look alive, sunshine | umbrella academy [ 2 ]

12 | BALL OF LIGHTNING !

klaus gasped as he came back to life, the world spinning around him until he felt himself fall onto something - or someone, a thud ringing out as he did.

"let's just turn down the volume a smidge, shall we?" he groaned. "matilda?" he called, dragging the name.

"here," matilda announced her presence and raised her arm above her head. she startled a yelp out of stanley as she sat on the elevator floor, eyes squeezed shut, while diego simply turned towards her.

"celestial comedown is a bitch!" klaus exclaimed as he attempted to stand up, only to be completely disoriented and hit the opposing wall that he slid down until he was on the floor next to his twin.

"that menudo was heavenly," matilda humored, klaus' chuckle sounding slurred. "i told you."

"oh, you scared the shit out of me, klaus. i thought you were dead!" diego shouted as he crouched to the twins' level.

"about that..." matilda trailed off into a cluster of laughter.

"yeah, i thought we were dead too." he, too, began to laugh almost maniacally as his shaking hand hovered over the wound where the spear went right through his chest and out of his back.

then, he began to weep as he looked down at the wound. "me too, me too," he repeated.

"diego, you alright?" matilda slurred out.

"oh, yeah." he sniffed. "just glad that you're both still alive. come on, let's get that carpet off of you." he stood up and held a hand out for klaus to take as matilda had begun helping herself up, holding onto the edges of the elevator walls' designs.

klaus eventually grabbed diego's hand and pulled himself up, almost pulling diego back down as he struggled and continued to groan, unwrapping himself from the carpet with diego's help.

"stan, you good?" matilda checked on the seemingly stunned boy. he took his eyes off klaus and looked at matilda, slowly nodding with a hint of uncertainty.

the elevator soon sounded, announcing that they had arrived at their desired floor.

klaus leaned against the wall as the doors opened, holding onto it until he got too far from the elevator with matilda walking beside him.

"oh, woah, woah, woah. dude, slow down," diego called as he and stanley followed the twins out. "you were dead, like, three minutes ago. like, dead-dead, alright?"

"well, we're back, it's apparently a thing we do."

"a thing we've done fifty-seven times," matilda added, diego's eyes widening.

"yeah, who knew, right?" klaus chuckled. "and look, look."

he looked down at the wound on his chest, feeling the skin tighten and itch as he showed it off. "it's already healing, i don't even need matilda's help with it."

"what would happen if we were to cut off your head? would it grow two of you?" stanley wondered out loud as diego examined the healing wound.

"stan," diego called in a scolding tone.

"i couldn't tolerate that," matilda chimed.

"would it?" diego asked klaus before matilda spoke again.

"would you be like a cockroach - did you know cockroaches can live up to a week without a head?" diego stared at her until a beat passed and he turned to klaus again.

"would you?" he questioned while klaus rolled his eyes and pushed him aside to make his way towards the bar where everyone else was.

"hey. long time no see," matilda quipped as she sat in one of the empty seats.