Violet and Five had left that room to head back to the others, their hands linked together. Before they reached the top of the stairs however he felt a pull, making him stop in place and look over his shoudler.
Violet was frozen with her eyes fixated on the stairs, an unreadable expression crossing her face.
The others were still talking and didn't even notice them standing above.
He saw that look and didn't need to be a genius to know she was plain uncomfortable, and he didn't need to know the ins and outs of why. He just blinked them down to the first floor, a little away from where everyone else sat and squeezed her hand.
She looked up at him curiously.
He shrugged with an easy little smile. "This ways quicker, right?"
Her heart warmed and she thought only one thing - thank you.
Five opted to stand with his back against the pillar, arms crossed, while Violet sat cross legged in front of his feet - neither of them were really listening to the others conversation, deeming it unimportant, and simply stared off into space in their own little worlds.
Despite the situation they were all in, they still had the tiniest of smiles on their faces.
When Vanya ran downstairs in a clear hurry, Violet began tapping her hands on her knees in a rhythm she could easily focus on and repeat.
"I'm leaving."
They all looked up, conversation ceasing abruptly.
"What?" Allison frowned, folding her arms. "To go where?"
"Sissy's farm. Somethings wrong with Harlan and I need to help him."
"Vanya, we need to stick together, okay?" Luther spoke up dissaprovingly. "Now more than ever."
Violet frowned down at her lap.
"That's why I'm telling you this," she said evenly, glancing around at each of them. "Whatevers going on with Harlen, I think I might have caused it."
Luther frowned in confusion. "How?"
"He drowned, and, uh, somehow I was able to bring him back to life," she explained, or tried to. "And now it's like were connected.'
"What does that even mean?"
"I don't know," she sounded overwhelmed and gestured with her hands in frustration. "I can't explain, but... I know that he needs my help. I need your help too. Okay, I'm scared. And for the first time in my life, I dont want ot do it alone. I want my family by my side."
The womans eyes swept across everyone individually, lastly landing on Five who's expression was stoic as ever above Violet.
She was pleading with them all, her family, and Violet would have gone with her whether she asked her to or not. During the sixties she had missed Vanya a lot.
She glanced up at Five who rose an eyebrow down at her, face blank. She huffed to herself and stood beside him, still tapping her thighs absently.
Diego was the first to speak, although reluctantly. "Look, I'm sorry. We have other priorities right now."
Violet looked sadly at Vanya, who's expression fell. This wasn't fair. Their priority should have been sticking together - not doing so had led to countless vital errors on their attempts to get back to twenty nineteen and save the world - and now they were just going to give up on that notion?
The boy beside her muttered, "Diego's right," and she shot him a disappointed look.
Vanya looked around at them all, one by one, all of them avoiding eye contact except for the one person she expected it from; Violet. The girl shyly dipped her head, almost unnoticeable, but she saw it and twitched the faintest of smiles because at least she had someone.
"Okay, I guess I'll see you when I see you." She said finally, dejected, before leaving.
Violet stared at Five, who pressed his lips into a thin line and looked down at his feet to avoid her judgemental gaze.
She scowled at him and walked through the centre of the room to follow the woman, everyone looking at her as she did in mild surprise but choosing to say nothing.
Only Five was watching her as she stopped the door with her foot before it closed and turned to stare right at him through the gap. She held her hand up, jabbed a finger to point at the ring and scowled, letting the door close sharply behind her.
The boy sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Shit." He murmured.
Violet turned herself transparent and cloaked through the car door to sit herself in the passenger seat and almost scared Vanya half to death. She exhaled and gave her a shaky smile.
"Thanks for sticking with me," she said quietly.
Violet watched her try and start the car and put a hand on the steering wheel to stop her. The woman looked at her strangely.
"What are you doing?"
Violet held up one finger.
Wait.
She sat back in the seat and crossed her arms patiently.
Almost a second later, Five blinked outside the passenger seat door and leaned down to look through the window.
Violet was smiling knowingly as he looked at her.
"Yeah, yeah," he opened the door, nodding at her. "Switch."
She huffed and phased through to sit herself in the middle of the back seats.
"How did you know?" Vanya looked back at Violet through the mirror. She gave a wicked smile back.
"You owe me one, sis." Five said softly, looking over at her.
The others began piling in, even Luther towards the end, which made Vanya happier and Violet more anxious as more and more space was taken up in the car.
Klaus was boisterous and had bumped shoudlers with her on accident, making her press herself against the left side door to give him space. Allison took the space on his right, and then Diego and Luther - Five held his hand out to Violet through the gap in the two front seats and she caught his eye.
She narrowed hers at him, eyes flickering to his smug face and back to his extended hand. She knew what he was implying and wasn't sure she liked it.
He rose an eyebrow as Luther tried to get in, the entire car shifting down under his weight and she nervously stood, leaning down to take his hand and letting him guide her over the middle console.
"Where are you going?" Klaus wondered aloud, eyeing Five with a playful glint in his eye.
Violet was glad for her long hair covering her face from her siblings as she climbed to sit sideways in Five's lap, her face burning bright red and her hand shaking in his.
He looked at her in concern but she tucked her head down, her back against the passenger door.
Her skin crawled as the people in the car grew silent, all gawking in surprise at the sight - never had they seen her so touchy, so confident, while the girl played with the frays on her jeans like it was a lifeline, wishing for Vanya to just start the car.
Five, of course, was calm as ever on the outside and even gave the others a glare in the rear view mirror that said say a word about it and I'll kill you.
Klaus, against all bitter judgement and without Ben to reign his impulsivity in, decided to go against that and eyed the two playfully.
Klaus poked his head through the gap in the seats and stared right into her shy eyes. "Better be careful with the fidgeting," his eyes flickered down and his grin grew. Violets face burned even redder but it was Five who raised his hand quickly to smack him - Klaus yelped and fell back, hiding behind Diego's shoulder while the man bit back his amusement and shoved him away.
Violet flipped Klaus off before turning herself invisible.
Five shot a withering glare over his shoulder and Klaus mimed zipping his mouth shut, followed by comically rolling down the window and tossing the 'key' away.
Eventually Violet turned back to her usual state, but it was halfway into the hour-long journey when the others were all chatting or too preoccupied with the music coming from the stereo system. (The latter was of course Klaus who refused to be quiet.)
She had actually nodded off to sleep curled up against Five's side, much to his surprise. When he realised he slid his arm around her waist and held her closer until they got close to the farm.
He woke her gently and when her bleary eyes refocused, she quickly looked away with a smile when she realised how close she was ti Five, who smirked down at her.
The girl yawned, blinking the tiredness from her eyes and letting the brightness from outside wake her up.
As they neared the driveway, all of them began noticing something strange, however. Particularly with the weather.
Violet stared up out the window as she noticed snowflakes falling from a massive, looming storm cloud above the entire farm. It swirled directly over the farmhouse, strikes of lightning lighting it up within. Snow covered the grass within a fifty feet radius and as they came to a stop and got out of the car, the soles of their shoes fell on snow and ice.
"You think whatevers going on inside is causing the cold?" Diego wondered aloud as they all stared fixated on the storm.
"Well, the correlation is high." Five muttered dryly, slamming his door shut behind him.
None of them expected a blonde, middle aged woman to burst out of a door at the side of the house, a shotgun held in her hands as she run to meet them and aimed from a short distance.
Violet was swiftly tucked behind Five.
"Sissy!" Vanya shouted, eyes widening.
"Get back!" Sissy warned them all, looking at them menacingly. "All of you just get the hell back!"
Vanya cautiously approached, putting a hand out. "Sissy. Hey. Whats wrong?"
The woman breathed heavily, eyeing the group behind the woman nervously, and she looked back at Vanya and said, her voice breaking, "Carl."
"What did he do to you?"
"He's... he's dead. Harlan tossed him aside like a rag doll, same way you sent those policemen flying. What did you do to him?"
"No, I-"
"-what the hell did you do to my son?"
As Vanya cautiously worked to convince Sissy that the people behind her were her family, her siblings, the people she had spent her time searching for, Violet found herself fixated by the snow falling around them. It appeared to get heavier closer to the barn but where they stood on the outer edge, it fell delicately around them.
She couldn't help but put a hand out, palm facing the sky to feel the cold tingles of the snowflakes hitting her skin.
Five watched her with a certain fondness, reminded of the first time it had snowed during their time in the apocalypse and she had been so excited - he had stared at the little white specs dotted in her hair and on the ends of her eyelashes then, thinking it was pretty - and he did the same now.
Finally, Vanya convinced Sissy that they were the only people who could help her son Harlan, and the woman agreed to show them what was happening. Or rather, what was causing it.
They stepped into the barn where the swarm of energy was coming from, shooting up into the angry storm cloud above them.
Harlan was a young boy, maybe ten, with brown hair and fear in his eyes. He was floating mid air with his head thrown back, twitching in discomfort. There seemed to be a force field surrounding him, full of energy that looked dangerous if anyone tried to breach it.
Violet felt sorry for him. He was too young to know what was happening and it didnt quite seem fair on him - she had spent a life in discomfort and anxiety, and she saw it on his face as all he could focus on was the force field coming from him.
Five's hand found hers as Vanya called out to him and stepped inside it, her eyes glowing white.
But it was Klaus calling out to them that really drew their attention. "Guys...?" He shouted uneasily, throwing the huge double doors open.
"What?" Diego asked.
They all trudged over, looking out across the field at what he was stuck staring out at in concern.
Diego let out a groan when he saw who was there.
Five's grip on her hand tightened and she let out an even breath when she recognised the Handler and her expressive way of dressing, a darkly dressed Lila next to her.
It reminded her of a loyal attack dog at her side with the Handler's perfectly manicured hand holding the leash.
"What, who are they?" Klaus asked nervously, looking straight at Five who seemed to always know everything.
"One's the Handler," Five stated stiffly. "The others Diegos girlfriend."
"Lila," he corrected. "Ex-girlfriend."
Luther cut in. "You know what? Doesn't matter. They both look angry."
"Our brother has that effect on people." Allison mused as she turned to stare at him.
Violet bristled and shot the tall woman a harsh glare.
"I'm gonna go find out what they want," Five let go of Violet's hand and she sent him an offended look, her hand now cold without his. "You guys stay with Vanya and the kid."
"I'm coming with you." Diego stated, eyeing Violet, wondering if she was going to come as well as she seemed attached to Fives hip as of recently.
Five met Violet's stare and gave her a look. "You should stay with the others."
Violet stared at him for a second before she shrugged and went to leave with Diego, not giving him a chance to object. He groaned and jogged after her.
"Violet, you shou-"
She span around and pointed to her ring with a smug smile on her face, walking backwards over the snow.
"You can't just pull that trick everytime we have a disagreement!" He shook his head, but quickly matched her pace and began walking beside her.
"Hold on-" Diego almost stumbled over his own feet as he looked between them. "Are you guys married?!"
"Very observant of you, Diego. It's a wonder you got fired as a detective." Five shot back nonchalantly.
He stared between the two, dumbfounded, stuttering.
"What- when did this happen?!"
"Mind your own business."
"Holy shit," he looked ahead, surprised after a second. He began to mutter, "I never thought Klaus would win that bet we made when we were seven."
Violet's head span around to look at him, an unreadable expression on her face.
He glanced at her. "What? It was only over a pack of skittles."
Oh yeah, that was the part she was concerned about. The skittles they made the bet with.
Just before they reached the Handler and Lila, Five gently tugged her closer at the elbow and murmured in her ear, "don't let anything she says get to you."
Violet swallowed and slid her hand up his arm to hold his sleeve.
When they got close enough, the Handler hummed, scanning them all up and down. "I love the scent of the fresh country air," she glanced lovingly at the woman next to her. "Don't you, darling?"
"Makes me want to vomit," Lila stared straight at Five, then glanced briefly at Violet who was tucked a step behind him protectively.
"What do you want?"
"To see you suffer."
Diego's voice was small as he asked, "What about me?"
Lila looked him up and down in distaste. "You're not even worth my wrath."
"Easy," the Handler looked over them all as she explained. "We're here on official business."
Five shifted on the spot as he looked up at the older woman distrustful, glaring. "And what business is that?" He sneered.
"As the head of the Commission," she explained gleefully, red lips forming into a smile. "I've decided to eliminate the criminals responsible for the assassination of the former board of directors."
Violet imnediately looked wide eyed at Five, who's jaw clenched. She pulled at the frays in her jeans with her other hand, trying to distract herself from her growing nerves and the freezing cold.
"Yeah, right," Diego scoffed, folding his arms. "We didn't kill the board."
Five shifted. "Uh, actually, Diego, that's not entirely accurate."
"You didn't tell them," the Handler looked at him surprised, her grin widening.
Diego turned on the married couple sharply. "What the hell did you two do?"
Violet shot him a dry look while Five bristled.
"Violet had nothing to do with this, you dipshit. And I did what I had to do to get my family home until somebody," he switched his glare to the Handler. "Went back on our deal."
"Somebody wouldn't have gone back on their deal if somebody could've met a simple deadline." She gave a small shrug, unapllogetic. "Alas."
Violet gripped Five's sleeve even tighter, glaring. That wasn't fair.
Five shook his head, jaw clenching. "You set me up to fail." He accused lowly.
"You set yourself up to fail," she shot back coldly. "You and your brothers and sisters," her eyes flickered down to Violet's hand lingering on Fives sleeve and arched her eyebrow. "And wife. Kinda the running theme of your life, isn't it?"
Violet wanted to watch this woman suffer a long and painful death. She would have liked even more to be the one to cause it.
"Dude, I cant believe you killed the board of directors," Diego turned on Five. "You have no idea how messed up the commission is right now."
"Messed up?" The Handler repeated, smile wiped off her face. "Who's saying that?"
Diego turned his head back to her. "Everybody. Even the janitors think its going to shit."
Lila cut him off, glaring straight at Five. "That's not all he killed."
Five's face scrunched in confusion and Violet shifted closer to him, glancing at him from the side curiously and then back at the woman. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb, you piece of shit." Lila spat.
"Enough," The Handler put a hand up, growing bored with the chatter. She set her briefcase down elegantly next to her. "The point is, all of you are going to die today." She glanced at Violet then. "Though I'm sure you're used to this."
The girl shifted, uncomfortable at the attention on her.
The woman continued in a sickly sweet tone, glancing briefly at the boy keeping her behind him. "That's twice now his sins have left you for dead."
Diego looked over sharply at the two, while both teenagers clenched their fists.
Violet glared daggers at the woman and held onto Five's wrist at her side to stop him from doing anything irrational. She could see the darkness in the backs of his eyes forming, like the storm cloud plaguing the skys above them.
Diego smirked at the woman after a tense few seconds. "I don't like your chances," he crossed his arms. "Eight of us, two of you."
Violet was surprised the frays on her jeans had lasted so long with how tensely she was picking at them. (Jeans from the sixties were surprisingly durable.)
A wicked smile crept on the Handlers face and she nodded. "You know you're right. Let's change that."
They all held their breath.
The moment she snapped her fingers, hundreds of commission workers with shiny black briefcases and guns appeared one by one behind her, stretching out across the fields for what seemed like a mile. All in the same blue suits, some with their own masks, some bare faced. All with various glares looking like they were deadset on murdering them at the drop of a hat.
Violet blanched. Diego swore under his breath, arms dropping to his sides. Five backed up a cautious step, slyly tucking Violet behind him. She was so fixated in dreaded shock that she didnt even glare at him.
She stopped picking at her jeans and stilled.
The sound of guns cooking filled the air, clicking in a morbid cacophony aimed straifht at them.
Diego swallowed.
All of them were unable to tear their eyes away from the dooming sight.
"So what do we do now?" He asked quietly.
Five nodded once, evenly. "Well, we got two choices: fight and die now or run and die later," he answered. "Either way, we're food for worms."
"Preference?"
Violet grasped the end of Five's sleeve as he shrugged lightly. "Wouldn't mind staying alive long enough to reach my honeymoon."
The two met their eyes briefly, and they braced themselves.
"All right," the Handler sighed, raising her wrist pointedly to check the time on her watch. "Lets get this over with, shall we?"