Mad About You - Hooverphonic
I woke to a bell being rung the next morning and Klaus telling everyone to wake up. Yesterday's wake up was soooo much nicer than waking up to this. I got out of bed and ripped my door open, grabbing the bell from him and throwing it down the hall. I heard the dull clank as it hit the floor. Klaus held up his hands in surrender when I pinned him with my best glare.
"You know, you never were a morning person. You should fix that." He said.
Luther's door opened next and he came out with a sheet wrapped around his waist as he tried to shut his bedroom door but gave up when he failed to grabbed the doorknob twice. Now this was interesting.
"Oh there's the man." Klaus said, "Someone pulled the disappearing act last night. What mischief did you get into?"
"Mischief?" I reiterated
I leaned to the right with Klaus as we peered past Luther and into his room. There was a woman sitting on Luther's bed and she was gorgeous. I half expected it to be Allison but she definitely wasn't Allison.
"What? I didn't get into mischief." Luther defended.
I raised an eyebrow as I gestured toward the woman, at the same time that Klaus spoke, "No? Maybe I should ask her. Hello!"
Luther finally went back to close his door. He was totally embarrassed by the current events. I, however, was completely amused. This was definitely worth the annoying wake up call.
"Oh don't be so shy, you needed it! Not a lot of ladies on the moon I assume and all that pressure resting on those big harry shoulders." Klaus finished through a laugh.
I giggled and tapped my nose, "What IS Allison going to think?"
"Guys, enough." Luther said, full blown bashful now.
"Wait." Klaus said, "Is this your first?"
"Klaus." I warned, hoping to god he didn't make fun of Luther for this.
"No, no! This is good. Yay!" He twirled in a circle before covering his mouth, "Now you're going to have to marry her."
"Keep your voice down!" Luther demanded between a shout and whisper.
"You know, I remember my first time. Oh wait... no I don't." Klaus said with a frown and turned to me, "Do you remember yours?"
"Yeah, it wasn't that memorable." I half lied. The act wasn't memorable but the humiliation after sure was.
"Oh, bummer." Klaus said, looking down at the floor.
"Klaus!" Luther snapped, "What did you want?!"
"Oh right! Important family business. Meet me downstairs, okay guys?" He said and then pointed at Luther, "No dilly dallying. Chop chop."
Klaus made his way back down the hall and picked up the bell as he went. I should have chucked in my room instead, I thought as he rang it. I went into my room and closed my door to get ready for the day. Jeans and a simple t-shirt were the way to go today. Hair in a messy bun and my trusty converse and I was headed down to the kitchen. When Klaus saw me, he poured me a cup of coffee and did the same for Luther when he joined us soon after.
Luther definitely needed it; he was hungover for sure. I patted him on the back as I passed him to sit at the head of the table. If his night was anything like the night I had with Klaus, there was a jack-hammer in a hollow metal room happening in head right now. Five joined us too, sitting between Space Boy and I.
Five took a sip of the coffee and grimaced, "Jesus, who do I have to kill to get a decent cup of coffee?"
"In your condition, you're not killing anyone." I said, causing him to grunt.
"Can we get started please?" Luther grumbled.
"You didn't see any of the others? Diego? Allison? No?" Klaus asked.
"They went to scope out another property that Harold Jenkins might be at." I said, sipping my coffee and sighing happily.
"Okay, this is the closest thing to a quorum, that we're going to get." Klaus said, tapping the metal spatula repeatedly on the table. I giggled into my coffee as I watched Luther suffer, "Now listen up. There is no easy way to say this so I'm just going to spit it out... yeah...So I conjured dad last night."
"What? Are you sure?" I asked.
"Well, he was too tall to be Napoleon." Klaus said sarcastically. I gave him the finger in return.
"I thought you said you haven't been able to conjure anyone in years?" Luther asked.
"I know but I'm sober now." Klaus replied as if it was this amazing feat, "I got clean. Yesterday. I talked to someone special and then ended up having a conversation with dear old daddy himself."
"Does anybody have aspirin?" Luther asked.
"Top shelf, next to the crackers." Five directed.
"This is serious guys. This really happened. I swear."
"I believe you Klaus. So tell us, what did he say?" I asked.
"Okay, I'll play too. Shoot." Five said.
"Well... he gave me the usual lecture about my appearance and my failures in life. Yada, yada, yada, no surprises there. But he did mention something about his murder... or lack thereof."
"So... he wasn't murdered? It really was just heart failure then?" I asked, leaning my chin on my palm.
"Well no... he actually killed... himself." Klaus finished slowly.
Luther dropped his arm to the table and shook his head and stood up, "I don't have time for your games."
"You know what? I'm telling you the truth." Klaus desperately wanted us to believe him.
"Why'd he do it then?" Five asked, now seemingly interested.
"He said it was the only way to get us all home again."
"Dad wouldn't just kill himself." Luther shot Klaus down again.
"You said it yourself, he was depressed. Holed up in his office all day and night." Five reasoned.
"There weren't any signs. Suicidal people exhibit certain tendencies, strange behavior." Luther turned to me, "You're the psychologist, you know this."
"It's true. There are signs that lead up to the act such as withdrawal, moodiness, change in personality or appearance, and a sudden state of calm to name a few. But if what Klaus is saying is true, Mr. Hargreeves didn't do it because he was depressed. He did it to get us all back under one roof to work together toward something. Besides, even if he was exhibiting these behaviours, no one would know because aside from Grace and Pogo, there was no one to witness them."
"You believe me?" Klaus asked happily.
"I do."
"You better not be lying." Luther said.
"I swear I'm not."
"Master Klaus is correct." Pogo said as he hobbled into the room with his cane. We all looked at him, "Regretfully, I helped Mr. Hargreeves enact his plan, so did Grace. It was a difficult choice for both of us. More difficult than you could ever know. Prior to your father's death, Grace's programming was adjusted so that she was incapable of administering first-aid on that fateful night."
"What a sick bastard." Five said.
"And that security tape?" Luther asked.
"It was meant to further the murder mystery. Your father hoped that being back here, solving it together, would reignite your desire to be a team again." Pogo answered sorrowfully.
"To what end?"
"To save the world of course."
"First the moon mission and now this." Luther said.
I stood up and leaned my hip against the table, "Hold on. To save the world? That implies that he knew about the apocalypse. Did he know?" I asked.
"I do not know how he wanted you to save the world, just that he did." Pogo said.
"How could you not tell us this? The one person in this house that everyone trusted." Luther was angry and understandably so.
"It was your fathers dying wish. I had no choice." Pogo said regretfully.
"There is always a choice." Luther said and then left the kitchen in an angry huff. Pogo left soon after.
Five ran his hands over his face tiredly, "How are you feeling today?" I asked him.
"I'm okay, I just have to think." He said and then blinked away.
"That did not go as planned." Klaus said.
"Don't beat yourself up Klaus. It was Mr. Hargreeves fault, not yours." I said, leaning back in my chair as I took another sip of coffee, "You were just the messenger."
"How come you never called him dad?" Klaus asked.
"What?"
"He adopted you, you're a Hargreeves but you never called him dad. Why?"
"I don't know. I supposed I would have, if I had known him all my life like you but we met when I was eleven. It felt weird to suddenly start calling him that." I explained.
"Yeah, I guess that would be weird." Klaus said wistfully.
I finished my coffee and stood up. I gave Klaus a small smile and left the room. As I left, I thought I heard him say 'I'm sure she misses you too' but it was so quiet I couldn't be sure. Klaus was an odd one for sure but I think that's just how he copes with his abilities. Out of all the powers, I would definitely want his the least. The idea of it just seemed daunting.
I walked slowly to my room, taking the long way around the house. There wasn't much to do until we heard from Allison and Diego anyway. When I got to my room, I grabbed a book and laid back on my bed to read it. After everything that was going on lately, I needed something light and funny, so I decided on Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. It was a biography and it made me laugh.
I felt a presence at my door a short while later and sat up to look at Five. He was dressed in his uniform again and I rolled my eyes. He really doesn't know how to rest, does he?
"You came to an interesting conclusion in the kitchen." He said.
"About what?"
"About dad knowing about the apocalypse. I don't know how he would know but it makes sense." Five said, "He was a selfish asshole but he was right. It's going to take all of us to stop this thing, so are you ready?"
I sighed and stood up as I tossed my book on my bed, "Yeah, okay."
"Great, I'm going to get Klaus." He said.
I put on my black leather jacket and waited in the hallway for Five and Klaus. I was picking at the polish on my nails as I leaned against the wall across from Diego's room. I don't know what Five is going to have us doing because we won't have any leads until Diego and Allison get back.
Klaus and Five finally came out of his room, just as Diego was running down the hallway stripping off his jacket. He wasn't wearing the sling anymore and he didn't have any of his knives. Why was he in such a rush and where was Allison?
"Where have you been?" Five asked him.
Diego kissed my lips and then ran into his room, "Jail. Long story. Where is Luther?"
"Jail? What? Where's Allison?" I asked, "And where is your sling?"
"Don't need it anymore." He said as he grabbed a new holster and started strapping it to his body, "Now where did you say Luther was?"
"Haven't seen him since breakfast."
"Two days until the world ends. He picked a perfect time to drop off the grid." Klaus said.
"Shit." He said, coming out of his room, "Allison is in danger."
"What do you mean in danger?" I asked.
Diego spoke to all of us but put his hands on my bicep and looked at me, "When we were leaving last night, I got arrested on the suspicion of the murder of Detective Patch. Allison went up to Jenkins grandmothers' cabin by herself."
"What?!" I cried, "We have to go help her!"
Diego shook me a little, "Listen. We need to find Luther first okay?"
I nodded, "Okay fine. Then let's go. We can't waste any more time. I wish I had known; I would have gone with her. I should have gone with her." I said as I hurried down the hall.
"It's not your fault Malia. You had a lot going on." Diego said as we got to another one of Mr. Hargreeves cars.
"It is because I was scared!" I snapped, whipping around to face him.
Klaus and Five got into the car to awkwardly avoid my emotional state.
"What do you mean? I asked you last night if you were alright and you said you were fine. In fact, you seemed more concerned about me."
I ran my hand over my face, "I was deflecting and then projecting Diego. I wasn't fine. I don't know if I'm fine now! What happened to Five? That scared the hell out of me and do you want to know why? I didn't know if I was going to be able to save him! I was scared!"
Diego cupped my cheek, "Hey, hey, hey, it's okay. It's okay that you were scared for him."
I knocked his hand away, "You don't understand."
He seemed lost for words for a moment, "I'm trying to Malia but you have to help me. Tell me what I don't understand."
"All I ever wanted to do was help people. Being part of The Umbrella Academy allowed me to do that but not in the way I wanted..." I felt the tears pooling and looked away from him, "Ask me to kill a guilty man to save an innocent one and I can do that no problem. Put me in front of a dying man and ask me to save him and I get scared. Fives blood was all over my hands and I was too scared to TRY to save him because what if I COULDN'T. It was like B-" I stopped and looked away.
Diego pulled me into a hug and I let the tears fall, "It's okay and Fives okay."
"Because Grace was there."
"You may have been scared but you didn't freeze. You were about to do everything you could to save him even though you were afraid. You were going to take shrapnel out with your fingers for god's sake. Look at me," Diego pulled away and made me look at him, "Grace said that if you didn't stanch the bleeding, he would have died. You took what she taught you all those years ago and did something good, even though you were afraid. Understand?" I nodded, "You're a good person."
"Hey guys, we're on a time limit." Five said through the open window, "Can you hurry it up just a little?"
"Shut up Five." Diego snapped and then turned to me with a soft smile, "If Five can be his normal unpleasant self, twelve hours after getting shrapnel removed from his body, I think you can handle a little blood on your hands. Just remember, dad had Grace train YOU for a reason alright?"
I nodded again and smiled back at him through my tears, "Okay."
"You good now?"
"I'm better. Let's go find Luther and save Allison." I said, wiping the tears from my cheeks.
Diego kissed my lips chastely, "That's my girl."
He opened up the back door for me and I got in beside Klaus. I had no idea where to look for Luther but Klaus had us look in every dive bar that was in the vicinity of the Academy. Luckily, we found him at the fourth one we entered because I did NOT want to go inside anymore of them.
"Having a little hair of the dog are we?" Klaus asked.
Diego sat down and sent Klaus, Five and I away, wanting a minute alone with Luther. I went a couple tables over with them as we waited for their brotherly moment to be over. Apparently, it was Luther's turn to have a meltdown now. He's doing it more gracefully than I did though. Klaus looked at us and tapped his invisible watch.
Five just shook his head and then turned to me, "By the way. I have no doubt that you would have saved me. You're my sister, you wouldn't have let me die."
"That's kind of you to say Five."
"I'm being more truthful than kind. You and I are the same kind of stubborn, it's why you and I clicked so quickly. You wouldn't have let me die."
"You should have led with that!" Luther said loudly, pushing out of his chair and running out of the pub, pulling the door off its hinge.
Diego caught it before it could fall on me and held it open so I could walk through. We piled into the car, and I was now stuffed into the back seat with both Luther and Diego this time because Five felt the need to drive and I was small enough to fit between them. It was going to be a long drive and we weren't likely to get there until dark.
"So... two identity crises in one day. They say things come in threes, so who's next hmm?" Klaus wondered out loud.
"Shut up Klaus." Diego said, "No one wants you jabbering nonsense the whole time."
"I'm offended. I don't jabber nonsense."
"Yes you do." We all said at the same time.
"Well now I'm just feeling ganged up on." Klaus said, holding his hand to his chest feigning hurt.
"You're fine." I told him, laying my head on Diego's shoulder to get comfortable.
I felt Diego kiss the top of my head as I fell asleep for the rest of the car ride. It felt like no time at all when I was being shaken awake. I sat up straight as saw that we were outside a cottage in the middle of a bunch trees. The air around the property was eerie, like something happened here and I followed everyone up to the porch and into the house.
Luther was the first one through the door and I heard him clear as day, "Allison! No!"
I was the last one through the door and I gasped when I saw her. She was lying in a pool of her own blood. Her neck was slit open and her once white shirt was now crimson. The noise faded from around me as I watch Luther hold her to his chest and cry. Someone I loved was dying again. I vaguely heard someone calling my name but it was like I was underwater and everything was still.
I was then given a harsh shake and reality started around me again, "Remember what I said before. You were trained by Grace. You got this." Diego said.
I let out a deep breath and got to work, "Five, go to the bathroom, check the cupboards for any medical supplies. Luther, lay her back down and step away." I said methodically, "Do it carefully. Too much movement could make the blood flow more quickly."
I grabbed a small towel that was resting over the back of a chair and kneeled down beside Allison. I wiped the blood from her neck to get a better look at the wound and then held the towel to her neck. Five came back but all he found was a tensor bandage and some gauze. That will have to do for now.
I took the towel away and packed some of the gauze into the incision. It looked like the cut was through her larynx but her airways were still clear. I put the towel back over the wound and wrapped the tensor bandage around her neck, to keep it in place. I rubbed my forehead with the back of my hand as I sat back.
"Take her to the car and get back to the Academy as fast as you can. It's not perfect but it should hold until Grace tends to her, she'll likely need a blood transfusion. I'll follow you in the other car." Luther didn't need to be told twice and picked Allison up, racing out the door. Five and Klaus followed suit.
Diego helped me too my feet, "I'll be driving, not you." He said.
Diego opened the passenger door for me and I got it. He closed the door, ran around to the driver's side and then took off after the others. I needed to be there too in case Grace needed assistance. I kept pushing Diego to go faster as my hands started to shake from the adrenaline. Diego grabbed my hand, kissed the back, not caring that there was blood and not taking his eyes off the road.
We made it back to the Academy in record time. We pulled up to the curb just as Luther was carrying Allison inside. I ran all the way to the medical room and huddled around the operating table Allison was now lain on. Grace took the bandage, towel, and gauze off for a more formal inspection.
"She suffered a severe laceration to her larynx. One of you will have to give blood." Grace said quickly. As I suspected.
We all said we would but Luther protested, "I'm going to do it."
"I'm afraid that's not possible. Your blood is more compatible with mine." Pogo said.
"Don't sweat it. I got this big guy, I love needles." Klaus said, stepping forward.
"Master Klaus, your blood is... how do I say this... too polluted." Pogo tried to say delicately.
"Move. I'll do it." Diego said, coming around to stand beside Grace but he promptly passed-out when he saw the needle.
"Stick him." Pogo said.
Klaus leaned over to me to whisper, "Did you know he was afraid of needles?"
"No but I'm glad I do now." I said with a smirk as I watched Grace stick the needle in his arm, "What can I do to help Grace?"
"You did wonderful sweetheart but your job is done. You should go get cleaned up." Grace said, not taking her eyes off what she was doing.
I glanced down to Diego and then left the medical room with the others. I'd wait for Diego in his room after I get cleaned up. I grabbed a quick shower to get the blood off me and then put on green skinny jeans and a grey off shoulder knit sweater. I threw my hair up in another messy bun because there is no time for anything else anymore. I also had to resort to my black Uggs because my converse has been covered in blood.
I was lounging on Diego's bed when he came in, "Finally woke up I see."
"Yeah. Thanks for leaving me there." He said as he shut his door and started to strip off his clothing.
"What did you want me to do? Drag you out of the room?" I asked as I eyed him in just his boxer briefs.
It wasn't normal for a new couple to NOT spend intimate time together. Of course, it wasn't normal for a new couple to try and stop the apocalypse, either. He pulled on a pair of his leather pants and turned, catching me checking him out. I turned away from him with a frown.
"Hey, you alright?" He asked, sitting on the bed beside me.
"Yeah, fine." I said quietly.
"No, see, that's what you did last night and then you had that breakdown today." Diego said and put a hand on my knee, "I may not be as good at reading people as you but I'm learning."
"It's not a big deal. We can deal with it later." I said, not wanting to admit what my problem was.
"Hey, if this is going to work. You need to talk to me."
I sighed and looked at him, "I want to be with you Diego. Are you happy now?"
He seemed confused at first but then understanding seemed to dawn on him, "You want to get laid." He grinned.
I flopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling, "If I just wanted to get laid, I could go anywhere." I ignored his 'hey!' and continued, "I want to be intimate with you."
He didn't say anything and I was afraid to look at him. I was embarrassed for saying it but it was true. I wanted him in every sense of the word. I've had sex without intimacy and then I had sex with Diego. I wanted that again - preferably before the world ended and we all died.
I nearly jumped when Diego appeared over me because I didn't even feel the bed move, "There's nothing wrong with right now."
There was a knock on the door and then Five spoke, "Family meeting."
Diego dropped his forehead to mine, "We'll find time. I promise." He said and then got up to put on a shirt, "Come on, we have some stuff to figure out."
We walked to the living room and I sat down on the sofa across from the one Klaus was sitting on. He seemed to be vibrating a little and I wondered how long it would be until he gave into his next fix. Five was sitting in a chair by the fireplace but there was no Luther. He was probably still with Allison.
"Okay, so what's our next course of action?" I asked.
"Well, the bastard who almost killed our sister is still out there WITH Vanya. We have to go after her."
"Vanya, is not important." Five said, getting up and limping around.
"Hey, that's your sister. That's a little heartless, even for you Five."
"I'm not saying I don't care about her but if the apocalypse happens today, she dies along with the other seven billion of us. Harold Jenkins is our first priority."
"I agree, let's go." Diego said.
"Can you guys count me out?" Klaus asked, "It's nothing personal or whatever. I just feel like this is a whole lot of pressure for a newly sober me."
"You're coming." Diego said, not giving him a choice.
"I think we can all agree that my powers are pretty much useless. I'd pretty much be holding you guys back." Klaus did make a little bit of sense.
"Klaus get up." Five said.
"You can't make me." He defied. Diego threw a knife and it landed on the couch cushion between his legs, "Then again, a little exercise couldn't hurt."
"Alright, let's get this over with." I said, letting Diego pull me up from the sofa.
We got in the car and drove back to Harold Jenkins house. It was a short drive but it was quiet – probably because Klaus was sober. I kind of miss inebriated Klaus, to be honest.
When we stepped up the porch, the door was cracked open so Diego told us to let him go first. He pulled out a knife and slowly pushed the door open a little more, peering inside carefully. He let out a breath and put his knife away before going inside, saying it was safe. We followed suit and found out what he was talking about. Harold was on the floor with every sharp piece of metal you could think of, sticking out of his body.
"That's not what I was expecting." Klaus said, leaning over with his hands on his knees.
Five was beside him with his hands in his pockets, "Understatement of the year."
I was behind Five with my arms crossed and Diego was beside me, "Let's get out of here before the cops come."
"In a minute." Five said and went over to the body. He took out the prosthetic eyeball from his pocket and put it in Harolds socket, "Same eye colour, same pupil size. Guys this is it. The eye I've been carrying around for decades has finally found its rightful home."
"We got the guy we needed to kill to stop the apocalypse." Diego said.
"Wait, wait, it can't be this easy." Five said, taking the eye out and standing up.
"I agree. The whole thing seems kind of anti-climactic, doesn't it?" I said.
"The note I got from the Commission said to protect Harold Jenkins, AKA Leonard Peabody, but who killed him?"
"I have a crazy idea but why don't we find Vanya and ask her what happened?" Klaus suggested.
"If Vanya got away from this asshole, she might be on her way back to the Academy." Diego said.
"Then we should head back to the Academy and be there for her. This guy may be a creep but she cared for him." I said and left the house, the others following behind.