The Umbrella Academy: The End

Late Night Visitors

Composed, tired, and hungry, Five climbed into his bedroom.

"About time," a voice sounded from his bed.

"Klaus, what do you want?" His brother was notorious for prowling around at night. Ben said it came from the nightmares about spirits and ghosts.

"Be quiet." Ben was there too. "If Dad catches us out..." Ben made a low moaning sound. Of all the kids, Ben kept his head down the most, never making waves. And that would be the death of him, literally.

Five snapped on the flashlight from the store. "Evening, guys." He put the device down to give them some light without spotlighting anyone. "How can I help?"

"You can tell us what the fuck happened to you?" Klaus's eyes glowed in the dim light.

Ben huddled next to him, elbowing Klaus at his use of foul language.

Five understood. Another way to rebel. And Klaus, more than him, was the renegade in the family.

"I will." Five sat on the floor by the light, looking at his two brothers perched on his bed. "I gotta let the heat with Dad die down for a few days."

"Did you really go to the future?" Ben asked, his discomfort clear despite the lack of light.

"Yeah. A little." Five's plan included talking to everyone at once. Two at a time would take forever. "Look, there're some items I need to sort out before we talk."

"I knew it." Klaus stood and pushed past Five. "I knew you were hiding stuff." He headed for the wardrobe.

Five flashed in front of him.

Klaus stumbled backward, falling on his ass.

"I'm not hiding actual anything," Five said, "I learned somethings, but we have to be together for this."

Klaus didn't move from his prone position, merely folded his arms. "I wanna know what you know, man. You shouldn't hold out on us. Right, Ben?"

"Uh," Ben scrubbed his neck. "It's not a good idea to know too much about our future. It might mess up stuff." He glanced from Five to Klaus, back to Five.

Actually, Five wanted to screw with everything. Avoid Armageddon and save his family and all of humanity. His older self said the apocalypse would be averted with younger Five home. But he still had to deal with his siblings.

Not tonight, though. He was beat. And the couple of hours in his own bed didn't satisfy his sleep debt.

Klaus laughed, bouncing to his feet. "Fuck things up? He already did by leaving. Now talk."

"Tomorrow night, maybe. We should get out of the house. Too many eyes and ears here."

Klaus clapped him on the back hard, causing Five to stumble forward. "There's the sneaky bastard I know. Okay, mums the word. Come on, Ben."

Five watched them go with a hint of a smile on his lips. He'd missed that. Missed Klaus's easy acceptance and Ben's worry and reluctance. He wanted to preserve them as they were here—safe, sound, and innocent.

Thank God, Klaus wasn't nosy and didn't rifle through the closet.

Five hoped to keep the book secret for now. And the envelope. Five worried what might be inside.

Part of him considered burning it. The book was enough to scare him into saving his family and acting like the leader they needed. No more competition, no more being an arrogant ass, even though he was smarter than the other six.

It didn't matter.

Not one bit.

He waited until both his brothers' doors closed before he went to the wardrobe. Time for a better hiding spot.

He found the apocalypse clothes over the loose board, surprised Mom left them crumpled in the closet. He pried up the wood and stuck his hand in the hole.

Nothing.

The cache was empty.

He grabbed the flashlight and searched the hiding spot and the entire closet. Nothing.

Shit.

He rummaged through the clothes. They'd been right here, hadn't they?

Nothing, except a scrap of paper with a crude knife drawn on it.

Diego.