CLOUD TO GROUND ☂︎ FIVE HARGREEVES

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ANAGNORISIS
Playback Operation

☂︎ ☂︎ ☂︎

"Now what?" Luther questioned, rubbing at the back of his head.

"Now nothing, Luther! Make your peace with God." Five yelled in frustration.

"That can't just be it, we still have time to stop it." Hypatia pointed out, more optimistic than she'd expected herself to be.

"Time to do what? We don't even have another plan. This one was handed to us on a silver platter." Five complained, fists clenching at his sides.

"What? What about Allison and Vanya?" Luther argued.

"Screw them both, alright?" Five stubbornly said. "They should have been here."

Klaus rolled onto his side with a groan, clutching at his stomach. "What about Diego? He's quite a responsible young man, no?"

"Something must've happened to them." Luther nodded.

Five stormed over to the dumpster, kicking it hard, channeling his frustration into the stinking plastic bin. "Screw Diego! Screw everybody! I was better off on my own in the apocalypse."

"Wow." Hypatia crossed her arms. Five's bad mood was infectious.

"Five! Come on." Luther scolded.

But Five wasn't having it, storming over to his brother and turning his wrath towards him. "You know what, Luther? It's every sibling for himself now. How 'bout that?" He pushed through the door at the end of the alley with finality, cutting the conversation short.

"Did Five just get meaner?" Klaus whined, having managed to right himself into a sitting position.

"Give him some space to cool off." Hypatia recommended, pushing herself to her feet. She would lie if she said she wasn't a little bitter, and she could certainly hold a grudge when she wanted to, but one of them had to be mature.

"Yeah, he'll be fine." Luther agreed before facing his remaining brother. "Klaus, go check on Allison, okay? Make sure she's okay. Find the others and we'll meet back here. Hypatia, you come with me to handle Five."

"Yeah, 'cause I have nothing better to do." She went back to sulking, but after a moment of thought she begrudgingly realized, "I don't."

Following Luther through the door to Elliot's apartment with a sigh, Hypatia spotted Five already halfway up the stairs.

"Hey!" Luther eagerly called out. "Five, doomsday is still coming. We gotta think of a new plan."

"Don't you get it, Luther?" He snapped without even turning around. "It's over, all right? We're already dead."

Luther shared a glance with Hypatia before quickly following Five up the stairs. "Then where are you going?"

"I'm going to do the unthinkable." Five solemnly resolved.

"Which would be...?" Hypatia prompted.

"I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this." Five sighed, entirely ignoring her question.

"Come to what, Five?" Luther asked in growing confusion as his older brother ducked into Elliot's bedroom. "Five."