17. A Family

"You're forgetting how to breathe," Five informs Elisa, but she already realized that. She attempts to breathe again, but has no idea how. How does she breathe?

A chuckle fills hear ears before Five reaches for both her wrists to stop Elisa. He succeeds, and she's forced to stop in her tracks. Then he folds his fingers over both her wrists while he raises his other hand. His fingers trail over her lips.

"Breathe," he whispers, and finally Elisa does. She inhales, breathing in Five's smell. Her shoulders fall a little, relaxing. A relieved smile comes upon Five's lips. "I can't have you fainting now."

"I don't faint." Elisa finds her voice again.

"Too bad." Five smirks as he leans closer, so that their faces are just inches apart. "I'd have liked to carry you in my arms."

Elisa tilts her head a little, a smile coming onto her lips. "I wouldn't stop you. . ."

"You better not." Five chuckles at her reaction. "But first, let's go." A quick peck gets placed on Elisa's cheek.

The hallways are long, and the way downstairs seems endless for Elisa. It's a massive house, even for Elisa who has lived so long in the commission. It feels like there always more and more halls and rooms. It doesn't stop. Finally, they arrive at the stairs. From there, Elisa can see the way to the living room-and that's where there are people. Five's siblings. Some are sitting down, some are standing.

A smile creeps onto Five's lips when he notices Elisa's eyes on his siblings that are now just a few steps away. "They'll love you," he murmurs against her throat as they descend the stairs. The touch of his lips against the skin makes Elisa close her eyes in both anxiety and relief. It's hard to know what you feel when Five's so close.

"Here we go." Elisa's voice is shaky, but Five understands her. He squeezes her hand softly to reassure her, and it helps-a little.

The two enter the living room, and all the eyes are immediately on Elisa. One man rolls his eyes, seeming to find the idea of Elisa in here awful. A woman who Elisa recognizes, Allison, smiles at the girl. She told herself not to, but Elisa does lay her eyes on Diego. He appears to be watching his glass of water very carefully. Elisa knows he's just avoiding any eye contact, and she's glad he's doing so.

"Diego told us that we had a visitor," Allison says, still smiling.

"He did," Five mumbles, but doesn't look at Diego. Allison doesn't say anything more-maybe that means that Diego didn't tell anything more than that. Elisa hopes so. "Everyone, this is Elisa Brookle."

"Hello," Elisa says quietly, hoping everyone hears it. Everyone did-maybe not the one that's currently half asleep on the table. Elisa watches him as she wonders.

Allison laughs shortly when she notices this. "Don't mind him too much, Elisa," she tells the girl. "That's Klaus. I'm sure he's not paying any attention. He never does."

"Never," the big man, the one that still seems rather grumpy about Elisa being here, mutters.

"I'm Allison," Allison tells the girl, reaching for her hand to shake it. With a smile coming onto her lips, Elisa accepts, and she shakes the woman's hand. "That's Diego." The woman then points at him, but he's still looking downward, ignoring the eyes on him. "You've already met him, of course."

Elisa's cheeks redden a little immediately. Yes, she has met him, but she doesn't want to remember it. He doesn't want to, either.

"Now, that's Luther." Allison points at the big one, Luther. He, again, doesn't reply enthusiastically. Only a gesture with his hand greets Elisa. "Oh, come on, Luther." Elisa rolls her eyes. "Can you at least try to be kind?"

"We all know that she'll be out of here soon enough." He shrugs. "Why even bother?"

"You don't know that!" Allison protests, raising an eyebrow.

"I do, actually." He now does turn to look at Elisa. She's still standing next to Allison. "When she hears how fucked up our family is, then she'll run away. Everyone here knows that. Five, have you even tried telling her the truth about us? I don't think you did. If you would have, then she wouldn't be here." Everyone listens to his angry rambling. Only a hiss is heard from Five. "Elisa- was that your name?"

Elisa nods in response.

"Elisa, we've all got powers. Knife throwing shit." He points at Diego who now is watching her. "Allison can make you do whatever she wants, even think whatever she wants. It would only take me one push to squeeze you to death-"

"Don't exaggerate, Luther." Diego laughs loudly. "It would take you more."

Luther only rolls his eyes-he doesn't even glance Diego's way. "Five can time travel," he continues again, ignoring the glares of the others. "And that addict, he can see the dead."

Elisa's lips part. She turns her head to the man laying on the table, but only to notice that he's sitting up. He's watching her reaction to his abilities with a tired expression on his face.

"You can see the dead?" Elisa asks him, needing his confirmation.

The man, Klaus, nods quietly.

"That's really cool, though," Elisa says, shocking all the siblings-but Luther the most. "Must be traumatising, too." she adds in a whisper.

Klaus tilts his head in surprise. A soft smile tugs at his lips as he watches hers. "It is," he admits. Then, he turns to Luther who's still waiting for the girl to turn her back on all of them and run. "Luther, I don't think she's going to run."

Luther stays quiet for a few seconds, but he does shake his head forcefully. "She has to," he says to all of the siblings and Elisa. "We're superior. We've got powers."

A smirk comes onto Five's face, but he succeeds in not catching anyone's attention. He wants to see where this is going.

"Don't be like that," Allisson warns him, but he shrugs her off.

"It's the truth, Allison," he tells her.

"Well then," Klaus speaks up, and everyone turns to look at him. He jumps off the table, but only to stumble a little backwards against it. "Elisa, what is your power?" he asks her, expecting her to stay quiet. If she does, then he's tell her to make one up; the coolest she can think of.

"I blow things up," Elisa answers his question.

Klaus' eyes widen immediately. He quickly glances at Five who nods. "You actually have powers?" Klaus asks Elisa in awe. Oh, how he loves annoying Number One like this.

"Yes," Elisa replies earnestly. Everyone turns at Luther. Allison, Klaus, and Five all have smug expressions on their faces when they see Luther's jaw dropping to the ground. Even Diego looks pleased to see the big man like this. No one likes to irritate Luther like he does.

"That means she can stay." Klaus smiles at the girl. He doesn't look even close to high anymore. No, he looks happy. It's as if he never was the man that laid there, sleeping on the table and waking up, dazed.

"No." Luther shakes his head again. "That wasn't my point."

"Then what is your point, Number One?" Five asks his brother, finding him even more irritating than he has been ever before.

"There are still other important questions to ask her," he says, but no one can even come up with what he means.

A chuckle of Klaus sounds, and Elisa looks at him, smiling.

"Elisa," Klaus says. "Since Luther wants this, I have to ask you an important question."

"Klaus-" Luther starts, but Klaus gestures dismissively at him.

"If you answer properly, then you'll be allowed to stay as long as you want," he tells her.

Elisa has no idea what the question will be, but Klaus his teeth-showing smile convinces her that everything will be okay. "Go ahead." She widens her smile in return.

"What are your favorite drugs?"

Elisa laughs shortly while all the others' eyes widen. A scoff is heard from Luther. After recovering herself, Elisa smiles again.

"Let me think," she says. "I must go for donuts."

This makes Klaus laugh again. He claps loudly before walking up to Luther. He excitedly pats his big brother on his shoulder. "She's free to stay."

For this, Luther has no answer, so he stays quiet. Allison is laughing softly, too. Even Five is fighting back the urge to laugh with.

"We don't even know who she is. . ." Luther adds quietly. Everyone heard him, even though Klaus and Allison were still laughing. The laughing sounds fades away, and all the eyes land on Elisa once again.

She swallows, but doesn't allow herself to look at Five for help. She can do this. She can tell them about herself. Maybe they will run away from her instead. It sounds possible. . .

"I'm Elisa," she starts. "And I grew up at the commission-"

"What's the commission?" Klaus cuts in, showing her that he's curious. But Elisa doesn't want to answer. In fact, she doesn't wan them to know anything about the commission. It'll only scare them away.

"I know the commission," Luther speaks up. "Five told me about it."

"Luther, if Elisa doesn't want to-" Five starts, but Luther rolls his eyes at him.

"They should know," he says. "The commission is an organisation of assassins that make sure everything happens as it should-in every time."

"Every time?" Diego repeats in a questioning tone.

"Yes." Luther nods. "They're time-traveling murderers. And Five used to be one of them. Now he has brought another one home."

Elisa feels her lips starting to shake. When Five attempts to reach for her hand, she takes her hand in her own, not wanting anyone's touch at the moment. It's true isn't it, she thinks. I am a murderer. Always have been, and I always will be.

"I'm sure Elisa isn't-" Allison starts, but Elisa shakes her head, causing Allison to close her mouth again.

"I killed my mother and my father when I was just a few years old," she admits in a shaky voice. She uncomfortably folds her hands over her chest. See, they'll throw me out.

"She can't stay here," Luther tells everyone, a smile coming onto his lips. He succeeded.

"I never used my powers again," Elisa continues, ignoring Luther completely. "I found a way to press them down. I found a way to be normal. Though, I wasn't normal. The handler, the boss of the commission, raised me. She tried to make me an assassin. . .just like Luther said."

"Tried?" Klaus echoes.

"She didn't succeed," Elisa tells everyone. "I don't want to kill anyone. That's why I left."

Elisa watches as Klaus starts to smile again. A smile comes on Allison's lips. This time, Five does succeed in intertwining his fingers with Elisa's. He gives her a proud nod, and for the first time Elisa feels whole. They didn't run. They' didn't see her as an assassin. They don't even think of her as someone weak. Instead, they're smiling widely at her, and Elisa feels as if she's finally found a home.

Slowly, Allison approaches Elisa, still smiling. She opens her arms, and Five frees Elisa's hand when his sister leans in to hug Elisa.

"Welcome, Elisa Brookle," the woman whispers.

"We must celebrate!" Klaus exclaims when Elisa accepts the hug. "I think I saw someone throw a donut in the trash just yesterday-I can get it for you, Elisa."

Elisa's eyes widen, and she leans back to look at Klaus. He's still smiling, too. His eyes are sparkling.

"That's kind," Elisa answers. "But that's not necessary. I'm all right."

Klaus nods, the twinkles in his eyes not disappearing even a little. "But we must celebrate." He points his finger at her. "At least let me show you the way to the kitchen. Then we can celebrate with breakfast."

The siblings giggle, even Diego. Only Luther is still grumpy about the whole situation. With his lips forming a thin line, he lets his heavy body fall on the seat.

Elisa glances at Five. He, too, is giggling. "I'm afraid we don't have much more than sandwiches," he tells her.

"That's all right!" Klaus smiles as he reaches for Elisa's hand. "Come! I don't bite."

"Okay, I'll come." Elisa giggles, too.

"Oh my!" Klaus suddenly says.

"What?" several persons ask.

"I think I have bitten someone once." He starts to laugh. "Oh, it was funny! You should've been there!"

Five frowns at his brother. "Just make sure Elisa comes back without having been bitten."

"Don't worry! I'm no vampire!" Klaus yells back as he and Elisa head for the kitchen to get get a decent breakfast.

-

A few sandwiches later, Elisa is back in Five's arms in the living room. One arm of Five's is curled around Elisa's waist while the other one carefully rubs tiny circles on Elisa's collarbone. The others are there, too. Klaus, still smiling, is leaning against one of the academy's pillars. Diego his eyes don't leave the shiny knife in his hands, as he sits on a chair taken out of the kitchen. Allison has seated herself on the couch as she watches Elisa and her brother with warm eyes and a smile on her lips. Luther his eyes are narrowed-which is no surprise to anyone. He's watching Elisa and Five, too, but not in the way Allison is doing. The hatred cannot be missed when looking at his gaze.

"Get your eyes off her, you moron," Five hisses at Luther. In response, Luther's eyes widen a little. He doesn't nod, but he does look away. This time, he looks in front of him. Elisa attempts to see what he's truly looking at, but she notices it's the wall.

With a soft smile lighting up her face together with the sparkles in her eyes, Elisa turns to look at Five again. Her hand reaches for his, and their fingers intertwine.

"I think we should tell them now," Five whispers in Elisa's ear, brushing her cheek with his lips.

"Now?" Elisa asks him, frowning a little. He nods. "But. . . what about Vanya?"

Five attempts to smile, he really does. He fails. "She's not like us, Elisa." There's a certain and audible pain in his voice as he tells her this. "She won't be able to protect herself."

"She needs to know," Elisa says. "She's one of the siblings, too."

"Yet she's different." Five sighs loudly. "She's ordinary."

Elisa bites the inside of her cheek to keep herself from fighting back, from forcing Five to get Vanya here. But deep down, she knows he's right. Vanya won't be able to protect herself, and Elisa doesn't want another person's blood on her hands. So she stays quiet again after nodding quietly.

"Elisa and I. . ." Five trails off, his gaze leaving Elisa with a pained feeling. "We need your help."

"Help?" Klaus straightens his back, and his eyes fall on the couple immediately. "With what?"

"With saving the world," Five answers him with a weak smile.

A laugh sounds. It fills everyone's ears. It's Klaus'.

"You're joking?" Allison's head turns to Klaus, but turns to Five and Elisa immediately after

"We're not," Five admits. "The end of the world is coming in just a few days, and I have no idea how to stop it." The laughing fades away until no sound is to be heard.

"But we do know that we need all siblings," Elisa adds. "We know that only with you all, we can stop the apocalypse from happening." All eyes are on the two again, even Luther's eyes. This time Five doesn't warn him again. The shock in Luther's-everyone's-eyes is too big.

"What causes the end of the world?" Diego's voice is stern, sure.

Elisa swallows before she answers. The sound is audible to everyone in the room. "Morgana Davis," she says, the name falling off her lips so easily. Once that name would've been spoken full of love in her voice, but not today. Things have changed. Morgana has changed. "My ex girlfriend."

"Phoeh," Klaus murmurs. Then he tilts his head again, facing Elisa. "Will you be able to stop her with us?" The question was asked out of worry and pureness, but Elisa knows that the question was right to be asked. It must be asked.

"I must, mustn't I?" It is Elisa's turn to smile weakly. It doesn't fool anyone, though. Each and every one can see through it.

"When it comes to that, we'll make sure you can't stop us," Luther speaks up. Elisa dares to turn her head to him. His eyes are on her, but they aren't as narrowed as they were just a moment ago. Elisa can't ask him not to do so. It has to happen-she knows that. But it still hurts to realize that she must plan on killing Mor.

Elisa does not reply. She can't force herself to.

"So we only know who causes the apocalypse?" Allison asks Five, her voice unsure.

A broken, sad chuckle leaves Five's lips. Only he knows how hard it was to find even that. It felt impossible, but here he is. He found the cause, and now he has to stop it.

Then Five nods.

"We don't know when?"  Diego asks.

"I do know the day." Five shrugs. "But I don't know which hour. Only the day."

"It's enough," Luther says. "If you bring us to the right day, then we'll wait for it to happen. We'll stop the girl."

"You can't just stop Morgana," Elisa speaks up after having lost her voice the whole time. She can feel Five's breathing on the back of her neck when she turns around and leans her back against Five's chest. "She's an assassin, just like Five and I. We also shouldn't forget that the commission knows we're going to try and stop her. They'll be waiting for us."

"We'll be ready," Luther says as a sly smile comes upon his lips. Elisa rolls her eyes, her eyes leaving him.

"One is never ready for a commission's assassin," Elisa whispers under her breath, not wanting to scare the others. But she isn't lying. Five must know that, too.

Five's hands slide down Elisa's arms until his fingertips are rubbing tiny circles on the back of Elisa's hands. Then the grabs her wrists, and forces her to turn around. Her eyes widen a little in surprise.

"You don't have to continue this, Elisa." In a gentle motion, Five leans his forehead against Elisa's. "We can take care of it."

Elisa wishes she could say that she will be able to handle it, but she's afraid she won't be ready for anything like it. Can one be really ready to kill a person they once loved-maybe even still love? But Elisa also knows that if she lets them go alone, then she'll leave them unprotected. She won't be able to live with herself if one of the siblings die, too. It's already bad enough Morgana has to die. Isn't there any other way to do this, to save the world? Surely she can still talk with Morgana? There must be a tiny, tiny part inside of Morgana that still has a little humanity in it?

Her eyes fly open again-Elisa didn't even realize that she had closed them. She now knows. She knows what she has to do. She'll go with the siblings, follow their plan, and when they're about to kill Mor, then she'll use the last chance she'll have to talk some sense in Morgana's manipulated head. If Morgana doesn't grab that chance, then . . . she'll die on the battlefield. There are two ends to this. It's Morgana's choice.

"I'm coming," Elisa tells him, straightening herself. "I'm coming."

Five's hand raises, and his fingertips touch Elisa's trembling lips. He knows she's just pretending to be strong. He knows her.

"I'll be there with you," he whispers.

"I know," Elisa whispers back. "Thank you." Now a true smile comes upon Five's lips. His arms curl around Elisa's waist once again, and he presses her body even closer to him.

Then his face turns again, facing his siblings. Some eyes have wandered awkwardly somewhere else, but Klaus watches the two happily. "Invite me to your wedding." He smiles.

Five rolls his eyes at his brother, but his smile widens at the mention of marrying the girl in his arms. The girl that accepted him together with his history, with his passed decisions. It's unbelievable she did, really. It shocks him every single time he thinks about it. She accepted him for what he is and who he was.

"How will we kill the girl?" Diego asks.

"It must be a quick death," Five says, not wanting Elisa to suffer any more that she'll already have to do.

"I could sl-" Diego starts, but Five stops him with one of his hand gestures.

"Stop," he orders his brother. "Klaus, can you please take Elisa somewhere else?"

Klaus nods quickly, jumping on his feet. "Of course," he says, understanding that she shouldn't be here. Not while everyone discusses the murder of Morgana Davis. He takes Elisa's hand in his, taking her out of Five's grip.

"Come,' Klaus tells Elisa.

She does. Elise follows behind Klaus, not glancing backwards. She can't. She's frozen.

"A quick death," she whispers quietly while exiting the living room with Klaus.