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❛ ᴡᴀsᴛᴇʟᴀɴᴅs ᴏғ ᴛɪᴍᴇ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴜᴘ ᴛᴏ ɴᴏᴡ, ᴡᴇ
sᴀɪʟᴇᴅ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ sᴛᴏʀᴍ ꒱


❝ YOUR ARMS HAVE HELD ME
SAFE FROM A ROLLING SEA
THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN A QUIET
PLACE TO HARBOR YOU & ME ❞

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The Hargreeves gathered in the lobby at the appointed hour, though this time they sat assembled around the stairs. Diego's knife was tucked securely against Dolores' pinstriped vest, hidden out of sight. The only indication that it was on her person was the firm press of the blade against her side— but only because she could feel it.

Allison faced her siblings. "I think you all can guess which way I'll be voting. We've all been through a lot. We've all lost people but their deaths have to mean something. Which is why I'll be voting to go with dad."

Lila came down the stairs and paused in front of Diego. "What she said. Let's go save the bloody universe!"

"Alright," the second Hargreeves began. "Well, since she said yes, I vote stay." The British woman scoffed. "How's that for nice?"

"You're not being serious."

"It's his vote, Lila," Allison reminded her. "Klaus?"

"I am with father."

"Okay, that's four to one. Viktor?"

The short-haired man sighed. "Look, I wanna believe, okay? I really do. I just can't shake the feeling we don't know what we're getting ourselves into."

"No, but we know what we've got if we don't. We have to go into this together, Viktor. A family."

He seemed entirely fed up with his sister's argument. "You can't just keep throwing the word family around. It isn't enough. I vote stay."

"Luther?"

"Um. . . Sloane and I talked and, well, we're out. Look, we wanna spend whatever time we have left together and not fighting some guy with a sword and ringing bells and stuff. So. . ." He shook his head.

"Well, dead even. Four in, four out," Viktor observed.

"That leaves you, Number Five," Reginald remarked.

"Don't forget that Dolores hasn't cast her vote yet," Edward added. He met the girl's gaze evenly.

Five spoke first: "I saw the future and it told me to sit this one out. I vote stay. It's time to accept our fate."

Dolores stood from her place on the stairs and slid her hands into her pockets. She walked over to stand in front of the boy. Her blue eyes flashed with challenge as she met his green ones. "I vote go because fuck you."

She turned away from him without another word to go stand on the other side of the room. Lila held up her hand for a high-five at their agreement that all men were stupid, to which the brunette happily obliged. Edward looked around at the assembled family members. "Well, that's still a tie. Does anyone wish to recast their vote?"

His gaze lingered on the teen boy whose narrowed eyes were on the brunette. When no one spoke, Allison glared furiously at her siblings as she took their non-answer for the 'go' side losing. "You're all pathetic."

Ben turned to his father as she stalked away. "Why can't we go in there, just the five of us?"

"That would mean certain failure. There must be seven." He addressed the remaining group: "children, I can't say I'm happy with this, but I see now that the blame falls on me. I failed you when you were young and I have failed you now. And in doing so, I have doomed the entire universe. If anyone needs me, I'll be in the courtyard. . . awaiting the end."

"Idiots," Ben sneered as he left as well.

Viktor looked around at his siblings. "Was that a real apology?"

"The man's never apologized for anything in his life."

"I actually feel bad for him," Diego commented.

"Don't worry, it'll pass."

"So now what?" Sloane asked.

"We wait for the end. See you around. It's been interesting."

✧✧✧

Despite her macabre contemplation earlier that day, Dolores wasn't sure if she was ready to meet her end. While the concept of death hadn't been a stranger to her, the thought of actually dying was a whole different story. Would it hurt? Would she even realize that it was happening? She wished that the Kugelblitz would hurry up and take everything rather than sit through this awful waiting period.

The worst part was that she'd probably be alone when it hit. She'd always expected to die with Five by her side, whether it be for him or together. The thought of facing the end alone was even more unappealing than kissing Ben again— which was saying something. Above all else, she wished that she could make up with her husband before their inevitable death. She was even willing to apologize— even though it hadn't been her fault— just to get them on the same page again. With that thought in mind, she set out to find him.

It took her longer than she would've liked but she finally heard his voice when she reached the floor with the White Buffalo Suite. He was talking to Viktor about. . . something when she startled at the sudden, loud crash. She rushed forward at the noise, worried that he might be hurt. The short-haired man was calling the boy's name as she rounded the corner; Five had a stricken look on his face as he stared blindly into the distance. When he jerked out of his daze, he burst out: "it's Allison and Edward!"

"What is?" Viktor asked with confusion. His gaze flicked past his brother to the brunette behind him.

The motion caused the boy to turn around, causing his eyes to widen further. "You! You knew about this, didn't you? It was your uncle who was making a deal—"

A loud scream cut off his accusation. Dolores pushed aside the hurt at his sharp words; without bothering to reply, she raced towards the source of the sound. Viktor and Five ran close behind her as they stumbled on a shocking sight: Sloane knelt on the floor with Luther's limp form pulled into her lap. Dark red blood soaked into the white carpet and stained her hands as she sobbed brokenly.

"Oh my God, Luther!"

The brunette stopped to stare at the sight of. . . all. . . that. . . blood. . . Her stomach heaved in protest as the metallic smell hit her nose. She swallowed against her nausea; they didn't have time for her natural reaction. Diego shot her a concerned look— probably for her peaky appearance— but didn't get a chance to check on her as Five spoke: "what happened?"

"He went to get ice. I couldn't— he didn't come back," Sloane explained through her tears. "I. . . I don't know."

The surrounding siblings were quiet as they took in the shocking turn of events. Lila jerked her head towards the Pachinko machine. "It must've been him. The guardian."

Diego moved to crouch in front of his fallen brother. He looked up at the British woman. "She's right. Whatever did this had a long, curved blade."

"How. . . how can you be sure?"

"I don't know much, but I know knives."

Reginald and Edward then made their appearance amongst the stunned family. "Children, what's going on?" He gasped theatrically. "Oh God! Luther."

The blond man didn't even bother to hide his surprise. In a monotone voice, he added: "oh no. What a shame."

"If we attacked first, he would still be alive," Ben remarked.

The building began to shake around them, causing Viktor to fall against the chair he'd been sitting on. Ben stuck his head out of the room to look down the hallway only to see a mass of angry orange light heading their way. "G-guys? Hey, guys!"

"What are we gonna do with Luther?" Sloane cried.

"Okay, we're out of time. The Kugelblitz is here," Five said.

Diego grabbed the spear gun that had originally been Klaus' murder weapon to prepare for their inevitable fight. Reginald ran to the Pachinko machine. "Everyone into the passage! It's the only way!"

As the second Hargreeves attempted to follow the older man, Viktor grasped his arm. "You agreed to stay!"

"They killed Luther, alright?"

"Come on, children! Hurry!"

Sloane clung to her husband's body fiercely. "We can't leave him!"

"We go now or we're gonna die!" Allison snapped at her.

The siblings piled into the narrow passageway as the Kugelblitz came roaring down the corridor. What they didn't notice was that it was Reginald— not Klaus— who followed them into Oblivion.

✧✧✧

The passage glittered with reflective mirrors that seemed to distort the time and space around them. Dolores looked around at the dimensional bridge in awe as she walked behind Diego and Lila to the other end. The British woman was the first to shove open the door as the rest of the Hargreeves followed her. When they exited into the room, she turned around in several circles to process the differences— but also similarities— that they were seeing.

"Let's never do that again," Viktor panted as he stepped out of the portal.

"What, narrowly escape an apocalypse?" Five asked.

Diego had immediately taken to looking suspiciously around the room but he chimed in: "well, it's kind of our thing, isn't it?"

Allison stared at the buffalo's ass that stuck out of the wall. Ben seemed curious about it to as he reached a hand up to touch its tail. "There's something very wrong about that."

"Same suite, just ass-backwards," Lila explained.

"No hyperbole there."

"This is some hardcore Alice in Wonderland shit," the Asian man commented.

Diego's eyes narrowed as the Sparrow spoke as he remembered what Dolores had told him earlier. His voice was borderline unfriendly as he said: "yeah, it only gets weirder."

Reginald and Edward came last through the portal, the former closing the portrait behind them. "At last, the other side."

"So this is it, huh?" the blond man observed as he looked around. He seemed largely unimpressed.

"Wait— where's Klaus?" Viktor wondered.

Reginald was breathless as he spoke but that was more from their narrow escape than any emotion tied to his explanation: "children, I'm sorry, but your brother. . . I did all I could, but he didn't make it through in time. The Kugelblitz has claimed its last victim."

"No," Five countered him coldly. "He was right behind me when I entered the tunnel."

"We need to go back," Sloane protested shakily.

"There's nothing to go back to. Children, there will be time for tears later. Right now, we have to keep moving." The older man stalked past them without another word.

Edward hesitated for a moment behind him. "I'm sorry for your loss," he offered before he left the room as well.

"Wait. Luther and Klaus?"

Dolores swallowed against the sorrow that she felt due to Klaus' death. She was saddened by Luther's as well, but they hadn't gotten along as well as she and Klaus had. He'd been there for her, had watched out for her when they'd gone to Vietnam together. (Granted, it was with another version of her, but she still had those memories.) Her gaze flicked over to take in Five's stiff frame. In a quiet voice, she added: "I'm sorry, too. I didn't know. . ."

The boy's eyes narrowed at her— with the knowledge that Edward was working with Allison (and the hurt he was feeling from seeing her kiss Ben of all people)— he wasn't willing to let her skate by. But, the woman in question was standing right there so he kept his acidic comments to himself for the time being.

As expected, they weren't given much time to grieve over the loss of their second brother; soon enough they were exiting the elevator to spill out into the lobby.

"It's magnificent," Reginald breathed.

"You guys should have stayed here. This place is way nicer," Ben commented dryly.

Diego's voice was still borderline unfriendly from his place at the front of the group: "Lila and I barely got out of here alive, remember?"

"Yeah, but I'm here this time and the numbers are in our favor."

"Well, whatever it was, it was strong, fast and super pissed," Lila told them.

"Alright, so whatever you do, do not ring this bell," the dark-haired man instructed them sternly. "Unless you wanna lose a finger or a tentacle."

"I'll take my chances," Sloane said. She started forward with her finger held out to set it off.

"Don't!"

She glared at the British woman. "Get out of my way."

"To take out this thing we'll need to be in the right state of mind, okay?"

At her words, the second Hargreeves shot Dolores a pointed look. He moved around the group to stand next to her so he could whisper: "that means you too, Lola. Why don't you try to make nice with Romeo over there before any of us have to fight this thing?"

She huffed and crossed her arms petulantly. "I'm not the one who needs to apologize, okay? So it's not gonna be me who takes the initiative. Let him go into the fight angry and reckless. See if I care."

"You don't mean that," Diego argued back quietly. "You love him. How would you feel if you guys parted on bad terms and never got a chance to reconcile?"

She remained defensive for a few moments longer but eventually relented. "Fine. I'll try, but I can't promise anything. He seemed pretty pissed at me right before the Kugelblitz hit."

"I'm only asking that you try," he agreed. Then, he called over to the boy, who'd walked away from the group: "don't even try it, Five. Doors won't let you out."

"So, what, we're stuck here?" Allison asked.

"This place is a test and a trap and a means of salvation, all at once," Reginald offered.

Viktor glanced at the notice that was perched on the desk. "Does anyone know what that sign says?"

The girl shrugged. "I'm only fluent in one and an eighth languages, sorry."

"Yeah," Diego said. "It says 'do not ring the bell.'"

Dolores took a look at the sign again. "That's what you get from that gibberish? All I see is a wonky smiley face, a lowercase l, a hockey stick, et cetera."

"Yeah, well, some of us have an IQ higher than eighty-five," Five sneered at her before he responded to his brother: "we get it, Diego. Bell bad. Maybe you should join Dolores in the 'sorry I'm stupid club.'"

The brunette uncrossed her arms to place her hands on her hips. "I'm calling you out on the basis of ad hominem, Five. Let's keep our disagreement civil, shall we?"

"You can," he scoffed. "Civil went out the door for me when you kissed my brother."

The group— those who didn't know what had happened at the wedding, at least— let out exclamations that ranged from confused to shocked. Ben looked decidedly uncomfortable— the only indication he'd given that he remembered what happened the previous night. Dolores glowered at the boy. "Are we really gonna do this now?"

"What, as opposed to after we die from this mission?"

Viktor— ever the peacemaker— stepped between the arguing couple. "Look, guys, I don't know what you're fighting about, but we need to focus. We need to figure out this out and arguing isn't gonna help. Does anyone know what we're supposed to do?"

The two teens glared at each other furiously but relented to the short-haired man. Allison took a leaf out of her brother's book to get their father's attention. "Reggie?" When he didn't seem to hear her, she called his name again.

"I'm hungry," Lila stated amidst the quiet flipping of pages. "Does anyone fancy an unagi roll?"

"How can you possibly eat at a time like this?" Ben demanded, though he leapt at the chance to change the subject from his. . . unfortunate actions.

"I don't know. How can you be a dick at a time like this?"

Dolores smirked slightly at her retort. Diego went over to defend his girlfriend but she tuned him out in favor of making another dig at Five. "That goes for you too, you know."

"Me?" he repeated incredulously. "You're the one I have to be worried about! You and your turncoat inclinations."

She stared at him with confusion, which she leaned into to hide her hurt. "I'm not a traitor!"

He leaned towards her and dropped his voice. "I saw your uncle make a deal with Reginald and Allison last night while you were busy sucking Ben's face. I know you're working with him. Why else would you side to try to save the world?"

"Uh, maybe because I'm one of the idiots that lives in it?" the girl deadpanned. "Can we do this later? Now isn't really a good time for me—"

"Oh, I'm sorry, your highness. Let me check my schedule for a date that suits both of us," Five snapped in return. "If you have plans to murder any more of my siblings, I'd like to know about them."

She rolled her eyes. "Please, Five, how terrible of a conspirator do you think I am? If I did want to kill your family— which is our family, by the way— I certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to tell you. But I don't, so you have nothing to worry about."

Unfortunately, he didn't seem to be convinced. "I know when someone is hiding something from me. I've known you for decades, Dolores. Don't you think I'd be able to read you even easier than one of my siblings? There's something that you're not sharing with us and I'm gonna find out what it is."

"Go ahead," she invited him evenly. "Then you'll see that you're just being paranoid." Dolores lifted her hand to pat him condescendingly on the cheek. "Love you too, honey." 

He turned his back on her with an irritated scoff and left to go talk with Viktor. Diego and Lila had gone off by themselves while Allison attempted to comfort Sloane. Edward was nowhere to be seen and Reginald was still pouring over his journal. That left just her and. . . Ben.

Great.

✧✧✧

"We need to talk," Dolores announced as she sat down on the bench next to Ben.

The Asian man hardly spared her a glance. "I don't have anything to say."

"Really?" she asked derisively as she raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him. "You certainly had a lot to say last night."

He grimaced. "That was a mistake."

The brunette nodded in agreement. "I'll say. But, the fact remains that it happened and— because I have the worst luck in the world— my husband saw us. Now my good name is tarnished and I need you to set it right because Five is accusing me of treason against our family."

"Your marriage was already on the rocks before you kissed me," he countered evenly. "Why do I have to be the one to do anything? It's not my fault that your ex-husband is a paranoid bastard."

She turned to him with a stern expression on her face as she pointed a finger in his direction. "First of all, you kissed me. Second, only I get to talk about Five like that, even if it is true. And third, I'm older than you so you're going to do as I say."

Ben scoffed. "Really? You're going to pull the age card on me?"

"Hell yeah," the girl retorted. "Besides, you're the antagonist here. I'm the victim. Five won't believe me even if I say it until I turn blue in the face."

"Like when Allison killed you?" he questioned her mockingly— and in a way that suggested he wished the third Hargreeves would do so again.

Instead of getting defensive about his comment, Dolores let out a wistful sigh. "Ah, simpler times. You know that you don't feel anything when you're dead, right? It's just a bunch of. . . nothing— at least when you're brought back to life."

The Sparrow smirked at her morbid outlook appreciatively. "I'll think about it."

Almost instantly, her amiable demeanor became fierce. Dolores stood from her seat to stand over him with her hands on her hips as she stared him down. "Oh, you'll do a lot better than think about it, asshole. This isn't a request, it's an order. You will do this for me. If you don't, I'll never let this go— and Five can tell you how stubborn I can be. I'll let this hang over your head for the rest of our lives and I'll never give you a moment's peace. I'll constantly remind you about how you kissed me—"

"Okay, okay! I get it," Ben cut her off irritably. "You'll be even more annoying than you already are. Big deal. What's in it for me?"

"You've got to be kidding me!" the brunette exclaimed. "Me being annoying for the next seven decades isn't enough for you?"

He shrugged. "Not when we're probably going to die before we get to leave this place. I need you to owe me a favor."

She stared at him with a look of pure disbelief. The nerve of this man! Here she was, the victim, and he was the one demanding things from her! She crossed her arms. "I don't think so."

"Fine, have it your way. No deal." The Asian man stood and made to turn away from her, a clear indication that he was finished with their conversation.

Dolores was tempted to let him go, too proud to tie herself to this. . . this miserable scumbag. But then another, more horrible thought cut through her whirling mind: what if Five never forgave her? What if he hated her? While their chances of surviving this hellhole were slim, what if they escaped and they went their separate ways, never reconciling their feelings for each other? Would Five really toss a forty-year long marriage down the drain like that? (With her previous days' experiences, she had to answer yes.)

As the what-if scenarios continued to plague her, desperation made her leap forward and seize Ben's wrist to stop him from walking away. The man paused with his back to her, though the smug expression on his face indicated that he'd guessed what her reaction would be.

"Wait!" The single word that escaped her lips held all of the concentrated emotion that she was feeling— one of pure heartache and despair. Her next words were much calmer: "fine. We have a deal. Just— promise me that you'll tell Five as soon as possible."

"Of course," he conceded as if the request had been obvious. "I can't promise a positive result but I'll do what I can. A deal's a deal, after all."

Dolores quickly released his arm. "Right. I'll handle the fallout; I just need him to know more than one side of the story because he's refusing to listen to reason."

Ben inclined his head in acknowledgement. "Very well. Don't forget that you owe me now."

✧✧✧

"Gather up, children!" Reginald announced as he came down the stairs.

They gathered from the various areas of the hotel where they'd spread out as they waited for something to happen. As Dolores approached the group, Five shot her a derisive look. "Have a nice chat with your new boyfriend?"

"Yes, it was lovely," she replied in a voice that was drier than the desert.

"Now that we've had a chance to catch our breath, the real work can begin," the older man easily disregarded their bickering and continued as if he hadn't been interrupted.

"Ah, the myth of the seven bells, eh?" the boy asked, seeming to be in an argumentative mood.

Reginald was unperturbed by his mocking tone. "Exactly. Somebody's been paying attention."

"Okay, so we find the seven bells— then what?" Diego wondered.

"No, no, no. The bells are just a metaphor for this." He held up the well-used journal to show them the page he'd turned to.

"The sigil."

"Correct, Number Five. The sigil is the key to the seven bells. Once we find this symbol, we're one step closer to resetting the universe."

Dolores glanced over at her uncle, who'd reappeared when Reginald had called the meeting to order. At the mention of resetting the universe, the blond man gave her a slight nod. Sloane spoke up, drawing her attention away from Edward: "what do we do when we find it?"

"I don't know."

Viktor wasn't pleased with this admission. "Excuse me? We're here because you said you have a plan."

"I do, up to a point."

Lila scoffed with disbelief. "Great. So we'll just stay in the hotel forever, staring at the walls and eating bad sushi."

"Finding the sigil is our only way out of here and the best chance we have of resetting the universe," Allison argued.

While the brunette knew that the fourth Hargreeves and Reginald had made a deal thanks to her uncle's insight, Five had done come to that conclusion on his own: "funny how you and dad are on the same page again. Dolores, do you agree with them?"

The brunette glared at him, unable to hide the sting of hurt due to his suspicion. "I agree with whatever plan gets us all out of here alive. I don't care who thought of it or how it's accomplished."

"Okay," Viktor cut in as he sensed another argument on the horizon. "Where do we start?"

"We'll split into groups," Edward announced as he stepped forward. "Reg will go with Allison and Sloane. Ben and Five with Viktor."

"No, we want Allison," the brunet protested immediately.

"Ben for Allison," Five agreed. "We've trained together so it makes more sense if we take Allison."

Their sister rolled her eyes. "Yeah, no thanks."

"Why not?"

"Children, children," Edward interrupted them as he clapped his hands to get their attention. "Let's not resort to playground squabbling; these groups are exceptionally fluid. Allison and Ben can be easily exchanged— although the trading of humans is generally frowned upon. Never mind that now; everyone, take a different floor."

"We must find that sigil!" Reginald added insistently.

"What about us?" Diego asked.

"You're a duo. Nobody wants to listen to your endless bickering," his father answered bluntly.

"That's not true!" Dolores said loudly. "I don't mind! Diego, Lila, you'll let me be the third wheel, right?"

A warm hand landed on her shoulder, causing her to turn and look up at her uncle. He smiled down at her amiably. "Not to worry, Dolores. You'll be with me."

"So, which floor do we take?" Dolores asked as the groups headed to the elevator.

"This one," Edward replied cheerfully. At her disappointed look, he waved an arm around the area. "Just look at it, there's loads to do here! We could eat sushi. And, uh, eat sushi—"

She sighed and turned back to the lobby with slumped shoulders. "I thought I'd get to do something useful for a change. I know I don't have any powers but I do know how to fight. . . a little."

The older man looped a companionable arm around her shoulders. "Why trouble yourself with getting all sweaty? We can be just as helpful down here as moral support. You know, like the people at water stands for the marathon runners."

"I guess. . ." she allowed softly. As they walked back to the main entrance hall, another pair of footsteps sounded from behind them. She turned to see that Reginald hadn't gone upstairs with the others like he'd said he would. Five must've been rubbing off on her because she was instantly suspicious. "Why are you here?"

"Now, now, Dolores," her uncle chided her lightly. "Don't be rude. This is his hotel, after all."

Reginald waved him off. "That's alright; it's perfectly natural for one to be curious, Edward. I happened to forget my journal and I couldn't possibly look for the sigil without it. Why don't you two go enjoy some of the delicious sushi while we wait for the others?"

"Wonderful idea! I am feeling a bit peckish. Dolores?"

The girl continued to eye the Hargreeves man warily but nodded. "I'll watch you eat— I'm not feeling very hungry right now."