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❛ ᴡᴀsᴛᴇʟᴀɴᴅs ᴏғ ᴛɪᴍᴇ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐓𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴏɴ'ᴛ
ʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴇ ᴛʜɪs ғᴀʟsᴇ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ꒱


❝ WHY DOES IT
SMELL LIKE BLOOD? ❞

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Except for three notable times in his life— what he called his "early years" before the apocalypse, his time at the Commission and the first few days he'd been in '63— Dolores had always been by his side. She'd stuck with him through thick and thin with hardly a complaint. They'd weathered every storm— both literal and metaphorical— without their bond being tested. Now, Five considered his life to be divided cleanly into three parts: pre-Dolores, The Good Decades, and post-Dolores. He was currently in the final era and decided that it was the worst of them.

He'd brought this on himself, of course, but he'd do anything to ensure that she was safe, happy and most importantly, alive. Even if that meant making himself miserable in the process, he'd be willing to endure any pain rather than put her through it herself. Their separation was made slightly (and by this he meant not even a full percent) easier because they weren't spending every day together like they used to. First had been his road trip with Klaus which had been surprisingly enjoyable until the Kugelblitz came and ruined everything. Now, he was exploring the broken Commission building with Lila in search of the Operations Bunker.

"You know, Lila, I shouldn't even be here. I was. . . I was out. I was done! And yet, here I am, swept back into the chaos," Five complained as they mounted the stairs. "Why can't I escape this hellhole?" He reached up and itched the back of his neck. His thoughts dared to betray him as a mocking voice spoke snidely in his head: if Dolly were here, she'd be able to recognize the Paradox Psychosis right away. Now you're stuck with this ignorant buffoon.

"Because you love it."

His fart echoed in the empty space after Lila's response. Sarcastically, he held out his hands. "My bad."

"Face it, Five. apocalypse problems are the only things that get your heart pumping. Not even your lovely wife doing her best in bed with you would have the same result."

The boy shot her an irritated look. "I've already told you not to talk about Dolores like that." There was a pause as he itched his neck again. Lila held up her hands in an appeasing manner. "I don't know why people keep saying that. I don't actually like chaos. I don't want disorder. I. . . I want retirement."

Lila let out an amused chuckle. "Yeah, right. What? A normal life with groceries and taxes? You would die of boredom. I'm surprised your marriage has even lasted this long."

Me too, he admitted to himself. He hadn't deigned to share his change in relationship status with his companion; she'd only mock him endlessly for it and he was already giving himself enough shit about it. "Yeah, well, you're not exactly cut out for domestic bliss either."

They crossed the open space of the atrium and he opened the far door. The woman paused before she followed him. "'Course I'm bloody not. Thank God! I mean, maybe it's a tone thing? I don't know but you could really work on, like, the way you speak. It's very. . . irritating."

The pair climbed over an obstruction that had fallen into the passageway as Lila continued to explain how he could improve himself. Five tuned her out as the sign they'd been looking for came into view. "Why are you smiling, you little pisspot?"

He pointed further down the hallway. "'Cause of that."

"Well, you could've led with that."

✧✧✧

Five barely managed to slide the door open before Lila pushed her way past him. "Exsqueeze me."

"You're excused."

"Operations Bunker," she said. She approached the security guard and put her face near the glass panel. The device glowed blue and let out a beeping noise as it registered her features.

An alarm buzzed. "'Unauthorized access,'" a cool woman's voice reported.

Lila backed away from the door. "We're screwed." She took finally took notice of Five's disheveled appearance. "Jesus, you're sweating like a dodgy shrimp on ice. What's wrong?"

Another fart answered her question before he could. That gave him all the incentive he needed to replace her position at the door. This time, the device chimed as successful entrance was permitted. "'Access granted.'"

Large locks turned loudly behind the entryway. Lila sighed. "I guess you're essential personnel."

The door rolled away to reveal a room that was untouched by the destruction of the timeline. It was clean and bright with fluorescent lights that glowed along the walls. The floor was a shiny, metallic tile and it had a sitting area with two chairs that stood off to one corner as if guests visited the space regularly.

As soon as they stepped into the room, all of the symptoms of his oncoming Paradox Psychosis melted away. Lila went to the tube in the center of the space but he paused to take in the difference between out there and in here. The door slid back in place.

Raspy breathing sounded from the chamber to indicate that the person inside was alive. Lila gave the skinny, pale legs that stretched out towards the foot of the containment a disgusted look. The body was covered in nothing but a loincloth which showed off how emaciated the man's form was.

"That's him, huh?" Five asked. He set the manual down on the nearby table. "The founder."

"Looks like tinned beef," the woman commented. "I was expecting more man and less. . ." She lightly hit the metal casing. "Can."

Five's progress towards the vessel slowed as his gaze fell on the man's face. "It can't be."

"What's wrong?"

He took in a sharp breath. "It's. . . me."

Lila burst out laughing. "No way. This whole time you've been complaining about the Commission and you're the one who founded it? Classic."

"If I did, I have no memory of it."

"So here I was thinking you were a maverick but you're a company man down to the bone. I mean you. . ." she trailed off with another fit of laughter. "You literally cannot breathe without this place."

He wasn't amused by her reaction and studied the tube critically. "Something's not right. I don't have Paradox Psychosis. I could feel it outside but in here, it's. . . nothing."

A hoarse voice came interrupted his observations: "never were too bright, were we?" The old man's eyes shifted as he struggled to look at his counterpart. "Dolores. Is she here?"

Five's eyes widened at the question but he should've expected it. This was him, in whatever twisted form. He was reluctant to answer but he gave the truth: ". . .no."

Old-Five's eyes closed for a moment. "I hoped I'd. . . get to. . . see her again."

At his words, the boy stepped forward to look directly into the man's face. Trepidation swept through him at the statement and his tone took on a wary note. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"We. . . I tried. . . to protect her," he rasped. "By—"

"Pushing her away?" Five guessed. His stomach tightened at the idea of his carefully thought-out plan falling to pieces. Almost nervously, he asked, "what-what happened to her?"

"Exactly. . . as you said," his older self answered. "I thought. . . it would keep her. . . safe." His eyes closed as talking became too strenuous. Then, they opened again to stare right into his. "The Operations Bunker is Paradox Proof. I constructed it as a panic room in case of a collapse in the time continuum. In this room, all permutations of yourself can exist."

While his words didn't seem to have anything to do with their current conversation, Five frowned. "Why. . . why would there be a collapse?"

The elderly man took a shallow breath. "I. . . lost my Dolores to. . . time. I built this place in the hopes I could. . . find her again. We love her to—"

"—the point of invention," he finished softly. "That was— is— one of her favorite quotes that isn't from The Book Thief."

While the shift was subtle, old-Five's expression became hopeful. "Is? Does that mean. . . she's still with you?" The boy nodded and his counterpart's eyes sharpened. "Don't push her away. Your plan. . . it won't work. She has to stay near you."

"How do I keep her safe?" Five asked desperately. He'd already almost lost her once by having her by his side. If he lost her for good. . . he didn't even want to think about it.

"Is. . . she in danger now?" He explained briefly what transpired when they arrived in the new 2019 timeline. The old man's head shifted in a faint nod. "Kugelblitz."

"Kugelblitz?" Lila repeated, speaking for the first time. The conversation that the Fives were having about Dolores were making her feel oddly moved. . . which also made her uncomfortable, so she tried to lighten the mood. "Is that like a cheese blintz?"

Five ignored her joking tone. "It's German for 'Ball of Lighting.' It's an extra kinky kind of black hole."

"The kind that can suck up entire timelines."

"Especially people."

The boy's skin itched with the sudden desire to return to Hotel Oblivion as his worry about Dolores increased tenfold. Was she alright? Had she been blitzed already? Was he too late— He shut down that train of thought. She was fine. She had to be.

Without letting his anxiousness show, he kept his voice entirely businesslike. "So, how do we fix it?"

His counterpart let out a raspy laugh. "You'll. . . lose her. . . just like I did." His amusement turned into a hacking cough.

If his other self truly loved his Dolores, then surely he'd know that this was no laughing matter. He spoke through gritted teeth: "if you created all of this then you must have created a solution."

After he finished choking on his humor, the man replied, "all that will be left is. . . oblivion."

"Oblivion?" Lila echoed. She leaned against the metal container. "What do you mean?"

Her action accidentally caused the latch to release. The old man's stretcher rolled out from the tube to expose him to the natural air. His full, frail body was on display and Five's eyes widened at the sight of his missing arm.

"This. . . is what you have coming."

Five's patience ran thin. He leaned towards his other self as he growled out: "listen to me, you ass. I just spent the last twenty days running around saving the world from apocalypses only to keep trying to save the world. Now I am stuck in this pubescent body, my hormones are raging and all I wanna do is go out and buy a 1970s Corvette Stingray as a present in the hopes that that will be enough to get my wife to take me back."

"Take it easy on him, Five," Lila cut in with concern.

"Lila, this is between me and myself, so stay out of it. Thank you." He turned back to the old man. "Now, this Kugelblitz, it is not just some tiny leak that we can simply fix by patching a couple of pinholes. It is a giant trash compactor which is grinding up the universe and consuming it whole. So tell me how you stop it!"

"Whatever you do. . . don't save the world." The heart monitor flatlined as his counterpart finished speaking. As he closed his eyes for the last time, one more word began to slip out: "Dolor—"

The boy didn't notice the device power down as he stared intently into his other self's face. "What do you mean 'don't save— Five! How do I fix this?'"

Lila reached forward and gently checked his pulse. "He's dead, Five."

He inhaled sharply and closed his eyes against the sudden wave of pain. "Can I have the room?"

She hesitated. "Er. . . I don't think I should leave you two alone."

"Lila, I need the room."

✧✧✧
[ THE HOTEL OBSIDIAN ]

While Stanly freaked out about his uncle's dead body, Dolores had a very different response. With frozen horror, she sank to the ground as she stared at her in-law's lifeless form. Her face had drained of color and her eyes were as wide as saucers; her hands shook as she reached out to try and stem the flow of blood. The shaking grew worse as her fingers became covered in the sticky, red substance. Her stomach heaved at the smell of iron while the memory of the Lonely Lodger Inn employee replaced Klaus' unmoving form.

She was deaf to the boy's panicked cries as all she could see was the woman bleeding out in front of her. It had been an accident exactly like this one: a young person (or seemingly so, at least) using a weapon that they'd never had experience with. Her knife had had the same deadly accuracy as Stanly's harpoon. Her hands had become covered in the woman's blood just like they were now with Klaus'. Her clothes had become stained with red as she tried everything she could think of to undo the mistake.

"We. . . we have to hide the body," the boy tried to think of a plan so he could calm himself down. It certainly wouldn't look good to have two teens— one visibly bloody— seen with a dead person. He looked desperately at the brunette. "You're older. You have more life experience than I do— help!"

Dolores remained mute and immobile except for the gasping breaths that heaved from her chest. When Stan crouched to her level, he could see that her eyes were glassy and unfocused. Terrified, he clasped his hands behind his head. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Okay, think. People cremate bodies. We could burn him— there wouldn't be anything to bury. One person can do that pretty easily."

It looked like he wouldn't be getting help from the girl any time soon, after all. But still— he didn't want to leave her here while he went to get the supplies. He stood and went over to the older teen's side. With grunting effort, he was able to get her arm around his shoulders. The unexpected movement seemed to help break her trance and she struggled to get onto her feet with his aid.

Luckily, there was no one in the hallway when they left the room and they made slow, stumbling progress to the elevator. Once inside the lift, Dolores leaned against the wall, grateful for its solidity; the difference in scenery helped, too. She fought to get her breathing under control— and to keep the symptoms of nausea from appearing— as they made their way steadily downwards.

Her skin felt clammy— both hot and cold all at once. The sight of her red-stained hands regressed any of the recovery progress she made whenever her eyes refocused. Finally, finally the elevator doors dinged open and she staggered out on her own. Their arrival caught Diego's attention from where he'd gathered with his siblings; the girl's appearance caused his brows to furrow with concern. He quickly departed from the group to make his way towards his son.

"What the hell is going on here?" he demanded.

Since the brunette was in no fit state to answer, Stanly provided one instead: "we were. . . cleaning. . . and Aunt Dolores found some red paint. Yeah. It accidentally spilled—"

"Bullshit," the man cut across his excuse firmly. "Tell me the truth, Stan. Lola looks like she's about to puke. And— why does it smell like blood?"

Just then, Dolores' constitution decided to give out: the previous events plus all the alcohol she'd consumed the last few days did not mix well. She promptly wrapped her arms around her stomach and knelt on the floor to produce a not very pretty sight.

Diego leapt back with disgust. "Jesus!"

Stanly had a similar reaction: "oh, gross!"

Despite her lingering unsteadiness, the brunette took a calmer breath than any she'd had before. With her own grimace of revulsion, she wiped her sleeve— a terrible mistake as it very nearly made her heave again— across her mouth. The second Hargreeves looked down at her with both pity and exasperation. "Okay, that's it. I don't care if you're not speaking or if you're mad at each other for whatever stupid-ass reason." He turned around to call back to his siblings: "Five! Get your ass over here and help your wife!"

✧✧✧

Five startled at the sound of his brother's shout and it took a minute for his words to register. 'Help your wife' was the only thing that mattered in Diego's entire sentence. While he didn't know how his presence would be received, the very first thing Five had wanted to do upon returning to the hotel was to find her. He blinked over to the trio without hesitation. His eyes widened with shock while his shoulders relaxed with relief— because above all else, she was here.

She hadn't been blitzed, she hadn't been lost— and while she might look a little worse for wear, she was safe. It was her appearance that concerned him the most: she looked exactly as she had when he discovered her in front of the Lonely Lodger Inn's dead employee. As much as he wanted to do exactly as he had then and take her in his arms, Five refrained from making the first move. He'd been the one to break her heart, after all. It would be completely understandable if she never wanted to see him again.

So, it was obviously a surprise when she had the exact opposite reaction he'd been expecting: rather than refusing to look at him or ignoring his existence entirely, her whole expression became more at ease as soon as she laid eyes on him. Only one word escaped her mouth before she all but flung herself at him: "Five!"