CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: ANOTHER TIMELINE 

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Diego stopped the van next to an apartment building "So this is book club, huh? Nancy?" he asked as he stopped the van "Oh, shut up, Diego" Lila said annoying before her, Maddie, Five and Diego got out of the van.

Five turned to look at his wife "Just be careful okay, and I swear if dad lays a hand on you I will---" "He wouldn't" she grab his hands.

"Are you sure it is a good idea, I rather have you here with me" he said "I will be fine. Beside I think it's a good idea to ask him about me and the Red Dragon" she said "Are you sure that he knows about it?" he asked "He knows enough and it is worth the shot" she said and he let out a sigh, still not happy that his wife was going to see their dad, it was like the lion dent.

"I will be fine, and we will see each other again soon" she said "As soon as I have found out more about The Keepers I will meet you up at Dad's. It will only be for a few hours" he said "I know, we just have to look at it like we're going to work" she said.

"I love you, always and forever" he said "I love you always and forever" they gave each a kiss.

"See you later" they pressed their forehead against each other before pulling away and Five followed after Lila into the building.

"Oh Jesus!" Diego said before he pulled up his keys as he walked over to Maddie "You drive" he gave her the keys "You sure? Wanda?" Maddie pointed at the van "Yeah. I don't give a shit anymore" he turned around and was about to walk into the building but stop before he walked back to Maddie.

"She's pulling to the right a little bit. And don't go over 40, or what is left of the muffler's gonna fall off" he said "Got it" Maddie nodded before walking over to the driver seat, getting in.

"Next stop dad" Maddie sighed before starting the van and drove off with Viktor, Allison and Luther.

---

Diego followed after Lila and Five who walked up the stairs and over to the door that lead to where him and Lila was at that meeting.

"Welcome to the Keepers HQ, courtest of Jean and Gene" Five opened the door before the three walk in.

"Let's see what we can find" Five said before the three started looking around for anything that could tell them something.

"Jean and Gene didn't give us much to go on" Diego said "Stay focused for once, darling" Lila told her husband as she was looking in some draws  as they all search around, trying to find something they could use.

"All the files are gone" she said as Five walked over to a desk before looking in the draws.

"Yeah, it certainly looks that way" he said "While you two stand around twiddling your dinks, I got some recon to do" Diego said "There's nothing here, Diego" Lila told him.

"Our target left in a hurry, correct?" Diego asked "Yeah. So?" she asked "So...hates makes wast, mami" Diego said before leaving the room.

As soon as Diego was gone Lila looked at Five "Out with it" she approached him as he was standing over by crouch "Why can't you blink?" she asked "I can blink" he said before looking at her and blink with his eyes "See"

"You know damn well that is not what I meant. Why can't you blink like in using your powers?" she asked "I can...You know, I just..." he opened a small thin book.

"Won't" she said and he let out a sigh "You gotta get back on that horse, kemosabe" she grab his right arm "Don't!" he said but she mimicking his powers before she blink away with him.

"Don't!" Five said again as they stumbled backwards when they both teleported to the underground subway.

"Whoa! Where are we?" she asked as she looked around "A subway station" Five said "Yeah, I can see that, numbnuts, but why did you blink us here?" she asked "Believe me, Lila, it was not on purpose" he started walking forward and Lila followed him "Ever since Ben spiked us with that janky marigold, when I blink, this is where I end up" he said and Lila chuckled "Neat" she went up to walk in front of him "Not really" he said as they walked towards some stairs where a sign with a train and an arrow that was pointing down and was glowing red were.

"What's down here?" she asked before they walked down the stairs "Oh!" Lila said before she let out a wryly laugh as they looked around the train station.

"Okay, not the MTA. Not the Tub" she said "Trust me, this is unlike any subway you've been to" he said "Well, where do the trains go?" she asked "That's the weird part" he looked at her before stopping "I took a westbound train. I went one station over" he looked around the train station "When I came up, it was the exact same day, exact same time, but a completely different timeline" he said "Now that's interesting" she said "Yeah" he nodded.

Then she spotted the strange map with the strange signs on.

"A map" she ran over to it "That's helpful, innit?" she asked "If I could understand it" he walked after her "I once navigated the Tokyo subway with a bullet wound in my thigh and on my period, so how hard can it be?" she smiled at him as she put her right hand on the map.

She then turned around to look at the map "Okay, so...North to south. This connects around here" her finger followed a path on the map.

"Fuck me, this is confusing" she said as the subway PA chimes was heard and the train arrived as a warped voice speaking backwards over PA was heard.

"Eastbound. Shall we?" Lila looked at Five "We should get back to Diego" Five pointed towards the stairs "Boring. Come on. Let's take a ride" she said as the train stopped.

"I don't wanna be hopping on trains until we understand this" he said but she grab his hand "You need to move your ass!" she drag him into the train and the door closed as she laughed as the train began to move, driving into the tunnel.

---

The train drove out of the tunnel again before stopping by another station and the subway alert chimes before the door to the train opened as the warped voice speaking backwards over PA was heard while Lila and Five step out.

"Come on" Lila said as they looked around the station they were in, it was different.

"Yucko" Lila said as Five pulled a notebook out from his inner pocket before he opened it.

"Gross" Lila said as she looked around and Five click on his pen before he started writing in the notebook as Lila approached him to see what he was writing.

"Dear diary, why do I always wear suits?" she joke and Five glanced at her "Hmm" she said before looking around as Five continue writing in the notebook.

"What are you doing?" she asked "Leaving bread crumbs. It's a broken vending machine" he pointed at the vending machine "Stain on the floor in the shape of Australia. Three burn-out light bulbs" he said "Mm. Poetic" she said before looking towards the stairs.

"Yep" Five closed the notebook before putting it back in his pocket.

"Where do you reckon we end up?" she asked "My guess is back in Gene and Jean's apartment. Same day, same time, different timeline" he said as the two walked towards the stairs that lead to the exit "Different timeline. I knew it" she said.

The sound of flames smoldering was heard as Five and Lila walked up the stairs but only to find the whole area destroyed.

It look like something from an apocalypse and it was.

"Shows what you know" Lila glanced at Five "You must have jumped forward, ahead of time, to the end of the world" she said "No, no, no. We haven't jumped anywhere" he said as the two walked around the area.

"We're not moving forwards or backward through time. We're just going to alternate version of now. This is Gene and Jean's apartment" he looked around as he could recognize the broken and destroyed area.

"I've been here before. This is my apocalypse" he said as he remember that he was here, in this apocalypse back in the original timeline.

"Your apocalypse?" Lila asked confused "Yeah, the original timeline. I was stuck here for twenty-seven years. This is the timeline where Viktor blew up the moon and we didn't stop it. This is where Maddie died in my arms when I found her buried under the rubbles of the collapsed Academy" he said "Well, this is a very shitty timeline" she walked over to him.

Five then spotted something not far from them and he moved his left hand into his inner pocket.

"Hold on a second" he took out some small binoculars "Binoculars?" Lila asked confused as Five lifted them up to his eyes to look better what it was he had spotted.

"What?" she looked at him and Five noticed someone peeking their head up behind some rubbles. And he saw the person pointed a rifle at them.

Then the sound of airy flatulence was heard and Lila looked at him "Did you just fart?" she asked while Five lowered binoculars while his eyes widened as he realized that it was this timeline younger version of him. That age he was when he landed in the apocalypse.

"Get down!" he grab Lila before pulling himself and her down as the sound of gunshot was heard and a bullet hit a wall right where Five had being a few seconds again.

The two quickly took cover behind a destroyed police car as the other Five kept shooting at them causing the sound of gunshot ricochets to be heard.

"Who the hell is shooting at us?" Lila shouted "I am" Five replied as the other version shot at the car they were hiding behind again.

"Why are you so angry?" Lila asked "Well, I have just lost Maddie, the love of my life, so I'm upset and sad, and when I'm sad, I most angry, and without her I can't really find the happiness!" Five shouted over the sound of gunshot.

"Okay. We need to get out of here. Go!" Five said before he started running "Wait for me!" Lila shouted as she ran after Five while the other Five kept shooting at them which made Lila let out a yelp as she followed after Five back down into the subway.

The two ran down the stairs "I must improve my cardio" Lila followed after Five into the train as the door closed and the train started driving into the tunnel and into the portal.

Lucky the train stop at the right subway and Lila and Five got out "Okay, let's hope this is the right timeline" Lila said before she grab Five's arm and the two blink back.

---

Diego had found a file and he walked back to the apartment before stopping by the desk as he looked at it.

Then Lila and Five appeared on the couch behind him "Shit" Five said and Diego turned around to looked at the two.

"The hell are you doing?" he asked and the two cross their legs over the other as they acted like they have always being sitting there.

"Did you find something, Love?" Lila asked her husband "Oh, I found something" Diego looked back at the file "Something that's gonna blow this case wide open" he said as Five and Lila got up before walking over to him.

"Okay" Five stretched out his right hand towards Diego, signal him to give him the file which he did.

"Let's see" Five looked down at the file.

Something of the text was cross over with a black marker so you couldn't see what there was writing, but some of it you could see.

ANALIZA INVESTIGARII: HQ

NUMER DOSAR AGENTIEI: 37AA-65T

SUBJECT OFINCIDENT: JENNIFER

DATA NASTERII: 5-5-1987

LOCUL NATERII: NEDERTERMINAR

VICTIMA: 2

DATA RAPORTULUTI: 10/10/2006

INCIDENT: JENNIFER: CASUALTIES: 2 UMBRELLA ACADEMY 10/14/2006

"Umbrella Academy" Five read before he looked u at Diego "That's impossible. There was no Umbrella Academy in 2006" he said "Not in this timeline" Diego said "It must be one of Gene and Jean's artifacts" Lila said "Keep reading" Diego looked at Five who kept reading the file.

"October 14th, 2006" Five read "Wait, what's so special about October 14th, 2006?" Lila asked "That's the day Ben died. Our Ben" Diego replied.

"That's a coincidence" Five said "Let me break it down for you. A random dy cleaner shows up out of the blue and hires us to go to New Grumpson, Maine, to rescue a girl named Jennifer. The whole town goes to shit, we get T-boned, and the girl gets kidnapped by two vigilantes in a station wagon. Now, in their trash, we find a foreign document that has something to do with Ben's death" Diego explain before he sat down on the chair by the desk "Hence..." he put his feet on top of the desk before crossing them.

"Whatever is going on with Jennifer it's got something to do with Ben. Ipso facto, mofos" he said and the two looked at him "Bet you regret not sending in that resume, huh?" Diego asked and Five rolled his eyes before letting out a sigh.

"The hell's the 'Jennifer incident'?" Lila asked "That was a tragic accident" Five said "You weren't there" Diego snapped at Five "Technically neither were you, there was only one person that was there the moment Ben died" Five said "Who?" Lila asked.

"Maddie" the brothers said and Lila glanced at the two "Maddie killed her own brother?" she asked and the two nodded "She told us. She lost control when she was taken out a group of armed guys, and by accident she killed Ben" Five said.

"So she lost control and suddenly killed her brother?" Lila asked and two nodded "That don't really sound normal" she said "Maybe we should talk to her" Diego suggested which made Five looked at him  "Ask about the day" he said and Five let out a sigh.

"You want to ask Maddie, my wife, your sister, about the worst moment of her life?" he asked "We want to know right?" Diego asked.    

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Meanwhile Maddie and the others has arrive at Reginald Hargreeves' mansion before they all got out of the van.

"This place is just as huge as my mansion" Maddie looked at the huge white mansion where three guys were standing over by the door.

"Are we really this?" Luther asked "Yeah" Maddie said before she looked at the others "Yeah, we are" she said "Yeah we are" Viktor nodded.

"Hold on" Luther walked up to Viktor "You skipped the family reunions. You barely call. You never submit anything to the family newsletter. And yet, here you are, first in line to see Dad?" pointed at the mansion "What's with that?" he asked "Maddie wants to see Dad too" Viktor said "Is only because I need some answers from him" Maddie said.

"Don't point at Maddie, why do you suddenly want to see dad so barely?" Luther looked at Viktor.

"I'm stuck, okay? I'm...I'm stuck in an endless argument with him in my head. And I feel like...like the only way I can move forward is if I finally say my piece to him. Do you know what I mean?" he asked "Yeah" Luther nodded.

"Just a...friendly reminder to the group that the last time you spoke your peace with Dad, he murdered you" Allison said and Luther thought back to that moment as he put his hand on that place where their dad stabbed him before removing the hand again.

"I'm sure that won't happen again" he smiled before he chuckled nervously "Right?" he asked as he glanced at the three "Don't worry Luther, I wouldn't let him" Maddie said.

"We probably won't even make it past the front door" Luther gestured to the door "Well, if civility doesn't work, I'll just threw them away with my powers before blowing the door down" Maddie said and the three looked at her "Let's go" Maddie walked forward towards the mansion and the three followed her.

"Four people approaching" a guard over the radio said "Copy. We gotta help" another guard said over the radio.

A guard with sunglasses approached the group before looking at Maddie who was in front of the three.

"May I help you?" he asked "Yeah, you can run inside and tell Reggie that we're coming in whether he likes it or not" Maddie said and the guy took off his sunglasses.

"Of course, Mrs. Delany. Welcome" the guy smiled "We've been expecting you" he said before he looked at the three others "Luther, Viktor. Allison. I'll escort you inside the house. This way, please" he turned around before walking towards the door.

"What the hell is going on here?" Luther asked confused and Viktor looked at Allison "This better not be another daddy-daughter ambush" Allison glanced at him "Did you tell him we were coming?" he asked "No. I haven't talked to the man in six years" Allison said and the four entered the mansion.

The sound of delicate melancholy violin music was playing in the distance as Maddie and the three others entered the mansion.

They walked towards the living room to see a older woman with long gray hair and wearing a white dress was playing on a violin.

She sighed as she stopped before she turned around to look at Maddie and her siblings.

"What a pleasure to finally put faces to names" she said before putting the violin down.

"You must be Allison" the woman looked at Allison "I've heard so much about you" she said "You have?" Allison asked confused "Yes" the woman smiled before looking at Luther "And Luther....my little space boy" she smiled before walking over to him "I finally get a chance to properly thank you for watching over me on the moon" she said "Oh!" Luther nodded "It was nothing" he smiled.

The woman then looked at Viktor "Dear Viktor" she approached him "I understand we share a passion for the violin" she said "It's more of a love-hate thing for me, but..." he said and she sighed before looking at Maddie.

"And Maddie" she approached Maddie "You're even more beautiful than I imagine" she walked over to stand in front of her "I have heard so much about you. I'm so glad that you finally get to live that life you always wanted. I'm a huge fan of you and I'm so happy that I finally get to meet you face to face" she said "Uh...Thanks...I guess" Maddie said.

The woman then looked at them all "I'm Abigail, so nice to finally meet you all" she smiled "Come. Come sit" she grab the violin before putting it away.

"Okay" Viktor said and the four walked into the living room before sitting down on a couch.

"Is, uh, Reggie home?" Maddie asked "I'm sure he's puttering around somewhere. Let us get to know each other a bit first" Abigail said as she looked at the four "Go ahead" she pointed on a plate with cookies "Don't be shy. The chef will be cross if you don't" she said with a smile before she grab a white kennel "Tea?" she asked while Maddie and the others looked confused at her.

She was so kind which made them confuse and a little hard for them to believe that she was Reginald's wife.

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