a mannequin and a boy • the umbrella academy ON HOLD

volume one, issue 5

There was sweat dripping down Dolores's hands as she gulped, her eyes focused on the gun aimed right between her eyes. She couldn't even focus on what Five was saying to the man, as she was so deep into her own troubles. This was the first time a gun was pulled on her, after all, and it seemed like it'd be the last.

One time, there was something very close to it, a few days ago. The big man named Luther was holding the mannequin head out of the window, and that was when Dolores was still inside of it. She knew that, the moment that the doll broke apart and was crushed into tiny pieces, she'd break with it.

What was sad was that, that's what Dolores wanted. To have a sweet release from life. The world would be ending soon, but she wouldn't end with it. She was just surprised to be already in the doll form; perhaps an effect of Five's time traveling.

Dolores would never be able to handle Five growing up again, nor could she bare to see him fail at saving the world. So dying just seemed like the right way to go.

Five saved her from falling out of that window, and at that moment she made the revelation that she didn't want to die either. She'd missed so much of life, being a spirit. She'd never been kissed, never graduated high school, never went to a party. Her life was a blank canvas.

If Five succeeds at saving the world, she could do all of that and more. She needed to stay with him. And now that he could actually see her and hold a conversation with her, there was hope that she could support him through all of this. Like a good, life-long friend should.

And now that she was literally faced with death and she didn't want it, Dolores was literally panicking. She glanced over at Five, and she knew that, deep in those green eyes, he felt the exact same. Neither of them wanted this to happen.

The gun shot off. Once, twice. The bullets thrown straight at her head, and Dolores closed her eyes, waiting for impact.

It never happened.

Just like Five went right through her a few hours before, the two bullets went straight through her head and didn't leave a scratch. Dolores was so glad to have been partially in her spirit form at the time.

Five grinned, relieved also. His grin was actually genuine, too, and the happiness reached his eyes. Dolores was even happier to see that.

"Come on, we gotta go," Dolores mentioned, but there was still a smile on her face. She took Five's hand and darted for the door with him in tow, the two kids laughing as they went.

They stopped when they were far enough, catching their breath. Dolores leaned against a wall, giggling a bit too. "That was wild." She let go of Five's hand.

Then Dolores paused, thinking back a bit. She grabbed Five's hand. Which should, logically, be impossible. If those physical objects passed right through her, why didn't his hand?

"Five..." She trailed off, taking a sharp breath.

"While this is a major distraction in my goal to save the world, we should probably get this checked out, right?" Five was mainly talking to himself, having a mental conflict to himself. Dolores tilted her head, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Tell me a bit about your powers, first. More than I already know- that you can possess stuff."

"Okay." By now, Dolores was glad the effects of leaving the doll had worn off and that she could speak full sentences. "Basically, I used to be able to turn invisible all the time. I'd cause a bunch of mischief and all that yada when I was super young, before I was thirteen."

"Then I turned to my spirit form one time, to prank my mom into thinking she lost the other twin-"

"You had a twin? I thought you were born on the same day as us, with the powers?"

"I was. And so was another boy. Mom gave that one up, because she could only handle one. Handed him off to some nut job, in exchange for money for my food. That makes me sound like a bad person, but I couldn't help it, I was a baby."

"I don't think you're a bad person."

Dolores smiled at that. "Thanks, Five."

"Anyways, so, I got stuck in my spirit form. So my mom really did lose another kid. And I lost my body. I was just like a ghost, being able to barely interact with objects. Maybe I could turn a TV on, or stomp on the ground, but that was it. I could go through walls, as I wasn't physical, and gravity had no effect on me unless I wanted it to."

"So basically, you're like a ghost?"

"Yeah. A ghost. I prefer "spirit", but ghost works fine, too. And ghosts can possess stuff, which is what I did with the Dolores mannequin." Dolores sighed, signaling the end of her story.

"Anything else?" Five asked, tilting his head. Dolores shook her head.

"Not that I know of." Five nodded at that, pursing his lips, deep in thought. He seemed to be thinking about what to do, and he was slowly approaching an idea. Dolores didn't have much patience, though.

"Would visiting some sort of shrink or something work?" She asked, and Five shook his head, quieting her immediately.

"No."

"Well, what about one of your siblings? Could they help?" Dolores asked, and Five thought about that.

Number Five groaned, knowing exactly what he had to do. "Yes. I know just the sibling to talk to about ghosts. Dolores, it's time to introduce you to my dear brother Klaus."

author's note
I literally just wrote this in the last hour cause I got inspired to write. So, I never proofread it (I never do anyways sO) so it might stink. Sorry about that, y'all!!

question of the chapter: if you had to pick one character off the show you had to take out on a date, who would it be?
my answer: call me basic, but definitely Five. Mainly since he's around my physical age, but that's nothing.

also, I wonder who this twin is oo la la

anyways, thanks for reading!! until next chapter!!

June 21st edit- changed mostly dialogue!