a mannequin and a boy • the umbrella academy ON HOLD

volume two, issue 6

Five could drive, but no one would let him. Strangely similar to Dolores's situation, but at least Dolores wasn't being driven to her dad's house. Mainly because she didn't have a dad, but that was another issue in itself.

"'D.S Umbrella'. This is it," Diego read, shutting the driver's door loudly. 

It was pretty late to be meeting your dad who doesn't know you exist yet, but Five appeared calm nevertheless, his hands in his pockets as they usually were.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, fine."

Five led the way to the door of the building. "Just..." He trailed off, peering inside the doors. 

"How long has it been since you've seen the old man?" Diego asked, working on breaking in as fast as his hands would work. 

"Forty-five years."

"That's a trip."

"No kidding. You know, when I was stuck out there in the apocalypse, there wasn't a day that went by where I didn't hear his voice in my head." There was a somber look in Five's eyes as they gazed into the building almost longingly. 

"What was he saying?" 

"'I told you so'." Five answered sadly, haunted by the memories of being alone. If he didn't create Dolores, although she did end up being real, he would've gone more insane than he already had. 

He needed to find her. As each day passed, he longed more and more to be by her side again, and that footage only made him want it more. 

He especially wanted to make sure his dad didn't get to her before he could. 

Little did he know, he was too late for that. 

"Well, if Dad's here, he's never met you before, so he can't say 'I told you so'." 

"I'm sure he'll find a way." Five appreciated the attempt Diego made to try to comfort him. 

Five sighed, teleporting himself behind the door to open it for Diego only after he gave up at watching Diego fumble with the locks. 

"Right. Gotta remember that," Diego mentioned, clearing his throat as he walked in.

The inside was just as ominous as the outside, eerily dark and quiet with nothing but the sound of lively crickets. 

Five tried to turn on a lamp but it flickered out faster than it turned off, leaving the two in pretty much complete darkness. 

"Guess Dad wasn't much for home decor." 

"Feels more like a front," Five commented as he observed one of the only chairs in the room.

"A front for what?" 

"I don't know." 

Every second only added more fear to the creepy scene already, but Five wouldn't let it get to him. 

"Well, I'll take the left. Yell if you, uh... get in trouble." The two adoptive siblings separated by taking two different doors. 

Five took the left and wen faced by a long hallway, he started going through doors left and right. None of the rooms made sense, and as he entered one final room, he felt like he was being watched. 

He crept to the darkest corner where he saw the outline  of an animal, one that he was oh so familiar with. 

Pogo. Except, it wasn't quite Pogo, but more of the same animal, with a different personality. This Pogo was an animal not the humanized version of a creature that practically raised the children. 

But before Five could do anything about it, Pogo had slashed his cheek right with his claws before jumping through the stained glass wall. 

"Diego!" He shouted, before a hand clamped over his mouth. He immediately teleported to behind the person, only to find that there was no one there. 

"That's... weird," he mentioned, holding his cheek. "DIEG-" Once again, he was cut off by the same hand, but he grabbed their wrist this time. He started twisting until he found that the hand disappeared. 

"Sorry about this, Five." Five didn't have time to process who owned that voice when all he saw was black and a faint glimpse of someone holding a crowbar, standing over his limp body as he faded into unconsciousness. 

Diego, meanwhile, arrived in a secluded area of the building. There he was met with a strange figure, one straight out of a comic book in the 30's. 

The two immediately began fighting, but little did Diego know, it wasn't just the two of them in that room. 

Because lurking, not in the shadows but in the broad and open air, was the same girl who just knocked Five out. The same girl that knew she had to do the same to Diego. The same girl who just met Reginald Hargreeves earlier that day. 

"Impressive," Diego noted when the man dodged his knife, and Dolores tried to step in, but Reginald motioned for her to wait. 

Diego was brought to his knees, taken aback once he finally realized who the man he was fighting was. "Dad."

"Amateur," Reginald replied, and Dolores gasped when she saw him stab Diego. She let her guard and her powers down, running to his side. 

"You said- you said we'd only knock him out," Dolores spat, glaring at Reginald. Reginald shook his head, using the knife that was stained with Diego's blood to lift her chin up. 

"You, child. I'm not done with you. Come," he insisted, beginning to walk away and leave Diego to bleed.

"No! I need to stay with him!"

"Unless you have a wish for your secret to be exposed, and to be stuck here forever, you will join me. Or, I can expose you," Reginald threatened, turning around only to see if she'd follow. 

Dolores wiped a tear from her cheek, looking away from Diego as she nodded. She stood and began to follow the ominous man, her heart struck with distraught and sadness. Things were better this way, she assumed. But she was wrong. 

author's note

I love this chapter tbh, my writing may not have been the best but I'm not mad I like the idea. 

Question of the chapter: if you could've been one of the children born on the same day, what would be your power?

My answer: it would be cool to be able to cancel out people's powers, or heal people, I guess!

thanks for reading!!