After the End

Chapter 10: The Final Leap

Five stood in the desolate silence of the post-apocalyptic world, the wind whipping through the shattered remains of what had once been a city. Xiaina's calculations were flawless. Every equation, every theory she had scribbled down in the final days had led to this moment. Her sacrifice wasn’t just for him to survive, but to find a way back—to escape this wasteland and go to where he truly belonged. He held her letter in his hand, now worn and faded from too many readings, the ink smudged from the sweat of his palms.

He was ready.

Five had tried once before, years ago, to time jump and fix everything, but it had gone horribly wrong. He’d been trapped in this future, watching the world crumble under the weight of the apocalypse. But this time was different. This time, Xiaina had given him the key. He could feel his power simmering beneath the surface, building to the point where he could almost taste it.

With a deep breath, he let the energy flow through him, focusing on the leap back—back to the world before everything had turned to dust. He had to believe that the calculations would work, that he could finally go home. The world around him shimmered, the air humming with the vibration of his power as he prepared for the jump.

Suddenly, a flash of light exploded in front of him, so bright that it cut through the darkness of the night like a blade. Five staggered back, shielding his eyes from the blinding glow. When he opened them again, he saw it—something strange, hovering in the distance. A glowing tear in the fabric of reality, a breach in time itself.

It was a loophole. And somehow, it was connected to the past.

Five squinted, his heart pounding as he recognized the object that came flying through the glowing tear—a fire extinguisher. A fire extinguisher? It bounced once on the cracked pavement before rolling to a stop near his feet. Five blinked in shock, his mind racing. This couldn’t be real. But it was. The calculations had worked.

“Klaus,” Five muttered under his breath. He knew exactly where that extinguisher had come from.

The loophole wasn’t just any anomaly—it was a link to the present, the timeline where his family still existed. Somehow, his siblings had found themselves there, on the other side, trying to figure out what it was. Klaus, being Klaus, had thrown the extinguisher into the unknown without thinking. And now, it was here, proof that the connection between their timelines was real.

Five’s pulse quickened. This was it. This was his moment.

Without a second thought, he focused all his remaining energy, harnessing the power he had left. He didn’t need any more calculations or machines. His powers were enough. All he needed to do was jump—one last jump, back through the loophole, back to his family.

He felt the familiar sensation as the world around him began to blur. The pull of space and time swirled together, and before he could catch his breath, everything shifted. The wind roared in his ears as the apocalypse fell away behind him, replaced by the crisp night air of the present.

When the jump ended, Five found himself in the garden of the Umbrella Academy. The night was still and quiet, the stars hanging above like distant beacons. His siblings were there, standing a few feet away, huddled together near the spot where the loophole had appeared. They hadn’t noticed him yet, too preoccupied with the strange occurrence.

He took a breath, a sharp feeling of relief washing over him. He had made it. He was home.

But something felt off.

Five looked down at his hands, his heart skipping a beat. His hands… they were smaller, younger. He staggered back in shock, realizing what had happened. His body had reverted—he was thirteen again.

“Shit,” he muttered under his breath, the full weight of the situation hitting him. He had made it back, but not in the form he had hoped. He was no longer the man he had been, but the boy he had once tried to leave behind.

He stood there, frozen for a moment, processing the absurdity of it all. His family was right in front of him, just a few steps away, and yet everything was different now. He was different.

His siblings were still staring at the now-vanished loophole, unaware of his presence. Five took a deep breath and stepped forward, ready to face them and the impossible task that lay ahead.

The apocalypse was coming. He had to stop it.

And this time, he wouldn’t fail.