Keeping track of time while living at the Commission was difficult. Days and nights don't exactly work the same 24 hours system that most were used to. There were a lot of cases where, due to the nature of the space they resigned in, days would repeat with no nights between. Other times, sunsets would go on for nearly a week for the sake of it. Snowy landscapes appeared for half a day then spring flowers for the rest. Though they technically were in 1959, they truly lived outside of time.

A habit that Cielo picked up was frequently checking her watch. It gave her some comfort that no matter what era she jumped to with AJ, she knew how long she spent there. Like some form of control in the everlasting whirlwind of changing situations. Along with counting each 24 hours that passed, she knew that it had been already been a year since she joined the Commission.

For the most part, she had grown pretty used of the place. She still very much questioned a lot of the morals of those working but she established a position that made it so her word was near top priority. Certified in the ISB, briefcase management, timeline assessment, tube communication and all other aspects of the Commission. Not many people dared to speak against her skills.

The biggest issue that came with her position? She wasn't Cielo there. She was AJ Carmichael's prized student and personal assistant that appeared out of nowhere. At first AJ was extremely strict with her interactions with workers because along with the basics, he taught her a lot of inner workings that the average worker shouldn't ever hear.

Unlike executives that slowly earned their positions and proved their loyalty, she was hired on whim for something greater. That strictness never bothered her as she was equally determined to understand everything about the way time works. No longer did the hushed whispers around her bother her. If it meant that she would learn all that she could about time, she was could deal with being an outsider.

Now with the Handler miraculously coming back to life, she had bigger issues to be dealing with than making Commission workers feel comfortable in her presence. The first thing being the annual board meeting that she was forced to attend despite her not being an official member of said board. No one could deny AJ's order after all.

Checking the time on her watch, Cielo assured herself that she would just make the meeting on time. Though it was supposed to be a great honour to attend, she figured AJ only did it so she could do some more heavy lifting in his place. At least that's what she thought as she hauled a stack of papers down the inn's hallways.

Using the back of her heel, she knocked on the meeting room door. Not waiting for a response she kicked it open and walked backwards into the room. "Sorry my hands are full and I can't carry these for mu-"

Cielo yelped, tripping over something on the floor. All the papers flew up with her falling to her butt. Looking to see what she tripped over she had to hold back a scream. Quickly jumping back onto her feet to fully assess the scene in front of her eyes.

The entire Commission board was gruesomely murdered. Someone was missing an arm. Someone was hanging from the ceiling. Everywhere she looked there was another person losing whatever remaining blood they have left. Even if she managed to call an emergency response, they wouldn't be able to do anything. They were all dead.

Looking at her watch again the board meeting was supposed to start around now. This was a targeted planned attack. An image of AJ came to mind. Searching around there was no robot body nor fish corpse in sight. Instead she found bloody footprints running out the room.

Rushing to follow them she held onto some hope that he was okay. What she was met with was AJ on his knees. Begging to be given some mercy. From the distance she could hear the panic and desperation in his voice.

"Mister fish head!" She charged head first at the assailant. The glass case keeping her boss alive shattering the moment her feet jumped off the ground.

Before Five could even react to the screaming, he was tackled from behind for the second time today. He moved to kick the person off of him when he saw a familiar face. Again.

"Cielo..." She pushed herself up a little, meeting eye to eye with him. For a moment everything stopped for them. They forgot all about the world around them and all the danger. It was just the two of them.

"Five… Oh my gosh you're alive. Is this a dream? It's been so long for me and Mister fish head wouldn't let me few any timelines that involved you and the Umbrella Academy that I couldn't see where you guys were or if you survived. How did you survive? And- and how are you here?"

"I would like to continue the conversation as well when you get off of me."

"Oh right, right! Sorry!" That way of rambling. Her hair being in a mess despite the styling meant to be clean, though it had grown longer than last he saw her. And with the green and gold watch that she brought at the department store. Uncracked. It really was her. The one he knew.

She offered him a hand up when she suddenly pulled back. Just like the fateful day in 2002. He still couldn't understand how they managed to meet in multiple time periods with little changes to their appearances. Which puts on another question to her as always. Why on Earth was she here, in this time period, at an exclusive Commission board meeting?

"Mister fish head!" She grabbed a nearby flower vase. Throwing the flowers to the side, she carefully scooped up AJ into it. "Are you okay Mister fish head? Speak to me! Oh wait you can't. Don't worry I'll get you back to Commission. Surely they have extra translators!"

She stood up to head back to the meeting room when Five blinked in front of her. Forgetting all about that ability, she flinched back. Almost tripping over AJ's robotic body. The moment they shared was gone and they were focused on their goals. Five had to get AJ and Cielo had to get AJ out of here.

"Hate to let you go after so long but I have questions for you."

Now seeing him with a clearer head, she saw all the blood covering him. "You… you killed the board, didn't you?"

He couldn't look her in the eye. She did know about his past but this wasn't to protect the timeline like she praised him for in the past. He didn't take pride in the fear she displayed nor the blood on his hands. The only thing holding his ground in front of her was the fact that he was doing it for his family.

"Why? Why did you just kill all of the board?! Are you crazy?! Don't answer that second one. Just-" she took a deep breath, "Mister fish head is the head of the board. If he survives this ordeal the Commission can recover. You can leave now and you won't be hunted down for your treason against time. But again, you need to leave."

"Yeah, can't do that without AJ. I made a deal and he's kind of a key component."

"A deal with who?"

"Though I hate her with every fiber of my being, I can't say."

"It's Handlebar, isn't it. I should have known that this was her doing. Five, you can't trust her. She's psychotic! You should know that better than anyone. She literally rose back from the dead with vengeance. What could she possibly offer you that compares to control over the Commission? Over time?"

"A briefcase that gets me and my family back to 2019. Without the apocalypse. Don't suppose that whatever position in power you have now can do that." Cielo shut her mouth.

Despite her best efforts, she couldn't promise an apocalypse free world yet. Not in the position that she was at least. She knew that it was his greatest wish to live a normal life without the fear of him or his family getting killed in doomsday but she couldn't provide it.

"I can get you back to 2019." She said quietly.

"And the apocalypse?" The entire time she spent at Commission, she never once stopped looking for a way to stop the apocalypse. One solution never presented itself. Not without a lot of sacrifice.

Now that it was changed to whatever timeline they were in, he only made it more confusing. No matter what the circumstances the apocalypse always followed them. There was nothing that she could find that would help stop it. She never even found the real cause for why it was required.

"Okay you know the rules of time better than I do! I know you want solutions after so long but this is not it."

"And you think that the Commission is? Because it appears that even the Commission can't follow the fact that my family attracts apocalypses like moths to a flame no matter the year. How long have you been there to understand their holier than thou bullshit?"

"Long enough to understand that doomsday has some reason. It doesn't mean I agree with it nor know the reason but it does exist. Does it really make sense that the Handlebar, out of everyone, could solve all of that in one go without any consequences? Without anyone noticing and trying to stop her? I can keep going about why this plan is crazy but something tells me that you don't have a lot of time to hear me out."

"Correct. Now the fish. I don't know how they trained you but I will use force if needed." The literal blood on his clothes was proof enough. She hated to admit it but he scared her.

She couldn't give AJ away. Without him, the Commission would fall under the Handler's control. Time was at stake with this decision. Looking down at the makeshift fish bowl, she made eye contact with him. He kept shaking his little fish head because he knew the same as her.

On the other hand, this was Five. He wasn't doing this out of spite. He was doing it to save his family and, as a side effect, the world. No apocalypse, going back to his timeline, besides the fact that this was a massacre, he had the best intentions. Cielo knew that. She trusted him more than anyone. Especially after she joined the Commission, she learned why he became the cranky old man he was.

"Why... why is it that we're on the same side yet you always convince yourself that I'm the enemy?" His determination wavered. It wasn't supposed to be like this. He was supposed to kill the board, grab AJ, get the briefcase and have everything over. Why did he have to choose between Cielo and his family?

"It's not like that. It was never personal. If it was I... I would never choose this option." He never thought she would be here. Be the last obstacle for him to pass.

"But you're still considering it. You haven't done the irreversible yet. Just let Mister fish head go."

"I can't do that. It has to be him. I may have taken out the whole board but it would mean nothing without him gone. His control over Commission, paired with all the knowledge in his fish brain, is too dangerous to let go."

"But if there was another that had the same access to everything he does, Handlebar would go after them too. The only reason why she's dead set on him is because the other isn't ready. She's betting on them not being ready to go on the position. But Handlebar isn't going to ride on that confidence for long. It doesn't stop here."

"Who else could possibly know what he does?"

"You're looking at her." Cielo heard the water splashing in her arms. She didn't have to look down to see her mentor rejecting this idea. If she just gave him away, she would live on to return. Giving Five this information was only risking her life in turn for his.

"You? Why you?" Her being here was proof enough that she was high up in ranks. To be a threat to the Handler didn't make sense. He knew nothing of her ranking at Commission.

"One of the many questions I had myself. You said before that somehow I was a part of something bigger. Whether it be the other me that visited you or myself, I'm still trying to figure it out." Taking a gamble, she took a step forward. "I'm also trying to find a way to stop the apocalypse. But I can't do that if Handlebar takes over. Hand me over. I have more of a fighting chance than he does. Please."

She never once lied to him. Every time she spoke, it had only the best intentions. He knew she was right. Continuing this path would drag him deeper into his demise. Still, he was desperate. They both were. They always were trying to get the other to listen. They may want the same thing, but they were too different to have the same solution.

"You can't trust whatever Handlebar has to say. Please rethink this." He sighed, dropping his weapon. He saw her grip on AJ loosen a bit as she gave a weak smile.

"I don't want to fight you. I know you have your reasons for siding with them. In 2019, you proved multiple times that you were on my side despite not fully knowing me. And I do trust you more than the Handler. You're stronger than her. If she's threatened by you then show her why. Seriously Cielo," He stood in front of her. Staring her straight in the eyes, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "But I'm sorry."

Five clearly saw the whispered words register in her mind. The way her smile dropped to be replaced with fear. It was too late. He stole AJ out of her hands and blinked away.

"Five! Mister fish head! Five!" Cielo panicked. She kept pacing in the spot; not sure of where to go.

How could he do this? Surely they could have come up with something that could have benefited both of them. He couldn't even hear her out. Nothing she said actually reached him. Her reappearance didn't change anything with his stubbornness. This was still the Five she knew though. Everything he was doing for the greater good in his own wicked ways. She hated that it took so little to betray her. Through everything, he was still the Five all alone. Shouldering it all with the image of the bad guy.

"Five you fucking asshole!"

In a fit of anger and confusion she took the wooden paddle that he dropped and threw it at the wall. She didn't have time for this. She had to get back to the Commission and warn everyone about the coup d'etat.

Cielo rushed back to the meeting room. What greeted her was the assassination scene of the board members again. This was also the Five she knew. He was a ruthless killer. The one that the Commission raised to ultimately betray them. To give him credit, if they allowed him to live without the apocalypse he wouldn't have to go this far.

Brutal, one hit kills. How many lives did he have to take to get to this level? She's seen what he did to become the legend that he was. To face it head on was something she never thought she would experience.

He made his decision. She had to do the same. If he wanted to mess with time, she had to do her role to fix it.

"I'm sorry for everyone that got involved this way. I thank you all for your service to time." She said to the bodies.

Pushing aside the corpses to the best of her ability, she unveiled a secret compartment where AJ put her personal briefcase. She never got a chance to ask him why she was the only one that got a personal briefcase. Now that chance was gone forever. To think that the fish that managed to speak and run time would be murdered so easily.

She shook her head. "He's not dead yet. She still needs him to gain control. I can save him. If I just get to them before the trade-off. Ughhh where would two time maniacs go to exchange a fish life for a briefcase? Not 2019. He's not in 2019. He's not in 2019?"

She paused to replay their short conversation. He briefly mentioned that he needed the briefcase to get back to 2019 and that his family created another apocalypse. It wasn't mainly about the apocalypse this time.

It clicked in her head. In order to escape the doomsday in 2019 he had to jump back in time. He overestimated his jump. Same as when he first discovered doomsday. He still was rough with his powers in terms of time travel. His family and him are lost in time. Cielo can find them this way.

"Assuming this is before any of them were born. Still needs to be somewhat livable. Six time anomalies though? How is it possible for Commission to not dispatch a group to dispose of them? I guess they would need the best of the best to handle the Umbrella Academy. Does that mean Handlebar sent her daughter? A risky but not impossible move from her. Five is still naturally gifted that he should be able to out her."

She felt her anger bubbling up again from complimenting him. "Stupid Five. Stupid time traveling old man. Tries it three times and fails all three. 100% fail rate. What fucking time period did he overshoot to this time?"

The first time was from 2002 to the future apocalypse state. Without any proper calculations. He was still unknowing of the timeline and was a mere child. Jumping multiple periods at once, increasing in range with every jump. The second time was in 1963 to 2019. After 40 years of constant equation revision. While it did put his mind in his young body, his calculations were near perfect. It got him to the time he wanted.

The third being this case. His overconfidence and panic in the moment, not letting him modify anything in his equation. Now, what if his only way of going reversed is by flipping the process? Use the same method with slightly adjusted numbers to go back? Like falling into a loop of 1963 to 2019, then backwards without even realizing?

"The Umbrella Academy is in 1963. Before John F. Kennedy's assassination. That should be a good enough range to work with." She set the briefcase upside-down on the blood covered table. Her nails dug into the small slits in the side to open up the bottom compartment. Not how they were designed to be opened but it works.

Briefcases were delicate works. Agents kept them close and were only taught how to use them. Briefcase management were given basic maintenance booklets and was more on distribution to members. Hardly did briefcases ever malfunction in the first place. Repair was only done in extreme events such as a young old man blowing them up.

That gave Cielo a lot of practice in learning everything about briefcases. Under close guidance from AJ, Cielo could perform what other members liked to say was like a superpower. She could use briefcases to read timeline anomalies. Plugging some of the wires into a television they were supposed to use for their meeting presentation, the screen changed to a show of blue lines moving all over.

All her hard work paid off seeing the timeline stability around November 1963. To anyone else she was only watching multiple blue lines wiggle uncontrollably on a tiny screen. To her, she could see any minuscule change to a new line that had an abrupt end to it. The apocalypse.

She found the exact day Five was in. It was only backed up when she saw another shake meaning another Commission briefcase arriving. The Handler had arrived to fetch AJ already. Getting between them wouldn't do any good. She had to get to another Umbrella Academy member to help her.

"Hmm, should I talk to Violinist? Not sure how she's doing after being a cause of the end of the world. Risky. Rumor? She was the nicer one of the bunch. Never had a real conversation with her though. I don't know if she's fully healed yet either. Seance? He is the only one with briefcase experience. Sort of. Not the power nor personality needed. That leaves either Kraken and Spaceboy. Neither have favourable terms of intelligence to understand my conditions." She sighed. "They'll have to do."

She took a deep breath as she unplugged everything. This was the first time she jumped without AJ. All she had to do was remind herself of her goal. Save AJ and the Commission then get payback on the Handler. Cielo will deal with Five later. At a time when time itself was still stable.