THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY
fractured || five hargreeves x reader

CHAPTER ELEVEN: LESS PLEADING, MORE EXPLAINING

Written By: peachyhxlland

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You and the rest of your family sat in Diego's minivan while he was driving and eventually arrived at the location where the person who wrote the letter instructed them to meet. You and the others saw the laundry shop and stepped out of Diego's van. "Stay close to Five." Lila reminded everyone. "He's got the gun."

Five moved his hands to retrieve his gun, and once he got it, he held your hand. "Stay close to me, okay?" He whispered.

"I think you're forgetting one crucial detail about who still has the powers." You whispered back.

"Yeah, well. With powers or no powers, we still have to protect each other, right?"

You fixed your gaze on Five as you recalled the line you two kept telling each other. Five shot you a quick, reassuring smile before he released your hand and pulled out his flashlight.

Luther was stunned when he discovered the door unlocked shortly after he opened it. He looked across to Five, whose gun was in his hand. Luther went in first and Five went in after him. Five took the lead initially, and you and the rest followed him all the way around the laundry shop. Five's right hand was resting on top of his left, holding the gun, while he carefully examined every corner with his left hand clutching the flashlight.

"Guys!" Klaus whispered as he panicked while donning a gas mask. "Can't you smell that? This place is a chemical wasteland." He expressed his displeasure before rushing to catch up with you and the others.

Luther picked up his pace as soon as he noticed a man he recognized sitting in the center of the shop. The man's head was covered by a black bag, which Luther got rid of to show that the man was Viktor. "Hey, there he is." Luther grinned while Viktor adjusted his eyes from the lights.

The others sighed in relief, while Ben chuckled. "Looking good, buddy." He commented sarcastically.

"Thank God!" Klaus gasped. "What's up, Vik?" He asked as he took off his gas mask.

"Couldn't make it to your niece's birthday?" Diego, having switched off his own flashlight, inquired Viktor with a hint of bitterness.

"Well, I was on the way, and then I got kidnapped, so..." Viktor explained truthfully.

Diego didn't take it seriously, though. "Yeah, nice excuse."

"Diego." Lila scolded in a whisper.

Viktor looked at everyone and shrugged. "Do you guys wanna untie me, or..."

Luther was pestered to assist Viktor by Klaus through repeated taps on the arm. Luther quickly walked towards Viktor. "Oh, yeah, sure." Luther crouched down to untie Viktor's left hand while Ben came forward and bent down down to untie Viktor's right hand.

While Ben and Luther were occupied, Viktor let out a sigh and turned to see you standing next to Five. He was wondering how he failed to see you at first, but he eventually noticed you. "(Y/n)..." He whispered breathlessly.

After Viktor was fully untied by Ben and Luther, he sprang out of the chair and hugged you."Oh, my God!" Viktor gasped out loud in joy and shock as he hugged you tighter. "You're—you're alive!"

You smiled and hugged Viktor back, burying your face into his neck. "I missed you too, V." You pulled away and cupped Viktor's face. "Are you hurt?" You asked worriedly as you checked Viktor for injuries.

Viktor chuckled and shook his head, holding your hands. "I'm okay, (Y/n), really."

"Are you sure?" You asked once more, becoming more and more concerned.

"Ahem." Ben cleared his throat, earning you and Viktor's attention. "Who grabbed you?" He asked Viktor. "Was it Hargreeves and his goons?"

Five examined the surroundings and shook his head. "No way." He replied. "This is amateur hour."

"I apologize if my methods are a little crude, but this is my first kidnapping." A man's voice has been heard between the two laundry racks and a stack of freshly cleaned clothes. As soon as the man had started speaking, Five aimed his gun and flashlight in the man's direction, and you hurriedly brought Viktor behind you. The others followed and went behind you and Five. "And hopefully, my last." The man added.

The man emerged from behind the laundry racks with a revolver in his hand, which was shaking. "But I need your help." The man said as he pointed his gun at Five, you and the others.

"Well, kidnapping our brother and pointing a gun at us isn't gonna buy you much goodwill." Five stated as he pointed out the obvious. "Put the gun down."

The man's fingers shook frantically over the gun, making him hesitate. You turned to look at Five after he flashed you a quick glance. Five gave you a small nod, signaling you to take action.

In a matter of seconds, you slipped to the side and passed by Five, charging toward the man who had taken Viktor hostage. When the man saw you immediately running at him with furious intent, he became frightened and fired without stopping to consider his options. But as soon as the bullet leaves the barrel, you use your powers to redirect it right away. You delivered an uppercut right away, forcing the man to raise his gun as he was forcefully slammed to the ground. You caught the gun midair, cocked the chamber, and aimed it directly at him, threatening him with a gentle stroke on the trigger.

"You have ten seconds to explain yourself." You put your foot on top of the man's chest and threatened with a blank expression, red eyes brimming with rage. Your family loudly gasped while Five smirked proudly as he walked over to stand next to you and pointed his gun at the man.

"You have powers?!" Diego asked loudly, earning a nudge from Lila. Allison, on the other hand, turned pale.

The man quivered in fear and raised his hands up. "Please don't shoot!" The man pleaded.

"Less pleading, more explaining. You have seven seconds."

"L-Look, my name is Sy Grossman! And i-it was the only way I could make sure that you come here! All of you!" The man, named Sy Grossman, explained. "I couldn't leave anything to chance. E-Especially when it comes to... the Umbrella Academy.

You and the others were suddenly quiet. It has been a while since anyone has called you and your family by that name. "No one's called us that in years." Diego muttered.

"Sorry, pal." Five told Sy. "The Umbrella Academy doesn't exist."

"Um... o-okay, but..." Sy stuttered. "Okay, but... just..." He tried to stand up, but you pushed your foot down to his chest, causing him to groan. "P-Please..."

You cast a quick glance at Five, who motioned for you to release Sy while nodding at you. You took your foot off while turning to face the man beneath you, but you kept the gun aimed at him. Sy clumsily got up on his feat and walked towards a box. "Can... you explain this, then?" He opened the box and showed a newspaper clipping of you and your family in front of the Eiffel Tower.

The others gathered around Diego as he grabbed the newspaper clipping and began reading what was within. "Umbrella Academy saves what?" Klaus questioned. "When the hell did we save the Eiffel Tower?"

Your eyes flickered at the newspaper.

"Where did you get that?" Viktor questioned Sy as he pointed his finger to the newspaper clipping.

"It was in this box of things in the trunk of my daughter's car." Sy explained as he pointed to the box. "Her name's Jennifer."

Lila walked towards the box, and Diego followed along to check on the box and grab Cha-Cha's pink dog helmet from the box. "Where did she get that?" Lila asked the man.

"I-I don't know." Sy admitted while Klaus walked towards the box to check what else was inside. "B-But, okay, listen. So, about a year ago, she met these new friends, and, uh, they started going to these strange meetings."

Klaus finally fished out something from the box and found Dave's dog tag. You looked down at the dog tag you were wearing, the one that Klaus had formerly owned. Klaus held Dave's dog tag near his chest and gazed at it.

"They're very strange people." Sy continued his story. "They call themselves the Keepers, and, uh..." You, Five, and Lila secretly glanced at each other. "And then, over time, she stopped talking to me. Just stopped. And that was about three months ago, and I haven't seen her since, and I believe that something terrible has happened."

"No offense. Maybe she just wants nothing to do with you." Diego commented as he continued to stare down at the newspaper clipping. Lila gave Diego a silent scolding as she nudged him.

Sy shook his head. "No, no. My daughter and I are very close. She would never do this to me."

"Wait, hold on." Luther finally entered the conversation. "How did you find us?"

"I saw you on TV. Toss N' Wash." Sy answered as he pointed at Allison, who was quiet and has not spoke a word the entire time.

"Ha!" Klaus exclaimed triumphantly, which earned looks from you and the others. Allison briefly closed her eyes in annoyance while Klaus grinned. "See? No small parts." Klaus told Allison, who gave him a look.

"I... I've actually been watching you for quite a while now." Sy said, turning to face you. "A-And, yes, I know about you being hidden by the elites."

Appalled that the man in front of you was aware that Reginald Hargreeves had concealed you from the world's view, you lowered the revolver and narrowed your eyes. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I-I actually saw you on the estate."

Five lowered his gun as well. "Wait, so you're the one who reported about (Y/n)'s whereabouts to the CIA?"

"Yeah, I thought that it might help get you all back together." Sy gulped. "And I'm... I'm so sorry." The man looked at Viktor. "I'm so sorry. I apologize for kidnapping you. Uh, but, I mean, she's all that I have left and, uh..."

Five turned to face Sy as he approached the box and placed his revolver under the back of his pants. "What do you need us for? Call a cop."

"I did. They didn't do anything."

Five went over the contents of the box, and Viktor sighed as he spoke with the man. "Look, we'd like to help, but we're not the same people in that picture anymore."

"Yeah, yeah, we don't even have our powers now." Luther agreed to Viktor's excuse.

Diego nodded. "Yeah, we're not special."

"Speak for yourself, tubby." Ben commented on Diego. Diego glared at Ben, who stared at him.

After Five had just finished snooping at what was inside the box, he turned to look at Sy. "Give us 24 hours."

You and the others snapped your heads at Five in surprise and confusion, while Allison decided to ask him a question. "Five, what are you doing?"

"24 hours." Five repeated as he took the box's cover and carried the box. "We'll find your daughter."

"Yes, thank you!" Sy expressed his gratitude to everyone.

"Guys, let's go," Five told the others as he led the way outside. You and Viktor shared the same confused glances but followed Five.

"Thank you very much, Umbrella Academy!" Sy yelled, loud enough for you and the others to hear. "I think you're special!"

"Five!" Diego called out as he and the others continued to follow Five. "What the hell was that, man?"

"Hey, why are you considering helping that guy?" Ben questioned too as everyone stopped by Diego's minivan.

"What's going on, Five?" Luther asked.

"Because..." After placing the box down, Five opened it and took out something shining. "...of this." He showed everyone a small glass jar container packed with marigolds, which left everyone speechless.

You felt something connected to the marigold as you stared at it. You walked towards Five, turning the jar and when you came across a label, you sharply took a deep breath. Five looked at you in worry. "What?"

"I know this marigold..." You said softly. You looked at Five with wide eyes. "This jar of marigold was the one extracted from me."

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Wala pa tayo sa exciting na part.