Five Hargreeves was impatiently sitting at the dinner table surrounded by his siblings, wanting to speak to his father, which wasn't allowed at the table while they were eating. He then stabbed his knife into the table, his eyes glued on his father.

"Number Five?" Reginald asked, clearly annoyed by Five's little outburst.

"I have a question," Five began.

"Knowledge is an admiral goal, but you know the rules," Reginald replied. "No talking during mealtimes. You are interrupting Herr Carlson."

Five dropped his utensils on his plate, continuing, "I want to time travel."

"No," Reginald immediately answered.

"But I'm ready," Five pushed. "I've been practicing my spatial jumps, just like you said." He demonstrated by teleporting from his seat at the table to standing next to Reginald. "See?"

"A spatial jump is trivial when compared to the unknowns of time travel," Reginald argued. "One is like sliding along the ice, the other is akin to descending blindly into the depths of the freezing water and reappearing as an acorn."

Five paused. "Well, I don't get it."

"Hence the reason you're not ready," Reginald added.

Five glanced over at his sister Vanya, who shook her head at him, giving him a look that said This isn't a good idea; but of course, Five didn't listen. "I'm not afraid."

"Fear isn't the issue. The effects it might have on your body, even on your mind, are far too unpredictable," Reginald explained. "Now, I forbid you to talk about this anymore."

Five bit his lower lip, his anger rising. Forbidden? I'm not a child; if I say I'm ready, I'm ready. It's my life, my choice; it's not his decision anymore. Five shook his head before turning around and leaving the academy, Reginald calling his name behind him but not chasing him down.

Five ran out of the building and down the street, jumping through time and grinning at his accomplishment. "Not ready, my ass," he muttered to himself before time jumping again and again until he stood in front of a burning building surrounded by debris.

What the hell happened? Five turned around and ran, passing by several burning buildings and piles of rubble before reaching what was once the gate to The Umbrella Academy. He looked around, nothing to be seen. "Vanya!" He called out. "Ben! Dad! Anyone!" There was no answer. He then tried to time jump again, but his powers were weakened, preventing him from opening up a vortex.

"Come on!" He yelled, his hands slightly glowing but no vortex being opened. "Shit." He blinked rapidly, trying not to cry as he fell onto his knees in front of his burned down home.

All he tried to focus on was the sound of his breaths, attempting at keeping them even so he wouldn't have a panic attack. In. Out. In. Out.

Unfortunately, his peace was soon interrupted by hearing the distant sounds of sobs. At first he ignored it, thinking his mind was playing tricks on him, until it didn't go away; I'm not alone. He quickly got up and ran towards the sound, the sobs growing louder as he got closer. He then peered around some fallen debris to find a girl sitting there crying, her sobs disappearing when she saw him and her eyes wide with shock; she must have thought she was alone, too.

"Hey, are you okay?" Five asked as he slowly approached her.

"No, can't you tell by the obnoxious sounds of my ugly crying?" Brileigh replied.

"Sorry, that was a dumb question," Five slowly sat down next to her before extending out his hand. "I'm Five Hargreeves."

"Five?" Brileigh raised her eyebrows and laughed before shaking his hand. "Is that a joke? I'm Brileigh Farren, by the way."

"No, it's not a joke, Brileigh," Five sighed. "Interesting name, by the way."

"Thanks," Brileigh smiled. "What about your name? Like... where is Five from?"

"Have you heard of The Umbrella Academy?"

"Yeah, like those kids who fight crime because they have special powers?" Brileigh's eyes went wide. "No way, you're one of them?!"

"Yeah," Five nodded. "Anyway, do you maybe want to take a walk, see if maybe it's not just us here in this apocalyptic wasteland?"

"Sure," Brileigh agreed as the two stood up and began to wander around.

"So, how did you end up here in this situation all by yourself?" Five asked.

"I know this is probably going to sound crazy—well, maybe not to you—but I kind of accidentally found out I had the ability to open a vortex and travel to the future, and I ended up here," Brileigh explained. "What about you?"

"The exact same way, pretty much," Five said with a laugh. "Except I already knew I had powers, and I was just trying to prove a point to my father... except I was wrong."

"I'm sorry," Brileigh said apologetically.

"It's fine. Ooh, now who is this?!" Five ran over to a pile of rubble and pulled out the top half of a female mannequin. "Hmm, seems her name is Delores."

"Five, that's a mannequin," Brileigh pointed out, but Five simply ignored her and continued to walk off with "Delores" in his arms, Brileigh rolling her eyes as she followed.

This is definitely going to be a crazy journey.

•••

A/N: bri and five finally met wow my bbys 🤩

anyway i hope you all enjoyed this chapter! if so please don't forget to vote comment and share because i love your feedback!

thanks, until next time ;)