20. Lies

"Five was the one to give you the serum."

Elisa jumps on her feet, and her eyes widen. She flinches away from Five once again. Her eyes narrow, then. All the hope that was still left inside of her has disappeared. It's gone.

"Is that true?" Elisa asks him in an aggressive tone, but her voice breaks the moment she finishes the sentence.

"What?" Five's eyes fall on the handler.

"You were the one to give a baby a serum, were you not?" the handler asks him. "It hasn't been long, too. It was the first task I gave you when you returned to us."

His eyes widen immediately. He doesn't dare to look at Elisa.

"Was it you?" Elisa asks him.

His voice is barely audible for anyone when he answers. "Yes."

A gasp leaves Elisa's lips, and she stumbles backwards, landing with her back against the wall.

He was the one to give her these abilities. He was the one that made sure she murdered her parents. if he had not given her that serum, then she would've still had a family. She would've been happy together with her mother and her father. She wouldn't have been forced to become an assassin. She wouldn't have been forced to live a life she never wanted.

This life was never meant for her. Five was the one to change her fate, and give her a horrible future.

"You!" Elisa growls at him, remembering the hatred she once felt toward him very well. "You did this to me!"

Her eyes widen when she realizes that she can change this all. She can grab a time capsule, and she can time travel back to when Five gave her that shit. She can change her life.

"Do it." It's the handler's voice. "I want you to do what you are planning, little one."

"I'm not planning anything," Elisa replies stubbornly.

"Aren't you?" The handler laughs. "I know you, Elisa. And I want you to do it. Give yourself the life you deserve."

Images flash in front of Elisa's eyes. Dreams that she had as a kid. Dreams that can now become reality. She just has to do it.

"What are you going to do?" Five now does turn his head to face Elisa. Confusion radiating from him. Does he really not know?

"I'm going to save my parents."

Panic flashes in Five's eyes, but Elisa doesn't care. She knows the consequences. She'd change absolutely everything. If she never got these powers, then her parents will live. Five and her will never meet, but she'll never know he exists, too. Same goes for him. He won't know the girl that gave him hope for a future.

"I'm going to stop you from ever cursing me with these abilities." Elisa growls at him, finally having found a way to end this madness. She won't have to endure any awful training. No regret will haunt her for the rest of her life. She'll be normal. She will never find out about the group of assassins that call themselves the 'Commission" and the siblings that all have powers.

"You can't," Five tells her, panicking. His chest rises and falls rapidly. "My younger self will be there, Elisa."

"I'm not afraid of a fight."

"He won't let you stop him." Five puts his hands on Elisa's shoulders in an attempt to stop her from accepting the madness zooming around in her head. "He will stop you."

A grin lights up Elisa's face. Through all this madness, she's hopeful for a normal life.

"No." She shakes her head, still grinning. "He'll try to stop me. I'd like to see him try."

"It's dangerous!" Five raises his voice.

"You stopped having the right to worry about me the moment you left me," Elisa snaps at him, her grin fading away.

Taken aback, Five frees her shoulders, and he takes a step backwards. But he won't give up-he can't give up.

"He's dangerous, Elisa." His voice is calmer now. "Like I said, I'm dangerous. He won't back off from a fight."

Elisa smirks, and the anger inside of her fades away. "That's what I'm counting on."

"You can't be serious, Elisa." Five now growls at her. His face only shows distaste for her plan. "You're going to get yourself killed. You're talking about fighting. . ." he trails off to swallow. "me."

Elisa watches him, and then swallows, too. She slowly shakes her head, forcing herself not to be convinced not to do it. "It won't be you."

Immediately Five laughs. It's a cruel laugh full of anger. "Of course it will be me."

"You won't have ever met me, and that you isn't this you. I'll be fighting an assassin just like any other."

"And you think he'll let you walk away after you defeat him-if you defeat him?" Five asks Elisa. "He'll hunt you down. It's an assassin, Elisa. You know that his hatred towards you won't fade away even a little before getting his revenge."

"Then . . ." Elisa stops herself, hating for what she was going to say. Her lips stay sealed. The words don't sound.

"Then what?" Five's nose scrunches up. He lets out a disapproving and shocked scoff. "You'll kill me? That's what you have to do isn't it?"

No one gasps. No one truly reacts to what Five has said. . . only Elisa. She knows it's better to look away, to avoid Five's eyes, but she can't do such thing. They stay on him, and for the last time she can look at him, the true him. The Five she knows. The five who knows her. She takes him in, just like he did when they were preparing for battle. Only she can't touch him. It'd be a cruel thing to do, for both herself and Five. They have to part ways. They have to become the enemies they were always destined to be. They have to.

"You don't even dare to answer that question." Five scoffs, rolling his eyes. "You're too afraid to face reality. You will have to kill me, Elisa. Only then you'll be safe."

A shaky breath leaves Elisa's lips. It is true-everything that he's saying is true. If she doesn't kill Five, then he will hunt her down. He'll want his revenge.

"I'll be your first intended kill."

Together with a gasp, Elisa closes her eyes. She places the palm of her hand against the cold wall, not wanting to faint. She never wanted to be a killer. She hated bloodshed.

Would I kill the one I love if it meant getting a peaceful life? If it meant I'd never have to endure years of hell? If it meant saving my parents . . .

Without saying another word, Elisa strides across the hallway, past Five. With each step she takes, her breathing slows again. She has to keep calm. She can decide later-when she's alone. Maybe she doesn't even have to kill him, right? Maybe he'll back off.

With a loud bang, Elisa throws the door open. The others watch her carefully as she disappears behind the closing door. The handler looks rather satisfied. Five. . . well, he looks dreadful.

I'll need a time capsule, Elisa thinks, starting to plan. Thanks to her quick pace, she arrives in the right wing quickly. She stops when she's in front of the right door. Everything changed so quickly. Her hand touches the handle. She's acting impulsive. Is she really ready to change everything?

"Argh!" she snarls, opening the door aggressively. Of course she needs to do everything in her power to save her parents. They're her parents, after all. Her mother and her father. She hasn't seen them in so long. Only vague images of the two remain. She doesn't have more. Not a single picture, not even a proper memory. Nothing. So yes-yes, she will do everything possible to have a normal life with her parents.

A soft smile comes upon her lips when she imagines her younger self laying in a woman's arms-her mother's arms. Her hair would be braided, and she'd listen to the stories that her mother would read out of books. Elisa would love them. At night she'd dream about those stories, and she'd imagine herself as the protagonist. She'd dream about a special life-one with magic and swords. But in real life, she'd never have to endure it. She could only dream of such a life, and imagine it. A good fantasy is better than the real life. Imagining herself as a warrior is better than actually being one. There would be no deaths. Hell, there wouldn't even be blood on Elisa's hands. And especially: her parents would live.

Yes, that was the life she'd do everything for. And when Elisa succeeds, she'd disappear. This life would be gone. this Elisa would be gone. She would never know she had to kill the man she loved. She wouldn't remember.

Hastily, Elisa grabs one of the hundreds of time capsules in the room, but she doesn't leave immediately. Her gaze travels through the room. She remembers sneaking in here when she was younger. She'd do so in order to flee from the horrible and draining training. Of course, the handler would punish her with an extra training afterwards. Elisa pushes that thought deep down.

She remembers more. Five and her here. They had run right into the handler's trap. Morgana had betrayed Elisa-lied to her. It was here where Five wanted Elisa to leave alone. He had wanted to give up his future, his life even, if it meant that she could be free from the commission forever. And now she's planning to kill him if necessary.

They'll be on our heels if we both leave. That's why I'm staying behind.

No.

What? You've got to go. You'll get locked up again if you don't.

I said I don't care about the damn risk, Five.

I don't want you taking any risks.

We both entered this hell together, and we'll leave it together, too.

Now they're parting ways. It would come eventually, Elisa thinks bitterly. But would it?

Elisa takes the capsule firmly in her hands. She lifts it up, holding her breath in a little. Her finger travels down to the button.

"Stop!" A voice sounds. His voice.

He'll attempt to convince her to stop this, Elisa knows that, but she can't help herself. It's Five, after all. Her Five. With a sigh, she drops the time capsule and turns to meet his gaze. The blue light fades away, and he stumbles a little forward.

"You don't have to do this," Five tells her, and Elisa notices that his eyes are glossy. He's on the edge of breaking down. That would explain why he stumbled out of the blue light, too.

"I'm afraid I have to, Five," Elisa whispers. If she wouldn't, then her voice would break-that's for sure.

The first tear glides down Five his cheek. It breaks Elisa's heart. She wants to go up to him, so she can wipe it away. So she can kiss it away.

"I'm not your enemy." He rubs his forehead in attempt to make the headache disappear. It doesn't. "I don't want to be your enemy, Elisa. Don't make me."

Elisa doesn't know what to say. This Five won't ever be her enemy again, obviously. But the Five that she's forced to kill will be. He won't hesitate to slit her throat, or even rip her eyes out. If she won't see him as her enemy, then she's already dead.

Slowly and carefully, Elisa approaches him, not able to stop herself. She only stops when Five's face is just inches away from hers. His breathing hitches when he feels her warm breath on his lips. He presses his forehead against her while more and more tears come.

The tears catch Elisa's eyes again. With a broken smile playing on her lips, she reaches for one of the tears with her fingertips. Her fingers wipe the tear away, but they stay on the soft cheek of his. They stay. Just as she should. Just as she wants deep down. Elisa can feel it; this is where she needs to stay, with him.

Elisa savours his skin against her. How selfish she'd be. She would give herself a life she could only dream of before-but she'll change his life completely. He'll continue killing. Would he succeed in stopping the end of the world just like he did in this life? Would he be all right without her?

"Don't leave me, Elisa." He cries, still leaning on her. Elisa's eyes flicker from his cheek to his eyes. They aren't on her. . . well, not on her face. They're right on her hand that's touching his cheek. "I need you," he admits.

Would he be fine without her? He'll never know her, that's certain, but how would he fare without her? Will he find someone else? Would someone else accept him together with his past? Does Elisa want someone else to lay in his arms instead of her?

Five notices Elisa's silence very well, but he continues-having to. He won't give up.

"I love you." The words leave his lips in a whisper, but they're truer than any other words he has ever said before. They're real, and they're meant for Elisa-her only. "I love you, Elisa Brookle. I'm begging you not to leave me. Don't do this to me, please. I can't-"

"You don't love me." Elisa words are sharp. Hard.

Immediately, Five looks up at her. His eyes lock with hers. His ocean blue eyes darken. "I do."

"You can't." Elisa takes a step backwards, leaving Five alone. She turns her back on him, heading to the time capsule again. "We were always bound to be enemies. Destined. You can't love me. I can't love you. It was never possible." She turns around again. His eyes are on her, and tears are once again streaming down his cheeks. "Look at us, Five. We're meant to kill each other! We're not lovers. We're . . ."

Five clenches his jaw. "Say it."

Together with a very deep breath, Elisa closes her eyes. She opens them again after just a few seconds. "Enemies." Her voice sounds cold. Unreal. "We're enemies."

I have to do this, Elisa thinks. Only if I can make him hate me, I'll able to kill his other self.

In an attempt to stop loving him, Elisa forces herself to feel the hatred she once felt for him. It's still there, but it's hard to reach. It's hard to find because she doesn't hate him. She isn't even his real enemy. She loves him. But she can't tell him.

He'll forget as soon as I undo this timeline. Elisa bites the inside of her cheek. He'll forget.

Five notices the twinkles in her eyes. He remembers them from before-way back. "You don't love me." His voice breaks several times while saying so.

"No."

"You hate me." Five looks down, unable to keep on looking at Elisa.

"I do."

"I don't understand . . ." Five tells Elisa in a whisper. A broken whisper.

"I'm raised by the handler, Five." Elisa shrugs. "I'm raised to lie and betray."

His eyes narrow, and they fall on Elisa again. "I don't believe you." He glares at her.

"You should." Elisa's mask almost breaks. She almost ruins her act. It's true: she is raised to lie and betray. She's doing so right now. Elisa is lying. "I hate you, Five Hargreeves. I only stayed with you because I had to. I never forgave you for anything. For taking Mor . . . for killing her. " Elisa swallows while Five flinches. "I decided I'd hurt you back."

"Hurt me back," Five echoes followed by a laugh. A quiet, sad laugh.

"By breaking you."

Something does break in Five the moment she says the words. His heart. Everything.

"I don't want to believe you. . ." He sighs.

"Do it, Five," Elisa hisses. "Face the truth! I hate you for everything you've done for me!" But I hate myself way more for doing this to you.

"Hate me for as long as you want," he whispers. "And then admit that you love me. Even if it's only for a second, admit that you love me."

Elisa's heart skips a beat-maybe more. She wants to. Oh, how she wants to admit that these were all lies, but she can't. She needs to kill him-younger him. She can't do otherwise. She must.

"I don't love you." She sighs as she pushes the button.

The blue light appears immediately. Five stands there, watching her without attempting to stop her anymore. She broke him. She did this to him. There are no more tears on his soft cheeks. No, only his cold stare remains. His cold glare. At her.