Word count: 3189

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐄 their way over to the pub, which luckily was only a few minutes of a drive away from the Academy. 

The dimly-lit place wasn't all that busy, considering that it was the early afternoon, so it was easy to spot Luther. He was sitting by himself at one of the round tables, with a yellow mug in hand. 

"Look. Trying a little hair of the dog, are we?" Klaus teased as they approached the table, raising his eyebrows at the man who only grew irritated by the jest. "Hm?"

"Leave me alone," Luther muttered, pulling his mug closer to him as he kept his gaze on the table.

Diego sat down in the chair next to Luther as he placed his gloves on the table, and waved his hand toward the other three. "Give us a minute."

"Okay. Come on," Klaus told the other two as he nodded toward the table in the back. "Maybe they'll brood each other to death."

The three of them walked over to the table, leaning against it as they watched Diego speak.

"Look, Dad was wrong to lie to you," he murmured. "To all of us."

"Look, I did my time. All right?" Luther lifted his mug towards his lips but didn't drink out of it as he continued, "Four years up there, watching and waiting because he said the world needed me. Four years of nothing but soy paste and processed air because I was naive enough to believe that dads don't lie to their kids. But guess what? The joke's on me. I'm done. With all of it. With him. With you. With this family. You wanna save the world, you go right ahead. I'm fine to sit here and finish my beer and . . . get my . . . buzz on."

Valerie felt dizziness swoop upon her for a moment, and she lifted a hand to her forehead, her eyes squinted as she tried to steady her breathing.

It seemed that Five had noticed this as he turned towards her, his forehead creasing with worry while he whispered, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She gave him a reassuring smile, although she wasn't too sure how much she believed her own words.

Diego's voice floated towards them as he put his gloves back on, and he shrugged. "You want to turn your back on me, the guys, Valerie, that's fine. But Allison deserves better than that."

"Allison?" Luther repeated, his attention now fully given to Diego as his grip on his mug tightened. "What are you talkin' about?"

"Well, we got ahold of Harold Jenkins' police file. Turns out Vanya's boyfriend is a convicted murderer. Who would've saw that coming?" Diego paused. "A little hard to trust anyone who wears corduroy."

Luther's eyebrows knit tightly together as he slowly asked, "Wait, so . . . where's Allison now?"

"She decided to go after Harold Jenkins," Diego answered simply with a small shrug. "Alone."

Luther took a moment to process this before he growled, "You should have led with that!" He slammed his hand on the table as he got up, causing the others to flinch and the customers to glance his way. "Jesus Christ!"

He began to sprint around the tables and towards the doors, not paying any mind to the staring people. 

Valerie glanced at Five before sighing, and they all quickly followed. Another sigh left her mouth as Luther ripped the door off his hinges on accident, though the large man didn't seem to care as he continued out into the parking lot. 

"Where is Harold Jenkins?" Luther demanded as they (speed) walked towards the car, his voice rough.

"Pretty sure he and Vanya are at some cottage of his, up north," Diego answered as he gave a light shrug. "Near Jackpine."

"Well?" Luther turned to Valerie, his eyebrows raised as he threw his hands into the air. "What are you waiting for?"

"I—what?" Valerie questioned as she furrowed her eyebrows.

"What do you mean, 'What'? Run!" Luther exclaimed, making a shooing motion with his hands. "Get Allison before this guy can hurt her!"

Valerie mentally smacked herself. "Oh, yeah, yeah." 

Without a second thought, Valerie turned and began to run north, passing by cars and street signs as her arms pumped back and forth. She could feel herself losing breath, and her mind was growing awfully foggy, though she did her best to ignore this as she ventured on. 

But when her head was spinning and black spots were dancing in front of her eyes, she knew she'd have to stop. 

She skidded to a halt at the side of the road, almost tripping over her own feet, though she managed to catch herself just in time. Gasping for air, she bent over and rested her hands on her knees, hardly able to tell the bits of gravel apart. 

She groaned. She hadn't eaten today. And she had spent so much energy on running. 

Stupid Klaus and his stupid meeting that actually was really important and helpful.

Though the thought frustrated her, she knew that she wouldn't be able to bring Allison back or even make it there at all without passing out. So really, she didn't even have a choice in what she had to do next. 

Groaning again, Valerie turned around and sprinted back in the direction she had come from, feeling herself growing weaker and weaker with each mile. Though her sight had been restored in her mini-break, that was quickly beginning to worsen as her vision edged black. Her head was in a whole other level of pain. 

She was only a few inches away from the others, who were in the same position as before, when her speed gave out, leaving her to stumble forward.

The hopeful expression Luther first had when she had appeared dropped once he saw that no one accompanied her. "What the hell, Valerie? Where's Allison?"

"Can't . . . run . . . ," she panted as she grabbed onto Five's shoulders, grasping them as tightly as she could. Her forehead fell onto his shoulder, and she did her best to hold herself up. "Can't . . ."

"Val?" Five clutched onto the sides of her arms, trying to keep her standing as her head began to grow heavy. His voice was fading. "Valerie, what's wrong?"

"Here, kid, give her to me, you'll hurt yourself," Diego muttered as he took Five's position, his gloved hands wrapping around her arms. He peered into her face as she tilted her chin up, his eyebrows furrowed in concern as he demanded, "Val, tell us what's wrong"

"I . . . I need . . ." 

Her eyes closed as soon as she lost consciousness, slumping forward into Diego's chest.

—♫—

Valerie woke up about two hours later, although she was no longer standing, nor was she outside. 

Her eyes were still closed, but she could hear the faint rumble of the engine and the soft voices of the men around her, all discussing something intensely.

She had been placed in the middle seat of the car, her head leaning towards the left on someone's shoulder. Someone was also gripping her hand tightly, and she had a strong feeling she knew who the person was—and she wasn't complaining. 

She still felt as weak as before, having nothing but additional sleep to give her any energy. Her head was pounding with pain, making her feel distant from what was happening around her, and her stomach churned. 

Slowly, she opened her eyes to see Luther driving with Klaus in the front passenger seat. Diego and Five accompanied her in the back, Five's shoulder in her use and his hand grasping hers, just as suspected.

"Wha . . ." Valerie let out a series of unattractive coughs, feeling sick to her stomach as she let out a small groan. 

"Val?" Five sighed in relief as she lifted her head and turned to see the greenery flashing by through the window.

She rubbed her eyes as she turned back to everyone, who were all staring at her—except for Luther, because he was driving, obviously. "'Sup?"

"You pass out for two hours and all you have to say is 'Sup'?!" Diego questioned incredulously as he shook his head, his eyebrows furrowed as he stared at her.

Valerie ignored him and wrapped her arms around her queasy stomach as she weakly asked, "Does anyone have any food?"

"Seriously? That's what you're thinking about now? Fo—oh." A look of realization dawned on Diego's face, and he then breathed out, "Goddammit."

Five had the exact same look as he realized simultaneously with Diego. "Oh, fuck, I forgot about that."

"I don't get it." Klaus furrowed his eyebrows, looking around at them as he turned in his seat to face them. "Am I supposed to be having this 'aha' moment as well?"

"Total metabolic failure brought on by acute hypoglycemia," Valerie mumbled to him, that term being the one that Grace had always told her when she was younger.

Klaus's face scrunched up as he tried to process her words, though he clearly failed to as he uttered, "Meta—cute—mia—what?"

"If I don't eat enough and then I run a lot, my body starts shutting down," she explained in simpler terms. "My speed leaves me until I have enough energy to produce it again and I feel like absolute shit until then."

"Is it really that bad?" Klaus questioned dubiously as he squinted his eyes.

Valerie thought for a moment before sighing. "Imagine if you didn't eat for five years straight, and then ran a million miles. That's how I feel."

"Oh." Klaus's eyes widened as his skin paled slightly. "Oh no."

"Dammit, I don't have—" Diego patted his pockets but came up with nothing before he swung his head around and searched the car. "Luther, where's the nearest place we could get food?"

"Nowhere close," Luther sighed as he shook his head. "We're in the middle of nowhere. Unless she wants to eat leaves. Or tree bark."

"I'd rather just die," Valerie groaned as she leaned into Five's side, shutting her eyes as she tried to block out the pain, nausea, and exhaustion that was coming from . . . everywhere.

She could feel Five's worried eyes on her, and his voice was soft as he asked, "How much did you eat today?"

"Nothing," she murmured. "Didn't have time."

"You idiot!" Five muttered, letting out a small groan. "And you were mad at me for not saying anything about my injury?"

"That's . . . different." She swallowed, feeling her head fill with dizziness once more. "Five, I think I might—"

"Diego," Five said desperately as he turned towards him, his voice louder now, "isn't there food in here? There's gotta be something! Check before she passes out again!"

Suddenly, she felt the warmth of Five's arms as he wrapped them around her, and she felt reassured as he clutched her tightly. Her breathing slowed, and her mind was becoming hazy again while her heavy head remained on Five's shoulder. 

"Uh . . ." Diego's eyes frantically flicked from place to place as he tried to think, though he was clearly having a difficult time. His eyes suddenly lit up as he turned back towards her and queried, "Val, didn't we hide a stash of candy in here?"

"You mean, like . . . , when we were sixteen?" she asked slowly. She squinted her eyes. "Yeah."

He nodded quickly, snapping his fingers. "I never took the rest out after you disappeared, so—" 

Diego unbuckled his seat belt and leaned forward, shoving his hand past Klaus. He pulled the glove compartment open and dug out the plastic bag filled with bright, dirty packaging from inside the hole he had carved out so many years before. 

He lifted it up for Valerie to see and triumphantly exclaimed, "Here!"

"Are you . . . stupid?" She stared at him, her words coming slowly out of her mouth as she shook her head. "It's been . . . thirteen years. Those are definitely expired."

Diego looked back to the bag in his hands and wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, probably. Okay, Klaus. Give me your foot, I'll use my knife to cut it off."

"What the hell? No!" Klaus protectively pulled his legs towards him, staring at Diego in horror. He leaned forward and looked towards Valerie, who was resting against Five's body. "Valerie, I think I might have some drugs if you—"

"No!" Diego, Five, and Luther exclaimed simultaneously.

"Just trying to help." Klaus shrugged as he raised his hands in defence and he leaned back.

"Shit." Diego rubbed his temples, shutting his eyes in frustration. "Well, I mean, even if you didn't eat, as long as you didn't run too much, you shouldn't be that terrible. How far did you run today? Please tell me it's not a lot."

"Uh . . ." Valerie closed her eyes, trying to think before giving a small shrug. "In total for today, so far . . . a little less than four hundred thousand miles?"

"Jesus Christ," Diego breathed out as he leaned back in his seat. "Okay, so you're worse than terrible. You're on the brink of death."

"Exaggerated, but it sure feels like it," she muttered quietly in agreement, trying to focus on the feeling of Five's hand caressing her arm and the upset sighs coming from Diego rather than the abhorrent headache and the hollow feeling in her stomach.

"Luther, what do we do?" Diego questioned as he looked to Luther for guidance, but the man only shook his head.

"I—I don't know." Luther glanced over his shoulder to Diego before focusing back on the road. "Let's just get Allison first, and then figure out what to do with Valerie."

"What?" Diego's face was instantly filled with rage as his eyes widened and his eyebrows knit together tightly. He leaned forward, one hand resting on the back of Klaus's seat as he exclaimed, "Are you shitting me, man?"

"This Harold Jenkins guy could get to Allison at any moment!" Luther exclaimed, his grip on the wheel tightening as he drove on. "You said it yourself, Allison's life is in danger!"

"So is Valerie's!" Diego shouted.

Valerie covered her ears as she scrunched her face in pain, the yelling only making her headache worse. "Shut . . . up . . ."

Five pulled her closer to him, slightly wincing from the pain caused by his injury, but doing it nonetheless. He planted a reassuring kiss on the top of her head as she softly groaned in pain, his eyes still fixed on the men who were still arguing.

"I'm the leader!" Luther insisted, his face growing a little red. "I get to make the decisions for the group!"

"Oh, shut the hell up," Diego scoffed as he rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "Being the leader doesn't mean shit anymore, Dad's fucking dead! Just detour for ten minutes, and we can get food for her!"

"Those ten minutes could cost Allison her life!" Luther rebutted angrily.

"We don't even know if she's in trouble!" Diego shouted. "We know for a fact that Valerie's in trouble! She's right there!"

"I'm Number One, Diego," Luther said in a low voice, his gaze hardened as he stared at the road through the dirtied windshield. "I love Valerie, but Allison's situation is worse."

"Worse? Are you fucking kidding—"

"Get Allison first," Valerie said quietly, interrupting their quarrel as her fingers slipped around the piano pendant for reassurance.

"What?" Diego turned to her, his eyebrows furrowed as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "No, Valerie, we have to—"

"Diego . . . please. " Valerie could feel herself slipping away from consciousness as she exhaled, "Just—get Allison first. She's . . . more . . . important . . ."

"Val?" Five's voice sounded distant as her eyes closed once more. "No, Val, don't—"

And then she passed out again.

—♫—

By the time Valerie had woken again, the sky had darkened, and the trees were hardly visible as they passed by in a blur.

She felt no better than the first time she woke up—in fact, she felt worse. The pain in her head had somehow spread to every inch of her body, and even the slightest noise—the ticking blinkers, the short coughs, the whistling wind—made the pain that much more excruciating. 

So, that wasn't great.

Five's arms were no longer around her, but he was still holding onto her hand tightly as her head rested against his shoulder.

"Someone kill me," she groaned as she lifted her head up. "Diego, please. Throw a knife at me or something."

"Valerie, guess what?" Klaus raised his eyebrows as he turned around in his seat to face her, a small grin on his face. "Look what I found in my pocket." He took out a wrapped granola bar and handed it to her as she straightened up.

"You've had food this whole time?" Five asked incredulously, his eyes widening as he registered the snack.

"I just found it!" Klaus protested as he raised his hands in defence.

Before she unwrapped it, Valerie turned the granola bar over to check the expiry date, and then groaned, "Klaus, you dummy, this expired five months ago. It'll only make me sicker."

"Did it?" Klaus snatched the bar out of her hands, turning it to inspect the date printed on the back before a sheepish smile spread onto his face. "Huh. Whoops. Sorry about that, Val."

"It doesn't matter, one granola bar would've made me feel better for a millisecond," she sighed as she rested her head on Five's shoulder once more and tightened her grip on his hand. "How long until we're there?"

"Not long," Diego reassured her as he peered out at the black sky. "Ten minutes, I think. You think you can hold out?"

"Yeah," she mumbled.

They made it outside of a cabin that was deep in the forest, decorated with wind chimes and made out of textured wood.

Everyone immediately took off their seatbelts as soon as Luther put the car in park, and Valerie ignored Diego's request for her to stay in the car as she and the others followed Luther inside as he pushed the door open.

A horrifying sight greeted them as soon as they entered: Allison was laying on the floor, her white shirt and the carpet around her soaked in her blood. There was a large gash in her neck, making it seem as though it had been slit by a knife, and blood continued to leak out of it. 

"Allison! No!" Luther shouted as he dropped to his knees.

Valerie gripped Five's arm in fright as she stared at her sister in terror. She could barely breathe, feeling as though there was something blocking her airway as tears began to stream down her face.

"Allison," Luther whimpered as he lifted her upper body up, her eyes slightly fluttering. He sobbed as he held her close to him, "Please look at me, please . . . ."