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❛ ᴡᴀsᴛᴇʟᴀɴᴅs ᴏғ ᴛɪᴍᴇ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐓𝐖𝐎 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ʜᴇᴀᴠᴇɴ ɪs ғᴏʀ ʀᴇᴀʟ
( ᴡᴇʟʟ, sᴏʀᴛ ᴏғ )꒱

❝ [THIS PLACE] IS NEITHER HERE
NOR THERE. IT SIMPLY IS. ❞

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Dolores woke slowly, her eyes blinking open blearily as if she were being roused from a long sleep— a sleep that she desperately needed, but one that did not feel restful. Her surroundings came into view in pieces; the bright, blinding white of the walls around her. The buttery-smooth and worn leather underneath her fingers that belonged to the lazy chair that she was sitting in. The threadbare oriental rug under her feet with its familiar, age-tinged fringe that her mother could never seem to get clean. The 90s-era TV console setup with its big, black box TV that sat in the middle of the square cutout; on either side, wooden storage shelves were loaded with games, books and DVDs.

The entire arrangement sent a wave of nostalgia over her as it was the same furniture that had been in her childhood home, right down to the stain that was hidden by the side table next to her— the one her mother had gotten just to cover it up. Dolores straightened in the recliner as her eyes took in the living room layout— minus the couch that she and her parents would share. It had been so long since she'd experienced anything from her childhood that it sent a powerful wave of nostalgia over her, so much so that it made her heart ache. She swallowed back the lump in her throat as she felt like a girl again, safe in her parents' care. It had been decades since she'd felt this sort of peace.

Peace. 

It was a concept that she wasn't familiar with. Ever since she'd become a teenager, her life had been riddled with one challenge after another in a struggle to survive. As tempting as it was to give in and just relax, the sudden stillness of her surroundings, the enticing lull of comfort that came from her easy chair, the familiarity of the living room— it set her on edge. Suspicion quickly grew within her as she took stock of her surroundings again. This time, Dolores noticed what was wrong: she wasn't sitting in her family's den as she'd thought. This was made clear by her bright-white environment, as if she were in a hospital. The living room in her memory had been earthy, with used but clean furniture (which was true here, she supposed), but the walls had been beige, almost light brown.

She sat up straight, her eyes wide as she looked around. Where the hell was she?

Sure, Dolores had had her fair share of odd situations over the years and waking up in an unfamiliar place shouldn't surprise her. But the eerie stillness was unsettling, as if time had stopped altogether. Thankfully, her experience with the strange and unusual kept her from panicking— at least for now— and she tried to recount the last things that she remembered.

The brunette closed her eyes and did her best to recall the events from earlier that day (or at least, what she thought was earlier that day.)

Her family had narrowly escaped being obliterated by the apocalypse. In their last-ditch effort, they'd escaped to a parallel dimension, though one that was wrought with danger. She'd been singled out by her uncle, separated from her in-laws as they went off to find the sigils, which turned into a fight with the Guardian(s). As she worried over their safety, her uncle had acted as if everything was normal, even going so far as to eat the sushi that the hotel had been offering. Then, he'd turned on her— had called her a wild card, the only flaw in an otherwise perfect plan. He'd attempted to take her life to prevent her from meddling, but in an act of self-defense, she'd taken his.

The Hargreeves had come back then, scraped and exhausted from their individual fights. But, their struggle wasn't over yet. As they raced to figure out how to leave the parallel dimension, the so-called 'final boss' had made his appearance, catching them off guard— her husband most of all.

Dolores' eyes flew open as her stomach turned, remembering the gush of red as the enemy cut off his arm. She'd fainted, then, as the events of the day became too much to bear. And then she'd woken up here, in this strange, timeless place.

Was she in a hospital? That would make sense, considering everything that had happened. But her family was not known for being lucky and there was a slim chance that they'd managed to escape the parallel dimension. Besides, a hospital wouldn't have the living room set up from her childhood. That room now only existed in her mind, having been crushed to rubble in the apocalypse.

Was she in a coma? That seemed to be a viable answer, especially considering the week she'd had. The white walls seemed to stretch endlessly around her, without corners or angles. Perhaps her mind had been unable to conjure up the rest of the room and that was why her surroundings were so. . . blank.

She wished that she could talk to someone; then they could figure this out together. Most of all, she wished that Five was there with her. He was a genius, he'd be able to help her solve this mystery. Sure, they hadn't been on good terms before all this had happened, but Dolores was so over his drama. Too many life-changing events had taken place between their argument and now; if he hadn't gotten over it, that was on him. She, for one, was ready to go back to how they used to be.

Dolores shook her head to clear her thoughts; thinking about her husband wouldn't help her now, he wasn't here, no matter how much she wished that he was. Deciding that sitting there and thinking about where she was wouldn't solve anything, she stood and stretched before she began to walk. Her feet made hardly any sound in the cavernous space and she resisted the urge to look over her shoulder as the unease followed her.

Despite her discomfort due to her surroundings, the action of walking relaxed her more than sitting in the easy chair. She was used to this; before everything had happened, she and her husband had taken long walks every day. Although those times had been hard, she missed their relative simplicity. Dolores never thought that she'd look back on her past fondly, but she wished she hadn't taken it for granted when she compared it to her present.

✧✧✧

She didn't know how long she'd been walking, but the 90s-era furniture was long gone. There was not a spot of color anywhere around her except on the clothes she wore, but even her gray-and-white pinstriped suit was void of color. Then, out of nowhere, a bell sounded, loud and tinny in the stillness. Dolores jumped at the unexpected sound and spun around to look for the source of the noise. Her body tensed and her hand went to the knife that was hidden underneath her vest, her instinct careening towards fight instead of flight.

Out of everything that she could have expected, a little girl on a bike was the last thing that came to mind. If Dolores had to place her age, it would be around twelve or thirteen, though she was the type of person that seemed old and young all at once. The girl pedaled towards her, but not because she was aiming for her, she was just continuing on her path. The brunette stared at the stranger, taking a few moments to adjust to the odd sight.

The oncoming biker had a sheet of long, shiny dark brown hair, matching almond-shaped eyes and dark skin. There was a basket on the front of her bike along with her bell, and the back had a triangular flag sticking out of it, which waved merrily in a wind that did not exist. The girl made to pedal past Dolores without paying her any mind, but this girl was the first person she'd seen in all this time, and she wasn't going to let her go so easily.

"Wait!" Dolores called out, her desperation to talk to someone inspiring her to reach out and grab the bike's handlebars— the girl wasn't going very fast, after all. It felt like she'd spoken loudly in her exclamation, but unlike what she would expect for such a vast, empty space— or how the girl's bell cut through the silence— her voice did not echo. Instead, the still air seemed to dampen the sound and swallow up the noise.

The girl's bike jerked from Dolores' action and the rider quickly set her feet on the ground to keep herself from toppling over. Her brown eyes pinned the other girl with a displeased look. "Yes?"

"Who are you? What is this place?" she asked, an urgency in her tone as she finally let some of her building panic slip through.

The girl on the bike seemed unaffected by her questioning. Her words were slow and careful in a way that implied that she thought Dolores was very stupid. "You. . . don't. . . know?"

She huffed irritably. "Of course I don't know! I've been stuck here for God knows how long, just walking. Where is all the color? Where is everyone?"

"You're new here, aren't you?" the girl asked in the same, measured tone. "Everyone figures out what this place is eventually. You're not the first to arrive here confused."

Dolores was already at her wits' end and the girl's imperious attitude was making her temper shorter than it already was. "Where is here?"

"This is The Void," the biker answered calmly, unruffled by the brunette's demand.

"The Void?" Dolores repeated. "What's that, like heaven or something?"

"Or something," the girl agreed. "It is neither Here nor There. It simply is."

"What about Earth?"

"What about it?"

The brunette scowled at her lack of clarity. "Where is this place in comparison to Earth? Can I go back?"

The girl studied her for a moment before she replied, "I'm afraid not." (Though she sounded the opposite of apologetic when she said this.)

"Why not?"

"Your body no longer exists there."

Dolores froze at that. Although she was familiar with death and dying, the concept had never been permanent for her. She'd always thought that she was like a cat who had nine lives— but eventually, the cat would meet its end, too. "So. . . I'm dead? Is that it?"

The biker sighed, seemingly exasperated by Dolores' inability to grasp the situation. "No. Your body has simply ceased to exist, which is why you have ended up here. In the place where things can just be."

"But I have to go back! My husband, my family— they need me!"

For the first time, the girl seemed sympathetic towards her frustration. "Everyone thinks that, but they all learn to move on. It would be best if you did, too. You have all the time in the world now to do whatever you'd like."

"What I'd like is to go back to Earth," Dolores ground out. "I don't want to move on!"

"I'm afraid you can't go back," the girl repeated. "Your place is here now."

"I've gone back before!" the brunette argued. "I don't have any memory of this place, but I have died before, and I was brought back!"

"I know," the girl began, resuming her initial, calm cadence. "But your body existed on Earth then. It doesn't anymore."

Dolores glared at her. "So, what, I just poofed out of existence? Matter can't just disappear!"

The biker stared evenly back in return. "But you are a mistake, Dolores Hargreeves. You are not supposed to exist in this timeline. When the world was reset, it corrected itself of major flaws, which included you."

"What do you mean, I'm a mistake? And how do you know my name?"

"I know everyone's name. I created you, didn't I?"

She took a moment to let those words sink in. "You. . . created everyone? Like God?"

The girl shrugged. "I don't have a name, but yes, I did. Or at least, I'm pretty sure. But I cannot be the God you are alluding to, for even I make mistakes— you are proof of that, after all. I've tried to fix my error, but it seems that you are a wild card, Dolores Hargreeves. You have time on your side, which has nullified my past efforts. Now, however, you are in a place where time does not exist. You are alone, and you will not escape me again."

Dolores jerked at her use of wild card, which her uncle had called her only hours? Days? How do you tell the passage of time when it does not exist? "You are wrong," she insisted. "Time is still on my side, even if you've separated us. You may call me a wild card, but I have more than one title. Perhaps, since you know my name, you also know that I am a magician? A master of slight-of-hand? I do not need to rely on time when I have other tricks up my sleeve. You might even know of the nickname that my uncle gave me: Word Shaker. I'm good at making up stories— lies. Things people will believe. Things you might believe."

The girl gave her a serene smile. "Good luck."

✧✧✧

Dolores woke slowly, her eyes blinking open blearily as if she were being roused from a long sleep— a sleep that she desperately needed, but one that did not feel restful. Her surroundings came into view in pieces; the bright, blinding white of the walls around her. The buttery-smooth and worn leather underneath her fingers that belonged to the lazy chair that she was sitting in. The threadbare oriental rug under her feet with its familiar, age-tinged fringe that her mother could never seem to get clean. The 90s-era TV console setup with its big, black box TV that sat in the middle of the square cutout; on either side, wooden storage shelves were loaded with games, books and DVDs.

Shit. 

The little girl on the bike was right: this wasn't heaven. This was hell.

A/n: WE'RE SO BACK!!!!!!! 

Although admittedly not the triumphant return I was hoping for (screw you s4), but here we are! I'm definitely going to be changing up what's considered canon this season (ABSOLUTELY NO FIVE AND LILA - what the HELL was that?!?!?!?) although I will probably keep a majority of the non-weird scenes. I have a lot of OG stuff for Dolores planned so to make it a bit easier on myself I'll be relying somewhat on Five's plot. I have a totally different ending in store (which was the one good thing about the way s4 ended— I don't mind changing it since it sucked) where everyone lives and nobody dies :)

So, I actually wrote this a long time before s4 came out and now that I know what s4's writing was like, I am really pleased with how this chapter came out. I have another Five Hargreeves FF and I'm STRUGGLING to write the first chapter for it. I keep second guessing everything I write because I'm afraid that it will be as bad as s4 was (I want to try to fix as many of the plot holes as I can - and for this story, too - and I don't know if in doing so I'll make it better or worse.) My one consolation is that I know it will be at least marginally better than s4 since Five/Lila will never exist, lol.

Since this chapter was prewritten and I wanted to give you guys some actual content (plus I'm hungry for comments and reassurance), I don't mind releasing the updates so close together— but don't get used to it, lol. I am excited for what I have planned as long as I'm not wracked with self-doubt, so the update schedule will definitely be variable. 🤣