𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 ~ 𝗞𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀

~ Chapter Ten ~

Dusk climbed up the stairs, walking towards her bedroom. But instead, she came to a stop at the entrance to Klaus's room. Being near that room brought back so many memories of the times that they hung out as kids. As she thought about those moments, it warmed her heart to its core.

Seventeen Years Ago...

It was late at night, and everyone had been quiet ever since Five disappeared. The argument between him and Reginald at dinner replayed inside Dusk's head as she tried to sleep. She tossed and turned on her pillows, trying to silence the voices, but her attempts were unsuccessful, and she woke up panting heavily.

She laid there for a while, waiting for sleep to wash over her again. But it never came. Eventually, she gave up and quietly crept out of bed, walking down the hall towards Klaus's room. She gently knocked on the door and hoped he was still awake. A moment later, the door slowly opened, revealing a sleepy Klaus. His hair stuck up, and in the darkness, she could see small bags beginning to form under his eyes.

"I can't sleep. Can I please come in?" She asked. "Yes, of course," He answered, opening the door just enough for her to slip through. They laid down on their sides, with Klaus wrapping a delicate arm around her, resting his hand on her shoulder blade, while Dusk rested her hands on his torso. The raven softly ran them up and down, feeling the bands of muscle he had obtained from all their training. Klaus stuttered at her warm touch as she looked up at him, a questioning look on her face. He assured her it was okay, and she finally rested her hands in the center.

"I can't believe Five's gone. We may not have gotten along that well, but I still cared about him," Dusk sighed. "I know. He and Dad were always getting at each other's throats, but I never thought Five would snap," Klaus nodded in agreement. The raven scooted closer to him, he then laid on his back, and Dusk rested her head on his chest, a few inches away from his rapidly beating heart. "I'm glad I still have you and Vanya. I don't know what I would do if you left too," She whispered, tearing up at the thought of him leaving.

Number Four immediately took notice of this and began to softly stroke her hair, making her feel a little better. "Dusk, I will never leave you. I promise," He swore, bringing his free hand up to her and chin and lifting it so he could meet her eyes. The pale light of the moon shone brightly on their faces, making it easier to see. Suddenly, the door to the room opened, and revealed Reginald was standing there.

"Number Eight! Number Four! What is the meaning of this? You two are to sleep in your own rooms!" He softly hissed as not to wake the other children. "I'm sorry, Father. We were just-" "You two will not do this again! Do you understand me? Number Eight, go back to your room at once!" Reginald interrupted. Dusk quickly ran out of bed and down the hall to her room, burying her face into the pillows.

"Hello? Earth to Dusk?"

The voice of Luther brought her back to reality, and she nearly jumped back when she saw him watching her. "Are you okay?" he questioned. "Y-yeah. Just thinking about something," She nodded. "I haven't seen Five since last night. Do you know where he might be?" Dusk had never really paid attention to Five whereabouts since he came back, but now that Luther had mentioned it, she was beginning to grow worried about him.

"I know where he is!" Klaus's voice called down the hall, rushing towards them like a joyous dog. "This morning, He had a duffel bag, and he got into this cleaning van and drove off." "Where did he go?" Luther asked. Klaus shrugged his shoulders, making him become even more impatient. "Where did he go?" the Ape-man growled. "I don't know! He probably went to that Meritech building again," Klaus answered, trying to hide his fear.

"That's the prosthetic company, correct?" Dusk asked, looking over at Luther. "Yeah, it is. We need to find him and tell him about Grace. We're calling a family meeting," Luther nodded. As he walked off, Klaus and Dusk looked at each other. Without warning, they both ran down the hall in Luther's direction. 

"Hey, Apeman! We're coming with you!" 

~~~~~~~

Inside the van, Five was parked outside of the Meritech building, watching and waiting for Mr. Lance to come out so he could try to get more information about that glass eye. He had a hunch that he was lying and Five intended to find out the truth one way or another. Suddenly, ashes started coming into the van, making Five look around in confusion. He quickly slipped into a flashback from his time in the apocalypse. He got out and looked around at all the debris, wondering what had happened.

"No!" He gasped, his voice echoed throughout the burning fires. "Five!" Luther's voice brought him out of the flashback as he entered the van, Dusk and Klaus got in as well. "Are you okay?" Luther asked. "You shouldn't be. How did you find me?" Five asked, confused. Luther pointed over to the back of the van where Klaus and Dusk sat on the cramped floor, looking over at Five's mannequin wife.

Five threw an empty can at them, making them both scream. "Get out! You guys can't be here! I'm in the middle of something!" Five growled. The two of them crawled up to the front as Five continued to glare at them. "Any luck finding your one-eyed man?" Klaus asked. Luther and Dusk looked over at him, confused, wondering what in the world was he talking about. While also wondering if he had gotten high again. "What is he talking about?" she asked. "Does it matter? It's Klaus," Five sighed.

"Grace may have had something to do with Dad's death. So I need you to come back to The Academy, all right? It's important," Luther said, hoping that Five would come back with them. "It's important. You have no concept of what's important," Five muttered. "Hey! Did I ever tell you guys about the time I waxed my ass with chocolate pudding?" Klaus spoke up. This random comment made almost everybody inside the van laugh their asses off.

Dusk tried her hardest to hold it in, but the randomness of that statement made her burst out laughing. "What the hell, Klaus?" She chuckled. "It was so painful!" He chuckled, looking over at his best friend. "What are you two still doing here?" Luther asked. "What? We need an excuse to hang out with our family?" Klaus asked, slightly offended. "We were trying to have a serious conversation, and it doesn't help that you two are cracking jokes,"

Dusk looked over at him. Her eyes widened with surprise. "Screw you, Luther!" she shook her head. "You know, Luther has a point. You two should get out," Five said, looking back at the two of them. Klaus and Dusk looked over at each other and shrugged. "Fine, have it your way," She sighed, rolling her eyes as she and Klaus got out of the van.