Stake outs weren't in Five's main points of expertise. Granted it didn't take a lot of mind power to sit and watch but it wasn't in his preferred way of carrying out missions. Commission always gave him the info needed about his target including their location at all times. There was a 97.8% that they were correct. The remaining 2.2% left in the air being standard error and human free will. He was the best of the best regardless. Full day stakeouts like this weren't required.

Before letting Cielo go into Meritech Prosthetics, they went over their conditions. She had to get every file and allow him to observe her but all from a distance. If he stepped one foot into the building, the deal was off. She was handling more legal stakes than him so it was fair that he didn't make it worse. It was easier than her getting the blueprints to the building and him blinking in to ransack the place.

Problem was Lance. Five didn't see him go in but he knew the coward was in there. Thanks to his new informant, he knew of his black-market deals. If anything was going to relate to the end of the world, it was going to be an illegal eye. He'll have to deal with the boss himself.

"How does that look now?" Five handed Dolores his notebook with his revised equation. After catching her up on everything that happened last night, he had been pouring all of his energy into perfecting his equations. She didn't mind. In fact, she was more shocked to hear that he managed to get a full 7 hour amount of sleep than anything else he said.

"So that woman, Cielo, is she the same woman you met before?"

He paused before answering. "I want to believe that she's a doppelganger."

"But..."

"But I have no way of telling. Her acting is strong if she is lying. If anything, having her around seems to be useful. All she has to do is bring me the files. I'll determine if she's worth the effort in the end."

Dolores scanned him over. A smile gracing her plastic face. "You like her."

"I would never." He quickly rejected.

"No I don't mean romantically or sexually, I mean... mentally. You're interested in the way she contrasts you. You know what they say. Opposites attract. She is very different from you."

"And it's a hindrance."

"Yet you want to know more. You always were too adventurous for your own good."

"Why is it that you also know me so well?" He sneaked a kiss on the cheek. Wrapping an arm around her to check his notebook over her shoulder.

A typo. One decimal point space off cost him too much to brush off as nothing. Worst of all was that she had to point it out. Give him the solution that wasn't considered a possibility in the first place.

"There's also that." She made it clear that she was looking at his notebook. "Even though I told you that the equation looked off, she pointed out the exact cause. She's interesting to you." What she spoke of was true. Each time they interacted, he found himself getting more and more interesting into answering who she was. It was a dangerous game he was playing. Getting close to her on a casual level will lead to his own doom. He wants to believe in that. She had her own life. One that didn't need Five and his troubles in it.

"What do you think about my plan then? Is observing her 24/7 the right thing to do?"

"I think keeping her around you is good. However, your history and all the burdens that it comes with, not so much."

"Can't exactly get rid of those." What bothered him was that Dolores was implying her presence was good for him. Keeping him grounded. Pointing out his mistakes and making him see more logically in a normal standpoint. Then what about her? What good goes to her by him sticking around? Besides saving the world.

"I never said get rid of them. They're a part of you at this point. I've learned to love them, maybe she will too."

"I don't need her to love anything about me."

"Maybe not but you need more helpers than enemies. Which she ends up being is her own choice." He didn't like that wording. In the end Cielo had freewill to stop cooperating at any point. He knew too little to be able to control what she does next. Too much control could turn her against him.

Besides Dolores, he truly had no one to count on. Like she said he had more enemies than friendly faces in his life. He wasn't even sure if his family was on his side. So far Cielo didn't bring too much trouble to Five. If she really wasn't an enemy, could he actually consider her a friend?


Work went underwhelming okay. Seeing some clients, designing more limbs, organizing files, and all other things listed in the typical job description. It was what Cielo signed up for but after her eventful morning interactions, she half expected that some interdimensional government based figures to come burst through the doors to demand all glass eyes. Nothing of the sort happened.

It was kind of disappointing that today was regular. Only a few more days until the end of the world and no one knew about it. Well, it was probably better this way actually. Global panic was the last thing she wanted. But a bit more action would have been nice. Only to confirm that everything Five said was true of course.

While she didn't think his story of the apocalypse and time travelling to be fake, it was all too... science fiction. The only reason she believed it was because his family was proof that no one really understood the world around them. There was also the underlying fear that Five wasn't who he claimed to be. From her memory, number five of the Umbrella Academy disappeared. And from all she knew about Vanya, her family wasn't the most mentally stable of people.

What would years of isolation in desolation do to a child? Years of abuse from an adoptive father in a toxic household do to a person? Cielo thought that if she was in Five's shoes, she would have wanted nothing more than for the world to end. Don't even get her started on thinking about her "other self" that was going around. There were too many dead ends with this whole situation that doing all this boring office work was the last thing she wanted.

Quitting time couldn't have come faster. All she had left was to get the files Five wanted and hopefully that'll point them in some direction. She had already double checked that Lance had left before requesting copies of his records too. No one cared to question why their employee needed to see past records. There were no troubles on Cielo's side of things that related to the upcoming doomsday.

Leaving Meritech, she scanned the area for the old man child. To her first surprise of the day, Five wasn't around. She waited a few minutes before she came to terms that he was not going to show up. Monitoring her 24/7 seemed to have a changed meaning with him based on how he was feeling.

They were supposed to review what to do next together. Without Five around to discuss possible apocalypse causes, Cielo was left in the dark. The entire situation was already confusing enough. She didn't need a missing child on her hands. Was his disappearance an omen of the apocalypse? She had no idea.

She readjusted her hold on the large folder. Lance wasn't kidding when he said that eyes were popular. It would take a whole day to get through all of these and find the serial number they needed. Better to get started now while she tries to figure out where Five was.

After getting some coffee and a sandwich from a nearby cafe, Cielo headed to the public library. She considered going home since Five knew where she lived. Though it came down to being able to focus more in public then in the quietness of her home. A small fear that being alone would attract time travelling assassins like what happened at Griddy's doughnuts. Though that was only an afterthought.

Taking a whole table for herself, she began to organize all the information she had. Going off of the serial number was impossible. She only saw the number once and only remembered some of them. Even then she couldn't be certain her memory was entirely correct without the physical one in front of her. In order to narrow it down further she had to eliminate the ones it could be.

She couldn't remember the number but she knew all the characteristics. That was way easier to work with. Starting with a basic classification of eye colour. The one they were looking for was a dark brown. Very common. Next was size. They were looking for a fully grown adult. Further backed up by the fact that it was a full eye rather than a comforter for most growing children.

Though it did bother her that there was currently no data on someone getting a replacement soon within their clients. Meaning that something traumatic had to have happened to the owner that the doctor immediately placed a full eye within them. No pre-existing condition from the looks of it. The pain that this person must have gone through to remove a full eye in one go. She wondered if she should feel bad for someone that was related to doomsday.

"Was that boy drunk?" Cielo looked up from her spread of papers at the group of people gossiping loudly. It was a library, learn to be quiet.

"Can't be. He's like ten. Probably fell asleep reading too many books." She was going to ignore them until they mentioned an age. A drunk kid? Somehow she had an inkling as to what kind of child that it was.

"Did you see he had a mannequin with him? That was creepy."

"No way is it him." She whispered to herself. Quickly packing up her things, she headed in the direction they came from.

Low and behold, there he was. Five Hargreeves. Drunk to the point of huddling in the corner of a library but it was him alright. His usual clean appearance was covered in ash and sweat. Him being a complete mess both mentally and physically. Something must have happened for him to resort to this.

"You couldn't pick me up because you were getting drunk? How old man like." She crouched down to poke his cheek. "Five. Hey Five, wake up. You can't be sleeping here."

He barely worked up enough muscle to open one eye. "Oh it's you. Surprise surprise you show up again."

He raised the empty glass bottle to his lips when she snatched it out of his hands. "Don't drink this kind of shit here. Not only is it rude but it's highly questionable given your appearance. I'm cutting you off. Go home for tonight."

"I don't have a home to go back to. It blew up. Just like the fake eyeball leads. Pshhh!" He dramatically waved his arms to demonstrate what he meant. Chuckling to himself like it was a joke.

"You have a home. The Umbrella Academy ring any bells? Big gated house in the center of the city? I should hail you a taxi."

"Why go back at all? It'll be gone in a few days anyways."

"Yeah, apocalypses tend to destroy buildings, I hear. It's still your home though. You should spend the time with your family. Or at least not in a library drunk. You never know. Maybe their superpowers could help you if you let them."

He weakly shook his head. "They're dead."

"What?"

"They die. First thing I saw in the future. All of them. Corpses lying in rumble. My family all dead!" Her eyes widened as he said something so heartbreaking without any sadness. He cuddled closer with the mannequin in his arms. "Dolores was all I had. That and a fake eyeball I pried from Luther's cold dead hand."

Then she saw it. Five let out a single tear that he probably didn't know he released. Too drunk out of his mind to care who he showed his emotions to. And though he was letting loose, there was still a barrier around him. Keeping in his emotions for so long, it was like the only way she could see the true him was this way. And he still couldn't do it.

Cielo couldn't solely see him as a stuck up old man anymore. In front of her, she saw someone that was forced to grow up. Live in a time where no one could lend him a shoulder. His family died. Everything died. Five was only hurt and tried everything in his power to save those from his pain the only way he knew how. By neglecting it all. Time was meant to heal all wounds. What does that mean for people that could change decades to seconds? For a person that hated the essence of time passing?

Saving the world didn't mean anything to him. He was crying for his family.

"Oh Five, you were too young for all of this."

"I'm fifty-eight!"

"You were thirteen when you jumped." She gently caressed his cheek; wiping the tear away. How long had it been since he felt the touch of someone in a way that wasn't going to kill him. The soft hand transferred her warmth so easily. It reminded him that their lives couldn't have been more different. How tired he was. How much he wanted to just take a break from the constant impending doom.

"Don't baby me." He blamed the alcohol for making him lean into her touch.

"It's called being concerned. You were alone all that time. Saw your family dead in front of you. That and so much more. Your childhood was robbed the moment you were adopted. It's not a crime for me to want to take care of someone that needs it."

"I don't ph-tust you." He slurred out.

She sighed. "Look Five, I don't know anything about time travel or how you know me. Quite frankly all this apocalypse talk mixed with superpowers is overwhelming. Add your old man attitude, it's not very welcoming. But I want to help. This is still my planet and I can see that, despite your seemingly permanent crankiness, you sacrificed a lot. If you think that I'm important somehow, then I'll trust you. Whether you do the same is up to you. No matter where or when, I'll be your ally."

Those words. That phrase that haunted him for the past 40 years. He didn't need an ally. He didn't need anyone besides himself and Dolores. Everyone was dead. The Commission was coming to kill him after years of flawless service. His family couldn't be involved when their deaths were at risk. He didn't need anyone.

Still... Then and now, she appeared. Without the eyeball, she could be a key to it all. Was it such a coincidence that she appeared the day he jumped? That he found her the day he came back? Today? Through all these changing times, she appeared the same. Those same eyes that were plagued with weakness but confidence to support him. No matter how smart he was, he had a feeling he would never figure her out.

"Don't leave..." Five's mind blanked as he fell forward towards her.

Cielo remained still for a moment before patting him on the back of his head. "See I told you. You're holding onto too much."

She carefully readjusted him so that he would lie his sleeping head on her lap while draping his arm over Dolores. A bit of time to rest was all she could provide him during the chaos. A sleeping Five was almost harmless. Besides the mumbling of doomsday and being covered in ashes that is. It reminded her that she wasn't making a mistake in helping him. If this counts as helping.

It was hard to believe that this drunk little boy was trying to save the entire world. Since meeting him, her world has turned upside down from what a standard person should experience. Though if this was overwhelming her, she could only imagine how he was.

To be fair, she didn't understand why she wanted to help him. Maybe it was because he looked like a kid and her adult instincts told her to help him. There was logic that helping him saved the world. Ultimately though, the only real reason that she could come up with was because his presence lingered in her mind. Every time they met it was something new. Lots of questions yet given answers that only addressed half of it. She wanted to help him because Five was a strange person that had caught her attention.

In her mundane life that had seemed to follow a plan, he brought something new. A feeling of excitement that she could be something more.

Cielo let him sleep for a few hours, ignoring the weird glances coming her way. A pre-teen passed out, reeking of alcohol holding a bald mannequin was not a good look for her. In a library to add on. She tried to read to distract herself. Unfortunately, he picked a corner that only had pamphlets on library resources. The only thing around was the complicated equations he vandalised onto the walls. It was a very him-like place to sleep in.

Her fingers traced the shaky writing. Time travel in the movies was always done without all the complicated work behind it. Not that it would have been accurate in the shows. As much as she couldn't understand most of it, she recognized the years that it must have taken to study each variable and spew these out without a sound mind. Still, he made mistakes resulting in this body.

Her fingers stopped at a familiar section. It was the part she briefly read over this morning. Except this time, the decimo point was moved over. Her eyes darted to the corner. Most likely the last thing he wrote before falling asleep. The end result was different as well. He changed everything to fix his equation all in one day.

"Such amazing dedication. I wonder what time's goal is for you."

Soon enough, a gorilla sized man and a man covered with numerous knives approached her. She almost rejoiced recognizing Luther because it meant that she could finally move.

"Is he um?" Luther first asked.

"Drunk as a skunk. Who's the girl?"

"The woman has a name. You must be the last brother that I have yet to meet. Nice to finally put a face to you. Before I say anything else can you please move him? My back hurts from sitting here for so long."

"Oh right! Of course!" Luther easily took Five off of her, forcing him awake. From the look in his eyes they could see that the alcohol was still in his young body.

"Ah dumb and dumber with the so called ally. Greatttt." He squirmed in his brother's hold. Settling in an awkward position he'll feel in the morning.

"Sorry, your brother had a rough day."

"Again, who are you? Why are you getting our thirteen-year-old brother drunk? That's a criminal offense."

"Firstly, I am aware of his mental age. Secondly, I didn't offer him anything. I found him like this and made sure that no one kidnapped the poor man. I can't give you all the details but can we please talk somewhere else? A library is hardly a proper place to discuss things with an unconscious child adult." Cielo helped to move Dolores so that she was more secure as they started carrying him out.

"My place is nearby. He can crash there for the night. The Academy isn't safe for someone like him right now."

"Someone like him? Did something happen at your home?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Diego was equally suspicious of Cielo as Five was at the beginning. For good reason, she didn't find offense in.

"Cut it out dude. She's Five's friend. Sorta. What is your relationship again?" She pushed the elevator button, thinking about the least suspicious way to word everything. Ultimately it was better to tell them the truth.

"I truly don't have anything to do with him and I can't prove my innocence to you. Nor him. Yet somehow, he always reappears around me. Or in his eyes, the other way around. I don't mean to appear suspicious. I only want to help the man. But I apologize that I can't do anything more than watch him destroy himself." The brothers glanced at each in confusion as she took a step into the opened elevator doors.

"Is this some kind of ploy? Because I'm not buying it. First, our brother goes missing at the same time our house gets raided by masked killers. Next, we find him with a girl who doesn't even try to call herself his friend. You hear what's wrong with this situation?"

"I don't exactly know how you want me to respond."

"Trying to figure out an answer to get on our good side?" Diego angrily walked into the elevator just as they were starting to close. Luther quickly ran after them.

"Wow you two may not be blood related but you definitely are brothers. Though I think he has a bit more reason as I supposedly ruined his life. You're just as cranky as a Kraken."

"What does that even mean?"

"Exactly as I said. Cranky and rude but you are protecting your brother in your own weird way. I respect that. I just wish I wasn't on the bad receiving end."

"Don't mind him, Cielo. Diego has always been this way. Five too." He roughly jutted the sober brother to the side at the accusation. Not that it did much damage to him.

"You need to be less trusting. She-" pointing rudely to the only 'she' in the elevator, "said it herself. She doesn't know what she is."

"I do mean no harm though."

"You make no sense."

"Your brother implied the same thing." The elevator doors reopened. Cielo being the first one to step out. Same with Five, she had nothing to prove her innocence. All she could do was step back and let them decide what happens. She reached into her briefcase, handing them a thick folder.

Luther could barely grab it with his hands full. "What are these?"

"Files." She pulled it out of Luther's reach to give to Diego. "This is why Five wanted to meet me. Feel free to look through them yourself before he wakes up for any suspicious shit but it's just boring documents. Don't lose any of them. That's all I ask."

She could still see the suspicion in Diego's eyes as he snatched it out of her hands. Immediately taking the stack out. As she said, it was merely a collection of all the eyeballs made within the last month and those in production. Still, she didn't see the serial number that was on Five's after hours of searching. How much more time was needed until they found it if doomsday was so close?

"I'll head home for today. There's no reason for me to follow you back to your place. It'll be better for everyone this way. Five knows where to find me. Just take care of him. He's a lot weaker than he tries to present himself." This was the best resolution in her mind.

Arguing with his sibling wasn't doing anything. According to them, people were after his life again. What mattered most in the moment was getting Five somewhere he could rest for the night.

Diego tried to follow her but Luther grabbed him. She was right. There was nothing keeping her with them. And without Five, Diego was close to attacking Cielo out of pure suspicion. It was best that she wasn't with the Umbrella Academy members.


Getting back to her apartment, Cielo stood in front of Vanya's door. Would it be appropriate to tell her all that Five told her today? To tell her that her brother saw all their deaths in a first person perspective? That said brother was currently passed out drunk? Was it even her place to say it when there was a chance that she was the cause of the apocalypse that was the root of all of this?

Even after all that Five told her, she still couldn't wrap her mind around that she could end the world. The only thing she did was create a fake eye. It was her job to do such. If only she knew where this eyeball was. Then she could find some way to remove it. Destroy it before it does whatever butterfly effect it causes. Problem was, she couldn't ensure that destroying it was the safest option either.

She pulled back away from Vanya's door. She couldn't be bothering her with questions that she had no chance of answering. It wasn't like Vanya was connected to the end of the world. Last she saw, she had both of her eyes and no powers. The closest thing that associated her with doomsday was her family. Cielo didn't have a place to tell her anything.

Sighing, she went back to her home. It felt empty. Compared to the Umbrella Academy that was probably filled with people and chaos, her place was quiet. Even Five's short stay yesterday made everything lively. Their dirty dishes on the table was a reminder that they weren't roommates for even 24 hours.

"Annoying brat." She turned to hang her coat when she saw the light on her landline voicemail flashing.

Pushing to hear the message, she was surprised that it was Lance's number. Given how late it was she assumed it was her family or a scammer. No way he already caught onto her giving away patient information. Though if that happened she would have backfired with the black-market deals.

"Hey Cielo, um- fuck- oh my god- Cielo... I thought you should be the first to know, I was going to call everyone else later but um- I just got a call from the police- fire department. A few hours... Meritech caught fire... they're working on what and- we can't go in for at least a day- but they said it was bad. We..."

Lance's message started to get drowned out by Cielo's hammering heart. Meritech was burnt down? Her mind flashed to Five's clothes. How they were covered in ashes. Did he have something to do with it? She knew that he wanted to prevent the eyeball from being created but he wouldn't destroy Meritech. Would he?

She didn't know Five enough to answer that. He was headstrong that's for sure. He was also extremely dangerous. Little regard for life driven by high desire, an unpredictable combination.

Then what about the files she gave him? Did he only want them as a backup? How much of it was a lie? The Five that was crying, was that an act?

Too bad Five was drunk out of his mind at his brother's place, or else she would have stomped her way to the Umbrella Academy. Ah. So that's why Diego didn't trust her. If there was some sort of power in her to destroy the world, her confusion now would go directly to Five. She didn't understand anything that was happening.