"This is my favorite part," the other Five whispered, a disturbing grin on his face as he readied his weapon. I felt a chill run down my spine. Five came back to stand next to me and Luther, his eyes locked onto something.

"Look. The briefcase," Five whispered, his voice sharp with urgency. I followed his gaze and spotted it lying on the ground a few feet away from the other Five.

"Five, don't. This doesn't seem like the time," I whispered back, my heart racing. There was something about all of this that felt terribly wrong.

"Of course it is. This is our only chance," Five insisted, his tone leaving no room for argument as his eyes remained fixed on the briefcase.

"Hey, uh, just remind me, what was the final stage of paradox psychosis again?" Luther asked, his voice tinged with worry.

"Homicidal rage," Five answered, his voice tense and angry.

"Right. That's great," Luther muttered, realizing just how precarious our situation had become.

The other Five was so focused on his weapon that he hadn't noticed us creeping closer. Five started to make his way toward the briefcase, his movements slow and deliberate. My heart pounded in my chest. "Five, listen to me. I—no. No!" Luther whisper-shouted, but Five didn't listen, determined to grab the briefcase.

He was just about to spatial jump and attack the other Five when, suddenly, both of them jumped at the same time. "Shoot," I mumbled under my breath, feeling the situation spiral out of control.

"Bad idea, shit-heel," the other Five growled, pointing his gun at our Five.

In a flash, Luther grabbed the other Five's gun, trying to stop the chaos. "Stop it! All right? The both of you. Pull it together. Now, Kennedy is gonna be coming around that corner any minute. Okay? So everyone, let's just take a deep breath," Luther insisted, his voice strained with desperation.

Both Fives inhaled shakily, their eyes locked onto each other, and exhaled in sync. For a moment, it seemed like maybe, just maybe, they'd pull it together. "Now, we're all family here, okay? So can we just try to get along for a few more minutes?" Luther pleaded, trying to maintain some semblance of control.

I watched the tension between the two Fives, my heart in my throat. They were so similar, yet so different, both versions of someone I cared about, yet at odds in a way that was tearing us apart.

"You want it?" Five asked, his voice a challenge.

"Go ahead," the other Five responded, just as tense.

"What's that?" Luther asked, clearly confused by their cryptic exchange. Before he could react, Five suddenly kicked Luther in the groin. I gasped, covering my mouth in shock as Luther groaned and crumpled to the ground. My body jumped, my nerves on edge.

"Now, where were we?" Five muttered, his focus back on the fight as if nothing had just happened.

The two Fives started spatial jumping, their bodies blurring as they fought each other with a fierce intensity. The parking lot became a blur of motion, both of them determined to come out on top. "Five!" I called out, my voice desperate, trying to get them to stop. We didn't have time for this. But they didn't listen, too caught up in their own conflict.

"Would you please—" Luther tried to intervene, but before he could finish, both Fives jumped and kicked him again. Luther groaned, collapsing to the ground. I winced, feeling completely helpless.

"Hey! I'm getting real sick of th—" Luther tried to say again, but was cut off when one of the Fives accidentally hit him in the face, sending him sprawling on the ground.

I could feel the frustration and helplessness welling up inside me. Why couldn't they just stop for one second and think about what was at stake? I wanted to scream, to beg the universe to just take me away from this madness. Everything was unraveling right in front of me, and all I could do was stand there and watch.

———

The sound of their grunts and the crackling energy of spatial jumps filled the air as Five and the older Five continued their relentless fight. I stood off to the side, growing increasingly frustrated as I watched these two idiots—one my Five, and the other some deranged version of him—battling like stubborn old men. Luther was still on the ground, groaning in pain, unable to intervene.

They paused for a moment, both breathing heavily. "Getting tired yet?" the older Five asked, panting.

"I can do this all day," Five shot back, though he was clearly out of breath as well.

"Guys, this has to stop," Luther insisted weakly from the ground, but neither of them was listening.

"Eat shit, ape man," both Fives snarled in unison before trying to spatial jump again. But something went wrong—their combined energies collided, creating a massive shockwave that sent both of them flying backward. They landed hard, momentarily stunned.

I had enough. My patience was gone. I spotted the other Five's gun lying on the ground, discarded in the chaos. Without hesitating, I walked over and picked it up, feeling the weight of it in my hands.

"Hey! I'm getting sick and tired of this," I shouted, aiming the gun at them. My voice was firm, no trace of the fear or hesitation I felt before.

"Y/n, put down the gun," the older Five said as he got up, holding his hands out toward me like I was a wild animal he needed to calm.

"Yeah, you don't even know how to use that thing," Five added, mirroring the older Five's actions. They both thought I was bluffing, that I wouldn't actually do anything.

But they didn't know me as well as they thought.

I took a deep breath, narrowed my eyes, and aimed the gun straight into the air. Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger twice. The sharp cracks of the gunshots echoed through the parking lot, reverberating off the surrounding buildings. Both Fives flinched, clearly not expecting that. I watched as the empty bullet casings fell to the ground, bouncing off the pavement before rolling to a stop.

Then, with a swift, confident motion, I emptied the rest of the bullets from the gun, letting them clatter to the ground one by one.

Both Fives were staring at me, wide-eyed and stunned. In one fluid motion, I brought it to me again and aimed it directly at Five.

"Now, Y/n! Shoot him!" the older Five's voice was frantic, cutting through the chaos.

"No! Y/n, shoot him!" Five's voice was equally desperate, pleading with me.

I was caught in the middle, my heart pounding as I swung the gun between the two Fives. "Y/n, shoot him!" the older Five commanded again, his eyes sharp with urgency.

"No, Y/n, don't!" Five's plea was filled with both fear and frustration. His face was a mask of disbelief, his eyes wide and pleading.

My hand shook as I aimed the gun at Five, his expression filled with a mix of hurt and confusion. "I'm sorry, Five," I said, my voice trembling.

"Y/n, don't!" Luther's voice came from the ground, strained with pain. He struggled to rise, but his injury left him helpless.

I hesitated, my grip unsteady. Before I could pull the trigger, I made a split-second decision. I swung the gun, hitting the older Five across the head with it. "Now! Open the portal!" I shouted, my voice urgent.

"Right!" Five responded immediately, darting towards the briefcase. The portal began to open, revealing the familiar faces of his family from 2019 on the other side. Relief washed over me as I saw them, but my sense of security was fleeting.

Suddenly, I felt strong arms wrap around me, lifting me off the ground. I looked up to see the older Five holding me tightly, stepping dangerously close to the portal.

"Let her go!" Five's voice was sharp with desperation as he advanced.

"Get any closer or shoot and I'll jump in with her!" the older Five threatened, his grip tightening around me. I squirmed, trying to break free, but his hand was pressed firmly against my chest.

Luther, despite his injuries, held his gun but hesitated, his aim wavering.

"Give me the math, so I don't look like Tiger Beat over here," the older Five demanded, his tone cold and authoritative.

"Let Y/n go and I'll tell you!" Five said, his voice filled with urgency and determination.

Instead of releasing me, the older Five stepped even closer to the portal. The wind howled around us, the air growing colder as the portal's power increased. I felt a rush of fear as the portal's force began to pull us towards it. "Hey!" Luther shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos. "Five tell him!"

"Five, just tell him!" I cried out, my voice trembling with panic.

Five sighed heavily, casting a worried glance at me. "It was a typo," he said, his voice steady despite the tension.

"A typo?" the older Five asked, his frustration and confusion clear in his voice.

"We put the decimal in the wrong place in our proof of the existence of a bound for the number of limit cycles of planar polynomial vector fields of fixed degree. We wrote down five-point-seven when it should have been zero-point-five-seven," Five explained, his tone calm and factual.

"Son of a bitch. I knew that didn't look right!" the older Five muttered, the realization hitting him.

"Okay, now give me Y/n," Five said firmly, holding out his hand.

"Okay. I guess this is it," the older Five said, his grip on me loosening slightly. In a burst of adrenaline, I twisted his arm behind his back, using his own momentum to throw him off balance. With a powerful kick, I sent him stumbling away from the portal.

Just as I regained my footing, a fire extinguisher shot out from the portal, slamming into Luther's head and knocking him out cold. The older Five scrambled for the briefcase, but Five was right behind him. They grappled fiercely, both trying to seize control.

"Five, it's shrinking!" Luther's voice, now weak, warned.

The portal flickered and struggled to stay open as I watched the two Fives fight over the briefcase. In a desperate move, I darted out of the portal's range and hit the ground, my heart racing. I glanced back to see Luther pushing the older Five into the portal, the briefcase still clutched in his arms. The portal began to collapse, its energy waning.

Five rushed to me, his face a mixture of relief and fear. He scooped me up in his arms, holding me tightly as if to never let go. I could feel his body trembling against mine.

"Five! Five. I'm okay," I said, cupping his face and gently pulling him away so I could see his eyes. His gaze was filled with tears and raw emotion.

Without warning, Five pressed his lips against mine, the kiss urgent and desperate. I was momentarily stunned, but quickly found myself responding to him, our emotions intertwining. When he pulled away, his hands were still cupping my face tenderly. "Please, don't try anything like that again," he said, his voice breaking.

I managed a small, reassuring smile and gently pushed his head back. "I promise," I whispered, my heart swelling with the intensity of the moment.

I smiled at Five, unable to hold back my relief and happiness. I leaned in and kissed him quickly, the warmth of his lips against mine making everything feel right again. As I pulled back, I noticed the briefcase lying nearby—what was left of it, anyway. I gasped at the sight of its ruined remains.

I turned to Five, who was still catching his breath, and pointed urgently at the destroyed briefcase. He looked over at it and his expression shifted from confusion to realization.

"We did it!" Luther exclaimed, breaking the tension with a cheer.

"The briefcase, you idiot," Five mumbled, sounding frustrated as he looked at the remnants of the case.

"What?" Luther asked, turning to see the briefcase in pieces. His eyes widened with shock.

Five started to groan and pace back and forth.

"Hey, you know what? A thank you for preserving your existence would be nice," Luther said, sounding a bit sarcastic.

"Thank you," Five repeated, his annoyance evident in his tone.

As they bickered, I walked over to the fence and noticed cars approaching from a distance. My heart skipped a beat as I realized who was coming. "Guys! Guys! Here he comes!" I shouted, trying to get their attention.

Five and Luther glanced at each other before rushing over to join me. We all peered over the fence, watching as the cars drew nearer.

"There's Dad," Luther pointed out, his voice filled with concern.

"What did we do?" I asked, feeling a sense of dread.

"Uh, no," Five whispered, his eyes narrowing as he took in the scene.

I followed his gaze and saw Diego running across the road, his movements frantic. My heart sank. "Oh, shoot!" I realized.

Diego was sprinting across the field, and I saw him tackle a man dressed in black. The sound of gunshots erupted, and Diego's anguished filled the air. "No!" he all cried out as the chaos unfolded before us.

"Jesus," Five whispered, his face pale with worry.

"Diego..." I muttered, feeling a pang of sadness and concern.

"Let's head back to Elliot's," Luther suggested, urgency in his voice.

Five grabbed my hand, his grip firm and reassuring. We raced back to the car, and I climbed into the backseat with Five. Luther slid into the driver's seat, and as he started the engine, I noticed that Five didn't let go of my hand.

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WORDS WRITTEN: 2330