LONG AGO

A gentle-looking woman, laying quietly on a lushly-decorated bed in a beautiful and refined room, her weak and tired form a stark contrast to the elegance around her. The sound of the door opening makes her head turn, and she gazes with love upon the figure of a man slowly approaching, a case in his hands. The man, now close to the woman's side, returns her gaze, sharing in the affection she radiates.

Quietly, the woman calls out the name of the man before her, "Reggie". Lifting herself slowly from the bed she lies in, her frail and weak form a sharp contrast to the refined and beautiful surroundings, her voice just a soft whisper, "Don't you look dapper?", she says, her tone filled with gentle affection.

Reginald Hargreeves, revealed to be the much younger man now standing before her, holding the case, which reveals itself to be an instrument, speaks. "Well, I thought it was right to buy something special for the occasion", he says, his tone betraying the affection he holds for her. He sits on the bed, gently and carefully, and with deliberate motion sets the case on his legs. He then turns his attention to the case and undoes the clasp, opening it.

Reginald says to the woman, "As you requested. I didn't realize that you felt up to playing", the words coming out quietly with a hint of surprise, as he takes note of her weak smile.

In response, she reaches out, her hand gently caressing his arm, and her smile growing a bit more. "I don't, I want you to take it with you", she says, her voice soft, yet there is a hint of strength to her, despite her frailness.

Reginald's face falls as he shakes his head, his words coming out softly, and with a hint of pain. "No, my love", he says to the woman, her face not faltering from the smile she wears. "Please", she utters in a soft and gentle tone, clearly begging.

"Find someone who'll love it as much as I have," her words come out in a whisper, and Reginald is struck by the depth of the emotions his companion is conveying, despite her weak frame.

Reginald, setting aside the violin case to the side, leans over to his beloved, as she raised her feeble hand to his cheek and looks at him lovingly. While still maintaining her gentle smile, Reginald's expression is a mix of pain and sadness, "I can't leave you," he says, as her hand gently lingers on his cheek. "There must be another way", his voice is laced with hope, yet there is a hint of resignation as well.

The woman, laying in her bed, caresses his cheek with such tenderness and affection, that she conveys the depth of the love she holds for him. The two share a special bond that was built upon such intense emotions and feelings, and despite her weakness, the connection between them remains strong and indomitable. Reginald clearly wants only for her to be by his side, as his reluctance and refusal to leave her expresses his devotion to her in the midst of her frailty.

The woman speaks, her voice filled with determination despite her frail state, "I will die here, but you won't. I won't allow it", expressing her conviction in regards to him moving on with life without her, "The world needs you, Reggie. Now go", she declares, her words imbued with the utmost seriousness, and yet there is a hint of acceptance in them as well. Reginald takes her hand, gently kisses it, and is then locked in a gaze with her eyes, never breaking away.

Reginald, despite their intense and quiet gaze, gets up from the bed, taking the case containing the violin along with him. He sets the case, containing the instrument that his beloved loved so much, on a table.

He then grabs a jar that is filled with peculiar lights, as the sound of explosions can be heard in the background. As he lifts the jar, the lights within, seemingly in response to the explosions, begin to chime. Moving towards a nearby window, Reginald removes the lid of the jar as the lights flow out, cascading into the wind, and slowly sailing away.

PRESENT DAY

Prime laid in Klaus's bed, as he and Ben were now on the floor, attempting to figure out the method by which they had managed to communicate. Prime had already expended a fair share of effort, and now the two are switching off. She laid upside down, her gaze focused on the two.

Upon seeing the two of them, she speaks up and asks, "Are you two trying to play paddy cake?" Her words are uttered genuinely, as Klaus responds. "What? It can work!", he proclaims, while making a face to her.

Prime asks, her tone filled with disbelief, "Yeah, but paddy cake? Really Benny?", she turns to him in search of answers, expecting Klaus to not be much help.

He replies, his voice conveying the hint of frustration and the toll their efforts have had on him, "We are running out of ideas", he says, his tone now one of exasperation, "We've been doing this for hours", he continues, and his statement now conveys the weariness of the long hours spent in trying to establish communication. "Even I'm getting tired", he says, his voice now revealing the physical impact their attempts have had on him.

Her tone now being playful, and her demeanor conveying a hint of amusement, she replies, "Yeah, not possible", as she jeers him playfully.

With a dismissive wave of his hand, he says, "Humor me."

She lets out a chuckle as she flips herself over, her position now upright as she turns her gaze to him.

Prime suddenly changes the topic and proposes a new approach, "Right, so instead of this", she says, indicating the two's fruitless attempts at communication. "Why don't we try and break out Vanya? Luther is a little preoccupied with Allison, so—", she continues, indicating that she wishes to pursue this avenue in hopes of achieving a worthwhile result, rather than continuing with what appears to be a pointless exercise.

Klaus, amused, asks, "Were you watching them?" indicating his surprise and amusement at the fact that she may have witnessed the interactions between Luther and Allison, "Do you have that kinda thing, sis?", he goes on to ask, this time curious, and perhaps even surprised at her ability to see what others are doing, "Watching people when—", he continues, though he leaves the statement hanging, perhaps expecting her to continue with what she was about to say next.

She reacts with a disgusted face and her voice now betrays a hint of annoyance, "For fuck's sake Klaus", she says, her words now dripping with disdain, "That is so disgusting", she continues, her tone indicating her disdain and anger at the very notion of what he was suggesting to be the case, with her arms flying around as they emphasize this reaction, "I went there trying to possibly lift things to chuck at his head", she says, waving her hands around as she does so, now in a slightly more frustrated tone.

Ben, who seems to be enjoying the vision of Prime's futile attempts to throw objects at Luther, lets out a chuckle as he shakes his head, a gesture that conveys his amusement at the image he is imagining.

"Oh yeah, I can see that well I guess, we can try and break her out," Klaus said nodding his head as he and Ben got off the floor.

With him and Ben now off the floor, it appears that the two are ready to proceed with her plan.

Prime lets out a cheer in anticipation of breaking Vanya out. Suddenly, the house begins to shake and creak loudly, prompting Klaus to abruptly run out of the room, his words of impending explosions being cut short, as if he was about to utter a profanity about the imminent threat. "Are those explosions coming f—

Diego, now running down the hall, appears to be equally confused and concerned about the source of the sudden violence, "What the hell is going on?", he exclaims, clearly alarmed, as he sees the violent shaking of the house, and potentially the explosions heard outside.

"Vanya. We need to get to safety outside the Academy" Pogo said as he came over to the everyone. Luther and Allison coming out of her bedroom also distressed.

With Luther and Allison also coming over to those present, the level of distress in the room visibly increases as more individuals become aware of the seriousness of the situation, and the potential threat to them.

Klaus and Diego, both aware of the threats of the violent events occurring, ran alongside each other, prepared to escape to safety.

Simultaneously, Prime tugs on Ben's sleeve, with the intention of having Ben stay with Klaus. She vanishes, appearing in the basement, where she discovers that Vanya is, in fact, not there, which causes her to become alarmed.

She tries to locate Vanya by teleporting again, but this attempt is also unsuccessful, leaving her at a loss as to where Vanya could have possibly gone.

Prime, after a few attempts at teleporting, appears, to her great relief, right next to Vanya, who is currently located in an elevator. However, her relief is quickly changed to shock when she perceives the alteration in Vanya's state, as her eyes are not their usual selves, but filled with a darkness and rage, which cause Prime to utter a curse upon sight.

The intense shaking of the building points to the severity of the situation, as Vanya, now in a state of rage and desire for revenge, is highly agitated and infuriated.

Vanya, seemingly unfazed, walks out of the elevator, and heads towards Ben's room.

Upon approaching Ben's room, she merely stares at it for a moment, before moving away from it, just as it explodes in front of her. Prime, upon witnessing this destructive event, seems furious, expressing this anger through a loud curse, and a visible clenching of her teeth.

Vanya moves through the various rooms in the house, her presence being sufficient to initiate a chain reaction, resulting in multiple explosions that destroy the rooms, one by one.

Prime, upon witnessing the destruction of each room, grows increasingly agitated and frustrated as she sees the aftermath of Vanya's rampage.

As she walks through the hallways, the house continues to crumble, with the wind following her, as if in response to the destructive force at her very heels. This force seems to be one that she can manipulate to her own satisfaction, as she traverses the hallways carelessly.

Prime now grits her teeth, in an attempt to hold back the anger and frustration that she's feeling as she witnesses the destruction of their home, which appears to be caused by Vanya.

She appears near Klaus and Diego, who seem to be on the ground and groaning after sustaining some injuries from the intense shaking of the house.

Ben sees her as well, and looks up along with the two others, as they all notice the sound of the ceiling cracking, which indicates that it could be on the verge of collapsing.

Prime now responds with a panicked exclamation of "Shit!", as the ceiling starts to fall down onto all four of them, right in the middle of the room.

Prime is the first one to react, as she quickly grabs Klaus, while Ben is quick to grab Diego, with the intention of pulling as many of them out as possible, before the ceiling crushes them all.

Klaus now expresses his shock and surprise, in response to the unexpected fact that Prime and Ben were able to touch them. He suddenly says, "Holy s***!", as he looks at Prime and Ben, his expression communicating his disbelief.

In regards to the lack of time available, Klaus then proceeds to grab Diego, saying, "Come on. Come on, come on", and the two of them hastily run towards the fire escape, not having the time to take the stairs.

Diego, who is visibly shaken due to the events that just unfolded, turns to Klaus, expressing a sense of gratitude and appreciation.

He says, with a tone that conveys his relief, and even surprise, "Hey, you just saved my life, man", acknowledging the fact that he was able to get out of that dangerous situation, and he owes it all to Klaus.

"Okay great!" Diego, feeling grateful, now proceeds to hug Klaus.

Ben and Prime, who have witnessed this display of gratitude, have seemingly grown a bit annoyed at the fact that Klaus has taken all the credit for the situation.

In response to this, Klaus simply shrugs his shoulders, as if to say that he doesn't see the problem.

Prime and Ben now turn their attention to Klaus, and both seem to agree with each other on the fact that the action he took was uncalled for.

Prime starts off, in a tone of annoyance, "Wow, low blow brother", expressing her disdain at the aforementioned action. After this, Ben follows up with an agreement, "Low blow indeed", further adding to the sentiment of disbelief regarding Klaus's actions.

Diego's attention is now drawn to a horrifying sight, which causes him to yell out, "Shit! Mom!".

Prime, upon seeing the same sight, turns her gaze down, as she quickly realizes Grace, seemingly undaunted by the imminent potential for destruction, does not intend to escape the house, and remains steadfast in her position, remaining in the house even as it collapses.

Diego and Prime both shout repeatedly, attempting to urge Grace to exit the building before it is too late.

Diego's voice cracks with the intensity and seriousness of his words, as he implores her to "Get out of there now!", with fear and desperation evident in his voice. Klaus voice is also full of emotion, and her follows up with his own, similar calls, yelling out the same sentence as Diego does.

"I'm coming after you!" Diego, seeing the potential danger that Grace is in, makes a dash to go and try and help her

However, Klaus, acting swiftly and decisively, prevents Diego from moving, as he holds him back,"No Diego!" Diego continues to struggle and try his best to break free from Klaus' grip, as he keeps on yelling out for Grace, in a desperate attempt to reach her.

Prime, who has been watching as the building slowly crumbles all around them, including the area that Grace has occupied, now closes her eyes, as she could no longer bear the sight of the destruction, and her pain and concern grow.

Klaus and Diego, who have moved from the falling debris just in time, before the full destruction of the structure commences, emerge out from the debris that is now cascading down upon them. Ben and Prime, who are not far behind Klaus and Diego, follow them as the building finally collapses on itself and starts to crumble.

Diego is now yelling out in a desperate attempt to contact and locate the whereabouts of their mother, who was sadly still in the building, as it fell.

Klaus, upon hearing the call "Diego," Diego, who is clearly distraught over the fact that his attempt to save their mother failed, continues to dig through the debris, throwing pieces of the collapsed building around him.

"Diego, just stop it, Stop", Klaus now begs, attempting to convince him to cease the futile activity of digging through the debris, given the fact that there is no longer any hope of him being able to reach Grace.

Diego, however, is clearly distraught and not in the mood to listen to these pleas, as he continues to try and dig through, and pulls away, saying, "No, what— What are you— let me go!! What are you doing?!"

The situation quickly grows more intense.

"Stop, stop," Klaus continues to beg for Diego to stop digging, as he seems to see the futility of the entire act.

Prime, whose concern for her brother has been heightened due to the realization and awareness of the loss of their mother, shares the same sentiment as Klaus, as she silently watches and mourns with him, while hoping that he will stop.

"She's gone. She's gone, okay?", Klaus, his voice cracking with visible sadness and heartbreak, utters these words with finality, and a profound sense of disappointment and despair.

Prime, seeing the pain and grief that her brother is experiencing, also feels her own feelings of loss, only further amplified, as she mourns the loss of their mother, and the impact of her absence.

Diego's grief has now seemingly changed to rage, as he asks, in a pointed tone, "What do you wanna do? Want to walk away from this?"

Klaus then responds with a simple and straightforward, yet also a resounding, "No", emphasizing that, despite the tragedy that has beenfalled, Klaus was trying his best for Diego.

Diego, after letting out his frustrations in a fit of rage, is now seemingly ready to move on, and asks a question regarding the status of Pogo. "What about Pogo?"

"He didn't make it" Luther walks towards the group, and breaks the sad news that Pogo has not made it.

Prime, upon hearing this unfortunate news, lets out a sudden and mournful wail, and she is immediately embraced by Ben, who wraps his arms around her, hoping to soothe her pain.

Diego, now completely shocked, responds with a word of disbelief, as he looks at Luther who has just broken the news, and says, "What?"

Allison, who is in the background, also bears witness to this tragic event, and she watches as the home that she had grown up in now lies in ruins. Her gaze lingers on the destruction that resulted from this incident, as she appears to be in deep contemplation and meditation over the event itself, and its ramifications.

"Vanya killed him", Luther answers directly, with a grave and solemn tone, as he confirms the tragic news.

The atmosphere becomes tense and mournful, as Diego responds once more, with a tone that is now filled with sadness and a clear amount of confusion, saying, ""But Vanya wouldn't-

Klaus, Ben and Prime also express a sense of disbelief, albeit with different emotions, though the common thread of shock and sadness remains.

Prime, still maintaining the same determined stare, now looks at Luther who is standing nearby. Her gaze still holds the same sense of determination, along with that of anger and even some sense of resentment, as she remembers the events that occurred earlier, and the fact that Luther was the one who locked their sister up.

"ITS YOUR FAULT LUTHER!! YOU LOCKED HER UP!!" Prime, now overcome with rage and anguish, lets out a sudden yell, in a way that indicates her frustration and bitterness, as she blames Luther for locking up her sister.

Her words hold a certain ferocity and even an accusatory tone, as she is determined to hold him accountable and make him feel the weight of his action.

Klaus, meanwhile, appears to remain silent and still not translating Prime's frustration.

"No, I saw it, before we got out," said Luther.

Prime glared at Luther and cursed under her breath, "Asshole, this is all your fault!"

"Mom. Now, Pogo," said Diego quietly as he sat on the ground.

"Guys!" Five exclaimed while making his way over, panting," This is it. The apocalypse is still on. The world is going to end today," all the others looked at him in dismay and dread.

"I thought you said it was over!" Luther exclaimed, his desperation clearly evident.

"I was wrong, okay?" Five spoke, showing everyone the newspaper he found, "I found this in the future, the day I got stuck. The headline hasn't changed," he added with a heavy heart.

"No, that doesn't mean anything," Diego argued, shaking his head, "The time could've been altered since that newspaper - came out this morning"

"You're not listening to me." Five said calmly with a hint of irritation, "When I found the newspaper, I assumed this place came down along with everything else. But here we are." He waved his hand towards the sky, "The moon is still shining, and the earth seems to be in one piece, but not the Academy."

"I'm confused," Klaus interjected, grabbing the newspaper and closely examining it.

"Then listen to me, you idiot!" Five snapped angrily, "Vanya destroys the academy before the apocalypse, but I thought Harold Jenkins was the cause. but he was the fuse. Vanya is the bomb. Vanya causes the apocalypse"

"We have to find her," Luther stated, as the sound of a helicopter grew closer and a light began beaming down, enveloping their vicinity.

"We have to go. Regroup back at the Super Star Go!" Luther ordered quickly, as everyone dispersed in different directions. Ben and Prime followed Klaus who appeared to have a plan in mind.