ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ ᴇɪɢʜᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴅɪᴠᴏʀᴄᴇ
'ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴜᴀʀᴅɪᴀɴ'

"Oh, I hate this" Inanna's eyes glowed orange out of fear and she closed the door to the room, shutting herself in momentarily before reopening it slowly. "Please-" Inanna groaned, her eyes locking with the flower painting that hung on the hallway wall which hadn't been there when Inanna had entered the room the first time with Anna.

"Okay, I'm not going crazy" Inanna mumbled as she shut the door again. Inanna took a deep breath and began counting to ten but when she got to seven, she ripped the door open, lighting a flame in the palm of her hand.

But unlike the first time when Inanna was met with the flower painting, Inanna's eyes locked on Five who stood outside the door. Out of shock, and a pure fear, Inanna threw a terribly aimed ball of fire at Five's head which he ducked as he untucked his hands from his pockets.

"What the fuck, Five?" Inanna grabbed her shoulder, groaning in pain as she stumbled back into the room.

"What the fuck, Five?" Five repeated as he patted his head, checking that his hair wasn't currently burning. It wasn't. "I think you mean, 'What the fuck, Inanna?'" Five extended his arms out to his sides.

"No" Inanna glared at Five as he walked into the room, closing the space between them. "I very much mean 'What the fuck, Five'" Inanna said.

"Why were you playing hide and seek?" Five asked stopping in front of Inanna as he leaned towards her, tucking his hands into his pockets.

"Why were you outside the door?" Inanna asked.

"Because I heard you shout Anna and thought you were in danger" Five glanced around the room, quickly realising that there was no danger and no Anna.

"Yeah, well, Anna was right in front of me, I left the room and she was gone and that ugly painting is now there" Inanna pointed at the flower painting behind Five, which now had a circular burn mark in the centre.

Five glanced over his shoulder to the painting before looking back at Inanna. "It's not that ugly" Five muttered, pulling a smirk onto his lips as Inanna glared at him again. "But the same thing happened to me, I was on floor three with Allison and Viktor and now I'm here".

"We'll aren't I lucky" Inanna mumbled.

"Yes" Five nodded. "By the looks of things, your aim is very off, I mean, you were never winning an award in any knife throwing competition but that was atrocious" Five pointed his thumb over his shoulder to the burnt painting.

Inanna rolled her eyes as she tilted her head. "If this was any other situation, Five, i'd humour you but I am currently missing flesh which got Kugelblitz in the less creepy hotel, so if you-".

Five caught Inanna's waist as she stepped passed him and being mindful of her arm, he pulled her back against him.

"Five" Inanna sighed as he leaned his forehead against the top of her head

"You wanna tell me what really happened to Luther?" Five asked dropping his voice to a whisper incase anyone else happened to be lurking in the hallways.

Five still didn't want to jump the gun and do something that could get Inanna killed, but he thought that if he knew what was happening, he could at least protect her if his theory was right.

"I think you already know" Inanna whispered, she had noticed Five's curious and almost deadly stares which he had been giving Reginald since they had arrived in the 'ass-backwards' suite and could only assume that he had put two and two together.

"But I need to hear it".

Inanna dropped her gaze to Five's lips to avoid his piercing stare. "Reginald killed Luther. I was there and like- like a coward I let it happen".

Five wasn't shocked, believing that Reginald had made things far too obvious — for him at least. But he had a hint of, what Inanna recognised as, homicidal rage flicker across his expression as his eyes darted down to Inanna's injury.

"And he did that to your arm?" Inanna nodded at Five's question. Five's shoulders tensed and he bit back the threat that dared to roll of his tongue. "Why were you in his suite?" Five asked, his tone harsher than he and Inanna had expected it to be.

Inanna stepped back from Five, putting some distance between them, as she caught his hand in hers. "Because he offered me a deal last night when I was drunk and apparently I agreed to it, but when he offered me the same deal when I was sober I said no" Inanna rushed out her words, knowing that if she stopped for a second Five would interrupt to ask her something else.

"What deal?" Five smoothed his thumb over Inanna's knuckles. "What did he offer you that drunk you said yes to but sober you said no?".

"A chance for us to have the life we have always wanted" Five dropped his gaze to Inanna's shoes, knowing how hard it must have been for Inanna to turn down. Five wasn't even sure he'd be able to.

"What did he want you to do?".

"He thought that I could have swayed your decision. That if I had voted 'go' then you would have voted to go too".

"But you voted 'stay'" Five took a step back from Inanna, still holding her hand, and closed the door quietly, concealing their conversation in the room.

"Because I wanted no part in his deal".

"But you considered it, right?" Inanna furrowed her brows. "I mean, was this before or after our conversation?" Five had a feeling that it was after, recalling how Inanna couldn't even meet his gaze when he come back to the lobby after trying to retrace his steps.

"It was after" Inanna answered. "And yes, of course, I had to considerate. But I decided to stay and I stuck by my vote".

"Do you regret it?" Five asked, tucking his hand which wasn't holding Inanna's into his pocket.

"After that fucker turned Luther into a kebab with his weird tentacle thing" Inanna shook her head. "Absolutely not".

"Tentacle thing?" A wave of concern washed over Five's face and he untucked his hand from his pocket, placing the back of his palm on Inanna's forehead.

Inanna looked up at Five's hand. "What you doing?" Inanna asked.

"Checking that you don't have a fever" Inanna slapped Five's hand off her forehead and let go of his other hand.

"I'm being serious, Five".

"And you have a serious wound" Five argued.

Inanna grabbed Five's tie pulling his face closer to hers. "Five Hargreeves, question my sanity again and I will rip my own mangled arm out of its socket and beat you with it" Inanna muttered leaning her forehead against his.

Five's familiar smirk which stretched across his lips, irritated Inanna further. "Is this the right time to remind you that your threats don't scare me?" Five asked. "They do quite the opposite, Inann-".

Inanna shoved Five's chest, letting go of his tie. "Okay, definitely the wrong time to remind you" Five readjusted his tie, raising his brow subtly at his wife.

Inanna ran her hand through her hair, becoming quickly upset, instead of further irritated. Five noticed and his smirk fell from his lips.

"I'm telling you the truth, Five" Inanna's shoulders slumped. "About everything. I know it sounds crazy but I need you to believe me".

"It does sound crazy" Five nodded. Inanna frowned and casted her eyes down to the floor. "But-" Five cupped Inanna's face with his hands and waited until Inanna had lifted her gaze to his before continuing. "I believe you" Inanna's brows raised as her gaze softened. "You don't ever have to doubt that" Five whispered his words against Inanna's forehead, and as he pressed his lips against her skin, Inanna placed her hand on his wrist and mumbled a thank you.

Inanna left the hotel room with Five to try and find the elevator that Five claimed he couldn't find as he kept on going in circles, Inanna hadn't believed him at first but when they ended back up at the same room twice, Inanna realised that not only had they somehow shifted floors, they had been boxed in on floor five.

"Why is it so important for Dad to like you?".

Inanna and Five came to a stop, hearing Sloane's familiar voice somewhere on the same floor, shouting at Ben for being an asshole.

"At least it's not just Ben" Inanna mumbled turning in the direction that she believed the voices came from.

Five caught Inanna's hand, pulling her back towards him. "Wrong way, sweetheart" Five nodded his head in the direction that they had been heading before they heard Sloane.

"But Sloane and-".

"They're that way" Five pointed down the hallway as he let go of Inanna's hand. Inanna glared at him but didn't say anything as she turned on her heel and began walking in the direction that Five claimed Sloane and Ben were.

Inanna knew Five was right as Sloane and Ben's voices grew louder the further they walked down the hallway but Inanna would never say it out loud and Five didn't expect her to.

Five turned the corner after Inanna and like he had said, stood in the hallway clearly irritated with one and other were Sloane and Ben with a line of paintings sat on the floor, leaning against the wall which Sloane had taken down to check for the sigil.

"I can't believe i'm saying this. I'm actually glad to see you guys" Five said as he tucked his hands into his pockets.

Sloane shook her head, flicking her gaze from Five to Inanna. "What's wrong?" Sloane asked.

"The hotel is changing. We've been walking around in circles, but it's like the thing is alive" Five said.

"Where's Anna?" Sloane asked Inanna.

Inanna shrugged, holding back a painful wince as she moved her arm — though she couldn't feel much from her elbow down, she could feel just about everything from elbow up. "She was with me on four and disappeared".

"We should get back to the lobby" Ben stated.

"Tried it" Five responded. "Whatever direction we choose, we end up in the same spot" Five said.

"Or maybe you have no sense of direction" Ben suggested lifting his hand by his head.

"Okay, lead the way, Magellan" Five retorted.

Ben scoffed and walked passed Five and Inanna as they stepped out of his way. Five raised his brows at Sloane and she fell into step next to Inanna as Five walked ahead of them.

Before they had even rounded the corner, the hotel shook, rattling the decor that lined the hallways. Inanna looked up at the ceiling as bright yellow lights shone through onto the floor and walls. Inanna had no idea what was happening, but she didn't like it, not at all.

"We need to get back to the lobby" Inanna said dropping her gaze back to Ben who was leading them. Five nodded in agreement, taking her hand in his to keep her close.

"What does it look like we're doing?" Ben asked.

"Standing, staring and an awful lot of nothing" Inanna responded. "You wanna lead, get moving because I think that things are only about to get worse".

"She's right" Sloane nodded. "We need to get back to the lobby and fast".

Ben shook his head and continued on down the hallway, choosing to ignore his sister and Inanna as they followed after him, with Five who was looking over his shoulder, as if he was expecting something to attack.

However, when they turned the corner of the hallway, Five's suspicions came true. At the end of the hallway, cladded in thick armour and holding a samurai sword was the guardian — well at least what they assumed was the guardian. The guardian snarled, swinging it's sword above its head, preparing to attack.

"Really? A samurai?" Ben asked.

Sloane yelled as she charged towards the guardian. Her only thought was to kill the thing that had murdered her husband. Sloane jumped into the air, flipping over the guardian and she landed behind it, making the the guardian spin to find her.

"Stay here" Five crossed his arm over Inanna's waist, his eyes locking with an axe that hung on the wall as he stopped Inanna before she had the chance to help Sloane who was using her powers to constrict the guardian. "Don't argue with me".

Inanna turned to Five, letting her blue glare turn orange. She was powerful, Five knew that but it didn't stop him from wanting to lock her in a closet until the guardian laid headless on the floor. "You really wanna do this now?" Inanna asked.

Five gave in with a hesitant nod and as Inanna left his side, he grabbed the axe off the wall to help Inanna and Sloane kill the guardian while Ben watched from the end of the hallway with his arms crossed over his chest.

Inanna wasn't the only one who had expected the guardian to be killed rather quickly but with each passing second, Inanna realised it would be much harder than any of them had planned. It wasn't long before Five suggested that they cornered the guardian in the laundry room and offered himself up as bait to trap the guardian in the larger space.

"You've hit him with your axe five times. He should be dead by now" Ben said hiding behind one of the dryers as Five peaked over the top to see exactly what the the guardian was doing. Nothing. The guardian was stood, waiting for them to attack.

"It's the armour" Five stated as Inanna wiped the blood from her nose. "It's like hitting cement".

"This would have been over if we had Anna instead of you" Ben said, his glare burning into Inanna's eyes as she wiped the blood on her palm onto the side of her jeans.

Inanna felt weaker with every step she had taken, with the strain that her power was putting on her wounded body and the guardian punching her head into one of the hotel walls, Inanna was suprised that she was even standing still.

"She's-".

Inanna interrupted Five who went to defend her by reminding Ben that she was already injured before they had begun taking on the guardian. "I've done more than you have" Inanna responded. Ben fell silent, knowing that Inanna was right, he had only watched.

Inanna leaned her head back against the cold washing machine, hoping that the metal against her head would aid her pounding headache — it didn't.

"There's a space between the backplates" Sloane nodded, recalling the armour-less patch she had seen when the guardian had turned to attack Five.

"We need to get behind him" Five responded.

Sloane nodded in agreement. "Let's kill this thing".

Five called Sloane's name, but she ignored him as she shouted "Hey, asshole" to the guardian.

Sloane ran passed Ben and Five, using her power to run up the side of the wall. Inanna used the washing machine behind her to pull herself back to her feet, holding in the painful groan that tried to slip passed her tightly closed lips.

The guardian flung a small blade at Sloane and as it sliced through her side, she fell to the floor with a grunt. The guardian stepped towards Sloane, holdings it's samurai by its head, preparing to kill her, but before it could lower its blade, Inanna winded a flame around its arm like a lasso, restricting it's movements.

The guardian turned towards Inanna and in one swift swing of his arm before he even fully turned, he used Inanna's own power against her, flinging her sideways into the dryers that Ben was still hidden behind.

Inanna whimpered, unable to move her aching body which was pressed against the chilling floor as her flames dyed out into a smoke and Five blinked behind the guardian who had left Sloane momentarily to finish Inanna off first. Five swung his axe, aiming for the guardian's exposed back, though before his axe made contact with the guardian, the guardian spun around suddenly, punching Five across his face and knocking him to the floor.

Five's axe clattered to the floor next to him and he looked up at the guardian in an almost shock as the guardian spun away from his wife, turning it's attention onto him.

As the guardian spun it sword in its hands, staring down at Five, Ben climbed on top of the washing machines and the dryers that he had hidden behind and those of which Inanna laid in front of, using his tentacles to lift himself up.

Ben circled his hands in front of his chest, pulling his tentacles tightly together. Ben yelled as his arms shot out to his sides and his tentacles launched at the guardian, winding themselves around it.

Inanna shifted onto her injured arm, ignoring the blood that pooled from her arm onto the floor next to her as Ben strained against the guardian who was trying to force itself out of Ben's hold. However, as easily as Ben had constructed the guardian, the guardian broken free by slicing Ben's tentacles with the samurai sword.

Ben fell back onto the laundry machines, with a cry of pain, and like the guardian had done with the others, he turned towards Ben, leaving his back exposed to Five once again.

Inanna's eyes flickered a faint orange as a circle of bright flames spun around the guardian, trapping its arms against its body and keeping its attention on herself while Five stood up with his axe in his hands. .

Five swung his axe one final time, lodging the blade in the guardian's back and the guardian fell forwards, landing face first on the floor, dead.

Five nodded at Ben and Sloane who were both smiling, not only because Sloane's idea had worked but also because the fight was over and the four of them had survived.

Five helped Inanna to her feet, placing his hand over her open wound as he glanced around the laundry room looking for something to wrap around her arm, while Inanna tried to inspect the gash on his cheek, which had been left by the forceful punch handed to him by the guardian.

Ben climbed down from the washing machines, grabbing a white sheet which was folded by the door while Sloane helped herself back to her feet, almost slipping on a broken shelf which laid on the floor and holding her wounded side.

Ben held the sheet up by his head. "Use this" Ben called before tossing the towel over to Five.

Five caught the sheet and gave Ben a grateful nod. Inanna thanked Ben and Five began wrapping her arm with the sheet, covering the wounded flesh and exposed bone.

"Well, it would be an asshole move to let you bleed to death" Ben said.

"You care about being an asshole all of a-" Inanna's words turned into a sharp gasp as Five tightly tied the sheet around her arm without warning.

"Sorry" Five kissed her cheek, avoiding her piercing glare as he took his knife out of his pocket to cut the sheet, so it wasn't dragging behind Inanna like a cape or tripping her over.

"Should have let it kill you" Inanna mumbled leaning her head against his shoulder, glancing between their bodies to watch Five tear the sheet apart.

Leaving Five and Inanna to themselves for a moment, Ben crossed the space between himself and Sloane, and began inspecting Sloane's wound, which wasn't as deep as it looked or felt.

Once Inanna's arm was tied up and they had had a moment to catch their breaths, Sloane suggested that they got back to the lobby which they all agreed on — none of them wanted to stick around in case the guardian had a friend or two.

It didn't take long for them to find the elevator with them constantly looking over their shoulders and preparing for a threat around every corner. Inanna let go of Five's hand as she stepped into the elevator first, feeling an almost anxious shiver run from her head to her toes.

Inanna didn't pay many mind to the unwanted feeling until she turned around in the elevator, making room for the others as she pressed her back against the wall, but when Five, Sloane and Ben weren't behind her, she couldn't help but noticed her sudden nerves.

Inanna stepped back towards the door, pressing her hand against the door to stop it from automatically closing as she peaked her head out of the elevator, looking for the others who were no longer there.

"Five?" Inanna called Five's name, though she believed she knew exactly what had happened when she had stepped into the elevator. "Sloane? Ben?" Inanna shouted their names as she walked out of the elevator.

Inanna shook her head, instantly regretting her actions and stepped backwards back into the elevator. Inanna swiftly pressed the button to the lobby, hoping that Five and the others would have done the same and as the doors closed in front of her, Inanna stepped further into the elevator, pressing her back against the wall behind her once again.

ONLY ONE CHAPTER
LEFT... i feel ill.

curled up in a ball because
i keep imagining five helping
his son with his math
homework. i need s4 right
now because finanna's little
family makes me want to cry.