Five pushed Lila against the bricked wall. He leaned against it and pushed Lila further into his kiss. Their hands fought each other and Five rolled his eyes at their competitiveness. Nothing changed about them. They were still surviving in these subway walls and wanted to use each other as crutches. Even paper was lighter when held by two people.
Lila kissed him harder, now that she knew what Five's face looked like when she didn't. It made her hungry and powerful with the knowledge she had an effect like that to someone else. So far in life, she'd been replaceable. Another cog in the machine or a machine built for someone else's dreams. Sometimes she felt like a baby machine, born to give birth and take after her kids. To keep a husband satisfied. She loved her children though. There was nothing like their smiles and their giggles when she did voices reading a book. Grace liked her sandwiches in the shape of dinosaurs and the twins were just beginning to walk. When she was fighting with Five as they got lost through the subways and went on weeks barely talking to each other, she pretended to read a book to her kids. On rare occasions, they had found children books, and she had been secretly hiding a small stack in her backpack. She ended up sobbing most of the time, but it ensured she would fall asleep.
Lila did not want the kiss to end. She held on to Five tighter, more desperate to remember that everything would be fine if they were together. Five pulled away right before she went in to reach for more. She pouted and linked her hands together behind his neck. Five couldn't resist and pecked the lower lip that jutted out. He kissed it again, just for luck. And once more, just because. "You know, there are people to save and worlds to stop from ending."
"It can all wait, can't it?" Lila gave him the eyes Five couldn't resist. Five noticed that she leaned into her accent more and his knees buckled just a little. He pretended to shift his weight.
"I don't think I'll rest until I fulfill that promise to you. I told you, one day, I'll tell you we're safe and I'll mean it." He pressed a kiss to her forehead and pulled away from the wall. He slid his hand from the wall to her shoulder, all the way to her hand. He tugged her around the corner and opened the door for her. She slid in and thanked him and was reminded of the 30 Fives that filled the atmosphere of the restaurant.
Diego had now covered his half-eaten sandwich with another empty plate, removing all access to Luther. He knew he was being petty but did not want to stop the distraction from everything that was happening. He presented Luther with the finger which Luther shot one right back at him and said "Look, I have two," then proceeded to show him.
Klaus and Allison, like the duo they are, found scrap paper and pens to visualize the plan. The other Five snickered at the goofy drawing of Luther Klaus was doodling. He stopped at Viktor's question and snapped his head up at him.
"What if it's us? What if we're the ones causing everything?" Everyone looked at Viktor and couldn't believe he had asked the one thing everyone was afraid to ask. Five shared a long and knowing look with the other Five. This question had been looming over Five's mind for a while now but was still in the 'denial' phase.
"Like I said, half a million tries. 500,000 worlds! Dead! And in the center, there's you idiots." Five smirked at all of them and twinkled his eyes at Diego. He reached for the steak knife on the table, but Luther grabbed his forearm before he could grab it. Five felt a sting on his jaw and his bruise started to bother him more as he talked.
"We don't actually know that. You and your myopic perspective can fuck off. This must work. This will work." Five said, pissed now. He didn't care how many tries he got, how many sacrifices of his own life he had to burn through. If there was one timeline out there, where he could be home with his family, with Lila, damn it, he was going to find it. For the first time in his life, he had a dream that mattered. No more blood, no more axes. Just strawberries and coffee.
"It seems that, yet another Five, has decided to try and save the world." Other Five announced to the restaurant and brought on a few chuckles. Brisket Five looked at Lila and looked hopeful, more wistful. "Alright! Everyone! Follow me." Brisket Five yelled towards their table. He tucked the towel on his apron and slid the spice rack inside the wall. There was door wedged between the bar and the counter, with a brass knob that was turning gold. "Traffic has slowed down in the last decade but go ahead." He twisted the knob and pushed it in. He blindly reached in to flicker the lights on and returned to his briskets. Five immediately shot out of his chair with Lila hot behind him and lead his family into the room that was lit with fluorescent lighting, filled with old library tables, and lamps. Five lovingly touched the green shade that covered the warm light. He always loved those.
The first thing Lila noticed was the size of the room. It seemed to be at least three times the size of the restaurant. It had 20 shelves of books, some ripped in half, some singed. The library tables sat in the middle of all of this, with two lamps on each side. There were ladders on both sides of the walls, papers taped, stapled, and stabbed by various weapons along the wall and in every free inch of space. One wall was dedicated to the subway system and a manic handwriting of Five was sprawled along every station. The multidimensional subway station map was flat against the long stretch of the wall. It was connected by various colors of yarn and tact that contained notes, photos, newspaper articles, and drawings. In the lower corner, Lila saw the drawing of Australia that Five had drawn on their first day and it felt like a far-away distant dream she'd forgotten. She smiled and looked one station over and said, "This is ours." She pointed at a small yellow dot and Klaus picked up a sticky note, drew a star, and stuck it on the dot.
Five was vaguely reading through all the notes and articles, trying to gather his thoughts and pool his data. It didn't take long for Five to start scribbling graphs and equations to figure out his time travel. Everyone seemed to get the memo and split off into small groups to read through books, research, and tentatively admiring the craziness of the map. They'd gather in the middle table to discuss new findings and Server Five came in to drop off a pot of hot coffee with seven stacked cups. He slammed the cups down, glared, and left without a word. Five eagerly poured it into a cup and handed it to Lila first. She smiled and took it, taking a big gulp and closing her eyes to savor it.
Five finally poured himself a cup and took several gulps only to return to the board. They stayed up all night scavenging through the room for any more clues or vital information. At one point, Lila couldn't take the stuffy air anymore and got up to leave the room shutting the door behind her.
It clicked shut, barely disturbing the others, and before the door fully closed, she got a glimpse of Five with chalk on his face, scribbling away a new equation. She smiled a little and finally turned around to a room full of Five. It had been hours that she'd forgotten where she was and who she was. Brisket Five and Server Five were working diligently with their aprons and a few patrons were leaving together out the main door. Brisket Five noticed Lila and gave her a nod acknowledging her presence. "Anything you need?" he asked.
"Could I have a cup of water?" Lila asked and felt her throat aching for it. Brisket Five reached above the slicer and grabbed a cup, filled it with water using the sink, and handed it to her. She delightfully grabbed it and finished it, walked over to the sink to fill it up again. She was half turned, one hand underneath the tap and the other tucked her hair behind her ear. "So... where are you from?"
"Honestly, I don't remember it much anymore," he shrugged and wrapped his arm around himself. "Mine was the Robin Academy, same family, about the same mishaps. I met you by the end of it all and it kind of triggered the apocalypse. Yeah, we survived in an apocalypse together. Not the subway system, but we ended up surviving together. Um... we fought a lot, and we fought to barely stay alive, but The Handler deemed you the problem when our world ended." He noticed all the imperfections in his shoes that he had never seen before. "She made me work for her for a bit, but you know I always find a way out." He finally looked up at her and showed her his dimples. The water was overflowing in her hands, and he reached past her to turn it off.
"I used the case to find this subway system and found this abandoned diner. I fixed it up and gave it a name: Max's Restaurant." He looked at the neon sign and smiled. "Five's seemed too on the nose so I kinda gave myself that name. Most people here just call me Max if we're close." He smiled at her fondly. He looked overjoyed to finally tell her, and Lila wondered how many times he might have dreamed of this.
"Why Max?" Lila was awed at the story and wondered why since they had found this place.
"In the other timeline, I found my birth certificate. It's in one of the shelves... somewhere. Maximus Callaghan, born 5lbs 2oz, mother: Efa Callaghan." He leaned on the counter and looked proud to tell her. "So made it into this whole thing," he waved his arms around, "and it took about 3 years for the first Five to show up." He gestured towards Server Five.
"So, who did the map?" Lila asked as things started to click for her. This was a haven for the lost and broken Fives who could not find their way home. Where do you go once your home disappears?
"Um... that was year 7? I think?" He turned towards Server Five who nodded in agreement. "He was sort of crazy. Manic Five was his nickname. He lost you in the subway system and was trying to find you when he found this place. It took him like 6 full months to create all of that and another year to finish it. We didn't see him after that so he either found you or he died. Who knows!" He said it so cheerfully, that Lila threw him an odd look. Brisket Five looked glad that she'd changed the subject and didn't ask for more details.
"Ever since then, people have been coming in and out to just drop shit off." He continued and walked his way back to the coffee machine to start a fresh pot. "I've been here, what, 30 years now?"
"30?! Wow." Lila gasped.
"Time goes by fast, huh? I think the last time the whole family came around looking to save it was in year 10. That was fun." He said fondly as he snapped the coffee machine shut and turned it on again.
Lila had to take a few more gulps of water to process everything that was happening. When she felt her anxiety subside a little, she said "In your universe, did we love each other too?" She was genuinely curious now how many Fives here were glad to see her alive. Brisket Five, Max, turned away from her and was unnecessarily wiping the spotless counter.
"I loved her. I don't know about her though. I never got to find out." Max refused to show his face, but Lila heard the twinge at the end.
"I promise you; she loved you," Lila said back, looking at the floor. She turned to back him to dump the rest of the water down the drain and watched it swirl into the sink. "She's probably in the next life cursing herself that she never told you. I promise you..." She finally turned around to see Max had turned around as well with the rag gripped into his hand so tight, it was turning white, "she loved you."
Max was tearing up now and remembered what it felt like. He had done such a good job shoving everything down and covering it under a rug that he hadn't thought about her in decades. Then she had to walk into his restaurant. His voice trembled now and said, "I wish she would have known my name."
Lila set down her cup in the sink and smiled at him. The smell of fresh coffee made her relax her shoulders and wondered how many versions of her had loved the infinite versions of Five. "I'm so glad I got to love you in so many timelines, Max." She crinkled her nose and smiled at him, and he slowly broke into a smile that pushed his tears over his eyes and down his face.
"It's so good to see you, Lila," Max whispered, and something in her broke. Lila cut the moment by heading back towards the door where she heard her family, now yelling at each other in full volume.
"I need to go break up this party now." She turned around and opened the door but was knocked down by the sheer volume of Klaus' "Let go! Let go! It's MINE!" while tugging at a book. Diego was on the other end of the book, low-kicking Klaus' legs.
Lila shut the door and whistled loudly. "Oi, BOYS. Stop trying to kill each other when the world is ending! A waste of energy, don't you think?" She pulled the book out of both of their grasp and closed it shut. "Opposite corners. Now." and glared at both, giving them her signature mom glare. They picked up new books like nothing happened and Allison and Viktor shook their heads at them. Lila headed towards Five and slid an arm on his back to pull him closer. With her other free hand, she wiped the chalk off his face and replaced it with a kiss. Five was pleasantly surprised by the kiss and looked at her in surprise. He realized no one was paying them attention and quickly kissed her lips. Electricity shot through him and relished in the feeling. He looked at her fondly and Lila saw his eyes soften and eyebrows melt away from each other framing his face. She pushed a portion of his shaggy hair behind his ear and let her hand caress his cheeks to travel down to clasp her hands together around his waist. He kissed her forehead and returned to the scribbling and the eyebrows furrowed together again as he tapped on the board. She watched him work for a bit, refusing to let go of his waist, and admired his mind. She grew bored and started rustling around the board for an interesting book or a box.
Soon, most of the family had found odd places to sleep. Klaus was using a big stack of books as a pillow and found some old newspapers as a blanket while Viktor used Klaus's legs as a pillow. Luther and Allison had fallen asleep on a large book with their heads almost touching and arms curled underneath their heads. Diego was in the other corner with a book over his eyes, on the floor with his legs kicked up on a chair. Lila was on a small loveseat wedged between the board and the many bookshelves. She looked peaceful with a book clutched under her arms and soundly sleeping. Five noticed this when he stepped back after squaring off the answer and drew two lines to signify its end. The exhaustion suddenly hit him, and his shoulders and arms went limp from the hours of writing upright. He still heard the bustling diner outside the door and slowly took the book underneath Lila's arms to put it on the nearest shelf, shoving it haphazardly. He slid in and curled towards her. She leaned closer until her head met his chest and was back to softly snoring. He smiled against her hair and let the darkness take him.
Five and Lila snapped up together when they heard the door open. Their survival mode still hardwired and as they tried to stand up, they instead fell on the floor. They had tangled each other's legs in their sleep and tripped on each other. Lila heard Max laugh a thick laugh as he picked up all the mugs and the empty coffee pot on the table. His laugh woke up Luther and Allison. They both groaned and regretted falling asleep in such an uncomfortable position. They cracked their backs and necks and yawned out a stretch.
"I thought you guys were still working. My bad." Max said smiling, still humored from Lila trying to untangle from Five. Klaus and Viktor had woken up next from Max's comment. Diego didn't budge as he softly snored on. Max had stacked the cups back up and left as he closed the door with his foot. As Luther stretched out his limbs and walked around to feel his legs again, he noticed something sparkle at him and peeped in a box. It looked old and beaten, stained with water and specks of dirt, and it laid underneath some books at the bottom of a bookshelf. Curious, he pulled it out from the shelf and placed it on the table. "Guys, I found something."
As Luther loudly dropped the box, Diego shot up, surprised, and caught the book falling from his face. He got up to stretch his arms out and joined the table. The box contained various objects, one caught everyone's eye. It was a small blue vial that glowed the same shimmery texture as the Marigold. It held in what looked like a Victorian era medicine bottle shut with a wax seal. It sloshed and Five picked it up. There was nothing inscribed on it and set it down on the table carefully. He unpacked a notebook with RH on the cover with its gold shedding. One object looked like an alien bomb and the rest seemed like scrap metal.
Luther immediately reached for the notebook and flipped through it. It was their Dad's handwriting but instead wrote a strange version of the Umbrella academy. He wrote of his children and his disappointments. He reached the last entry which contained a drop of blood, smeared ink, and a very panicked handwriting. It read like a will.
I'd be reminisce to say I've done no wrong. I'd knowingly spread an alien chemical, the Marigold, into the world, in hopes of saving it. But it seems as though, I was terribly wrong. My death has become inevitable due to my own decision and now my children must endure the consequences. Aren't we paying the debts of our forefathers? The synthesis of this alien chemical was a mistake, to say the least and its counterpart, the Durango, has created world-altering events that could not, cannot, be contained. I leave this in hopes that one day it will be used. It is the recipe and sample of a 'vaccine.' Using its strain against its own, I've created a synthesis of its opposite. It is aimed to neutralize the Durango without altering the host's body chemistry. I'd hoped to create it in time to save the girl, but I am limited by the science of my time. My children, I'm sorry. I hope in my next lifetime, I'll learn to love you as you are.
When Luther finished reading, everyone was thinking of another lifetime where they were so loved it was normal. Five broke the tension when he picked up the blue bottle. The answer to the Jennifer problem and Ben's reaction. An end to the end of the world. Five set it back down, grabbed Lila's hand just to squeeze it, and headed back to the chalkboard.