Word count: 3072

𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐙𝐀𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐄𝐃, 𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 Klaus on the back before following Five into the living room. 

He was already at the bar by the time she came in, limping around as he concocted some sort of alcoholic beverage.

She sat down on one of the stools at the bar counter, silently watching as he put his ingredients into the blender. Soon, the loud whirring of the blender filled the silence, mixing the components into a neon green drink.

Five poured himself a glass before raising his eyebrows at Elizabeth and pointing at the blender. "Want one?"

She gave him a tight smile. "I'm good."

He was quiet for a few moments as he put a swirly straw into his glass and sat down next to her. 

After taking a sip of his margarita, he questioned, "Well, do you think we really did it? Think we actually stopped the apocalypse?

"I guess," she sighed. "I mean, Harold Jenkins was the cause, right? How can it happen if he's dead?"

"Right." Five exhaled before he took another sip.

"So . . ." She frowned, her right thumb meeting the familiar skin that bore her tattoo as she began to rub on it. "I feel like the only thing that had been on my mind since we got back was the apocalypse. Now what?"

"Now what?" he echoed with a small chuckle. "I don't know. I'm open to suggestions."

All of a sudden, there was a loud knocking at the door that interrupted them.

Elizabeth furrowed her eyebrows as the two of them glanced towards the main foyer. Who could it be? The Academy was not used to having visitors.

"I'll get it," Five sighed. He took a sip of his drink as he stood up, and took it with him as he went to go answer the door.

He appeared back into the room a minute later, with a familiar face behind him. Hazel followed him into the room, the gun in his hand pointed at Five as the boy sat back down in his spot.

"Uh . . . Five . . . why is Hazel here?" Elizabeth questioned, her eyes trained on the gun as she leaned over to him.

"Eh, don't worry about it." He waved a dismissive hand before raising his eyebrows at Hazel. "You're here to kill me?"

"Oh. Shit. Sorry. Old habits," Hazel apologized as he tucked the gun into the back waistline of his pants. "Well, I can understand why you might feel that way, you know . . ."

Five nodded as he took another gulp of his drink. "Well, you attacked our house, tried to kill my family, and kidnapped my brother."

"Well, there's not much I can do about the past. Don't forget, I'm not the only killer in this room. You got your own bloody history, pal. Speaking of which" —Hazel paused, glancing down towards the ground before looking back up at Five— "that job you did in Calhoun, that shit's legendary. Can't believe I'm actually sittin' here talkin' to you, after all . . ."

Tiredly, Five questioned, "Hazel, why are you here?"

Hazel straightened out the bottom of his blazer as he began, "Well, I'm, you know—"

Before Hazel could continue, he was knocked forward as Diego kicked him from behind.

"Diego, stop!" Five shouted as Diego flipped over Hazel's fallen body.

"Get up!" he roared before kicking Hazel in the face. 

He followed that with another kick, and then a few more punches before Hazel socked him in the stomach, causing him to stumble back and then fall to the floor.

"Diego! Stop!" Elizabeth exclaimed. She looked towards Five, who only shook his head.

"You know, before you kill him," Five called, "you might wanna hear what he has to say."

Diego jumped back onto his feet and drew a knife, the sharp sound filling their ears. He growled, "I'm gonna kill you for what you did to Patch."

"Or don't," he sighed as he sipped his drink. "See how that goes."

Hazel turned to Five, an incredulous expression prominent on his face. "Are you gonna—"

Diego charged at him before he could finish his sentence, and Hazel backed away, the knife narrowly missing his stomach. 

He continued slashing his knife towards Hazel, missing each time. He then grabbed Hazel's left arm and lifted it up, tossing his knife in his hand before stabbing Hazel in the thigh.

Five scrunched his face as Hazel pulled the knife out. "That's gotta hurt."

"Five!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she turned towards him while the two men continued to fight. "We should do something!"

"Nah" —he shook his head— "not yet."

Diego flipped backward, kicking Hazel in the face with both feet as he did so. He threw another couple of punches before Hazel grabbed onto his arms and headbutted him, leaving him slightly dazed for a moment. He picked Diego up and squeezed him tightly, and Diego rebutted by biting him in the ear.

Five placed his drink down and teleported onto the couch behind the two, holding a glass vase. He smashed it over Diego's head, the sound of shattering glass accompanying the thud of the unconscious body hitting the ground.

Hazel groaned in agony as he brought his hand to his ear, tentatively squishing the top of it as he angrily stared down at Diego. He spat as he brought his arm down, that action causing the glass on his shoulders to fall around Diego's legs.

"I draw the line at biting," Five sighed as he walked back to his seat. "Hazel, whatever you came here to say, I suggest you make it quick, before he comes round."

"I left my partner, quit the Commission, came to volunteer," Hazel declared as Five picked his drink up.

Elizabeth furrowed her eyebrows and asked, "For what?"

"To help stop the apocalypse," Hazel answered as he brushed the glass off of his other shoulder, his forehead creasing slightly.

"Hm," Five chuckled as he gulped down more of his drink.

Hazel stared at him incredulously. "What on earth could be so funny to you right now?"

"Before I answer that," Five started, his eyes squinting at the large man, "why do you wanna help us?"

"Let's just say I have a vested interest in a doughnut shop," Hazel said vaguely, his voice softening.

Five looked up at him with an amused smile. "Well, I hate to break it to you, pal, but you're a day late and a dollar short. The fact that you're here right now means, without a shadow of a doubt, that the apocalypse is over."

"Really?" Hazel's eyes widened. "How do you know?"

"The mark is dead. Found him this morning," Five answered with a small shrug. "You were the last known unknown left in the equation."

"Shit." A grin broke out on Hazel's face as he queried, "Really?"

"Mhm." Five turned around in his seat, placing his glass on the bar counter as he gave a small nod. "And if you're out, then Hellrider ain't riding."

"Oh!" Hazel took a deep breath, his face overtaken with happiness. "All right. Oh!" He laughed joyously as he sat down on Five's other side, then picking up the blender that had the remains of the drink and taking a large sip. He put it back afterwards, and let out a small sigh. "So now what?"

Five stared ahead of him. "You know, to be honest, I don't know. I've been chasing this thing for so long, I" —he squinted his eyes, his fingers stuck on his straw— "I never really thought about the day after. I don't know. What about you?"

"I'm done with all this madness." Hazel toyed with one of the limes that rested in front of him as he murmured, "Time to start over. You should do the same."

"That's easier said than done," Five pointed out with a small frown.

"It doesn't have to be hard," Hazel rebutted as he gave a small shrug. "I mean, think about it like this. If you never time-travelled, you never got caught up with The Handler, what would have happened?"

Five glanced back at Diego, who was still lying motionless on the ground. "I guess I would have grown up to be an emotionally stunted man-child like everybody else around here."

Hazel chuckled softly, "Well, there you go. Now you can grow up." He got up from the chair, beginning to walk to the exit. "Good luck."

"Hazel," Elizabeth suddenly spoke up, turning around in her chair as Hazel paused and looked towards her. "One more thing before you go."

He nodded. "Shoot."

"Which one of you was the trigger man for Detective Patch?" she questioned, her eyes flitting between Hazel and Diego.

"Trigger woman."

"Huh." She frowned, letting out a small sigh. "That's too bad. That gun could have cleared his name." She nodded towards Diego, her eyes narrowed.

"Well" —Hazel reached towards the back of his pants as he looked over at Diego— "today's your lucky day. Take 'em both." He placed two guns on the bar counter, one silver, one black. "I'm done with this life."

Hazel sighed before giving a small nod of goodbye. He then left, leaving the two of them alone with the still-unconscious Diego.

He wasn't unconscious for much longer, however, as he groaned and slowly got up about a minute later.

"Shit," Diego breathed out as he rubbed the side of his head, his face scrunching up slightly from the pain.

"Good, you're up," Five remarked as he gave him a sarcastic smile. "Ready for a drink now?"

Diego sprang to his feet, his head whipping from side to side as he suddenly demanded, his expression furious, "Where is he?"

"We let him go," Five answered with a shrug.

His eyebrows raised, his eyes widening as he took a few steps towards them and incredulously questioned, "You what?"

"Now that the apocalypse is over, it's time for the fighting to stop," Five said carefully.

Diego didn't seem to care for his words as he angrily picked his knife up from the ground.

"Hey, he didn't kill Patch," Elizabeth said earnestly. "His partner Cha-Cha did."

"So what, Elizabeth?" Diego questioned loudly. His voice lowered as he leaned towards the two, gesturing behind him with the knife. "They were both there that night."

"This half of the partnership gave us both of their guns." Five nodded towards the two guns that lay next to him. "Which will clear you, because the ballistics will match Patch's crime scene. Hazel came here looking for a way out. He wanted a fresh start. And he happened to have in his possession the one thing that could do our family a little good. So it's time to move on."

"Not a chance," Diego responded immediately, his voice barely more than a whisper.

"Suit yourself," Five sighed as he stood up, placing his nearly-finished drink on the counter behind him.

"Diego." Elizabeth peered into his troubled expression, her eyebrows knit tightly together. "That girl—Detective Patch. What . . . What did you like about her?"

"A lot of things." Diego shrugged lightly. "Cute butt. Nice legs."

She scrunched her face in disgust as she shook her head. "Anything a little more . . . profound than that?"

Diego was quiet for a moment before he spoke, his voice much softer than before, "She believed in people." His eyes began to shine with tears, and he swallowed thickly. "No matter how much shit and filth she saw on the streets. She always saw the good inside."

Elizabeth nodded slowly, a small scoff escaping her lips. "Well, I'm sure she'll be proud to know that you're killing Hazel and Cha-Cha as a way to honour her memory."

—☾—

About an hour later, Elizabeth sat in her room, reading the Art of War by Sun Tzu. She had missed being able to have enough time to read; the last eight days were nothing but chaotic, and there hadn't been any books in the portal she had been stuck in.

But, apparently, she didn't have that time right now, as her door burst open to reveal Klaus.

"What's up?" She closed her book and placed it on her nightstand before looking towards him with furrowed eyebrows.

"Luther . . ." Klaus swallowed, his eyes darting nervously around the room. "He's locked Vanya up in the basement. He wants us to go down there."

"Wha . . ." She immediately slipped off of the bed, her eyebrows furrowing further as she followed him out of the room. "Why?"

"He said . . . He said she has powers."

Utterly confused, Elizabeth headed towards the room Klaus told her, taking the elevator all the way down, with Klaus trailing not too far behind. Diego and Luther were already there when they entered, staring into the oval window of a heavy door.

The room was made out of stone, green and grey staining the walls after so many years. It was rather cold in there, and the lighting seemed to be cool, despite the yellow glow of the light.

"Wha—Luther, what are you doing?!" Elizabeth questioned in horror as she peeked through the glass to see an unconscious Vanya laying in the middle of the smaller prison.

Just then, Vanya woke up. She was dazed at first but then scrambled to her feet in a panic. She rushed up to the door, slamming her hands against it as she shouted in fright, her eyes quickly filling with tears. The smaller room she was locked in was soundproof, so they couldn't hear a single word of her pleas.

"Luther, let her go!" Elizabeth began to head towards the door, but Luther gripped tightly on her shoulder and stopped her.

"No."

Diego stared at the silent, screaming Vanya. "You locked up our sister because you think she has powers."

"No. I know she does. Pogo told me," Luther sighed. "He's always known, and so did Dad."

"Why would they hide this from us?" Diego questioned as his hand grazed the wheel that opened the door. "I mean, am I the only one that didn't know this place existed?"

"He hid so much from us," Klaus breathed out.

Luther took a step forward, releasing his grip on Elizabeth as he told them, "He hid it because he was afraid . . . of her."

"Oh, that's ridiculous!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

"Is it?" He raised his eyebrows in a challenging fashion as he pointed out, "Dad's lied about everything else, why is this so far-fetched?"

"If you're right . . . then maybe she's the one who killed Peabody," Diego realized as he looked back towards the door.

Luther nodded grimly. "And cut Allison's throat."

Klaus raised his hands, shaking his head profusely in disbelief. "Whoa, no. Let's—I ju—sorry, just, let's go back, all right? This is Vanya we're talking about. Our sister. The one who always cried when we stepped on ants as kids."

Luther sighed, "Yeah, I know. I know it's difficult to accept—"

"It's not difficult to accept, it's impossible to accept!" Elizabeth cried out, feeling a pang of pain in her chest with every hit and shout Vanya gave.

Diego whipped his head around to face Luther as he raised a hand and told him, "Look, we can't keep her locked up without proof."

He stared at him incredulously as he shook his head and asked, "Wh—what more proof do you need?"

"Why don't we just open the door and ask her?" Elizabeth took a step forward, reaching her hand out to open the door before Luther grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"No, she's not goin' anywhere."

"No, even if you're right, she needs our help, and we can't do that if she's locked in a cage!" Elizabeth exclaimed angrily, gesturing back to the door.

Klaus, who had walked back towards the entrance, nodded. "Yeah, and for all we know, she might be struggling with this new power. I mean, it must be scary." He walked back towards them as they looked towards the sobbing girl, and he nodded. "Terrifying, really, to discover that you can do something that you never thought you could do."

Luther kept his voice calm as sighed, "Look, if what Pogo told me is even half true, then she is not just a danger to us."

"No. I don't care." Elizabeth shook her head before she stepped forward, her hand gripping the wheel.

"Don't, Elizabeth," Luther warned as he took a menacing step towards her, his hand raised. "Don't do it."

"I have to."

She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, though she ignored it as she tightened her grip on the wheel

"Goldie," Diego whispered softly in her ear, causing her to pause. His voice was a little reluctant as he muttered, "Maybe . . . maybe we should listen to Luther."

"Are you insane?!" Elizabeth turned to him, an incredulous look on her face as she pushed him aside with one hand. "I thought you were on my side! You were a minute ago!"

Diego shifted in his spot, his gaze uneasy on her. "I know. I am. But" —he glanced warily towards Vanya— "if it's possible that she causes the apocalypse or something . . ."

"Oh, that's ridiculous, Vanya's not going to cause the apocalypse. That shit is over." She rolled her eyes before turning back to Vanya, giving her a comforting smile as she put her hand back on the wheel.

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I can't allow you to let her out." Luther grabbed her and hoisted her over his shoulder. With one last cautious look towards Vanya, he began to walk towards the exit.

"No! Luther!" She struggled against his grip, trying to get wiggle herself out of it. "Let me go! Let her go! Luther!"

It seemed as though Vanya was screaming along with her, her eyes trained on Elizabeth as she tried to get out of Luther's arms.

"Luther, please!" Tears had begun to stream down her face as she hit his arms and kicked at his legs. "Diego! Please! Diego, help me!"

Diego watched with disheartened eyes but remained unmoving.

"No! Vanya!" Elizabeth cried out as Luther began to walk out of the room, his grip on her only growing more crushing as she tried to squirm herself out. "Vanya!"