as she leaned her head against my shoulder, prompting me to rest my cheek against her. Even though it took heartbreak to completely repair our bond, I was glad we'd finally gotten back to where we'd started from. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA few moments later, I heard a smattering of footsteps behind us, prompting me to turn around. Five marched toward Vanya and I with the rest of our siblings in tow, ready to go home. Smiling, I helped her up to her feet, and the two of us joined the circle. Five took a glance at the numbers on the case one last time, making sure they were all correct, then looked to the rest of us./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Everyone ready?" We all nodded in response. Five was just about to hit the trigger, when Klaus slapped his hands on Luther and my shoulders, jarring me enough to catch everyone's attentions./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Wait!" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEveryone looked to Klaus with varying degrees of annoyance and confusion. We expected him to clarify, or at the very least, make some sort of statement, but he just stuck up a finger and rushed over to the deck, grabbing a black hat that somehow managed to stay put during the chaos./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Fifty bucks if we leave him here," Diego whispered to Five. I shot him a glare, putting the idea down immediately./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanKlaus returned to us again and took my hands, beaming with pride at his find. I couldn't help but laugh at how happy he appeared, and with that, we were finally ready. Everyone joined hands, and Allison and Diego tightly gripped Five's shoulders, hoping that this time, we'd all end up in the same place at the same time. I didn't want to go through what we just had emagain/em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOne small click, and blue lightning shot out from the case, enveloping us in light, so blinding that I had to shut my eyes./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt wasn't until I felt solid ground beneath my feet that I finally dared to open them again, gasping at our surroundings. I'd never been so happy to see those dark railings looming above us, or the chandelier that was in oddly good shape, considering what happened the last time we were here. Most importantly, everything was intact. Nothing had exploded, burned up, or crumbled. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEveryone took a moment to compose themselves after that event, then finally started to look into this./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Wh… what day is it?" I coughed, the air suddenly catching up to my lungs. Conveniently, a newspaper rested on the table in front of us, so Five snatched it up and took a glance at the date. Once he did, his eyes went wide./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"April 2, 2019," he declared. "Day after the apocalypse."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOverwhelmed with joy, I reached over and hugged Klaus tightly, then Luther. The world was in one piece, and we were emhome/em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Wait, so we stopped it," Allison concluded, the joy of the realization starting to spread to her./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"My God, it's over?" Vanya sighed, relieved./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Did we… actually succeed at something?" Klaus cried. "That's incredible!" Six of us laughed as Five took a glance around, making sure everything was as it should've been. "I don't know about you guys, but I need a drink."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, definitely," I agreed. "Just not too much." Klaus affectionately reached over and slung an arm over my shoulders, forcing us to walk in sync. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You got it, sis." I turned my attention over to Five./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You coming?" He appeared taken aback as I extended the offer to him. "We just saved the world twice. I think emall /emof us have earned it. But same goes for you. I don't want to have to drag around any drunk siblings, and you two are the most likely."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAll of us jovially made our way into the parlor, unbelievably relieved to be home. I immediately booked it for the bar with Klaus, trying to mix together something I figured I'd liked. I'd never been allowed to touch Dad's collection before, nor had I dared, so this was exhilarating./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Why is there a painting of Ben over the mantelpiece?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanConfused, I directed my attention to Diego, then slowly, to the portrait in question. I expected to still see Five there, but to my surprise, Diego was right. The picture had been replaced with none other than Ben himself, and I couldn't be sure from a distance, but there was something weird about his uniform./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhat in the hell?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I knew you'd show up eventually."span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMy jaw dropped as I jumped, turning to face the source of the noise and spotting none other than the man of our nightmares himself. My brain began to function on auto pilot as I stepped back out from behind the bar, my eyes unable to remove themselves from Dad's gaze./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Dad," Diego choked out, the first of us to find his voice again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You're alive," I whispered, unsure of how that was possible, and how I felt about that. Dad looked over all of us, his brows style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Why shouldn't I be?" I quickly shook my head, trying to play along with this insanity./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah. Y-Yeah, you're right. I'm… I'm just happy that we're home, and… together again?" Dad's confused expression only deepened, causing my stomach to lurch. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"'Home'?" His words were sharp. "This isn't your home."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI'm sorry, what?span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What are you talking about?" Allison laughed, as deep in denial as the rest of us. "This is the Umbrella Academy."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Wrong again." There was something almost gleeful about Dad as he corrected us. "This is the Sparrow Academy."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanImmediately, the rest of my siblings and I turned around, our attention diverted by the sound of footsteps. The light shining in behind them made it impossible to distinguish their faces, but up on the balcony stood five silhouettes of people, and… a green cube? /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 284.0pt;"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;" /spanWhat kind of sick joke was this? Was this Dad's way of getting back at us for the way we acted when we met him at the dinner? That had to be it. Granted, Dad had never been the sort, but there's no time like the present./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 284.0pt;"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 entire body felt like it was about to collapse as the final one of the people before us stepped forward, this one close enough to give us a good look. How… how could Ben have been standing in front of us?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 284.0pt;"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;" /spanBut upon closer inspection, that wasn't the Ben we knew. For starters, his uniform was red, which made absolutely no sense, and were those… blue streaks in his completely unkempt hair? Not to mention the prominent scar running down the left side of his face, which eventually disappeared into stubble. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 284.0pt;"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"Dad, who the hell are these assholes?" he growled, glaring at us with caution and hatred./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 284.0pt;"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;" /spanThis was bad. This was very, very bad./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 284.0pt;"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;" /spanCaught up in everything, my family's seven minds could only muster out one word, spoken at the exact same time./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 284.0pt;"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"Shit."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 284.0pt;" align="center"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"To Be Continued in "You Better Bring an Umbrella, Vol. 3"/span/em/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Herb. Dot," Five greeted as they did their best to step over the masses of dead bodies. The horror of that hadn't quite struck me yet, and part of me hoped it wouldn't get the chance to before we abandoned the scene altogether. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hi, Herb." I smiled at him cheerfully, offering a small wave to the two of them. I hadn't known them that well, and yet, they helped me. That was worth a great deal in my mind. More than that, they helped my entire family—a life's worth of debt and gratitude to me. "All good?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's good to see you guys," he responded, reflecting my same expression. He took another glance around at the damage, as though trying to take every ounce of it in. "I still can't believe it. "Is she…?" Herb drew his fingers across his throat./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Really dead this time?" There was something jovial in Five's tone, but this time, I really couldn't blame him. Though I hated to think it about anyone, that woman was better off dead. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, yeah," I confirmed. Herb nodded, his face frozen as he attempted to completely process that the leech had died. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Now that the Handler's dead, what happens at the Commission?" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt wasn't a question I'd thought to ask myself, but I understood why Five did. He'd had a much longer involvement with that group and those people, and even if he didn't love the place, I got why he still cared about what happened. I, myself, had placed quite a few organizations and groups on my shit list, and yet, I'd still found myself worried about what was going on with them from time to time. There was also the added fact that they had, in a way, saved my brother's life. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHaving been there, and learned how they brought people in the recruit them, maybe I could've been a little more understanding about that part of his life. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHerb faltered over his words a bit, his mouth moving with no coherent sounds emerging. His eyes darted around wildly, moving between the ground beneath him to Dot, and then to Five and I before entering some new pattern./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Just tell them," Dot urged, nudging him slightly. Herb's cheeks flushed with bright red blood, and he still jittered with nervous energy slightly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Eh—well, we need to elect a new board of directors." I figured as much, given they'd all been slaughtered. "But, until then, I, um… I've been voted in as acting chairperson."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI gasped as I beamed again, offering my congratulations to Herb. I hadn't known him for that long, but I could still tell he was an ambitious, capable man. Not to mention, the kindness he possessed hopefully would put the Commission on a different track. A new era was dawning, and it looked pretty promising for the rest of the world, past, present, and future./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm so goddamn nervous," he shuddered, bouncing on his toes./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You'll do fine," Five assured him. That was about as close to a compliment as it got from him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, thank you." Herb paused a moment, taking time to look between my brother's face and mine. "Now that you're standing next to each other, I really emcan /emsee the resemblance." The two of us laughed, and I cast my glance over to my brother, who looked up at me with one of the sincerest smiles I'd seen./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, it can be hard to tell when we're apart," he admitted./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"But of course, the whole age-gap thing can sometimes cause that issue." His smile faltered until I spoke again. "What with you being older than me and all," I shrugged. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI couldn't quite place my finger on it, but it felt like something in me had changed. I'd been closed off for so many years, unwilling to accept what wasn't right in front of me; I'd held anger toward those that I felt had wronged me in my lifetime, long past its expiration date. Everything about me had been stuck in my past, frozen in an age I'd long outgrown. My temper and unwillingness to just take a step back certainly proved all that. There wasn't anything in particular that I thought caused the shift, but I definitely felt it in that moment. I could finally admit that Five wasn't the same person who left that day, but that wasn't a bad thing by any means. Luther and Allison had changed since our youth, and my dumbass had failed to notice it until recently. Now, I felt as close to them as the rest of my siblings./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMaybe, with time, I could even begin to forgive Dad. Certainly, I would never be able to completely forgive him, but there was room to at least move on from it all. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Herb, we need a favor." Five's voice cut through my daze, directing my attention back to those around me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, sure, anything," he agreed quickly. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"A briefcase." Five cast another glance to me. "To get back home, where we belong."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThere was almost something sad on Herb's face as he acknowledged the request. It wasn't like we'd never be able to see each other again; after all, they could travel wherever and whenever the hell they wanted if they so desired. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMy eyes widened as Herb gestured over the field of corpses, widening our reach by quite a bit./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Take your pick." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanFive started to advance toward the nearest one, but I stuck an arm out in front of him to halt his movements, then slowly wandered through the maze, carefully looking over each of the former owners of the devices. Most of them were just boring people, but a few had alluring, colorful animal masks, drawing my attention to them immediately. A few of them were carbon copies of Hazel and Cha-Cha's, causing something in my chest to feel hollow for a second, before I focused back on finding the right one. It took me a bit, and I'd made a considerable gap between the other three people involved in this and myself, but I finally stopped in front of an agent whose face had been covered by a bright yellow frog mask. Gently, I kicked him, and when he didn't move, I snatched up the briefcase./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanTriumphant, I marched back toward the others, handing the briefcase to Herb so he could set it properly. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What was so special about that one?" Five inquired, one of his eyebrows raised high in the air. I just shrugged, my eyes wandering back to the body I'd stolen from a moment ago./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I liked his mask." My brother scoffed and rolled his eyes at me, but I saw the smile he didn't do much to suppress. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Is this how you make all of your decisions?" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Of course not. But that made it more fun."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAs the exchange ended, Herb handed the briefcase back to us, stating there was no time limit—we could just go whenever we were ready. Thought it was bittersweet, we had to say our goodbyes to each other, and just like that, Herb and Dot were gone, like they'd never been here in the first place. Hopefully, they'd use those body removal services Herb had mentioned to get rid of all these guys, before someone came onto Sissy's property and blamed her or Harlan./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWith the last piece of our puzzle put in place, Five and I turned and started marching back up the hill, ready to gather up the rest of our siblings and get the hell of out there. We hadn't been walking for very long, when something from earlier came back to gnaw at me. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey, I have a question." Five hummed, indicating he'd heard me. "How'd you know the Handler was going to be in the barn when you disarmed her?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanImmediately, Five stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes pointed straight ahead at some unknown point. It was like his brain had completely left his body, unwilling to allow him to exist for another second. Concerned, I turned around and rushed for him, worried something happened to him in the flurry of everything, and it was just now afflicting him./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhen he looked up at me, however, I knew it was something deeper. I'd seen those same eyes before, every time he talked about seeing our family dead./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt took me a second to catch on, but when I did, I completely froze up. It happened emagain/em. This was more than mere coincidence at this point. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMy mind raced when I pulled Five into a silent, supportive hug, reminding him we were here and alive now. All of my siblings had died three times now, myself four. That doesn't just happen. That's not some normal occurrence in the world, though that could be calqued up to several reasons. Still, the only time I'd heard of those sort of things was in novels, movies, and games, and typically, the one that dies frequently, only to be saved by the story's hero, was the one who was the catalyst for the major event they were trying to prevent. Their death was necessary in order to save the world./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOh, shit./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI tried my best to remain strong as I pushed away from my brother and reassured him. Nothing was a set fact, after all. There was nothing that could confirm that one of us had to do with the world constantly ending… except for the Commission's entire philosophy. And the fact Vanya always seemed to set something off./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI mentally shook those thoughts away, choosing instead to focus back on the moment my family stood in. When Five and I made our way back to Sissy's house, the sun had basically completely set, leaving us in darkness. That made it a little hard to spot everyone, given that somehow, all of us—with the exception of Five, of course—had opted to wear black. Still, I could spot Vanya sitting on the back steps, her legs curled up tight against her chest. She wore a solemn look, and the closer I got, I could spot the shimmers of tear tracks running down her cheeks. I couldn't imagine the position she'd been put in, having to leave behind the woman she loved and a boy she'd come to think of as her own. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe longer I dwelled on it, the greater the hole in my heart began to ache, making it feel like I would never be able to exist without it. Lila and I hadn't been perfect, and if viewed from some angles, it looked like we shouldn't have tolerated each other for as long as we did, but I couldn't help but love her. There were so many things the rest of the world never got to see about her, and I walked on with the hope that one day, I'd get to see them again… along with the rest of her, of course. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanVanya offered me whatever semblance of a smile she could muster as I sat beside her, waiting for Five to gather up everyone else. The moment our shoulders touched, I felt a reassurance that not all things would leave. At the very least, I'd always have my family with me./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI sighed as she leaned her head against my shoulder, prompting me to rest my cheek against her. Even though it took heartbreak to completely repair our bond, I was glad we'd finally gotten back to where we'd started from. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA few moments later, I heard a smattering of footsteps behind us, prompting me to turn around. Five marched toward Vanya and I with the rest of our siblings in tow, ready to go home. Smiling, I helped her up to her feet, and the two of us joined the circle. Five took a glance at the numbers on the case one last time, making sure they were all correct, then looked to the rest of us./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Everyone ready?" We all nodded in response. Five was just about to hit the trigger, when Klaus slapped his hands on Luther and my shoulders, jarring me enough to catch everyone's attentions./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Wait!" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEveryone looked to Klaus with varying degrees of annoyance and confusion. We expected him to clarify, or at the very least, make some sort of statement, but he just stuck up a finger and rushed over to the deck, grabbing a black hat that somehow managed to stay put during the chaos./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Fifty bucks if we leave him here," Diego whispered to Five. I shot him a glare, putting the idea down immediately./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanKlaus returned to us again and took my hands, beaming with pride at his find. I couldn't help but laugh at how happy he appeared, and with that, we were finally ready. Everyone joined hands, and Allison and Diego tightly gripped Five's shoulders, hoping that this time, we'd all end up in the same place at the same time. I didn't want to go through what we just had emagain/em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOne small click, and blue lightning shot out from the case, enveloping us in light, so blinding that I had to shut my eyes./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIt wasn't until I felt solid ground beneath my feet that I finally dared to open them again, gasping at our surroundings. I'd never been so happy to see those dark railings looming above us, or the chandelier that was in oddly good shape, considering what happened the last time we were here. Most importantly, everything was intact. Nothing had exploded, burned up, or crumbled. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEveryone took a moment to compose themselves after that event, then finally started to look into this./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Wh… what day is it?" I coughed, the air suddenly catching up to my lungs. Conveniently, a newspaper rested on the table in front of us, so Five snatched it up and took a glance at the date. Once he did, his eyes went wide./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"April 2, 2019," he declared. "Day after the apocalypse."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOverwhelmed with joy, I reached over and hugged Klaus tightly, then Luther. The world was in one piece, and we were emhome/em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Wait, so we stopped it," Allison concluded, the joy of the realization starting to spread to her./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"My God, it's over?" Vanya sighed, relieved./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Did we… actually succeed at something?" Klaus cried. "That's incredible!" Six of us laughed as Five took a glance around, making sure everything was as it should've been. "I don't know about you guys, but I need a drink."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, definitely," I agreed. "Just not too much." Klaus affectionately reached over and slung an arm over my shoulders, forcing us to walk in sync. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You got it, sis." I turned my attention over to Five./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You coming?" He appeared taken aback as I extended the offer to him. "We just saved the world twice. I think emall /emof us have earned it. But same goes for you. I don't want to have to drag around any drunk siblings, and you two are the most likely."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAll of us jovially made our way into the parlor, unbelievably relieved to be home. I immediately booked it for the bar with Klaus, trying to mix together something I figured I'd liked. I'd never been allowed to touch Dad's collection before, nor had I dared, so this was exhilarating./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Why is there a painting of Ben over the mantelpiece?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanConfused, I directed my attention to Diego, then slowly, to the portrait in question. I expected to still see Five there, but to my surprise, Diego was right. The picture had been replaced with none other than Ben himself, and I couldn't be sure from a distance, but there was something weird about his uniform./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanWhat in the hell?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I knew you'd show up eventually."span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanMy jaw dropped as I jumped, turning to face the source of the noise and spotting none other than the man of our nightmares himself. My brain began to function on auto pilot as I stepped back out from behind the bar, my eyes unable to remove themselves from Dad's gaze./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Dad," Diego choked out, the first of us to find his voice again./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You're alive," I whispered, unsure of how that was possible, and how I felt about that. Dad looked over all of us, his brows style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Why shouldn't I be?" I quickly shook my head, trying to play along with this insanity./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah. Y-Yeah, you're right. I'm… I'm just happy that we're home, and… together again?" Dad's confused expression only deepened, causing my stomach to lurch. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"'Home'?" His words were sharp. "This isn't your home."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI'm sorry, what?span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What are you talking about?" Allison laughed, as deep in denial as the rest of us. "This is the Umbrella Academy."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Wrong again." There was something almost gleeful about Dad as he corrected us. "This is the Sparrow Academy."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in;"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;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanImmediately, the rest of my siblings and I turned around, our attention diverted by the sound of footsteps. The light shining in behind them made it impossible to distinguish their faces, but up on the balcony stood five silhouettes of people, and… a green cube? /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 284.0pt;"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;" /spanWhat kind of sick joke was this? Was this Dad's way of getting back at us for the way we acted when we met him at the dinner? That had to be it. Granted, Dad had never been the sort, but there's no time like the present./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 284.0pt;"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 entire body felt like it was about to collapse as the final one of the people before us stepped forward, this one close enough to give us a good look. How… how could Ben have been standing in front of us?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 284.0pt;"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;" /spanBut upon closer inspection, that wasn't the Ben we knew. For starters, his uniform was red, which made absolutely no sense, and were those… blue streaks in his completely unkempt hair? Not to mention the prominent scar running down the left side of his face, which eventually disappeared into stubble. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 284.0pt;"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"Dad, who the hell are these assholes?" he growled, glaring at us with caution and hatred./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 284.0pt;"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;" /spanThis was bad. This was very, very bad./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 284.0pt;"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;" /spanCaught up in everything, my family's seven minds could only muster out one word, spoken at the exact same time./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 284.0pt;"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"Shit."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 284.0pt;" align="center"strongemspan style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"To Be Continued in "You Better Bring an Umbrella, Vol. 3"/span/em/strong/p