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❛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘ. ᴘᴀʀᴋᴇʀ ᴇғғᴇᴄᴛ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ɪ ᴀᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ᴜɴɪᴠᴇʀsᴇ
ᴘʀᴇᴛᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴀ ɢɪʀʟ ꒱


❝MY BOUNTY IS AS
BOUNDLESS AS THE SEA
/ MY LOVE AS DEEP; THE
MORE I GIVE TO THEE / THE
MORE I HAVE, FOR BOTH
ARE INFNIITE ❞

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Seeing their brother on the news prompted them into action. Luther, Allison, Diego and Lila said goodbye to their kids, with the blond apologizing to his wife for having her act as babysitter once more. Sarah waved him off, smiling softly at him as she told him to go save the world— she would keep everyone safe here. Then, the siblings piled into Wanda and set off. During the ride, Alexa and Five got the back row to themselves, which allowed the girl some time to talk to her fiancé about his earlier comment.

He was currently staring off into space, his jaw set as he undoubtedly stewed over Diego's snide remarks or the upcoming fight. Either way, she sought to ease his worries and reached over to take his hand in hers. The action jolted him and he focused his gaze on her. She kept her voice low so that their siblings wouldn't butt into their conversation. "How are you holding up, Fi? You and Diego don't usually go at it like. . . that."

The brunet shrugged as if the disagreement had no affect on him. "He was being a moron, Lexa. I got sick of his stupidity."

She frowned, remembering his final words of their disagreement. "You know this isn't about who deserves who, right? Love isn't about deserving. It's not a prize you win or lose. It's about choice, and I chose you."

Five felt his ears flush at the reminder of his vulnerability from earlier. He really wished he hadn't made that kind of confession in front of their family, but out of all the BS Diego had shot at him, that one had hit closest to home, and he hadn't been able to hold back the truth. He looked away, his fingers tightening slightly around hers. "I know you did," he said quietly, his voice tinged with both gratitude and doubt. "But sometimes I can't help wondering if you made the right choice."

Alexa's chest ached at the uncertainty in his voice. She knew Five wasn't one to show his weaknesses easily— years of shouldering burdens alone had hardened him in ways she wished he'd never had to endure. She shifted in her seat, angling herself toward him. With her free hand, she reached out and placed it gently over his heart. The gesture was slow and deliberate, her palm resting against the steady beat beneath his suit jacket. "Five Hargreeves," she said, her tone laced with both tenderness and conviction, "you are the smartest, most infuriating, stubborn man I've ever met. But you're also brave, loyal, and fiercely protective of the people you love."

His lips quirked slightly but his eyes remained guarded. "Some would call that controlling."

"Some would," she allowed with a small smile. "But I know the difference. I know you. You'd tear the universe apart to keep me— us— safe. That's not control— it's love. And it's real, no matter how much you want to second-guess it. Whatever mistakes you've made, whatever regrets you carry, you're not defined by them. You've done terrible things, yes, but you've done good, too— so much good. You're more than the worst parts of yourself. And I love all of you."

For a moment, Five was silent, his jaw working as he processed her words. His hand tightened around hers, his thumb brushing over her knuckles as if grounding himself in her presence. Finally, he exhaled a long, weary breath and met her gaze fully, the walls he kept so carefully erected beginning to crack in a way only she could make them. "I don't deserve you, Lexa," he murmured, his voice trembling just enough for her to notice. "But I'm too selfish to ever let you go."

Her smile widened, a mixture of warmth and exasperation. "Good," she said firmly. "Because I'm not going anywhere."

He could only squeeze her hand and give her a fleeting quirk of his lips in response as their attention was drawn away by Diego screeching the van to a halt. Outside, a mob of people that had gathered to stand guard in front of the department store that had been featured on the news. The siblings took in the sight apprehensively until Allison hit Diego on the shoulder to get him out of his stupor. "Quick, back down that alley so we're out of sight."

Diego complied, the van reacting as smoothly as if it were brand new— thanks to Alexa healing it after their crash. They backed into the alley— but a little too well as Diego misjudged the speed he needed (the pedal was more sensitive than he was used to) and they shot backward so fast that Wanda clanged against the dumpster. All of them froze, Luther's eyes widening as he mumbled, "oh, shit."

The loud noise echoed through the alleyway like a gunshot, immediately drawing some heads from the crowd at the department store.

Diego scowled, throwing the gear into park. "Nice going, Luther."

"I didn't do anything!" Luther hissed, his hands gripping the back of the seat in front of him.

Klaus leaned between them, smirking. "Technically, Diego, you were driving. Can't blame Captain Gigantor for your pedal-happy foot."

"Shut up," Diego growled, already scanning the alley opening to see if anyone was heading their way. A few curious stragglers were craning their necks, but no one seemed to be moving toward them yet. "We need a plan— fast."

"The crowd's just there to make sure no one goes in. They don't actually care what we're doing if we're not doing that," Alexa pointed out. She turned to her fiancé and suggested hesitantly, "Fi, do you think you can still blink like you used to? That's the only way I can think of that would get us all in there without them knowing."

He shook his head. "You know we're just going to end up in the subway. Besides, even if I could blink, I couldn't take all of us, together."

She glanced at the crowd and tugged on her hair as she thought. "What if you didn't think of the past? What if you focused on now— on the department store? And Lila could mimic your blink so you wouldn't have to do it alone?"

Five wavered as he took in her hopeful expression. This was her first mission as their new leader and he knew how much she wanted this to be a success— how they all did. It was a sound enough plan (better than anything Luther or Diego had come up with in the past) and if they did end up in the subway, they'd just come straight back. "It's not the worst gamble we've ever taken," he agreed reluctantly.

She beamed at him, tamping down the urge to kiss him on the cheek— even with a different relationship label, she was pretty sure something like that would still be unwelcome in front of their siblings. Instead, she rose to her feet, bending a little to accommodate the awkward height of the van. "Okay, let's get moving. Klaus?"

He stared back at her uncomprehendingly until she pointed at the door, which he was closest to. "Oh! Right."

They filed out and stood in a circle, holding onto each other. With a grunt of exertion as he activated his power, Five and Lila let the purple-white light wash over the group. It certainly wasn't their neatest landing, but everyone made it inside in one piece. At the same time, Viktor was recovering from the attack Ben-but-not had lashed out at him with, which had prevented him from answering the phone. Klaus stared at the. . . thing with fascinated horror. "What is that?"

Allison gaped at him in shock as she struggled to her feet. "God, I think it's Ben!"

Alexa stared at her brother in dismay, sympathy and pity twisting inside of her at his state. In their original timeline, he'd never had the chance to get to this state; there had been too much energy coursing through him, which he'd tried to subdue to protect his siblings— and that had been his final act to shield them. She was glad, now, that he had died before he'd turned into. . . this. The blonde started forward without thinking, her only goal being to figure out how to fix him. But Viktor held out a hand and insisted, "don't touch Ben!"

Raspy, distorted breathing sounded from around the corner and another blob-like person emerged. Jennifer was hardly recognizable with pulsing, orange ooze covering her body. She was more far gone than he was and her voice didn't even sound like her own as she protested, "get away from him!"

Viktor ignored Jennifer and reached towards the Asian man. "Ben, please. Please let me help you."

Apparently, Ben-but-not didn't appreciate his offer as he growled out in the same voice: "leave now." He seemed to fight for control, his consciousness struggling to overpower whatever it was that was overtaking his mind. His normal voice returned for a moment. "I. . . I can't control it. I don't wanna hurt you."

The seventh Hargreeves didn't heed his warning. Instead, he grasped his brother's mutated arm with a strong grip, one that wouldn't falter even as energy began to wash through him at increasingly stronger intervals. He screwed up his face against the pain, determined to make this work.

"What's he doing?" Luther wondered as they watched small, golden particles flow from Ben and into Viktor.

"He's pulling out the Durango," Allison realized. But she also saw the toll it was taking on the brunet and she didn't want to lose two brothers to a lost cause. "Viktor, let him go!"

But Viktor's determination was absolute and he wouldn't be swayed by his siblings' interference. "I can save him!"

Something inside Alexa turned solid and cold. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. She knew that as well and truly as she knew the sky was blue. Her brother's efforts wouldn't work. Viktor wouldn't be able to pull the Durango from Ben— he could only interact with the Marigold, leaving both particles to exist in a delicate, destructive balance. It was more than just what Abigail had told her; she'd had seven years to learn about her powers and was more confident than she'd ever been. It was Alexa who was supposed to save their brother and heal the timelines. But, before she could make a move to put her thoughts into action, several other things happened at once.

One minute, Viktor was struggling to pull the Durango from his brother. In the next, a single bullet pierced the upper windows of the department store, sailing straight towards Ben's chest. As if sensing its approach, he shoved Viktor away from him in a last effort to protect the brunet. In the same moment, what remained of Jennifer lurched forward to connect with the Asian man's back.

The bullet found its mark.

He collapsed against his other half, his eyes falling shut— but more from the impact than anything else. Then, everything became worse.

The siblings watched in with more than a little disgust as Ben fell against Jennifer, causing their mutated skin to bubble and fuse. Slimy coils wrapped around them as their faces merged together. Their entire body glowed a sickly orange as an unearthly roar filled the department store. The creature (for there was hardly any of their brother left) grew to twice its size as it rose to its full height.

Luther's eyes fell on their remaining brother, who was still lying, stunned, nearby. "Ah shit! We gotta get that thing away from Viktor."

"What if we hurt it?" Lila suggested, eyeing the being warily.

"No!" Alexa protested immediately, causing her siblings to give her exasperated looks. "They might still be alive."

Diego ran forward recklessly, probably still fueled with anger from his disagreement with Five. (Which, while they were at a truce, he'd always had trouble bottling up his emotions like the rest of them.) He pulled a knife from one of his sheathes and ducked under the monster's swinging tentacles. The appendages smashed into the nearby display and their brother quickly whirled on his feet to attack it again.

Alexa grabbed Five's arm and looked up at him pleadingly. "They could still be alive, Five. Please, we have to make sure Ben is okay!"

While his expression was sympathetic, his eyes had taken on their familiar flinty appearance that they got when he was faced with choices he didn't like. Instead of addressing her concerns, he tightened his hold on her and they disappeared in a flash of purple to the second level. Taking his example, Lila copied his power while Allison ran towards the escalators. Diego was still charging up the unmoving steps to put as much distance between him and the creature as possible.

Without reliable ways to escape, Luther and Klaus stayed behind to help distract it from Viktor's presence. The larger man started taunting it to draw its attention away, much to his brother's confusion. "What are you doing, big guy? What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to start a fight," he explained. "Hey, come on, assface. Come on! Hey!"

Klaus grabbed his brother's arm as a tentacle came soaring at them and they sailed into the air, out of reach. He was still getting used to his levitation powers, though, and crash landed with a tinkle of broken glass. As Luther made sure he was okay, the brunet grinned at him. "I can fly now!"

Below them, Allison ran to grab Viktor while the monster was otherwise occupied. She half-dragged, half-carried him towards safety while Lila stared in shock at the being now that she was face-level with it. "Holy fuck!"

Five turned his fiancée. "Give me your gun."

She jerked and took a few steps backwards as if he'd breathed fire at her instead. "What? What gun? I don't have one!"

"The CIA makes you carry one," he retorted, his usual endless patience with her cut short due to the circumstances. "I know because I read the manual. I also know you're a rule follower, so you have one on you." He held out his hand for it.

"No!" she shot back, giving up the lie since he knew her too well. "That would go directly against my plan of not hurting him!"

"Ben's no longer in there, Alexa!" Five snapped. "As much as I wish it were different, the only ones we can save right now is ourselves, so—"

Their argument was cut off by a giant explosion, and they turned in annoyance towards the brunette. She was blinking rapidly due to having just used her laser eyes. "You morons were taking too long to make a decision, so I made one myself!"

The creature below them roared as it was engulfed in fire from the tanks that Lila had hit. She observed it being incinerated with satisfaction, while Alexa looked on panic: she noticed it grow ever larger, the attacks only increasing its size. The blonde raised her voice to be heard above the growls. "Is it supposed to get bigger?"

Lila let out a shriek as a tentacle came soaring towards them. Five grabbed Alexa's arm again and the trio disappeared to a more secure spot, which happened to be where Allison was propping Viktor up behind the register. The British woman helped her maneuver the man into a more comfortable position, cradling him in her lap. Alexa bent down to assess her brother's damage so she could heal him, completely oblivious to the being that was bearing down on them. Luckily, her sister was prepared to defend the group and activated her telekinesis.

But, somewhere amongst the slime and ooze, her mind connected to her brother's and she heard Ben call out, "Allison!"

Her determination faltered and the orange glow in her eyes faded. Lila saw her hesitation and demanded, "what are you waiting for?"

"It's Ben," she said, spooked.

Of all the people to take her side, Alexa wouldn't have guessed it would be Allison. She looked up from where her golden glow had encased their brother, her eyes bright with hope. "Yes, it is! And I know—"

"No it isn't!" Lila cut in frantically as the monster's gaze locked on them.

"Ah, shit," Five grumbled, seeing that none of the women were going or able to do anything. Taking advantage of his fiancée's occupied hands, he invaded her space and found her gun tucked inside the flannel jacket she was wearing.

"Five!"

He ignored her protest and levelled the gun at the creature, his aim steady as he took five, six, seven shots at it. He knew the pistol wouldn't do much— since being engulfed in flames hadn't done anything but make it grow— but he hoped it would be enough irritation to buy them— or the others— time to do something else. Although she wasn't looking at the enraged being, Alexa felt its irritation grow; the hairs on her arms stood up, just like they used to do when there was danger. (Not gone. Buried, the alternate Five had said. Your healing instinct took precedence but protection is as much a part of you as breathing.)

She let the glow fade from her hands and, trusting her instincts, she let her abilities guide her to the target in danger. Her arms wrapped around Allison— much to her sister's surprise— and she pulled the brunette to the floor, her body giving little resistance due to her shock. The tentacle swung harmlessly above them, crashing into the ceiling not far away.

The two women lay still for a moment, breathing heavily from the adrenaline. Allison lay against the floor, staring up at the (unbroken) ceiling as she processed what just happened. Alexa had just saved her— maybe even her life! They'd always been at odds with each other, but her sister had acted without thought, except to protect a member of her family. The blonde was trembling, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she kept a protective arm around her. For a moment, Allison could only stare at her sister, unaccustomed to seeing her so fierce— and so capable.

"You. . . saved me," Allison murmured, her voice tinged with disbelief.

Alexa blinked, looking just as shocked as her sister felt. "I— I just reacted," she stammered, her grip loosening as she sat back on her heels.

Meanwhile, Luther had returned to the first level and was finally able to help keep its attention from his other siblings. "Pick on someone your own size, you giant piece of shit."

He marched towards it purposefully and gave it a solid punch that would've knocked out any normal opponent. Instead, his hand got lodged in its sludge and it roared as it turned its focus on him. Panicking, he called over to the others, "uh, a little help? My hand is stuck in his ass."

Viktor— who had recovered, thanks to his sister— shared a glance with Lila. "Let's do this?"

She nodded, and together they mimicked his power, aiming it at the monster. Alexa leapt to her feet, forcing herself to shrug off the almost. . . civil interaction with her sister as she shouted, "no!"

"Come on, Alexa," Five grunted, growing truly vexed with her now. "You can't honestly expect that Ben's still in there? All that thing looks like now is the Blob!"

Alexa shook her head rapidly as the pair eased up on their energy beam. "That's not all I was saying no to. Don't you realize that it grows every time we hit it?"

"Well, you got a better idea?" the brunet demanded.

She crossed her arms and stuck out her chin determinedly. "Yeah, I do."

He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "You are not talking about your savior complex right now."

"It's not a savior complex if it's the truth!" she argued.

". . .Guys? Mind filling in the rest of the class in as to what the hell's going on here?" Lila interrupted.

Their other brothers had joined them again, Klaus and Diego coming down from the second floor while Luther ducked under a few flying appendages and sprinted towards them to regroup.

"Alexa wants to kill herself in some act of martyrdom to save the world," Five explained bluntly, making it a point not to mince his words.

As her siblings protested this (very) false statement with an unexpected amount of vehemence, the blonde waved her hands frantically. "No, no, no. Five's making it sound a lot worse than it is! I wouldn't die—"

"We don't know that," he muttered.

"Not helping," she complained. "Anyway, it's like Abigail said. I'm the failsafe. I'm the only one who can stop the Cleanse. You all tried using violence on it and you saw it didn't work. I. . . I have another way that I'm certain will. This was always what I was meant to do. With great power comes great responsibility."

Viktor stared at her in disbelief. "You're not seriously quoting Spider-man right now, are you?"

Diego was equally unconvinced, though his reaction veered more towards his traditional anger than genuine incredulity. "Meant to do? You've lost your damn mind if you think we're going to let you just walk up to that thing like it's a freaking therapy session."

"Diego—" she began, but he cut her off.

"No! You're not some sacrificial lamb. You're our sister. We'll figure something else out!"

"Alexa, you don't have to do this," Luther said, his voice gentle but filled with concern. "We'll find another way."

"You don't understand," the blonde pleaded, her voice trembling with emotion. "This isn't just about stopping the Cleanse or saving the world. It's about making things right. I failed the first time Ben— our Ben— died, and I couldn't stop it. I couldn't save him. But maybe this time, I can. Please, let me do this. I need to do this."

Her siblings exchanged uneasy glances, clearly torn. Luther was the first to nod; ever since he'd gotten his head out of his ass (or their dad's, as some of their brothers would've put it), he'd felt guilty for how he'd treated her, since they'd all been hurting. He thought that maybe, if she did this, they would all be able to heal from past trauma. "If this is what you really believe, then I'm with you."

"What?!" Diego snapped. "Luther, you can't be serious!"

"I don't like it," Luther admitted, his jaw tight, "but I trust her. She's our leader now. She knows what she's doing."

One by one, the others followed suit, though reluctantly. Klaus gave a small shrug, muttering something about it being her funeral if she was wrong. When Allison spoke up, uncharacteristically agreeing with the blonde, everyone stared at her in shock. "Alexa saved my life," she said simply.

Five remained conspicuously silent, his expression hardening with every agreement. His jaw worked and his hands curled into fists at his sides. Noticing his increased aggression and knowing his dislike of the plan as a whole, Alexa stepped closer to him and asked softly, "Five?"

He shook his head sharply, his gaze refusing to meet hers. "No. Absolutely not. You're not doing this."

"Five—"

"No," he snapped, his voice rising. "I'm not giving you my blessing, Alexa. Not for this. You think I'm going to just stand here and watch you throw your life away? Over my dead body."

Her eyes filled with unshed tears, but she stood her ground. "I have to try. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't."

"Then don't expect me to be okay with it," he shot back, his voice breaking slightly. "Because I won't be."

Without another word, Alexa stepped forward and pressed a kiss to his lips, pouring all her love and sorrow into the gesture. When she pulled back, her voice was barely above a whisper. "I love you, Five."

He didn't say it back. He couldn't. Instead, his eyes locked onto hers, desperate and furious, before he turned away, unable to watch her go. She brushed roughly at her eyes as she left the relative safety of her family and the half-wall of the register. As much as she wished that Five could accept her decision, she was going to go through with it regardless. She stopped just in front of the monster, who now almost dwarfed the building, its head smashing the ceiling so it could poke through.

Alexa knew that she must've made quite the sight: a slight young woman, unarmed, in front of a giant, interdimensional being. Her siblings wondered what her plan was since they'd trusted her enough to not ask her to elaborate— and it was a good thing, too, since they definitely wouldn't have approved of her pacifist ways. Rather than using more violence on it, the blonde used her hands to cup them around her mouth as she shouted, "hey!"

"What's she doing?" Klaus hissed, clinging to Luther's arm as they watched on. His larger brother only shook his head.

The monster turned at the sound of her shout and its gaze zeroed in on her. The filmy substance that made up its eyes located the Marigold particles burning brightly in her chest and it began to lower its head towards her. At that same moment, Alexa lit up with incandescent gold. She threw her arms around the creature and, resisting the urge to shudder with revulsion at the texture of its skin, she let out a faint pulse of her power. It seemed to freeze at her contact, clearly having expected a fight. It didn't appear to know what to do with an embrace.

Diego watched the younger woman critically, hardly able to believe what he was seeing. "Is she. . . hugging it to death?"

Her golden light grew brighter, each wave of power growing longer, taller, wider, to cover the being entirely. Soon, both of them were encased in her energy and neither of their forms could be seen— the light was too bright, almost sun-like, to look at for long. But, that wasn't all as her power didn't stop there.

It grew outward in steady surges. Her siblings watched it suspiciously, knowing all too well what uncontrollable power could do to the world. Viktor clenched his hands, thinking of his own sound waves. "Should we. . . do something?"

But, once again, his words were met with no answer. It continued to expand, illuminating the darkened, wrecked department store. It reached their feet, causing them to shuffle back as a group at first. When they hit the wall, they tensed as it crept up their legs, towards their chests, and over their heads. To their relief, there was nothing painful about the power, unlike Viktor's. Instead, it felt like the world's best, largest weighted blanket as it enveloped them in soothing warmth, healing their physical and mental hurts.

Alexa's power breached the walls, the man-made barriers doing nothing to halt its increasing size. It touched the Keepers, who were still standing armed outside. As it covered the crowd, they looked at each other in confusion, suddenly wondering what had driven them away from their homes and why there was a need for such violence. It wasn't that they'd forgotten their allegiance at all, but rather the fear, paranoia and hate that had caused them to join in the first place. They shrugged, shouldered their weapons, and dispersed, heading back towards their families and their lives.

Reginald, who'd contacted Abigail when he'd realized that the end was surely approaching, now sat with his wife on a nearby bench to watch as their work came to fruition. The golden light radiating from Alexa grew impossibly bright, pulsating outward with a rhythm like a heartbeat. Each wave seemed to strip away the chaos and destruction that had enveloped the false world, replacing it with serenity.

Abigail clasped her husband's hand tightly, her expression a mixture of pride and bittersweet acceptance. "She's done it," she said softly, her voice brimming with awe. "She's truly done it. She was the failsafe all along," the older woman continued, her voice thick with emotion. "I knew she could do it, but seeing it. . . seeing her. . ."

Reginald tilted his head, his usual stoicism faltering. "I underestimated her," he admitted, his voice quieter than it had ever been. "I thought she lacked the resolve. But she. . . she exceeded every expectation." He turned to his wife, the faintest flicker of regret crossing his features. "Perhaps I focused too much on control and not enough on trust."

Abigail smiled faintly, her gaze never leaving the radiant display. "Perhaps. But now, we've done our part. She will set things right, even if we do not get to see it."

The golden light reached them, washing over their forms. Reginald stiffened slightly, instinctively resisting, but Abigail squeezed his hand reassuringly. "It's alright," she murmured. "We were never meant to stay. This was never our world."

As the light engulfed them, Abigail closed her eyes, her expression one of peaceful surrender. Reginald followed suit, his grip on her hand tightening for a fleeting moment before both of their forms began to dissolve into the golden particles. They vanished together, their essence scattering into the ether.

Alexa's power continued to radiate outward, encompassing the nearby buildings, the next street over, the next town over, growing and growing and growing with limitless energy.

--

Alexa had never felt infinite, but she thought that now, maybe, she had an idea of what it was like. She had initially meant to just keep her power contained around the being her arms were wrapped around but the second she had tried, she'd felt its connection to the other timelines— the countless pains and anomalies of universes that weren't meant to exist. So, she'd relaxed her grip on her power and let it expand forever outward, smoothing over the errors of the other worlds.

She could feel everything. The fractures and tears in the fabric of existence, the misplaced timelines bleeding into one another, the echoes of destruction and chaos that resonated across countless dimensions. Each pulse of her power was like a balm, mending what was broken, soothing what was raw. It wasn't just this world she was saving— it was all of them.

Alexa could barely comprehend the scale of it, but she didn't need to. The golden light pouring from her wasn't just her power— it was her fortitude, her love, her very essence. She wasn't fighting the Cleanse; she was becoming its opposite.

The monster in her arms shifted, its immense body trembling as the golden light seeped into its core. It began to shrink, its grotesque form smoothing and transforming into something smaller, softer, separating back into its two human shapes. But, the girl herself wasn't aware of this; she had risen above the occurring events and disappearing inside of herself— a form of self protection to avoid giving herself away entirely. Instead, she opened her eyes to a world of blue— a stark contrast to the golden light she'd seen moments before.

It was a familiar blue, one that she had seen once in her mind and too many times to count as it had emitted from her hands in the form of her shields. She took in the sight around her, a little disoriented from all the sameness. But it wasn't all alike; fluffy white clouds floated serenely across the sky— or was the sky what she was standing on? She tapped her foot against the ground and it rippled, disturbing the glassy, picture-perfect replication below her. Water— water so still and reflective that it made it seem like the sky was all around her. There was no breeze to mar it and no sun in above her to distinguish top from bottom, but the air was warm (yet not stifling) and she could see perfectly.

"What is this place?"

She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of another voice, having been so lost in looking around that she hadn't noticed another person with her. She whipped around and stared. ". . .Ben?"

"Were you expecting someone else?" Ben— but not Ben, really; not the Sparrow's Ben— well, that wasn't exactly right, either. The Asian man who met her gaze was her brother, that much she knew. But there was something softer that smoothed out the hard bitterness of the Sparrow's Ben, yet he was too sharp-edged to be the Umbrella's Ben. He was a mix of the two, she thought, a perfect amalgamation of all the timelines they'd existed in.

"Well, no," she replied hesitantly, still too stunned to fully comprehend what was going on. (Something in the back of her mind niggled at her— this had happened before, hadn't it? Or something similar, but also not. This was going to give her a headache, wasn't it? (That she knew for sure.)

He nodded as if he'd expected that answer. "So. . . do you know where we are?"

"I-I think so," the blonde stammered. "This is the first time I've been here, but I think Five was here before. We meditated together in your timeline and he ended up here. He described this place to me afterwards. We're in my mind, I think."

"Your mind? Why?" (If she had said this to the Sparrow's Ben, she would've been met with a scathing remark and not-so-nicely told to shove off.)

"It's protecting us, I'm guessing. That's what my original power was, you know, before I could heal. This place. . . it's supposed to be like a sanctuary," she theorized. "It's supposed to protect the person who's here, to keep them from. . . evaporating into nothingness." She thought about what the other Five had said and how she was the one who had a chance at surviving because the other Alexas had either healing or protection, but not both.

Noticing that they were the only two present, Ben asked worriedly, "what about Jennifer?"

"I don't know," Alexa admitted, "but I'm sure she's fine. Maybe she's not here because she has Durango instead of Marigold."

That seemed to appease him and he asked his final question, which came out more tentatively than the others: "and. . . the monster? That was us, right? Did we. . . hurt—"

"No!" she exclaimed quickly. "I mean, yes, you were the monster, but all of us are fine."

Ben nodded again, his expression a mixture of relief and lingering guilt. He crossed his arms, glancing down at the glassy surface beneath their feet. "I don't remember much. Just. . . flashes. Anger. Pain. Then you." His gaze lifted to meet hers, his eyes searching hers for answers. "You saved us, didn't you?"

"I didn't do much," she told him, feeling her face heat up. "I think it was the power itself. I just. . . let it do what it needed to. I didn't really have control."

Her brother stared at her for a moment before he huffed a short laugh, shaking his head. "You're too modest. You could've let it consume you, like. . . like what happened with me, in your timeline. You didn't. That's control, Alexa."

Her lips parted slightly in shock at his words and her voice came out a little hoarse as she breathed out, "are you our Ben?"

(Because wouldn't that be the cherry on top of the world-saving sundae, that she redeemed herself entirely, and brought back the Umbrella's long-lost, favorite brother? The one that she'd truly failed.)

But, he shook his head. "Not exactly. I. . . I now have memories that aren't mine, but I also have ones that are. I. . . need time to sort it out."

She gestured around them. "Well, it looks like we have plenty. I don't know when we'll get to go back, so do you want to go for a walk?"

--

Sometime later, the world around them seemed to grow faintly brighter. It didn't take them long to find the source of the light, which came from a floating, golden sphere that was the first object they'd seen here. They both stopped before it, letting its peaceful, warm presence wash over them.

"What is it?" Ben wondered.

"My soul," Alexa stated more confidently than anything else she'd said so far. "This was something else Five told me about. I. . . wow."

The sphere pulsed gently, as if in response to her recognition. It wasn't just light— it was alive, radiating an energy that felt deeply personal, deeply her.

"It's beautiful," her brother said quietly. "It's. . . you."

She couldn't tear her eyes away from it. It felt like looking at herself for the first time, truly seeing the core of who she was without the weight of everything she'd been through— no regrets, no guilt, just pure essence. "It feels. . . right," she murmured. "Like everything I've ever been, everything I've ever done, it's all in there, but it doesn't feel heavy. It just. . . is."

Ben nodded slowly, taking a step closer to the sphere. He hesitated, then glanced at her. "Can I. . .?"

"I think so," Alexa said, though she wasn't sure how she knew. "I don't think it would hurt you."

He extended a hand toward the sphere. The moment his fingers brushed the light, it rippled outward, a soft hum resonating in the still air. His eyes widened as the glow briefly encompassed him, sinking into his skin like rays of sunshine. He gasped softly, then stepped back, his hand dropping to his side.

"What did you see?" the blonde asked, her voice tinged with curiosity and concern.

"I don't know how to describe it," he replied, shaking his head. "It was like. . . fragments of your memories and emotions." He looked at her, his expression unreadable. "You've been carrying so much."

Alexa's breath hitched. "I. . . I didn't mean for you to see all that."

"It's not a bad thing," Ben said quickly. "It's. . . incredible, really. It's like you took all of it— the pain, the love, the anger, the hope— and turned it into something that could heal. Something that could fix what was broken." He looked at her fondly, just like the Umbrella's Ben always had. "You're stronger than you know, Alexa. Stronger than any of us ever gave you credit for."

Before she could respond, the sphere pulsed again, brighter this time. The warmth it radiated intensified, reaching towards the Asian man.

"What's happening?" Ben asked, stepping closer to her.

"I think. . ." she began, her heart pounding, "I think it's time for you to go back."

He jolted next to her and turned to her in alarm. "Me? What about you? You know Five will kill me if I come back and you don't."

She smiled then, the familiarity of her brother's— her real brother's interaction with her— feeling like she had come home. "You're not scared of him, are you?" she teased.

Ben scoffed and, in a very Sparrow-like tone, retorted, "no. I just value my life, especially after you went to so much effort to save it."

"I'll come back," she promised. "I just. . . have to find my own way, I think. I healed all of you; now it's my turn."

Alexa was touched by how much he appeared to not like this prospect (though maybe he was just concerned with saving his own skin, though she didn't think so), but there was nothing he could do. The light began to surround him more fully, pulling him away from her mind-world and back into the real one.

--

When the light around the trio faded, all three figures sank to the ground in exhaustion. Jennifer leaned against Ben with her eyes closed as she breathed deeply, like she was trying to stave off vomiting. The Asian man pulled his sister into his arms, cradling the unconscious girl against him. It took a minute for the other Hargreeves to realize that, for the first time in recent years, they'd been successful at something. Then, Klaus let out a whoop of delight and cheered for his sister, not noticing the state she was in. Viktor hurried over to his siblings and put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Ben? Are you okay?"

"Define okay," he muttered, his voice raspy but laced with a hint of humor. "Because I feel like I got hit by a truck."

Jennifer squinted, trying to let some light back into her eyes. "What. . . what happened?"

But, no one got around to answering her as Five rushed towards his fiancée, sliding the last few inches on his knees as he held his arms out for her. Ben (wisely) didn't hesitate and let him take her. He held the blonde gently, his face a storm of emotions that he rarely allowed himself to show. "Alexa," he murmured, his voice unsteady. "Come on, Lexa, wake up." He slid two fingers against her neck and waited with bated breath to feel her pulse, his panic rising until he felt the faint but steady rhythm.

Ben (risking life and limb) placed a hand on Five's shoulder to gain his attention. "She's going to be okay," he said, trying to sound reassuring despite his own exhaustion. "She just needs time. Her power— whatever she did— took everything out of her. She has to heal herself first before she can wake up."

Five glared up at him, though the anger in his expression couldn't mask the fear underneath. "And you're sure? You're absolutely sure about that?" His grip on Alexa tightened, as if sheer willpower alone could protect her from whatever danger might still be lurking.

"Yes," he said simply, his tone softer now. "She told me. We-we were in that place, in her mind. She said you were there when you. . . meditated together?"

The brunet's eyes widened fractionally as he remembered the all-blue world that he'd explored what felt like so long ago. It was relief to know that Ben had been there too (though how was also a question he had) and that he'd spoken to Alexa. A part of him was appeased by this, though even if he'd heard his fiancée's voice in his mind telling him that she would return, he'd still worry over her.

Viktor crouched down beside them, his brow furrowed with concern. "We should get her somewhere safe. She needs rest. We all do."

They rallied for the brief time that would be necessary to leave the department store behind, their movements slow and careful as the weight of what had just transpired pressed down on them. Despite the fatigue etched into every line of their bodies, there was a quiet triumph in the air, a confidence that only achieving the impossible could produce.

(In another timeline, there is no Number Eight. In another timeline, Hargreeves sacrifice themselves as a fractured family. In another timeline, in another timeline, in another timeline—

But in this timeline, the Hargreeves have made the world feel. . . right.)

A/n: so I know that since I changed Klaus' arc, he doesn't really get a chance to 'show off' his levitating powers (in the one other instance he does it on screen), but just pretend he learns about it with Allison and Claire as they keep him distracted to support his sobriety or something— not my most creative idea, admittedly, but that was more of a side plot that doesn't affect the overall story anyway.