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@thenightmareofyourdrems asked: why are you here? ~ lila

"Because I can't be at home right now." Five doesn't like to make a habit of blinking into her apartment. But it's easier than dealing with the idiots he calls a family when they're on their peak idiotic bullshit. He's tired of having to be the braincell that keeps them from dying. "I swear, if I didn't do everything to save their lives I'd abandon them all in a fucking field and let them figure it all out."

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"with how fucked we all made the timelines honestly it very well could be our birthdays. you tend to ignore the inconsistencies with dates after a while." a trick to avoid the spins taught to every commission agent. something five had actually needed after he started time travelling for a living. he groans under his breath. "i'd be a scorpio for sure."

"welcome to time travel. it fucks everything up." and yet he is the one cursed to be able to do it. while he has not actively jumped through time he has worked on the rewinding effect to make sure the idiots he calls family don't walk into traffic or get murdered again. "you're the second oldest now. you can lord it over luther."

of course five has been hiding the good stuff. with everyone trying to take away his one vice that quiets everything he has taken to hiding everything. decades of stockpiling in the apocalypse had made him excellent at making sure he had what he needed at all times. journals. possibly experiments by their father. further children with gifts who weren't sold at the first opportunity. his need to know everything roaring to life.

"show me first, then you'll get your wine." not all of it and certainly not the best wine in the house but better than the swill that currently sat in the bar.

"i didn't say happy birthday, i said happy un-birthday. as in, its not our birthday yet, but i will drink like it is," he explains to five. immediately, klaus' thoughts turn like a confused hamster going backwards on the running wheel. "do you think it's weird that we're all libras? i think i should be an aquarius!" he declares. "five, you can be a scorpio. or maybe a sagittarius."

for a moment, klaus seems to be thinking about which signs best fit each of the siblings, and then he pauses to chug his horrific looking drink. "it's weird that you're older and younger then all of us. we aren't the same ages anymore."

"five! you've been hiding good wine all along from me? that's mean," he says with a pout, as if he's already forgotten dad's secret room. he sighs after a moment. "the room is filled with books - journals, maybe. i was bored immediately. i'll take you, five, but you better keep your promise for wine."

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leave it to klaus to not take the idea of five dying well. honestly, he should have been prepared for this. but some part of him still remembers the glares and insults that followed his return and he'd honestly thought some of them would be happy about it. the mansion might be a hell for them all but it's much better than the alternative. god knows with his track record he'd probably end up back in an apocalypse if he had been sent to the right place.

"i didn't ask for your opinion. or for your presence." five rolls his eyes. "neither of those things would be my idea of a good time, klaus. and i died in this body so i assume this is how i am eternally now. a final fuck you for missing one decimal point in my time dilation projections." he however hasn't avoided all vices. the whiskey he's been nursing while musing burns as he tosses it back.

"next time?" his voice turns incredulous and he regards his brother. "one, i don't know if you even can bring someone back to life. luther doesn't count, dad reset the world. second, viktor will already be crying, it's viktor. third, luther would have said something boring mere moments after you apparently decided to come here and four...Why would I agree to come back to life?"

death isn't what five expected. instead of some nothingness or the gates of hell he finds himself in the mansion. but not one changed by their actions throughout the timeline. no, the mansion of his childhood. here, he can watch his siblings as he remembered them. but instead of trauma and training they were acting like actual children. playing games and being a family. all he wanted.

it is nice. calming. that is until klaus appears and crashes into the table. "how come even when i die you still find a way to break something of mine?"

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It is hard to agree he hasn't just murdered a man when his body apparently knows how to perfectly disarm and execute someone without even breaking a sweat. It's insane. Ben is insane. Edward is regretting even agreeing to all this. But he hadn't been able to let the other die. Some part of him agreed even if the rational part is giving very strong objections.

"You better. Because right now I feel like I'm in the middle of a mental fucking breakdown." The boy can feel the headache pounding behind his eyes. The call of the medication that apparently might be doing something to him. He also thinks about if this is how it goes in their supposed family the crazy guy with the curly hair claiming they were related will probably turn up again.

It is a good point. Edward thinks back to the various operations and medical procedures he's had since waking up in hospital. "No injections from what I remember but I don't know how long I was actually unconscious if the coma isn't real. But if I was chipped surely we'd already have been found by now?"

"Murder? What you did just now is self-defense. Oh, and saving my life. It's all about perspective, brother."

Like any other individual who had any chance of a mundane youth taken away from them, Ben's outlook towards pacifism and violence was skewed. Since they were children who knew how to fight back if their life depended on it, then there would be no hesitation to take action- like what Five did just now.

Voices in his head? And I thought I was crazy for taking on this alone. Obviously, it was concerning. He had a couple of theories already, but it was something to mull over once they reached their destination. "The first part, I can totally catch you up to speed when we get there. The latter, though? First time I've heard of it. Maybe it's something we can find out about together."

As they were nearing a certain location, Ben stopped to turn around and gave Five a once-over. "Are you sure you don't have any tracking devices on you? Have you had recent injections that tell you are for your own good?" He trusted his own brother, but he didn't want everything to be all for naught if they would just end up get caught by their tyrant (and asshole extraordinaire) of a father.

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So the Depression been kicking my ass of late. I'm either too tired, super sad, no energy or so overstimulated I wanna scream. I'm trying to be here I promise but my brain is mush rn. Sorry everyone.

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Edward, what do you think of these people who claim to be your family?

"Well I can't say I find them comforting. Would you if six random crazy people kept claiming you're in your fifties when you look like a teenager? It's impressive the commitment to their ideals but rather idiotic to think I'd fall for it."

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He had killed a man. It hadn't even been difficult. His body moving as if he had done this over and over until it became mundane. Edward isn't sure if he is going insane or been activated like some sleeper agent. It's terrifying.

You did the right thing. You had to protect your brother.

The kinder voice is soothing but it also further reinforces his idea that he's going crazy. Perhaps going off his meds and running off with a guy who had ambushed him in a library might have been a stupid idea. But he's not able to back out now.

Not easily, anyway.

"Who trains children to murder people?!" His voice pitches upwards and he wants to scream. Wants to run for the hills or his father. Wanted answers that were not designed to placate him. He wanted to fucking remember.

He follows, still in shock. "When we get there you need to tell me everything. Like how I somehow managed to assassinate someone and also why I keep hearing voices in my head."

Will it be torture to a guy who hardly wants anything to do with people most of the time? You betcha. But as always, Ben only had the best intentions in mind. While he did make up things on the spot more than he would like, his impulse was brought on with the primary goal to get the family back together. He lost them twice, and he didn't want the third time to ever see the light of day.

He expected a whole firing squad, but still felt something was off-until he witnessed everything go down before him. His eyes widened in surprise; not at the guard, but at what Five pulled off just now. At first, Ben was worried that Five's (or at the moment, Edward) mental state would be affected by what would be his first murder. Judging by how he let the gun fall off his hand, it might be a likely scenario.

He picked up the arsenal as a useful (but temporary) means of self-defense. He didn't expect to hold one in this lifetime, though without powers, this was for the best. As far as Ben knew, Reginald could already be cooking up a scheme to get his son back no matter what. Perhaps Ben did his siblings a disservice by acting on his own. Then again, they didn't know he was even among them. He figured there was nothing like a two-in-one surprise for them, at the very least.

"Don't beat yourself up about it," Ben said first and foremost, placing a hand on Five's shoulder. "Let's just say we were trained to do that. Seems like muscle memory did both of us a favor. More importantly, thanks for saving me." He couldn't help but feel happy that even now, even with Five's memories altered, he still had the family's back. That was what Reginald in this timeline clearly underestimated between the siblings. "As soon as we disappear from Reginald's radar, I'll treat you to this donut shop I always go to. Come on, I don't want to keep you imagining where we'd go to."

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"They very rarely follow me anywhere. I can barely get them to do what I want so you don't need to worry about them." Five wants to do something and at least Wednesday seemed to have some intelligence to her. And a knack for the macabre that he can admire.

He rolls his eyes. "No one will come looking for me. Unlike you, my family actively avoid looking for me if they can help it. Apparently making them save the world makes them hate you, go figure."

"I literally can teleport and follow you. Save us both the trouble."

@equationsoff : have you so little faith in me?

“ not you . ” wednesday spends a moment keeping focus on her task ― she's preparing some sort of trap , one that's meant to merely hold its captive in a confined space rather than harm them . “ it's your family i have issue with . all from hearsay , of course , but i'd rather not fail due to their involvement . ”

once she confirms everything properly set into place , she stands upright and turns to five . “ . . . take no offense . i try not to include my own family or friends as well . if yours is anything like mine , then i can't risk more people coming to look for either of us . ”

“ so no , i will not tell you where i'm going or what i plan to do . ”

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Be back tomorrow!

HIATUSSSSS!

Basically been wiped from getting used to new job and now going on holiday to my fiancee's sister's wedding so will be missing for most of this month. But when I get back I am committing to actually writing more frequently

Be back on the 26th!

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HIATUSSSSS!

Basically been wiped from getting used to new job and now going on holiday to my fiancee's sister's wedding so will be missing for most of this month. But when I get back I am committing to actually writing more frequently

Be back on the 26th!

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HIATUSSSSS!

Basically been wiped from getting used to new job and now going on holiday to my fiancee's sister's wedding so will be missing for most of this month. But when I get back I am committing to actually writing more frequently

Be back on the 26th!

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HIATUSSSSS!

Basically been wiped from getting used to new job and now going on holiday to my fiancee's sister's wedding so will be missing for most of this month. But when I get back I am committing to actually writing more frequently

Be back on the 26th!

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HIATUSSSSS!

Basically been wiped from getting used to new job and now going on holiday to my fiancee's sister's wedding so will be missing for most of this month. But when I get back I am committing to actually writing more frequently

Be back on the 26th!

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HIATUSSSSS!

Basically been wiped from getting used to new job and now going on holiday to my fiancee's sister's wedding so will be missing for most of this month. But when I get back I am committing to actually writing more frequently

Be back on the 26th!

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"Because stay at home mom chic is all the rage right now." Lila really is going the wrong way to get him to agree to something. Then she mentions babysitting and he rolls his eyes. "And you called me because? I'm horrible with kids. They're loud and idiotic." But he also doted on the ones that came from his family. Don't read into it.

❝ It's not that, although I do have strong opinions about wearing knee-high socks. ❞ Lila knew he was back in his old body again but come on, he wasn't born wearing those socks. They were a choice. ❝ I need you to babysit for me. For us. Diego and me. We're trying to have a date night and I really need for this to work.❞ If they didn't do a bit of rekindling now, their marriage was going to end horribly.

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"Neither of you have lived what most would consider a white picket fence life. Trying to do so feels wrong because you have no frame of reaction for it. It's the round peg in the square hole. If you keep trying to force it you'll end up detonating. You both need danger. I didn't join the CIA for the kicks. I can't live without it either." Five hated it. The commission and his father having burned into him a need to keep moving. Add in forty-five years of being in constant motion towards a goal having none didn't work.

He gives her a gentle smile. "You're not a stay at home Mom, Lila. You're trying to be but that romance novel bullshit isn't working. So don't be. You two probably could rekindle the batman-esc vigilante work he did in the original timeline. Stop pretending to be normal and be who you are."

It touched her a lot to think that Diego had been so head over heels in love with her . . . and made her feel like absolute shit how they felt about each other now. It felt like they were just trying to make it work because they had fought hard to do just that in the first place. They'd made it out of a few apocalypses and got to play house. Which one of them resented the other more for it? Diego for taking a job he hated and not bothering to hide how miserable he was, or her for being a bored housewife who wanted to seek a thrill anywhere but home, or in the bedroom for that matter? If they got back to their timeline, something had to change. Even if it meant she and Diego weren't together. They couldn't go on the way they were now.

❝ I think that's the issue, ❞ she admitted out loud, time standing still despite the chaos outside as it felt like there was so much chaos within. ❝ Everything feels too normal and neither of us can stand it. I love our family. I love our kids. We're just missing something and I don't know what it is or how to fix it. ❞ She loved Diego. She didn't want to lose him. Scary thing, wasn't it? Being in love. Afraid to lose someone you depended on.

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It's like fighting with Diego. Easy. "And love me she did. Right up until I snapped her neck. Well, technically she was a different version of my mother but still. Semantics. You getting to a point or we going to continue insulting each other like the child I am and the child you aspire to be?"

Claude was going to circle back to all of that in a minute. He just needed to continue insulting a child first. ❝ You're one to talk, aren't you? Having the face only a robot mother could love. ❞