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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐃 just started to set over the horizon; the moon crawling through its dimming rays and into sight and yet all Five has managed to find throughout the entire house is an expired cocoa mix. Yet still, his search continues. He needed the caffeine to keep his mind on one thing at a time. Right now it was all a jumbled mess, and yet somehow caffeine always treated this.

With every empty shelf he came upon, his patience thinned. He was anxious to get to work and more importantly get the hell out of here. The longer he stayed the more likely he was to put the others in danger. He straightened at the thought, moving onto another shelf he made the mental preparations in his head. Maybe Griddy's was still open.

The walls began to shake around him and the collection of glass jars in front of his nose began to rattle. The symphony of clinks the glass made together seemed to mock him and a frustrated scowl twisted up his entire face. He paused only a moment as his head dropped to his chest and he sighed in great agitation. Not this again. It had to be connected, it just had to be. It was no mistake consistent earthquakes limited only to the estate of the world's only publicly known superheroes have grown more frequent and erratic to the point of near destruction only days away from the horrors he had found in the future.

And yet, the same annoying thought flew across his mind; would he have the time? Would eight days be enough? He shook the slippery slope of a question from his mind. It would have to be. And he'd have to work with what he got. And that included those dear siblings of his that didn't seem to catch on to urgency. Klaus had been trying to pry questions out of him since he cornered him in the kitchen but Five was an expert in dodging social interactions. Of course, Allison was a bit more persistent.

"Where's Vanya?" She asked.

Klaus hugged the guitar he seemed to have procured out nowhere to his chest and heaved a heavy sigh. "Oh, she's gone."

"That's unfortunate," Five began.

Allison nodded. "Yeah,"

"an entire square block. Forty-two bedrooms, nineteen bathrooms but no, not a single drop of coffee." He finishes.

"Dad hated caffeine,"

"Well, he hated children and he had plenty of us," Klaus fakes a laugh, stopping instantly and eyeing his siblings as he hugs the guitar.

"I'm taking the car," Five says, like his sister ignoring Klaus's remarks.

The man in question picks his feet up from where they had been lounging on the table and leans forward in his seat, intrigued. "Where are you going?"

"To get a decent cup of coffee,"

"Do you even know how to drive?" Allison asks sounding almost amused.

"I know how to do everything," Five hisses, glaring at the near teasing look in his sister's eye.

A deep and thunderous rumble swallowed the tension sitting in the air and stole away the stage for their petty sibling arguments. Concern spread amongst all of them. Even Diego who wandered cautiously into the kitchen with a duffle bag found his eyes scanning the room for a headcount. The aftershock settled down into nothing after several lengthy moments, 17.8 seconds to be precise - the longest and loudest tremor yet and it was clear to all; they were getting worse by the hour. When it finally came to a stop, a thoughtful and almost calculating look seemed to fall over Five as if he was choosing his next few words carefully despite the body language of his next actions.

With his hands tucked into his pockets, Five lumbers across the kitchen, throwing a half glance to Allison and Diego before blinking out of the room. "As much as I'd love to stick around and see what happens when this pile of bricks can't take whatever the hell dearest dad did to simulate a DIY earthquake, I've got some coffee to hunt down."

The three of them stand abandoned in the silence left by their brother and the aftershock. The only sound to fill it was the car engine roaring to life outside, signaling Five's departure. They knew all too well he was right. They were only getting worse and with no signs of stopping. And neither of them wanted to find out just how bad they would become.

As if sensing their fears - mocking them - yet another unforeseen tremor hits the house and all inside; the worst one yet. Their entire life's experience with the anomaly not once had they feared for their safety until now. They had all been informed every precaution had been taken to ensure their safety so that they may carry on throughout their day - but this no longer seemed the case.

"Alright, under the table! Everybody, let's move it come on!" Diego ordered, herding his siblings together and throwing back any chairs that stood in their way.

Klaus let out a fearful cry as he hugged the leg of the table. "What's happening!?"

The three of them huddled in close proximity under what space was given under the table, watching in panic as the world came crumbling apart piece by piece. The glass jars Five had just been rifling through came flying off the shelves, shattering just inches away from their ankles with which miraculously managed to avoid cutting them. The fridge teetered more than usual from where it stood in between the stove and counter but never strayed from where it was bolted to the wall, not unlike all other appliances and giant bookshelves that could become lethal in such instances. But it frightened them nonetheless.

The sound was nearly as bad as the shaking. While all they have ever known was thunderous explosions of noise, this sounded of actual thunder more than it ever had. It crackled and reverberated off the trembling walls, swallowed by its own boisterous echo. Bits of ceiling rained down from the skies in the form of powder and the soft yellow lights illuminating the kitchens flickered exactly six times before going out completely.

The aftershock was as bad as the tremors used to be when they were children but they were just thankful it seemed to be calming.

Several minutes had passed by the time they deemed it safe enough to exit the table and they each clambered to their feet. Allison was the first to break the ice.

"Okay, what the hell?" It comes out in more of an exclamation than a question, and her brothers seem to share her frustrations.

"Five's onto something," Diego says, eyeing the room distrustfully. "I have a feeling whatever is causing this isn't gonna magically fix itself. We should check it out,"

With a grave expression upon her face, Allison seeks out her brother in the darkness and nods. "Then we better get moving,"

An unspoken agreement passes between them and the two .are their way through the darkness. Allison reaches the counter and retrieves four flashlights they had kept stashed for emergencies and hands two to her brothers. Diego nods in thanks and takes the lead up the stairs with Allison close on his heels. Neither of them seemed to realize Klaus was reluctant to follow.

He stood clutching the flashlight he miraculously managed to catch in the darkness, the only light aiding him was moonbeams leaking in from across the room. He watches with a pitiful and apprehensive expression on his face, feeling rather trapped. He was not particularly anxious to go stumbling around in the dark in the middle of a series of spontaneous earthquakes, nor was he eager to stand around like a sitting duck in the dark in the midst of a series of spontaneous earthquakes.

"Is anyone else at all suspicious of Five's timing? Cutting it a little close, don't you think?" He calls weakly, frowning down at his flashlight when it doesn't come on.

He gives it a few whacks and a beam of light flickers on. He points it at the stairs where his siblings have disappeared and his shoulders slump. The complaint registers in his ear and he nods at his brother in agreement as they begin their ascent to the first floor after their siblings.

"I know! They can be so callous sometimes can't they?" he says. Klaus turns his attention to the retreating footsteps in the distance and calls weakly after their siblings. "You know, you could have grabbed Ben a flashlight,"

"Like you ever bother telling them I'm here," remarks the sarcastic voice of the sixth sibling.

Waiting at the top of the first landing, his all-black hoodie and jeans made him near impossible to see in the darkness but he was there all the same. With a tired smirk on his face and mischief in his eyes.

𝐍𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐗
"𝐁𝐄𝐍"
(𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅)

"You know they wouldn't listen," Klaus says. "They always think I'm high,"

"You are always high,"

"Psh," Klaus waves off his brother as he passes him. "Tomato, patato."

Ben sends Klaus's back an eye roll and a smile creeps up on his face as he begrudgingly follows.

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There were exactly two things about the world that hadn't seemed to have changed a bit since his departure that Five Hargreeves was certain of; shitty drivers and Gritty's Doughnuts. And Five much preferred the latter. In fact, the old doughnut shop hadn't seemed to have aged a day nor did it look as if had been visited since he and his siblings had given the state of the place. And yet all the magic it held in his youth had been sucked dry. But Five preferred the lack of company, it gave him time to think.

Hey took a seat at the counter and gave the bell inches from his hand a quick ring. All he could do now was wait. Almost instantly, another bell chimes in the quiet atmosphere but it had come from the front door signaling another customer. One over-the-shoulder glance told him it was a trucker just off the late-night shift. He took a seat just one spot over from himself which struck Five as odd given all the room but he didn't protest. The man seemed no more eager to chit chat than he was, and in a matter of moments was already reading the paper he had pulled from his vest pocket.

The head waitress scurried out from the back and offered himself and the man an apologetic smile. "Sorry, sink was clogged. So," she gave a polite chuckle and pulled a pen and paper from her uniform and looked between the two of them. "What'll it be?"

"Uh, give me a chocolate eclair," the man said.

"A chocolate eclair, sure," she scribbled into her pad and gestured to Five. "Can I get the kid, a glass of milk or something,"

Five fought a twitch in his eye. "The kid wants coffee. Black."

She laughed nervously, looking back to the man unsure. "Cute kid,"

The man just looked at her, not knowing what to make of the situation. She returned her attention to Five and plastered all over his face was the cheesiest and widest grin he could possibly exaggerate until she left. It seemed to the trick as her smile quickly fell and she retreated into the shelves and got to work on the coffee.

A great sigh escapes Five's lips and before he realizes what he's doing he finds himself striking up a conversation with the man.

"I don't remember this place being such a shithole," he remarks.

Maybe it was years of emotional fatigue and more than enough baggage to fill an airport weighing down his conscience, or maybe it was because this was a stranger who wouldn't fuss over him like his siblings no doubt would.

Or maybe, it was because Five knew this man had information he wanted and he needed to soften him up a bit before he would help him.

"I used to come here as a kid," he said in a tone as wistful as Five Hargreeves could get. "Used to sneak out with my brothers and sisters and eat doughnuts till we puked. Simpler times, huh?"

A vacant expression seemed to be all this man could offer anymore. He couldn't make heads or tails of who this kid was or why he was speaking as if he was no older than himself.

"Eh," he shrugged weakly. "I suppose."

His hand dove into his pocket fishing for his wallet just as the waitress made her rounds with a cup of coffee and bagged pastry. The man passed her a ten and polite smile. "I got his."

"Thanks," Five says, genuinely surprised. The man nods.

Five lands another look at the man and judging by the embroidery on his vest - Ismael's Towing - he realized he had been wrong about him being a trucker. But he was right about the man having what he wanted; a decent idea of where anything was in this town.

"You must know your way around the city," Five says.

Five wasn't naive. He knew he had work to get done. Not to mention he'd have a lot of stops to make already but seeing her was just too much of a temptation. The one who had gotten him through his days as the last man on earth. Finding her in that wasteland was a miracle, and knowing she was somewhere here...

"I hope so," answered the man. "I've been driving it for twenty years."

Five's heart leaped in his throat and he had to kick himself for it. Maybe he was naive. The clock was ticking and here he was out getting coffee, head in the clouds. He could feel his hopes slipping from his fingers where they were grounded and sailing up to the sky like a rogue balloon. But he just couldn't shake the thought of one of their many idle conversations to get through the night. Granted they were rather one-sided but Five knew how to fill the gaps.

He thought to himself, maybe if they found each other again - and they had enough time of course - just maybe they could visit the spot. The spot in the once city none of them could quite put their finger on but they still spoke of often cause damn it, it had to exist.

'Wherever the stars shone the brightest.'

The memory slipped through his fingertips like quicksand, reminding him all too harshly where and when he was. Hardly any time at all had passed and Five forced a smile.

"Good. I need an address."

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The man tightens his hat on his head as he steps out into the night. He retrieves his keys from his pocket and unlocks his truck blissfully unaware of the group of soldiers waiting around the corner in all black for the diner to clear out.

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The coffee barely touches his tongue when Five hears the ring of the customer bell for the third time since he sat down. His eyes fall to the service bell sitting on the counter that acts as a review mirror in a pinch where he makes out several men in all black. Figures they'd be dumb enough to send the lowest of the low. These poor saps were no better than interns. They stood no chance.

Five sighs and places his coffee back down on the counter. "I thought I'd have more time before they found me," he wonders aloud.

"Okay," says the agent who was no doubt in charge of this ragtag group of lackeys. There was an edge to his voice. He was nervous and Five wasn't at all surprised. "So let's all be professional about this, yeah?" Five nods along battling an amused all the while. It was like watching a six-year-old trying to order his own meal, trying to act all sophisticated. It was adorable. "On your feet and come with us. They want to talk."

"I've got nothing to say,"

"It doesn't have to go this way. You think I wanna shoot a kid? Go home with that on my consciousness?"

Okay, now he was annoying.

"Well, I wouldn't worry about that," He looks at the man for the first time with a tired smirk plastered all over his face. "You won't be going home."

The man is already dying before he can process the butter knife Five had discreetly plucked from the counter and plunged into one of his major arteries. The machine gun in his hand misfires into one of his partners and as they both collapse to the ground, yet another round of misfired bullets rain down among the empty doughnut shop. The others looked around through the sea of faulty flashing lights in a frenzy.

"Hey, assholes!"

There lounging on one of the tables was none other than their target with a smug look burning in his eyes. The only distinguishing feature of his that wasn't a look of inherent boredom that was otherwise all over his face. But by the time they unleashed fire, he had vanished into thin air leaving an utterly destroyed wall littered with bullet holes behind him. They gaped at the scene, their brains desperately trying to draw up any logical conclusion as to where the kid could have gone or how he could have done it, no matter how far-fetched. Maybe he somehow dove behind the counter?

Or maybe he was already standing behind them waiting patiently for someone to notice as he stood out on the front step just outside.

Who was he kidding? He'd be here all night.

He gave a soft knock on the glass of the front door to speed things along and the man closest to him whirled around with a wild look in his eyes. Five sent him a charming smile and a quick salute before the second reign of bullets crashed through the window and out into the street missing him completely. The man's bewilderment bought Five some time. Not to catch his breath or anything arbitrary like that, no. No, now he himself as he blinked back and forth across the shop if he had time for a bathroom break. Most likely, he concluded, what with how embarrassingly easy this was going.

They knew of his tank and skill set. Were they trying to insult him?

They were finished off within a matter of moments and Five stood amidst the now not so technically empty diner and blinked back the nuisance that was the flickering LED lights. He strolled across the shop and to one of many bodies he had... produced and removed his tie from the man's strangled neck and returned it to its proper place amongst his uniform. He tightened back around his neck, securing it neatly in place and as he did so he noticed the straggler just around the corner. He took quick care of the issue, kneeling over the twitching body and twisting his neck in one swift movement. His eyes didn't fail to notice the glowing device just inches away from the man's hand and he recognized it at once.

A tracking device for rogue agents not unlike himself. Five plucked it from the ground with an inward grimace knowing what he had been dreading since his return was something he could no longer afford to put off.

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