The Umbrella Academy: The End

The Plan

"So, what's the plan?" Diego stood in Five's doorway, knife in hand. Diego tended to wander during homework time. Klaus usually napped.

Five pushed away the physics text. The subject was old hack. He could do the problems in his sleep. For an hour, he pretended to study hard and scribble the answers to scarily, easy problems. Was Dad testing him? Probably. Everything was a test. Playing stupid made sense.

He pulled his notes out from under the book. "We need to talk. All seven of us. It's time for a trip to Griddy's." Five flapped his notes at Diego.

Raising an eyebrow, Diego stepping to the room and closed the door behind him. He plopped on the bed. "All seven of us out at once? Nice. We haven't gone in a while." He scrubbed his chin. "And Dad is watching you." He gave Five a pointed look.

Five's shoulders dropped. "Yeah, I know. If I tell you all at once, it'll save time. There's too much." He stood and paced the room. "Easier to convince you all at once."

Diego shook his head. "Maybe for some of us. You know as well as I do, Luther will be the toughest to convince. And where Luther goes, Allison follows. Me and Ben and Klaus are easy. And Vanya practically worships you. So..." Diego waved a hand in the air.

Five stopped pacing.

Time to start.

And begin with Diego and Vanya.

In her book, Vanya described how Diego's rejection hurt her deeply. Diego was already morphing into the bitter man Old Five described. Vanya's airing the family secrets would eat at Diego over the years. He didn't take criticism well, mostly because Dad constantly berated him.

Five appealed to that. "Worship? More like, she's my friend because I don't treat her as an outsider."

Diego sat up. "What is that supposed to m...mean?" The stutter always showed Diego's stress or discomfort.

Five sat next to Diego. "We treat her differently because she doesn't have powers. Dad purposely leaves her out, isolates her. But we don't have to. We can be her brothers whether or not she has powers."

Diego frowned and stared down at his shoes. "It's not our fault Dad leaves her out. She could get hurt or... worse." And there was Diego's soft spot.

Five promised himself never to tell Diego about Ben. Thank God, his brother hadn't read that part. Losing a sibling would be tough on Diego, especially someone he'd think he needed to protect.

Like Vanya.

Like Ben.

Five now knew exactly how to get Diego all in.

"Yeah, I get it. When we raid the fridge or go to Griddy's, we include her. We listen to her play the violin. We study with her." Five shrugged. "We don't have to take her on missions."

Diego continued to study his shoes, his brow furrowed. "I guess you have a point." He bit his lip a couple of times. "But no danger, okay?"

"Never." Five meant it. He would not spill about Vanya's powers yet, but they had to ensure she could handle them later on.

"Can we wait to sneak out?" Diego stood and headed to the door, knowing a closed door invited trouble. "I think we should wait."

"I understand where you're coming from. But we need to do this sooner than later. I saw some things." Five adjusted his shoulders before they ended up by his ears as the image of his siblings dead in the rubble rose in his mind.

"Then we go late. One am. It's always a good time to head out."

Five hooked a thumb toward his window, and Diego nodded.

"You got the best room."

Five grinned.

They didn't have to split the list. Five knew Diego would drag Klaus and Ben. He'd tackle Luther and Allison. Vanya would be happy just to be asked.

He waited a few minutes, in case Diego wandered the halls, recruiting. Luther hated interruptions during study times, but Five could handle him. He had the perfect bait.

He dug the opened envelope from under his mattress and headed to Luther's room.