Golden |2| The Umbrella Academy

ONE

CHAPTER ONE: NINETEEN SIXTY-THREE

Lotus Ingrid hasn't expected to survive, not when her and a group of other people grasped onto Five Hargreeves hand as they travelled through time. She had no idea what his plan was, or if she was even alive in the darkness that hugged them tightly, debating on never letting them go.

The ground was hard as she landed, sprawled out on dirty cement. A yelp escaped her lips as she opened her eyes, sun being partially blocked by dust that coated the air like a thick sheet. There was so much shouting, her ears filled with the sounds of gunfire and marching coming from close by.

"Five?" She called out over the commotion, bringing herself to her knees. She was in an alleyway, alone. When her eyes landed on the open gap between two buildings, panic filled her eyes. "What in the—"

Blue static appeared out of nowhere, a figure dropped from mid air and landed in a crouch just in front of her. The familiar figure gasped, staring out at the troops marching passed them.

"Five!" She yelled, pulling herself up. He was here and he was alive. Their eyes locked and she rushed over to him, but inside of grabbing him into a hug as he presumed, arms spread and prepared to take her in— Lotus whacked his shoulder as hard as she could, brows furrowed in confusion and anger. "What did you do!"

His eyes widened in surprise, quickly hidden with his normal expression of distaste and annoyance.

"Where's everyone else?"

"I have no idea." Lotus told him, "Are they even here— how are we going to find them?"

The sound of gunfire was overpowering, fear trickled down her spine. Five turned again, moving out towards the alley. Lotus scrambled after him as he leaped into action, scurrying up the street where a solider knelt down, holding a wounded civilian. Of the troops raging forward, one soldier fell in a sudden lump on the ground, dead.

Lotus read about war, and even seen a few movies about it and it was nothing she wanted to be apart of. All the fear and death, it stained the ground and air. Five carried on, weaving through bodies as a man yelled for them to get out of there. He crouched, she didn't bother trying to see what he was reading, she was watching out for any stray bullet that might come there way. As if she could even stop it, if something like that were to happen.

"Soviets attack the US." He looked back to her, Lotus grabbed his arm and yanked him up. He blinked, eyes staring at the sun. "What the hell did we do now?"

Lotus could hear the loud, impossible ringing of a missile before it shot out. When it did, Lotus didn't even have time to scream as both her and Five were thrown into the air in a mix of rock, blood and dust.

She hit the ground, hissing as her hands and knees stung. Five was already up in an instant, dragging her along with him. They turned up the street, she prayed they were getting out of here— wherever the hell they were.

"Holy shit." He muttered, stopping. Lotus followed his gaze, the troops weren't fighting the soviets, they were fighting the other Hargreeves children.

"Is that Vanya?" She whispered.

Vanya was floating in mid air, a blue ripple of waves cascading off of her. Her eyes shone white— in another timeline, was this what Luther was so afraid of?

On the ground Klaus marched first, both hands stretched in front of him. He wore all black, a long jacket bellowing in the wind behind him. His dark hair was long and a goatee hugged his chin. Lotus couldn't believe it, he was alive. She wanted to run to him, to hug him but this certainly was not the time. He shouted, a group of hazy blue dead soldiers appeared behind him before charging forward.