Herb coming back from his little drop off didn't ease any tension between Cielo and La Resistance. Her briefcase sitting on the table was the elephant in the room. At any point it was possible for any of them to just take it and run. The desire was there. In each and every single one of them. It was so easy to run and hide from this internal war. But it was that tension and fear that bonded them. If one of these people died, then so did the whole team. They were fighting for the Commission. That should be their only thought.

A habit check of the watch. Less than 2 hours until Vanya blew up the FBI building. Her plan with Hazel was proven to be useless. Diego had a relatively good shot to save the world if he could gather his family members as well. She shook her head. She shouldn't be focusing on the apocalypse. If the nuclear war happens then she could fix that later.

"We need to take advantage of Handlebar still in her transitional period into the head position to overthrow her. She had a lot on her plate that there had to be holes somewhere in her plan."

"Alright so what's our plan?" She slightly cowered when all of the resistance members turned their attention onto her.

"First I want to hear what Grass is planning."

"M-me?"

"You banded this force of people together. I doubt it was solely to have a little hate club. You know this place and all these people's skills better than I do. I trust your decision on what to do next." More than anything, Cielo didn't trust her own. Herb was more level headed than she always pretended to be.

"W-well we, now with you, Miss Cavallone, we can get access to all of the Commission's resources without her noticing. But even though we outnumber her, she does have quite a number of forces under her control. Miss Pitts being the main one we should be concerned about."

"And she won't be happy that we just shipped away her hostage."

"Her hostage?"

"Yeah. Kraken? The man we just sent away?"

"Miss Pitts brought Number Two here?!" This was apparently an important piece of news that they didn't know.

"I thought that you were helping us because you knew?"

"No no we knew that Number 2 was here and that he didn't belong here. Getting him to safety was our goal. We didn't know that Miss Pitts brought him here as a hostage. This is no good. That means that she and the Handler are probably looking for him right now."

She didn't think about that. Getting Diego away from Lila was her biggest concern. But if their relationship was anyway more than her original guess of hostage and captor, Lila would find him again. Same with the Handler. They would follow and capture the members of the Umbrella Academy as long as they had the power to. And they had the power to now.

They all flinched when the speaker system screeched on. "Would Herb report to my office? Now."

Talk about the devil. Lila must have realized that Diego disappeared from orientation. The building's old announcement system clearly delivered the strict tone the Handler had. This was the first hole in the Handler's plans that she was acting quick to patch it up.

"Oh this is not good. They must know my involvement."

"Look, it doesn't matter. We're fine. Handlebar has bigger fish to fry at the moment. Literally and figuratively. Kraken is safe with his family. He can be a dangerous individual so it's not out of the question if you were threatened in some way. All we have to do is say that he escaped using a briefcase, not your cooperation with him. Of course, not mentioning that I was the one that found him either."

"And the surveillance?"

"I can delete that. I just need to get back to one of the rooms. She probably just wants you because even she knows how attuned to this place as I do. If you don't want to reveal your interactions with Kraken, then just say you have no idea where he is. This place is big. He's more trained than all of us in combat. Escape is not out of the question."

"Alright. Why don't a few of you go with Miss Cavallone so that it's easier to sneak her around?" A few of them volunteered, making her a bit more comfortable running back out there. "Make sure to delete any footage of yourself in the halls as well. I'll meet you guys there as soon as I talk to the Handler."

"Be careful Grass." She turned to the other members. "We should move now too. We shouldn't rush but we can't really lollygag behind. Let's go."

She resisted the usual habit of grabbing her briefcase off the desk. Though all of them could see her hand retract and shake her head. Instead it was Dot that grabbed it for her. Cielo looked at her as she handed it back to the rightful owner. A sign of trust between her and a resistance member.

"We'll take you to the surveillance room."

She took the briefcase. "Thank you for the help. I'll be in your care."


Getting to the surveillance room was easier with a group of people helping Cielo out. Each worker that surrounded her knew the members to be wary of and those that would side with them without a question. This was probably the first time that the workers looked happy to see her ever since she joined. Cielo surviving meant that there was hope for a proper coup to take place. One that didn't have a dead end for what's to happen after.

As much as they rushed her to the surveillance room to delete any footage of them running around, they didn't ignore the chance to inspire more resistance members. She was turning into a symbol of hope to those that wished for the Handler's short reign to come to an end. One they were more than happy to support.

She let the resistance members speak for her until they finally reached the surveillance room. Though she was safe in the locked room, none of them were taking the chance of a possible attack. Guarding the door both on the inside and outside as she pulled up all the footage of Herb and her running around. If they were lucky the Handler had no idea that Cielo was already back in the Commission.

"Miss Cavallone, Mister Carmichael is alive." Was the first thing Herb said once they rushed him into the room.

"Oh thank goodness! Where is he? Is he okay?"

"The Handler is keeping him as a pet. He's okay for now. He has a message though. 743. Does that mean anything to you?" She thought about it for a moment.

"Kill order 743. Mister Fish head was very keen on keeping documents orderly. If I'm remembering correctly, yeah, this was a kill order requested by the Handlebar for Five to do. 1993, two florists in East England on the grounds that they are eventually going to sell flowers to a governor that cheats and gets murdered by their affair. Their deaths apparently prevented that. In reality, this was a fake order that she forged his stamp on to. He said that her demotion was because of that order."

"You know all of this off the top of your head?"

"I will not confirm nor deny me studying Five's past orders to understand his history here better. Anyways, let's get the official document for the kill order. There has to be something that I'm missing." She opened the door only to have herself pulled back and the door shut by Dot.

"Did you forget that you are in hiding?"

"But I'm the one that has clearance to enter the room of completed kill orders that far back. And I don't think that Handlebars is going to give away any approvals any time soon."

"You're right but if memory serves correctly, you should have a key to every room in Commission, shouldn't you?"

"I mean, yes but you can't expect me to sit here and do nothing. Whatever is in that file can be of the utmost importance. We don't have time for me to watch as you all run around risking your lives."

"We're happy to do that if it means we can get this place back to it's glory."

"Yeah? But I'm not okay with glorifying useless sacrifice and trying to find replacements for workers who actually value Time."

"You say that as if we're going to die when we're only getting intel."

"You speak as if you're immortal when you're gaining intel by a fish being held hostage by someone who survived getting shot in the head. She's after me. I will be the one to fight her. Not any of you." She knew every worker in this room. None of them were fighters. And though she may not be one herself, she did know more about the Handler than the rest of them. She was mentally more prepared than any of them for the battle that is taking place.

"This shouldn't have to be between you two. You're fighting for Commission. Don't make this personal."

"Personal? I'm trying to keep you all from getting involved more than you need to be. You want to talk about making it personal? This whole situation only matters because we all personally are affected. Do not act like I'm illogical for wanting to take action immediately when everything is going to shit here and our options are close to nothing."

"Ladies, ladies, let's calm down. We're all on the same side here." Herb stepped in between them. They both slightly backed down. "What Dot is trying to say is that we need you to be safe. Getting you here in the surveillance room was dangerous enough but you were the only one that could have deleted the footage without her noticing. With your key, we don't need to risk yourself out there. If we keep having you run around the hallways, someone is going to catch you."

"I'll be safe once we get Mister fish head back and Handlebar out of Commission."

Dot stepped in front of Herb once more. "With all due respect Miss Cavallone, but he is not the main concern here. You are. Without you, well without Mister Carmichael, you are the closest thing we have to a head. Briefcase rooms are locked, the ISB is only available to selective few, and almost 55% of people have been fired or disappeared altogether. This place is in shambles that only you can fix. Mister Carmichael's safety isn't the priority over you."

She slowly shook her head. "You don't mean that Circle. Mister fish head has been the head of this place for decades- maybe even centuries. He should be the top priority. I- I'm nowhere near close to his level. You know that. You have to know that."

"He isn't here now. You are. I've studied everything apocalyptic the same as you. It's my sector of work. If anyone is going to stop the Handler, it's going to be the anomaly that ended up here despite not showing up on the radar once. You are the Commission's best bet to survive. Not Mister Carmichael. You have to know that." Everyone in the room knew this.

"Grass?" She turned to him to vouch for her.

"It's better this way Miss Cavallone." He held out his hand for her keys. Out of all of La Résistance members she did trust him the most but that didn't settle the nerves in letting him handle it. This was a message from AJ himself. She had to investigate it.

On the other hand, she knew where all of them were coming from. They have been coworkers for years. She was the one that they should be cautious around. Not the other way around. If she wanted to earn their trust, and remain safe, she had to back down to their wishes. Knowing all of this, she reluctantly gave Herb her collection of keys.

"Alright, while I get the kill order, everyone else return to their normal positions. Don't stand out and try to find others to join us. Miss Cavallone, use your briefcase with Dot to get to the basement. That's where we've set up our base of operations. You should be safe there. If worse comes to worse, and something happens to Mister Carmichael, you will have to take his place as the head."

That statement made her froze. Something happening to AJ? That was impossible. Her taking his place even more so. She was meant to be an assistant. Taking over the Commission in his place? That wasn't in any handbook he ever gave her.

Before she could continue the conversation, everyone was already assuming their positions. Dot grabbed her hand and her briefcase to take them back to the basements. It was a smart place to hide out given that there was no reason for an executive like the Handler to go down there. Even Cielo was a bit spotty on the details in its layout. She had no choice in following them if she wanted to be kept safe.

"I don't want to be Mister fish head." No one heard her whispers over their rushed footsteps out the room.


In the basement's storage was only Cielo and Dot. The latter frequently going and forth to address the gathering Résistance members. Not that Cielo was in her usual chatty mood. How could she be when everything was riding on Herb to get the kill order? Even then she couldn't ensure that this would solve everything. Unless the kill order had some sort of hidden message of what to do in the case of a fish-napping, board massacre and a coup d'etat, this was all a risky bet to be gambling on.

She checked her watch again. The consistent ticking of the second hand gave her something to focus on. It eased her. Drawing her away from all the noise just outside the door that kept her separate from the chaos.

Though she had to eventually come to terms with her circumstances when Herb came back with the kill order. He briefed over the details, the biggest one being that this was how the infamous Lila Pitts was introduced to the Temps Commission. To the Résistance members, this was the first sign of a crack in the Handler's plan. Though she wasn't the trigger person, she was there that night. If Lila knew this there was a chance to instill a small form of mistrust between the mother daughter pair.

Cielo continued to scan over the document. The celebratory feeling not reaching her the same. "We should view the scene itself on the ISB. An executive shouldn't be on the scene like this. Her goal wasn't in killing the florists. It was her daughter. I need you guys to figure out why."

"But Miss Pitts is technically a Commission worker?"

"Ah right Commission employee security policy and procedure 10.5, all employees' history, past, present, future has been erased and unable to be viewed by anyone." Cielo swore in her head at the conversation.

The ISB is the greatest technological advancement in any time period. But for anyone that's ever worked with it knows that it is the biggest invasion of privacy as well. That's why the board was always so strict about the rules around how and what workers were allowed to do with it and briefcases. The rule that they were talking about in particular was to protect employees from anyone that might take advantage of those powers.

For anyone that would risk the chance of getting fired, the rule also included a subsection. As soon as an employee gets sworn in, all their data gets erased from the ISB and records room. They were completely untraceable according to this rule. Further giving them comfort to work in the shady business that is the Temps Commission.

Problem, maybe not a problem, was that the rule was a complete cover. True, all employees at Commission had their history locked but they were not erased. Any executive or higher can easily look up any employee and anything they want on them.

Meaning Cielo could search up Lila's past but it would expose the breach in Commission contract. This one not being one she wants to expose as it was a possibility that it would make them more concerned over staying at Commission. Not that any of them would want to take her out of this room.

"Right, correct. I cannot view the daughter's past. It's been deleted. Correct. But- but! I can work around this. I can um the florists! Her parents. I can't view their deaths but I can see the circumstances. I can figure out why their daughter was so important that Handlebar did what she did. Yes, let's do that! A pencil, I need a pencil or a writing utensil, something."

A pen was handed to her. Flipping over the kill order, she began to scribble down any historical events that the members would have to look out for in the ISB. Though she couldn't actively check Lila's past without the other workers questioning privacy morals, she can see the time before she was born. She was adopted at a young age that it had to be her parents that made her special.

Anything that they needed to keep an eye out was if they should have any signs of disturbing the timeline in the future, mention of their future daughter's plans, interactions with important historical figures, if Cielo couldn't play with the ISB then she needed them to note everything. There had to be something that the Handler knew that she didn't and she wouldn't have it.

"We should give Miss Cavallone some space. Why don't you head back into the storage room and we'll stay out here to plan our next move? Once we have a bigger image as to what kill order 743 is then we'll act on that." No one argued against Herb's idea. Cielo, already, silently shuffling into the backroom to continue.

All that remained in the room was Cielo pacing and Herb. Tapping her cheek with the end of the pen, she kept re-reading the kill order. It was as she remembered. Nothing about it was pointing to why AJ would want attention onto it. Yes, it was how the Handler gained her biggest and strongest supporter but it wasn't a hole in her plan. Unless this could get Lila to turn on her own adoptive mother of 20+ years, this would all be for nothing.

"Miss Pitts' history isn't really erased, is it?" She slightly turned to see him shrugging his shoulders. "You're not that much of a liar."

She gripped the pen a bit more as she continued to write notes. "I swear that only approved individuals are able to view your and every other worker's history. I, personally, would not invade anyone's privacy like this if it was absolutely avoidable. Please don't tell the others. I only kept it a secret so that they wouldn't doubt the work they've devoted themselves to."

"I understand. That's why I had everyone else leave. If you can find out why Miss Pitts is so important, then do it. I trust you to save the Temps Commission. And I'll do anything to help."

She fully looked him over. When they first met she thought that he was nothing more than a loyal follower that only listened to the rules. Yet the loyalty wasn't to the head or to Time, it was to the Commission and the people a part of it.

"Why? Why do you care about this place so much? You are incredibly kind, smart, charismatic, and easy to talk to. You could make it anywhere, at any time of the world. Why here?"

He sat down in another chair with a sigh. "You can check my past to confirm this but before I came here, I was a boring office worker. I worked my butt off everyday to maintain my job. Only to be a low level employee that amounted to nothing. Joining the Commission, I finally saw my work leading to something. I found my place here more than anywhere else."

Herb was probably the first Commission member she ever talked to that was glad he joined. He saw not only his worth but the value in what they were all doing. He represented the best of what the Temps Commission could offer. That's why everyone trusted him to lead La Résistance.

"I'm happy that you love this place as much as you do."

"What about you then Miss Cavallone? I mean, everyone knows about how you're the strangest time anomaly we've ever witnessed with a relationship to Number Five. Not only that but you picked up on all the systems that the rest of us take years to master. You must have been a genius in your past life."

She shook her head with a small laugh. "No, not at all. I was a prosthetist and I'm far from the anomaly that people see me as. I was completely normal until I met Five. I still am normal. How did I pick up on all the systems? I think we can give that credit to Mister fish head drilling that into my head."

"Then why join in the first place?"

"My life was on the line. Literally. The last I saw of my time period, my world was burning up. Mister fish head offered me a place as an executive slash his assistant with the possibility that I could stop the 2019 apocalypse." Her answer was more depressing than his.

Herb came to the Commission to restart his life. To find purpose for his life. Cielo came because she felt that she had no other choice. Like fate was constantly taunting her to join or die doing nothing. It had been little over a year since she joined. She never once thought that Commission was a home to her. She owed a lot of gratitude to it yes; but this place was more of a ball and chain if anything. Too many expectations of some big shot she wasn't.

"But do you like it here?"

"Of course. I wouldn't be fighting for this place if I didn't." She wasn't much of a liar but she was an expert at faking a smile. If it means that Herb will be on her side, she will do whatever it takes.

"Then please find out the Handler's weakness. I believe in you." His hand on her briefcase. She understood the hint without a word more.

"With pleasure." Using her briefcase, she and Herb popped into an ISB room. Herb was quick to lock the door as Cielo began setting up everything. The two moved individually of one another without ever once bumping into each other. Though Herb had no idea how to view restricted videos, he could hear her rambles to herself on every step she needed to do and moved to each instruction.

At the final dial turn the two of them held their breath seeing the monitor come alive. Kill order 743.

Cielo had read all Five's past orders before. She studied them as if they were the equivalent to her old journals. She never got a chance to watch it happen. The desire to see his work with a first person perspective never really having a presence in her mind. The written record was enough for her.

She turned her head away from the screens that started to come to life. The Gill household in England, 1993. Instead she watched Herb's face change in horror of the scene being displayed. If what the papers were true, Five didn't solely deliver two clean shots as he normally did. He tied them up, made a mess in their home and had their loud begs for their lives fill the air. Their cries did not affect his final two shots to their backs. They had no fighting chance against Five.

What the papers also mentioned was that there was a single survivor that the Handler found and later adopted. "That's Miss Pitts?"

Cielo raised her eyes to confirm it. And though everyone knew that Lila was practically raised in the Commission, she didn't expect her to be so young. From this scene alone they could only guess that she was no older than six years old. Here she thought Five being exposed to the apocalypse at thirteen was young. This was a completely different scale to work with.

The scene paused on the Handler holding Lila in her arms. "No, this still doesn't make any sense. This is way too young to show any sign of potential to work here. Why would Handlebar go through all this effort to get a child?"

"Maybe she has an underlying maternal desire?" She didn't think to spare that theory a thought.

"There has been something special about this girl." Cielo started to play more with all the dials and wires.

They both watched as parts of Lila's life flashed backwards before their eyes. Two loving, working parents, no siblings, in a relatively safe home, there was nothing about this life that made her stand out. In a way, Cielo and Lila weren't all that different. Both were raised normally until the Commission and Five came into their lives.

Once more Cielo paused the ISB. Lila's 4th birthday party. Her child eyes shining at the small cake with the big 4 shaped candle lit in front of her. Not only did this prove her young age but Cielo was starting to see why Lila was so important.

"What is it?" Her hands curled back in fear.

"Her birthday is October 1st. And if she's turning 4 that means she was born October 1st of 1989." The date brought back many memories of her child self reading comics.

Herb didn't share the fear and she was sure that Lila would have no clue as to who she truly was. Commission had no real need to note age nor birthday. And though the Umbrella Academy was popular here, it was more of an effect that Five had and spread over his family in association. To someone who was raised in a time period where the famous Umbrella Academy was the talk of the town, that date was common knowledge.

"But that would mean that when Five killed her parents he- and- and Kraken- no all the Umbrella- oh my gosh- fuck- from the start Handlebar- oh no. We- I need to get this to the daughter."

"Would now be a bad time to mention that Miss Pitts has already seen this kill order?"

"Yes! Yes it would be!" She started to shut down the system. "We need to move now. Grass, gather up all La Résistance's members. We have to make a move today. If not, then get everyone to safety at the bare minimum. Gather them all up here in the basement."

"What about you then?"

"I have to get Mister fish head. There simply isn't more time left for us to be running around, hoping." Each time she decided to take a more cautious route, she discovers a more dangerous piece of information. She couldn't be sending people to do her work for her. If she wanted to save AJ and take back the Commission, Cielo had to risk her own life to do so. There simply was nothing else she could do.

Herb straightened himself. "Alright then. I'll leave that up to you then. I'll gather up anyone that can help us down in the basement. Please be safe though Miss Cavallone. What we said about you replacing Mister Carmichael may be talk of just in case but no one fits the description to be a new head other than you."

"You're forgetting something Grass. In order to be the head of a place like this, you have to make the tough calls. Be a bad guy to those that will never understand that sacrifice is necessary for many more. That's what it means to be a leader. If I wasn't willing to throw away Kraken to the daughter and keep the needed apocalypse, then what makes you think that I can be the head?"

"Because you are the only person here that knows that pain of being the head." He said without missing a beat. Rather than having someone random who believes in their ability to do the unknown, they needed someone that knew of their own faults. Cielo knew what it meant to be the head and could always work towards being the person they needed. It was only a matter of if she would.

"Mister fish head knows it better than I. That's why he will be the one to save this place. Not me." She left before he could say anything to rebut.

Herb didn't get it. Cielo wasn't anywhere close to what the Commission worker's painted her to be. She wasn't a natural with Time management. She knew nothing about the math and physics behind everything. Time was too complicated for someone that only came to this place to stop the apocalypse. A goal she was only getting further and further away from.