Time's on Fire

Cinque

☂︎ THIRD PERSON POV ☂︎

"Oh, there are worse things that can happen."

"You mean like what happened to Ben?" Vanya asked.

"Was it bad?" Five countered.

The two nodded.

Thunder rumbled outside, the very sound echoing through the academy. Rain fell, the droplets slipping down a plaque that read the resting place of Ben Hargreeves.

Luther gathered his siblings, as well as Pogo and Grace, together, leading them outside.

Many held umbrellas.

Except for Luther, Diego, and Serafina.

Luther held the urn that contained Reginald's ashes while Diego couldn't be bothered to hold anything other than his knives. Serafina thought his presence reminded her of a wet cat as she glanced at him, rain hitting her head and wetting her shoulders.

"You'll catch a cold like that, you know?" Five stated, staring at her from under his black umbrella.

Serafina rolled her eyes. "I think I'll live."

Five sighed. Silently, he slipped a hand around her waist, resting his palm against her hip as he pulled her close to his side.

"Did something happen?" Grace asked, interrupting Serafina's chance to say anything.

The Hargreeves siblings turned to her, their expressions collectively confused as they looked upon the robot.

"Dad died, remember?" Allison asked.

"Oh." Grace frowned. "Yes, of course."

Serafina's brows furrowed. "Is Mom okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, she's fine," Diego assured her. "She just needs to rest. You know, recharge."

"Whenever you're ready, dear boy." Pogo nodded to Luther. He opened the urn, tilting the ashes out. They fell in a steady stream down onto the leaf-covered ground, forming a gray pile on the rain-stained cement.

"Probably would have been better with some wind," Luther mumbled; rain pelting his coat.

Allison looked down at her shoes.

"Does anyone wish to speak?" Pogo asked.

No one said anything.

"Very well." Pogo swallowed. "In all regards, Sir Reginald Hargreeves made me what I am today. For that alone, I shall forever be in his debt. He was my master... and my friend, and I shall miss him very much."

Serafina mulled over the chimp's words, the rain rolling off of Five's umbrella ghosting her shoulder as the droplets fell.

"He leaves behind a complicated legacy-"

"He was a monster."

Klaus laughed at Diego's interruption.

"He was a bad person and a worse father. The world's better off without him." He spoke, glaring at Reginald's pile of ashes.

"Diego," Allison warned.