𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 ~ 𝗞𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀

~ Chapter Fifteen ~

"He's still here. This is Five's van!" Luther said as he, Dusk, and Diego reached the cleaning van still parked in front of the Meritech building. "He's not in here!" the raven said, poking her head out when she finished looking inside the driver and passenger seats. "But I did find this," She held out Vanya's book, and the two men looked at her with confusion. "Why does Five have her book? What does that have to do with him being here?" Diego asked. "Look inside, Dumbo," Dusk sighed exasperatedly.

Diego flipped through the pages and saw the stamp of the nearby public library on the first page. "I think I know where Five is," Diego said. "Well, let's get going!" Dusk said, hopping out of the van. Firetrucks howled and sped down the street, and they glanced over to see that the Meritech building was engulfed in flames. "Holy shit, what happened?" Luther asked. "I don't know. But it's not good," Diego said as the three of them rushed over to the library, hoping to find Five safe and sound.

"Let's split up," Dusk suggested once they finally made it inside the library and began searching the different floors. But with each one that went checked, there was no luck in finding him. "Anything yet?" Diego asked. "Nope," She shook her head. Diego and Luther started talking to each other, and Dusk tried to block out the things they were saying. The only reason why she came with them was that she was searching for Klaus and trying to make sure he was okay after last night's debacle.

"Where are his parents?" One of the librarians said, walking past the three of them in a rush. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the reflection of a certain pair of black shoes in one of the windows. She rushed over to find Five leaning against a stone pillar with equations all over the walls. His face was covered in ashes, and he held his mannequin Delores, in one arm, and a bottle of alcohol in his other hand, rolling onto the floor.

"Numbnuts! Come look at this!" She called out to Luther and Diego. When they caught the sight of their brother, Diego held back a snicker as he smelled the alcohol coming from his clothes. "Is he?" Luther trailed off after catching the whiff of the liquor. "Drunk as a skunk," Diego nodded. "So, what do we do about him?" Luther asked. Dusk sighed and bent down next to Five, picking him up in her arms as he squirmed and groaned. "Don't touch me, motherfucker..." He said before dozing off again.

"We get him someplace safe," Dusk sighed. The three of them walked out of the building, Dusk still holding her brother tightly. He eventually woke up again and started rambling nonsense as the three sober siblings thought of a safe place to hide him from the intruders. "Well, we can't go back to the house. It's not secure. Those psychopaths could come back at any moment," Luther said, ruling one option out. "We can go to my place. It's closer, and no one will find him there," Diego suggested.

"What were you still doing out there? Did you ever find your guy?" Dusk whispered. The only response Five gave was a burp in her face. "If you vomit on me, I swear to god, I will make Apeman carry you," she said firmly, keeping an eye out for Klaus in case he was nearby. "Looking for your junkie?" Five slurred. "He's not my junkie. I'm just worried about him," Dusk denied as she continued to look around. "Heh. You two were making goo-goo eyes to each other when you were kids. We all saw it!"

"You know what else is funny? I'm going through puberty twice! I drank that whole bottle, didn't I? That's what you do when the world you love goes bye-bye. Poof, it's gone," Five rambled. "Two masked intruders attacked the academy last night," Luther explained when Five asked what he and Diego were talking about. "They were looking for you. So, I need you to focus. What do they want?" Diego added.