Klaus POV

'Ah, there's our favorite family of problematic idiots.'

Two people stood in the middle of the floor, on either side of Dolores. She was tied up on a chair, guarded by them. Blindfolded, hands bound, gag in her mouth. Dolores was helpless. The two with guns wore these gosh-awful animal masks, one a lime green frog, and the other a red bird with an anatomically incorrect grin.

'Dolores!', Five yelled out, spatial jumping to her. The woman, who wore the frog mask, loaded her gun and aimed it at him.

'Back away from the girl or you're losing a leg.'

Five put his hands up, a signal that he would obey them. Dolores struggled with her restraints. Gosh, I know what that feels like.

'We can be civil about this. Nobody needs to get hurt.', Five said, looking at Dolores, then back at us. 'Just tell us what you want, and we'll comply.'

'I highly doubt that.', the man in the bird mask mumbled, causing the woman to punch him in the arm.

'Get your family over here.', the woman demanded.

We all moved slowly towards the center of the room, past piles and piles of old folded cardboard boxes, covered in cobwebs and molding.

'So bossy!', I commented. The woman pointed her gun at me, and I automatically threw my hands up.

'Where's the little girl?', the woman asked impatiently.

'Hey now, I wasn't aware that the commission ever concerned itself with children. Leave the girl out of this.', Five said. A pit formed in my stomach. I wouldn't be able to fight them off adequately if they tried to hurt my Annie. I knew Ben was right when he said I should start lifting weights.

'Send her out to the front. I just wanna know she's here.'

I nodded to Vanya.

She set her down, and Annie slowly stepped forward to the front of the pack. Luther stood behind her, his massive body towering over her, ready to kill anyone who tried harming her. Allison absentmindedly placed a hand on her stomach. I wasn't the only one with a kid to worry about in this situation.

'Hello, Annie.', the woman said, making Annie seem uncomfortable. Luther and Allison both placed a hand on her shoulder, and I made my way to the front of the pack to be with them.

'Hi.', she whispered back, clinging on to my leg as I arrived. The woman turned her head to face me.

'Klaus. It's been a while.'

'It's been a while? Did I buy drugs from you or something?'

The woman took off the mask. And then, chills went through my entire body.

'Brunhilda.'

She smiled, her high cheek bones lifting even higher in her grin.

'Hello, wunderschönen. Friedrich, take off your mask.'

He took off his mask, revealing her equally attractive twin.

'Klaus, are these the twins you were telling us about? The ones you met at the beach in Bali?', Allison questioned, still gripping onto Annie's shoulder.

'Ye-'

'Yes, indeed. Funny story really. I didn't think I'd end up pregnant when the commission sent us to Bali to keep tabs on the druggie. But, fortune's wheel keeps turning.', Brunhilda cut me off.

'You told me you were college students at the University of Munich!'

'That was obviously a massive scheme, Klaus, try to keep up.'

'Wait a minute.', Five interrupted. 'Keeping tabs on us? The commission sent agents to personally spy on one specific person?'

'That's part of the story. But the whole of it? We've been watching you since you came back from Dallas. Following you all. Stalking. Waiting.'

We all turned and looked at each other. Had we really been followed for four entire years?

'Oh, by the way, Allison, my sincerest congratulations on the baby!', Brunhilda said with fake enthusiasm, angering Allison. Luther didn't know yet.

'Allison, what does she mean?', Luther asked, turning to her with a concerned look.

She froze for just a moment, presumably overwhelmed with this whole situation, and now Brunhilda rudely adding onto it.

'I... I was going to tell you, on Christmas.'

'Tell me what?'

'Luther, I'm pregnant.'

He looked shocked, and then confused, and then happy. This shouldn't have had to happen in this situation. Allison should have gotten to tell him this in a happy moment.

'Are you serious? I... I'm going to be a dad?'

'I truly hate to break up this heartfelt little moment, but this isn't what we came here for. So shut up.', Brunhilda so rudely interjected.

'Hey, you're a lot nicer when you're drunk!'

'And you're a lot more attractive with shorter hair.'

I self consciously grabbed my braid at the back of my neck, stroking the end of it with my fingers.

'Forget all this. Why on earth would the commission be watching us so closely?', Five asked, anger broiling in his eyes. 'And why has Dolores been brought into it?'

'Well, see, when you stopped yet another apocalypse, that really ticked them off. They were angry with you after the first, but the second? You were done. After that, they decided it would be in the best interest of the timeline to eliminate you all. So each and every one of you has had an agent on your trail for the past four years, waiting for opportunity to strike.'

Five shook his head. 'Unbelievable.'

'And Dolores? What about her?'

'You saw what she did to that apartment building. We couldn't let her get too close to you all. She's only adding to your force. So we've been watching you two, since the day you met.'

'Wait, Dolores has powers?', Diego asked, extremely surprised.

'She's one of us. Her parents wiped her memory as a child. Dad helped.' , Five explained.

Sounds like him. He did it to Vanya, why not other kids?

'And now, we're going to kill all of you.', Brunhilda said, readying her gun. Friedrich stood to her side, following her lead.

'Good luck with that.', Five said, loud and clear.

'Starting with this one.'

And before any of us had time to react, there was a bullet in Dolores' head, and her body went limp.

And then, all hell broke loose.

Five screamed in anger, running at Brunhilda, spatial jumping past flying bullets. We all charged the two of them, the fight ensuing.

From further back in the warehouse, ten or twelve more assassins came running out, all wielding guns and opening fire as the whole room seemed to move in slow motion.

I conjured Ben, who came out wielding his monstrous tentacles, ready to fight.

A bullet came flying at my face, and I dodged it, running towards Annie to get her out of the way.

Five spatial jumped onto the back of one of the assassins, holding them down as Diego threw a knife, landing it right into the warm flesh of the man's neck and dropping him cold.

Five POV

That woman would DIE. They were all going to die.

I spatial jumped to my side, taking a gun from one of the assassins and quickly shooting him in the head, busting his brains out and spattering me with blood.

Allison was working to my right, Luther behind her with his arms wrapped around Friedrich's neck, attempting to suffocate him. Vanya harnessed the sound of all the gunfire, creating a blast of energy so powerful that it straight up blew the insides out of one woman, who had been shooting solely at her the entire time.

Ben lifted two of the assassins into the air, shaking them until they were so concussed they couldn't remain conscious.

'I heard a rumor you shot yourself in the chest.' And they did.

But then, Brunhilda grabbed Allison from behind, holding a gun to her stomach. This stopped Luther in his tracks, and he released Friedrich. Allison looked petrified.

'I heard a rumor that you-'

'Cut that crap out, lady!'

'Let her go!'

'Stop all this fighting, and I won't absolutely blow up your baby, Luther.'

'Guys! Stop!'

The gunfire ceased for a tense moment as Brunhilda kept the gun pointed touching directly onto Allison's small bump.

'We can negotiate something.'

Brunhilda stood motionless, unchanging. Allison's eyes were frozen with fear.

'No the heck we can't!', I said, using this moment to rip a gun away from one of the assassins, taking out the final three backups in one go. 'Give this up. It's over for you two now. All you backup is gone.'

Brunhilda considered for a moment.

'You make a good point.', she said, smiling. 'If only you were correct.'

From the back, ten more assassins came running in.

Guess we had more fighting to do.

I shot Brunhilda's hand, being careful to miss Allison. She fell to the ground, then I saw her get up, but in the flurry of all the people and gunfire, I lost sight of her. I looked around as I fought them off, cracking necks as Luther and Diego took care of another four, yet I couldn't see her anywhere. Her brother, either. As if they'd vanished out of thin air. Crap.

Vanya had stolen a gun, and shot a man in the chest, rapid fire. He fell quick.

Allison had grabbed hold of a smaller woman, strangling her, and with a concise flick of the wrist, broken her neck.

Ben lifted three of them in the air, slamming them against the warehouse walls, sending blood pouring down like they'd been painted red.

And the final one, a woman with blonde hair, threw herself down on the ground, kicked her gun away from her, and surrendered.

'Spare me! I didn't want to do this!'

'Yeah? Give me one good reason I shouldn't slit your throat.', Diego said, approaching her and twiddling a knife in his fingers.

'Diego. We don't kill the surrendered.', Luther said, grabbing his shoulder.

I ran to Dolores' limp body, jumping past the blonde girl. Her face and clothes were all drenched in her own hot blood. I groaned in agony.

'Somebody get Annie! Fast!', I yelled out, remembering what she could do.

Klaus and Allison went frantically looking around for Annie. They came up empty.

'I can't find her anywhere! She's gone!', Klaus said, distress in his voice as he ran around with his palms on the back of his head.

And then, a draft swung the back warehouse door open. It had been opened. I got up, running to see who had exited it.

Brunhilda ran through the lot, past abandoned parked semi trucks, and in her arms, she carried Annie like her life depended on it.

'Somebody throw me a gun!'

Luther kicked me one across the room, and I picked it up, seeing if it was loaded. I put the sights up to my eye, adjusting my aim on the running woman's head. But before I could shoot, she dropped dead, a bullet going through her head.

I looked behind me to see who had shot.

It was Klaus. He'd shot the mother of his child.

'Nobody takes my Annie.'

I spatial jumped out to the child, picking her up and then jumping back to Dolores.

'C'mon, Annie, just like we practiced. Right hand on Dolores. C'mon.'

'I don't want to touch her!', she yelled.

'Annie, hand on Dolores, now!', Klaus shouted. This was the first time I'd ever heard him get stern with her. She immediately obeyed.

After a moment, Annie fell to the ground, just as expected. I stared into Dolores' face, waiting in agonizing anticipation.

And nothing happened.

'C'mon!'

I grabbed Annie's limp hand, pressing it down onto Dolores' thigh. Still nothing.

'Dolores, c'mon! Wake up!'

I pressed the child's hand down again. Nothing, and more nothing.

'COME ON!', I yelled out, in terrible pain. I grabbed her face, patting it, just willing her to wake up and come back to me. She didn't.

I threw myself onto her blood soaked body, burying my face in her shoulder. I'd never felt pain like this before.

I felt a hand touch my shoulder, gently.

'Five...'

'Get off me.'

'Five. You have to consider the possibility that sometimes ... it might be too late for Annie's powers to fix anything.'

'No! No, Allison! I won't accept that!', I said, jolting my head up to scream at her. I saw tears well in her eyes. And for one of the rare times in my life, a hot tear fell uncontrollably down my face and onto my shirt.

'Everybody just get out of here!'

'Five...'

'I said get OUT!'

They slowly shuffled away, through the warehouse, out the door we came in from, until it was just me and Dolores' body. She was cold now. Pale. Practically every drop of blood in her body had drained out all over the floor, from the looks of it.

Screw life. Screw this all. Screw the world. Screw love.

The one time I really fell in love. The one person I would undoubtedly sacrifice my life for. And now she laid cold in my arms, dead, not coming back to me, even with the help of super human powers. What kind of sick joke was this?

Her curls were matted down with blood, which was beginning to dry and crust. Her beautiful, portrait worthy face was drooped down, painted red, as peaceful as if she were sleeping.

And for the first time ever, I truly allowed myself to cry.

I broke down, totally and completely. Hot tears ran down my face like water droplets on a car windshield in the rain. It was over.

This beautiful thing we had was over. A bullet in the head. A single chunk of lead, and the person you love is stolen from you in a matter of seconds. A single bullet. That's all it takes to end it all.

To my right, there was a pistol laying on the floor, slathered in blood as was everything else, left over from the fight. I picked it up, checking the chamber, and there was a single bullet left inside.

I breathed in shakily as I gritted my teeth together.

I lifted the gun to my head, letting the barrel rest upon the skin of my forehead.

I didn't want it without her.

I didn't want any of it without my Dory.

I put my finger on the trigger.

Silence.

Waiting.

'If you don't put that dang gun down, I'll shoot you myself.'

I looked up, hearing the voice. Was I dead? Had I done it?

'Dory?'

'Five.'

'Dory!'

I threw myself onto her, knocking the chair she was strapped to back onto the ground. I kissed her, not minding the blood stretched down her face, not minding anything at all. I broke away, and then she pulled me back.

'You were gone.'

'Hush, I'm back now.'

And we kissed again, one of my salty tears dripping down onto her face, smearing the blood around.

I grasped one of Diego's knives, untying her body from the chair, freeing her to wrap her arms around me, just as it should be. And we didn't let each other go. I would never let her go again.

'Dory.'

'I'm here, Five.'

I broke away from the kiss, looking her in the eyes.

'I'm never letting you out of my sight again.'

'That's okay with me.'

We kissed yet again, in the most relieving and emotional moment of my life.

'Dory. Dory I can't. I can't ever lose you like that again. You can't do that to me.'

'I won't. I'll never leave your side again.'

I clung to her, and she clung to me just as tight. Neither of us minded that we were sopping wet with blood, her hair sprawled out all over us and getting tangled up.

I stared her deeply in the eyes, mine releasing another tear.

'Dory, I need you to do something for me.'

'Anything.', she said, closing her eyes.

'Marry me. Marry me, and we'll never part. Marry me, and I'll keep you safe for the rest of your very long life.'

She smiled, pulling me back in.

'Of course.'