a mannequin and a boy • the umbrella academy ON HOLD

volume two, issue 8

It was the beginning of the day, a beautiful morning, when Five found Dolores's lifeless body right beside a frightened Vanya.

"What the he..." Five trailed off, looking away quickly as he blinked away his tears. His jaw clenched with the irreversible anger he felt, his hands curling into fists.

"What happened, Vanya?" Five asked the girl.

"I'm sorry, I don't-"

"What happened?!" He screamed, grabbing Vanya's shirt as he shook her. His eyes were filled with nothing but rage and pain, but Vanya's were full of confusion and loss.

"I don't even know yo-you, or- or her," she whispered, gulping as she looked away from him. He let her go harshly, standing back up straight as he wiped away the tears on his face.

Five hardly ever cried. But now, he was, as he stared at her body. The body of the woman he loved.

"She can't be dead. She was in the tape..." he murmured, then felt even more guilty. What if him coming here caused this? If he had listened to his dad and learned time travel the right way, he wouldn't have done any of this.

But they wouldn't have met if the apocalypse didn't happen, so at least one good thing happened. Except, she wouldn't be here, dead if the apocalypse didn't happen, she could've lived a normal life in the right timeline.

"C'mon, Vanya, let's go." Vanya followed Five like a lost and kicked puppy, looking back a few times as they left Dolores there.

"What happened last night?" Five asked Vanya when he saw the large crater she left in the ground.

"I don't know, really. A bunch of blonde, Swedish guys started chasing me, I guess, and then they tried to shoot me."

Five nodded, making sure to keep specific note of the men. If he ever got the chance, he will kill them, on sight. He'd kill anyone involved in her death.

( little time skip :) )

About a day and a half passed since Five found her body and he couldn't get it out of his mind. He was on a mission to get to Reginald, and currently hiding in a closet, so it wasn't the best time to be distracted.

Five had seen plenty of death in his lifetime, but Dolores was always there to comfort him, and even if she wasn't exactly animate at that time, he still found her presence to be relieving.

And now, she was officially, and finally, gone.

And it tore him apart. 

No one was there to comfort him. He hadn't even told Diego the news yet, but Diego has been trying to mention Dolores a few times. Five always shut him up.

Vanya saw her dead, too, but she didn't even remember anything. 

Five was so lost in his own thoughts and listening to the men in the room that he didn't even notice one slowly approaching the closet. He quickly teleported out of there, landing himself in the hallway. 

Five turned around to see a blonde man in a white suit, and the two immediately started fighting. Five's head was full of sadistic and vengeful thoughts, but the Swede was simply aiming to kill as part of a mission. 

With each punch he threw, Five only got more frustrated. Especially when his arms were held back. 

Five felt hands pulling his forearms behind his back and resisted the most he could, but they had a deadly grip. He looked back, but he didn't see anyone holding him back, though he definitely felt them. 

Diego was also being beat up on the other side, but Lila came up and decided to, oddly, help Five. The invisible force immediately let up and started holding her back, but with help from Five, Lila was easily able to slip out of their grasp. 

By the time the end of their fight was over and they dashed down the stairs, the invisible force was actually helping Diego. They punched one of the blonde men that had the weapon and wasn't holding back Diego, but the man immediately hit them back and right on the spot. 

Diego heard a thump on the floor and a feminine groan, and then the sound of someone crawling backwards. He quickly kicked the armed man, and handled the two men before turning back around. 

"Are you alright?" He asked the open air. No response. The force, seemingly a girl, must've fled the moment their attention was off her. 

Diego, of course, had a theory as to who it was, but considering the fact that Dolores also aided in stabbing him, it would be odd for to suddenly help him, so he ruled it out quickly. 

Back downstairs and on the yard, Five was eagerly calling after his father in Ancient Greek. 

Five noticed a trail of blood by the car, though it wasn't the same path Reginald followed. A car door opened out of the blue, no one by the door whatsoever, before it shut.

Reginald entered the car too, along with his plus-one, and they drove off, leaving Diego, Five, and Lila a confused and bleeding mess. 

authors note 

I'm really keeping y'all waiting :( sorry about that. any theories on the 'invisible force'? pretty obvious but. oh well. 

Question of the chapter: Has school started for you yet?

My answer: yes. sadly. 

thanks for reading!