Disclaimer: I do not own R5, Bradley Simpson from The Vamps, 5 Seconds of Summer, Dan Howell (danisnotonfire), Joe Sugg (ThatcherJoe), Caspar Lee or Phil Lester (AmazingPhil) - all rights go to Hollywood Records, Virgin EMI/Mercury/Universal Records, Capitol Records & YouTube!


Chapter 31
Non-existence

Ashton froze at the sound of the last gunshot, thinking that Maxwell had also shot him. He slowly turned round seeing blood seeping from Maxwell's head before he collapsed to the floor. Ashton was confused, but then became shocked when he seen Priscilla stood there with a gun in her hand, being the one to have shot Maxwell dead.

"Oh, how I wish I could have realised what we were doing was wrong sooner." She said.

"At what point did you realise?"

"The moment Ross and Brad caught me but by then it was too late."

"Why have you left the base to go home and be with your family?" Ashton asked, after a short pause.

"Because. You're going to save the world."

Ashton scoffed "No we're not. It's over. It's ending. The world is becoming poisoned with radiation, my family is dead, and the only person I've ever loved is now dead! Trust me. The world has ended."

"Well… You and your friends better think of something fast to save them all." Priscilla said, making her way towards the Epoch Room and Ashton immediately followed as he knew for a fine fact someone was bound to attack her the moment she stepped foot in the room.

"What are you doing here?" Samara asked, the minute the door opened and Priscilla walked in.

Rocky drew out his gun and aimed it at her.

"Whoa, wait no!" Ashton raised his voice, stopping him.

Rocky looked at him confused "Why are you saving her life?"

"She's on our side now," He said, and Rocky scoffed "she just shot Maxwell dead."

"Fuck off, no…" Ross said, in disbelief.

"Proofs out there as well as Luke." Ashton said, trying to stop himself from getting upset.

Ashton looked over to where Brad was, seeing he was sat on the floor again looking really numb and upset and like he could burst into tears at any moment – obviously over Luke. Ashton went over to him and helped him off the floor "Come here." He said, hugging him in comfort and kissing the top of his head and Brad hugged him back, just resting his head on his chest.

"Why are you here?" Caspar asked, Priscilla.

"'Cause you're going to save the world." She responded.

"Hunny, have you not took a look outside or at the news? It's a bit too late for that." Ross said.

"Yes I have. What's the big deal? How's that stopping you? Apart from the fact there's quite a few of you missing."

Silence fell as Brad and Ashton pulled away from their hug to engage in the conversation that was going on but nobody was speaking or responding to what she had just asked.

Priscilla rolled her eyes "Oh, come on. You guys are the dream team. Quite possibly the greatest team that the world has ever seen – even though they technically haven't seen you."

"Anybody else wanting to burst into song right now?" Brad asked, beginning to hum the chorus of History by One Direction.

"Surely you guys must have something." Priscilla said, not believing for a moment there wasn't at least part of a plan bubbling away inside of one of them.

"Priscilla. We don't. It's over. OVER. The world is at its end, it's about to become an in-habitual home filled with radiation that we as humans cannot withstand without dying or mutating." Ross said, being clearly fed up of her already and she hadn't been in the room 5 minutes yet.

"Well, I still believe in you."

Phil had his brow furrowed, thinking as something had come to mind – after putting pieces together of Luke and Ashton's conversation.

"When I came here for the first time by myself all those years ago, I should never have put forward the idea of you coming too when you were old enough. M-maybe then none of this would have happened."

Maybe then none of this would have happened.

"We could go back to the moment we fucked up. But let's be honest, where? There's been a lot of moments where we fucked up but we don't know which the major one that caused this was." Calum said.

"The warheads. We could go back to when Kyle, Nate and Alex went down to the vaults to check the warheads and go with them." Rocky suggested.

Ross shook his head "No, even though it'll save everyone, Dan will still die. If we're going to do this all over again I'd rather we do it so everyone who's died lives."

Priscilla smiled, being satisfied that she had set them off on coming up with a plan to save the world even though it had pretty much ended.

"Plus, the plane that blew up with the warhead on me, you, Joe and Caspar tried to disarm. It's bound to have landed somewhere and all that radiation will affect wherever it landed – we weren't above water either. We were above a city or a town. That'll only start something, people will have assumed it was an attack from another country." Brad said/explained/reminded them.

"Well, I can't think of anywhere else where we managed to screw up apart from those two times. But we can't stop one without the other happening 'cause we don't know when the warheads in the vaults were set off." Rydel said.

Rocky sighed heavily, becoming stressed "I swear to god, this would be so much easier if we didn't meet or come to work here in the first place."

Phil's head rose and he looked at everyone as a silence fell whilst they were trying to think of something "That's it."

"What?" Ross asked.

"This all happened because all of you met and came here. If you all hadn't have met, Will wouldn't have put you five as a team, you wouldn't have started getting on Priscilla, Maxwell and Harvey's nerves, they wouldn't have tried to get rid of you by attempting to destroy the world which means that wouldn't have sent you all back in time to where you guys built the base. If the base wasn't built or you guys refused to build it… None of this would've happened."

"So… What you're saying is… Go back in time to ensure Brad, Ross, Rocky, Luke and Ashton don't meet and bam… the future changes?" Samara asked.

Phil nodded "Yeah. That way Luke and Dan don't die and the world doesn't end."

"And I don't exist," Brad said, making everyone turn to him "think about it. Luke and Ashton got together 'cause they came here… If it wasn't for them coming here, I wouldn't be standing here. If they'd have stayed in Sydney they wouldn't have got together and I would be non-existent. And… If we do go back in time to make sure none of us meet… Dan and Luke may not die but you'll lose me."

Everyone didn't or couldn't respond as they hadn't thought about that part of making sure everyone stays alive and well.

"You know, it's not going to be so easy making sure that you all don't meet 'cause there's a lot of key moments that happened for you all to meet. Say if one moment didn't happen for you to meet, the next moment that happened would make you all meet." Rydel said.

"Like what?" Caspar asked.

"Think about it. Phil got Dan to come to the base where then the pair came up with the idea of the situation and scenario for the five of them. Will took that idea from them both and decided to use it for the right people when they came along. Ashton comes and brings Luke with him a while later 'cause he's lonely. Rocky comes and does the same with Ross. Ross saves Brad from being killed by patrol after coming here on some sort of little holiday with his friend and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Basically, we need to stop Phil from coming to the base, we also need to stop Dan from coming to the base to make sure 'BRRAL' is never created, we need to make sure Ashton doesn't come so that way he doesn't bring Luke or we need to stop Rocky from coming so he doesn't bring Ross who saves Brad." Rydel explained.

"Yeah but how are you going to do that?" Ashton asked "you can't sneak into our houses in the past at where we decided to come – we'll freak out!"

"Plus, they won't go off the word of a stranger and you can't destroy the letters that were sent. Application ones and the one Phil wrote to Dan. Other applicant forms will only be sent and Phil will only ring Dan to ask him if he doesn't receive the letter." Michael!Brad said.

Rocky sighed, again being stressed as they didn't seem to be finding a loop hole "Jesus Christ, at this rate the only way we're gonna stop this is if we go into the past and ki…" Rocky stopped as realisation hit him of what needed to be done "kill either me, Ashton, Dan or Phil."

"A-all of us or just one..?" Ashton asked.

"If we can't settle on someone, all of us."

Ross sighed "Why does every plan always have to result in someone dying?"

"Look at it this way – it won't affect you 'cause you won't know us." Phil said.

"I'll know Rocky 'cause he's my brother, what if you decide to kill him?" Ross asked, suddenly getting defensive and agitated.

"STOP!" Rydel shouted, cutting everyone off before arguments started.

"Right, why don't we just look at what happens if we kill each individual?" Courtney asked/suggested.

"Go on." Caspar said.

"If we kill Ashton before he gets Luke to the base, Luke doesn't go obviously. And if Ashton's not at the base, Rocky's not going to have a friend – even though they didn't get along at first. He'll feel slightly left out and decide to go home, thus resulting in him not bringing Ross." Rydel said.

"He was friends with me and Joe." Caspar reminded her.

"True. So that way he'll stay and bring Ross… but Ross won't have Brad to save 'cause he'll be non-existent due to Ashton being dead and he and Luke not dating. And because Luke isn't there Ross will leave. And out of the five of you, only Rocky would be there."

"We need them all not to be there though." Phil said.

"Right, okay, true… Ashton, you're safe."

"Good to know." Ashton said, slightly sarcastically.

"If Rocky dies, Ashton will be here and bring Luke but Ross won't come – but there's a possibility Brad might."

"Guys, I know who needs to die," Phil said, grabbing everyone's attention "me or Dan."

"How?" Ross asked.

"'Cause… If I didn't send Dan that letter, he wouldn't have came, which means I wouldn't have put forward the idea I had which gave you five a job, therefore Ashton wouldn't have had anybody to give him the confidence to stay here or bring Luke which means he would've went home or he may not have came at all. Rocky wouldn't have brought Ross 'casue he would've probably left or not come at all. Therefore, you five wouldn't have been put as a team to save everyone, you guys wouldn't have gone back in time and built the base… and… we wouldn't be here right now. Me and Dan coming to the base started off the chain reaction of these events happening. It needs to be one of us 'cause if Dan didn't come to the base, I would have went home without a shadow of a doubt. More importantly, to Joe, Stacey – the mother of his daughter and his girlfriend – would still be alive."

"And Will." Rocky added.

"So, who's it going to be?" Ashton asked.

Phil breathed deeply "Dan's already dead, so he's had his turn… I think it's only fair I do."

"So… We do this… Go back in time and kill Phil… We all have normal lives, never meet and none of this happens." Ross said.

"Yeah."

Brad sighed deeply, feeling a little down that this had to happen for the world to be saved. Ross frowned and became upset, knowing that Brad was going to disappear into non-existence 'cause it was because of the base that Luke and Ashton got together. "Brad, I'm sorry…" Ross said, not knowing what else to say.

"No, it's fine. Honestly. If the sacrifice of saving the world means me not existing at all and us never knowing each other so be it…" Brad said, not really wanting this to happen but he knew it was for the best.

Ross shook his head "No, Brad—"

"Ross. Seriously. It's fine. I'd rather it be this way."

"No you wouldn't."

"What's my life compared to the billions of women, children and men that are out there dying right now? If my life being taken means them living, I don't care. I'd rather die."

Ross stayed silent, not knowing what to say or add to that.

They were literally so alike, Brad and Luke, that was all that was running through Ashton's mind as he looked at him – Brad was literally another version of Luke. And like Luke before he died, Brad doesn't care about it.

"So how are we going to do this?" Samara asked, getting up from where she sat on the floor.

"I'm not sure." Rocky said.

"Seen as though Brad isn't exactly going to be around, or even exist for that matter, when we do it, why doesn't he just do it? Go into the past and kill Phil?" Calum suggested.

Brad scoffed "Wow. The last act of my life. Murder."

"It's to save the world though." Phil said.

The room shook violently to the point where everyone lost their balance and almost fell. "Alright, no, this needs to be done and decided now before we die right here." Rocky said.

Everyone immediately looked at Brad. "Are you going to do it?" Caspar asked.

Brad stayed silent for a few seconds whilst he thought about it "I don't really want to kill my friend but… if it saves the world and stops this from happening… then… I guess," He said, where then Calum handed him a wrist-epoch "any preferences on how you want to be killed?" Brad asked, as Phil typed in a date and time of where he'd be, and he laughed a little at the question "shot? Stabbed? Ran over by a car?"

"I'd rather be shot it'd be quicker." Phil said.

"Alright."

"Do me a favour though. Don't do it in front of Dan, make sure he's not around. I don't want him to witness it, it's bad enough he'll be broken and upset just hearing about me being dead – as vain as it sounds."

"Don't worry, I won't." Brad reassured.

"And after you've done it… Go to him. Tell him I said to do something good with his life, whatever he wants, whatever makes him happy – for me if he can't do it for himself. I want him to be happy."

Brad nodded. "Anybody else want a visit from me?" He asked, jokingly.

"Go on, stop talking, times running out. Go save the world." Rocky said.

"Motivational words. Probably the last thing I'm ever gonna hear fall from your mouth, never expected it to be something motivational." Brad said, slightly shocked and surprised.

"Fuck sake, you pompous British twat, shut up and go before we all die." Rocky said, snapping slightly.

"There we go."

Brad went to press the button when Rydel stopped him "There is a way you can get yourself to exist again…" Rydel said.

"How?"

"Get Luke and Ashton together – find wherever they are in Australia or in the world, talk to them and make sure it ends in them questioning if they do love each other and want to be in a relationship."

"Got it. Do I do this before or after I've killed Phil?"

"After. If you do it before you'll only find yourself back here but then you'll be on a time limit before you phase out of existence."

Brad nodded and stepped away from Rydel "Well then… Better get to it." He said, about to press the transport button but got stopped again.

"No, only use the wrist-epoch to transport yourself from past me to where Luke and Ashton are." Phil said.

"Well what the hell am I gonna use to get to you if I can't use this?" Brad asked.

"Look behind you."

Brad turned round, seeing the Epoch. "But it'll blow up if he uses it." Ross said.

"Exactly. This is the only piece of time travel that everyone knows about in the base, some people might try to use it to stop this from happening and we don't want that 'cause Brad's doing it now. If we destroy it, there's no more time travel. Only the wrist-epoch's and mini-epoch's but they'll get destroyed in the explosion the Epoch makes." Phil said.

"If that's the case do we stay here or do we run?" Caspar asked.

"We're not going to survive being in this world now anyway so we may as well stay. I am anyway, if everybody else wants to run that's fine." Rocky said.

"I'm staying." Ross said.

"Me too." Samara said.

Everyone else in the room pretty much agreed to stay and die from the explosion of the Epoch. Phil motioned for Brad to get onto the Epoch whilst he went to the panel and started typing stuff in. For that moment, everyone was quiet as they were left to their own thoughts.

"What do you think – in this new life we're about to have – we'll end up doing?" Ross asked.

"I have no idea." Rocky said, beginning to think about it as he hadn't really thought about what he would be doing if he never came to the base.

"Any money I'll be at university 'cause that was my second option after this." Samara said.

"Not existing." Calum said.

"Same." Rydel and Michael!Brad both said.

Courtney shrugged "I have no idea. I didn't experience what the real world was like and the things you could do."

"I'm not sure what I'll be doing." Mia said.

"I'll probably still be at school or at college." Ashley said.

"Yeah, same here." Landon said.

"I'll be dead." Phil said.

"Entertaining people. I hope so anyway." Caspar said.

"I can see that, you're quite funny sometimes." Rocky said, making Caspar smile and laugh a little. "What about you and Luke, Ash? What do you reckon you'd both be doing?" He asked.

Ashton shrugged "I'm not sure to be honest. I wasn't really good at anything, neither was Luke really – not to offend him or anything."

"Come on there must be something, surely you both had some hobbies on the side." Ross said.

"Well, yeah but… I doubt we'd have done anything with it," Ashton said, and everyone stayed silent awaiting him to explain "Luke could sing. He was freaking amazing and he could play guitar – so I lied, that was what he was good at before coming here."

"Really?!" Rocky asked, surprised "I've never heard him sing."

"Me too." Brad said.

"Trust me, he had a very special talent with music – I don't even understand why he came here." Ashton said.

"I think we all know why he did." Rocky said, and almost everyone nodded in agreement. Because Luke wanted to be with Ashton.

"Did you have any sort of talent with music?" Samara asked.

"Not really no. I used to be able to play drums a little but that's it. What about you guys? What do you reckon you'll be doing?" Ashton asked.

Ross shrugged "I have no idea. I can't even remember what I wanted to do before I came here."

Everyone became quiet again before Ashton looked and walked over to Brad, breaking the silence. "Good luck." He said.

"What if I fail?" Brad asked.

"You won't." Ashton said.

"But what if I do?"

"Then we get a second chance to do it again. Don't worry, you'll be fine. I believe in you."

"Ohh, I'm really scared." Brad said, being really nervous he was going to screw this up somehow. Ashton wrapped his arms around Brad and gave him one last hug.

Phil had managed to get everything ready and rearing to go on the Epoch, all that was left was for him to press the button "Everyone ready?" Phil asked.

"Fuck, not really." Ross said, starting to feel nervous as he neared to Rocky.

Ashton let go of Brad, give him a small smile and made his way towards the Epoch door. "Where are you going?" Brad asked.

"Are you leaving so you can live?" Caspar asked.

Ashton shook his head "No, Luke's outside the door. I know he may be dead already, but I'd rather be with him whilst I die."

Nobody protested, they just let him go, understanding. Ashton went out to where Luke was on the floor dead and he laid down next to him, putting his head on his chest – where usually when he does, he can feel his heart beating, but not anymore – and he held onto him with one arm whilst using the other to hold one of Luke's arms around him.

Brad breathed deeply as Phil was about to press the button "Thank you. See you on the other side." He said.

"See ya." Ross said.

Brad smiled at him and Phil pressed the button, jumping down and Brad shut his eyes and breathed deeply as the Epoch started doing its thing. In a very big flash of blue light that almost blinded everyone, Brad disappeared which meant everyone was left to wait for the Epoch to blow up – with it not being able to withstand its own power.

"Why isn't it exploding?" Ross asked, after a couple seconds.

"Are you complaining?" Rocky asked.

"No."

BOOM

Next: Kill Phil


Please review to let me know what you think etc. & if you would like to see the rest of the alternate ending. :)