With Luther glued to Allison's side as she rested from her scrape with death & the resulting surgery, and Theodore passed out on the living room couch, huddled beneath a series of blankets & kept under thanks to a series of cookies dosed with sedatives that would hopefully keep him out for the next day or so (and therefore hopefully circumvent the apocalypse); that left the remaining Hargreeves to search for the other missing components—Vanya & Harold—who had yet to be found.
"…No sign of Vanya" Five greeted Klaus and Diego as they convened on the mezzanine some time later.
"She's not in any of the room" Diego added with a shake of his head.
"She's not downstairs either" Klaus replied as a frown pulled at his lips.
"Well, I'm out!" Diego stated as he moved to leave, clapping his brother on the shoulder as he passed.
"Wait—! Wait, Dee—!" Klaus protested.
"—Where are you going?" Five interjected, brows pulled together in confusion. "Vanya's still out there and so are Hazel & Cha-Cha"
"I know" Diego tossed over his shoulder as he stomped down the steps, "Which is why I'm gonna get my things and then I'm outta here. I've got unfinished business with those fools and Vanya's gonna get a smack 'round the ears"
"Huu…" Klaus heaved a heavy sigh as their brother disappeared with a final wave tossed over his shoulder.
"…Hey, did Dad say anything about the apocalypse when you spoke to him?" Five then turned to his sickly brother. "Any clues as to how it happened? Or how to stop it?"
"No, no clues" Klaus sighed tiredly as he leant back against the railing, "Truly terrific shave, but no clues"
"Geez…!" Five shook his head in disdain before he too, stomped off and down the stairs.
"Y'know, come to think of it, he did mention something about my potential—!" Klaus continued to dog his brother's heels, not particularly wanting to be left alone. "And now I've barely scratched the surface of my—"
"—How did he know about the apocalypse?"
"I don't know, maybe he really is one of those futuristic-psychic-aliens everyone keeps going on about; but listen! This whole jumping-through-the-time-thing of yours, how did…how did you know how to do that?"
"I didn't" Five scoffed with a roll of his eyes, "You'd realise that if you were actually sober"
"Hey, I am sober!" Klaus protested as his brother tried to leave him behind, "I've been sober for two—almost two days now!"
"Yeah? Two days?"
"Feels like 45 years…!"
"Oh, who are you kidding, Klaus?" Five spun on his heel, "I've seen you fidgeting all day"
"Well, I guess we're both fighting our addictions then" Klaus sneered as he turned on his brother with teeth bared and eyes narrowed.
"I'm not an addict—!" Five denied.
"—Yeah, you are!" Klaus steamrolled over him, "You're addicted to a drug called 'The Apocalypse"
"…You're wrong"
"First sign: denial"
"You and I, we're not the same!"
"Hehe~! I've seen that look in the eye of someone who doesn't know who they are without their high anymore! Trust me, you just gotta let it go…"
CRASH!
Grounding his teeth in irritation and frustration, Five blew a harsh breath out of his nose as he stared his older brother down. Rage and frustration bubbled up within him as he stared at his older brother, wondering just where he got off trying to tell him that saving the world from its inevitable doomsday was an addiction. What did he know? It wasn't like he had spent the better half of his life trying to stop it! With a harsh exhale, Five eventually pulled his glass eye talisman from his pocket and threw it hard against the wall, smashing it into a thousand tiny pieces.
"I meant figuratively speaking" Klaus blinked at the broken glass littering the ground at his feet as Five stormed off. "But yeah, that works too"
Seated atop the bar's countertop in the polka-dotted shirt that matched that of her husband's, Dolores nursed her lime green margarita with gentle hands as Five plopped himself onto the barstool next to her. His father's memorial photo still lay off to the side (although his urn had been moved onto the mantelpiece in living room), scattered amongst the various ingredients lining the marble bench. The unsealed blender remained within arms reach, although Dolores had only just barely convinced Five to stick a straw straight into the glass container and drink straight from it.
Returning from the mysterious errand that he had run that morning with his brothers, Five had searched the large manor and surrounding streets for his little sister, Vanya. But when they had come up short, the brothers had split and Five had thrown his 45 year old talisman against the wall in a fit of rage. Of course, it have also been the result of the blunt words shared between her husband and his brother that led to said broken eye. Either way, Dolores had greeted him with the gentle smile and a shoulder to cry on; which had in turn, led to margaritas.
"Well" Five sighed tiredly as he spared a look over at the couch where their lump of a nephew lay, sleeping. He gazed at him with those same brown eyes she'd fallen in love with all those years ago. "Do you think we really did it? Think we actually stopped the apocalypse?"
("Who know? Only time will tell, mio caro" Dolores sighed tiredly as she just sat there, listening to Five fill the empty space with mindless chatter. It was about the most relaxed he'd been in a long time).
"Now what?" He slurped vigorously at his crazy straw,"I dunno myself, I mean, I'm open to suggestions"
KNOCK KNOCK!
("Now, who could that be?" Dolores mused, glancing over towards the front door. "Are you expecting someone?")
"Eh, I'll get it" Five grunted in reply as he slipped from the barstool and meandered over to the front door. "Hello?"
"Hey, old timer" The person on the other side greeted; their voices drifting back through the foyer and over the plains of the living room. It sounded like a very tired Hazel.
"…Do you have my sister?" Five nonchalantly slurped at his drink, "And if not, would you like a margarita? C'me on"
Dolores didn't have to wait long before Five returned with an old co-worker, Hazel, in tow. If she were normal, Dolores might have been rather upset that Hazel had a gun trained on her husband; but as it was, this had become their new normal and she knew better than anyone, how well he could handle himself. (Guns & death threats! Oh joy!)
"And put that gun away, you brat!" Five snapped like the old man he truly was as he led the way back over to the bar, "Unless you're here to kill me?"
"Oh shit! Sorry! Old habits!" Hazel apologised profusely as he stowed the firearm in his waistband and Five returned to his seat.
Dolores just sat back and watched, twirling the little cocktail umbrella swimming in her margarita as she did so. She was content to watch how things would play out; mostly because she knew that if things came to blows, Five could handle his junior without any trouble; even if the two looked like Robin and Little John in terms of size.
"Though, I can understand why you might feel that way, y'know" Hazel trailed off sheepishly.
"Mm well, you attacked our home" Five listed off all laissez-faire, "Tried to kill my family, kidnapped my brother and tried to set my nephew on fire, so…"
"…Look, there's not much I can do about the past—" Hazel winced sheepishly.
"—Snrt!" Five snorted into his glass at that. The irony in that statement did not bypass him, especially given their (former) profession.
"But I'm not the only killer in this room! You got your own bloody, history, pal!"
("Oh! The nerve of this monello!" Dolores bristled at the accusations thrown at her husband. No matter how much truth they might hold, there was no need to rub it in).
"Speaking of which, the job you did in Calhoun—that shit is legendary!" Hazel gushed where he stood in the middle in the room, practically buzzing in his shoes. "Can't believe I'm sittin' here, talkin' to you, afterall—"
"—Why're you here, Hazel?" Five interrupted before the man could go off on some tangent. Apparently, he too, had grown tired of the man's mood swings and fangirling.
"Well, I'm, y'know—"
Before Hazel was able to get out the rest of his sentence, Diego launched himself forth from the shadows and drop-kicked the time travelling assassin to the floor, despite Five's weak and noncommittal protests. Flipping over the fallen man with as much unneeded flair as her husband had always described him to flaunt, Diego did his best to beat the shit out of Hazel. Who, in turn, was clearly holding back in fear of Five's wrath should he (accidentally) take things too far or the wrong way. Or at least, that's what Dolores was able to ascertain between the grunts and meaty punches; but to be honest, she had never really care for the rough-housing of men.
("Aren't you gonna do something?" Dolores prompted, sparing an expectant brow at her husband who seemed to be rather enjoying the fight.
"Y'know, before you kill him, you might wanna hear what he has to—" Five drawled, only protesting weakly to this petty show thanks to Dolores' nudge. "—Say"
"I'm gonna kill you for what you did to Patch!" Diego decreed as he palm a dagger and ignored Five's weak protests. "And for what you did to Theo!"
"Hey—!" Hazel briefly spared a helpless look at Five, silently asking for assistance. But those hopes were dashed when Five shrugged as if to say "…you're on your own"
"Geez—!" Hazel swore as he quickly jumped out of the way of the oncoming blade, as it slashed towards his torso and aimed to gut him like a fish.
"Or don't" Five snarked at his brother as he leant back against the bar and slurped at his margarita. "See how that goes"
"Are you gonna—?" Hazel gasped as he backed away from the enraged man.
"C'me on!" Diego snarled, slamming the dagger into Hazel's thigh with as much unnecessary force as he deemed appropriate and buried the blade up to the hilt in his flesh.
"Ooh!" Five hissed in sympathy, "That's gotta hurt!"
That seemed to be the breaking point for Hazel because he easily shoved Diego off of him and yanked the blade out of his thigh, before he soon began to give back the punches that were being thrown. Five, meanwhile, seemed more than content to just sit back and watch as the two lugged it out. At least that was until his bother leapt upwards & wrapping himself around Hazel's torso, dug his teeth into his ear & bit down hard enough to draw blood even as the larger man swung this way and that, trying to dislodge the former hero.
WHOOSH! CRASH!
"Ugh! I draw the line at biting" Five groused as he limped back over to the bar where he had left his glass to Blink above the pair and smash a crystalline case over his brother's head, effectively knocking him out could. "Hazel, whatever you came here to say, I suggest you make it quick before he comes 'round"
"I left my partner, quit the Commission and came to volunteer my services" Hazel rushed out.
"Volunteer?" Five puzzled as he reclaimed his margarita, "For what?"
"To help stop the apocalypse"
"Ah" Five chuckled dryly as Hazel brushed the last of the glass shards off of his shoulders.
"What on Earth could be so funny to you right now?"
"Before I answer that, why do you wanna help us?"
"…Let's just say I have a vested interest in a donut shop"
"Well, I hate to break it to you, pal" Five replied as he smiled knowingly into his glass, "But you're a day late and a dollar short. The fact that you're here means that without a shadow of a doubt that the apocalypse is over"
"Really? How do you know that?"
"The mark has been dealt with; we found him this morning" Five's gaze flickered over to the couch, "You were the last unknown left in the equation"
"Shit…!" Hazel breathed out a sigh of relief as his shoulders slumped back towards the floor as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Really?"
"Mmhmm…" Five hummed, gesturing for Hazel to sit down next to him and join him for a drink, "And if you're out, then the Hellrider ain't riding"
"Oh…!" Hazel chuckled almost hysterically as he accepted the offered seat. "All right"
("So unrefined!" Dolores watched on disdainfully as Hazel joined them at the bar and then proceeded to drink straight from the blender, just as she had dissuaded Five from doing only moments ago).
"So…" Hazel sighed as he came up for air, "Now what?"
"Well, to be honest, I don't know" Five admitted as he fiddled with his straw. "I've been chasing this thing for so long, that I never really thought about the day after. I just—I dunno…What about you?"
"I'm done with all of this madness; time to start over" Hazel sighed contentedly, "You should do the same"
"That's easier said than done"
"It doesn't have to be hard; I mean, think about it like this: if you had never time travelled in the first place—if you never got caught up with the Handler—what would've of happened?"
"…I guess I would have of grown up to be an emotionally stunted man-child just like everyone else around here" Five replied, sparing a glance over his shoulder at his brother who was still passed out on the floor.
"Well, there you go, now you can grow up. Good luck" Hazel blinked dumbly, not quite expecting that answer as he chuckled in reply. Patting her husband's shoulder as he made to leave, Hazel heaved another heavy and relieved sigh as he stepped over Diego and the broken glass still littering the floor.
"Hazel—!" Five called, catching his former colleague before he could disappear into the yonder, "One more thing before you go"
"Shoot?" Hazel replied, pausing in his step with a brow quirked in question.
"Which one of you is the triggerman for Detective Patch?" Five asked, almost hopefully.
"Triggerwoman" Hazel corrected as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Mm, that's too bad" Five hummed dispassionately, "Her gun could've cleared my brother's name"
"Well" Hazel plucked two pairs of firearms from his waistband and placed them on the bar at Dolores' elbow. "Today's your lucky day, amigo! Take 'em both, like I said, I'm done with this life"
Three margaritas later, Diego finally roused from his impromptu slumber with a groan and a muffled curse. ("Looks like your fratello is up" Dolores noted as the man tried to figure out where he was and what had happened.
"Good" Five hummed as he nonchalantly sipped at his cocktail and Diego jumped to his feet, "You're up. Ready for that drink, now?"
"Where is he?!" Diego demanded as he spun on his heel and looked for Hazel, who had left long ago.
"I let him go"
"You what?!"
"Now that the apocalypse is over, it's time for the fighting to stop" This didn't seem to be the answer that Diego was looking for however, as he bent to retrieve the knife embedded in the floor. "Hey! He didn't kill Patch! His partner, Cha-Cha, did!"
"So what? They were both there that night!"
"Well, this half of the partnership gave me both of their guns. Which'll clear you because the ballistics will match Patch's crime scene" Five stated, punctuating his words in the hopes that it would pierce through that thick skull of his. At the very least, Diego seemed to deflate as the reality of what was being said seemed to sink in. "Hazel came here looking for a way out; he wanted a fresh start and he just so happened to have in his possession the one thing that could our family a little good. So, it's high time to move on"
"Not a chance!" Diego growled, staring at the firearms on the counter like he was hoping for the things to spontaneously combust.
"Suit yourself" Five shrugged as he helped Dolores down from the counter and cradled her close, "But I am curious; your girlfriend, Patch, what did you like about her?"
"A lot of things" Diego turned to watch them leave.
"Like what?"
"…Cute butt, nice legs"
"Anything a little more profound than that?" Five asked, almost offended on Patch's behalf. It made Dolores' chest puff up with pride at her husband's rebuttal.
"…She believed in people, no matter how much shit and filth she saw on the streets and she always saw the good inside them" Diego amended, feeling like he was doing her a disservice for saying such vain things about her character.
"Well, I'm sure she'll be proud to know that your murder of Hazel & Cha-Cha is a way to honour her memory" Five tossed over his shoulder with a sneer as he left. Diego didn't know what to say to that, so he simply collected the last of his wayward blades and left, sparing the abandoned firearms one last dirty glare on the way out.
Just as Diego was leaving, Theodore noisily shifted in Grace's arms as he was ferried from the couch where he had spent most of the day sedated, to some hidden room deep in the basement. (The ape & the android had been particularly tight-lipped about the room downstairs, but they had been reassured that it was secure enough to keep the boy-and in turn, everyone else-safe until the time came to release him). Apparently, the hefty dosage in those cookies had either not been correctly calculated, had been diluted thanks to its delivery or because they had underestimated the durability of the Loric genetics. Either way, their plan to keep him docile throughout the following days looked to be no longer in the works. Fate was a fickle bitch that way.