21. Ma Petite

Elisa won't miss the commission, the constant reminder of being a murderer. She won't miss the nightmares that come almost every night.  She won't miss the handler coming after her. She won't miss the regret of not being able to control her powers.

She will miss never feeling vulnerable. She'll miss Five's soft touches and kisses. She'll miss the way his eyes would lock with hers. She'll miss how his arms curled around her waist. She'll miss him. Of course, She won't know him, so she won't be able to actually miss him.

She'll miss the happiness that Klaus always radiates. She'll miss Allison's kindness. She'll miss Vanya. The two understood each other-especially the need to protect Five.

Elisa will miss so much more, but she shakes the thoughts out of her head. She's going to do this. She must. Her parents deserve to live. They deserve a long and happy life-the one she took from them. She's going to fix her mistake, and no one will ever know.

The blue light fades away, and her stomach turns when she takes in the room. The warm tints that always made her feel at home. The breathtaking paintings her mothed used to make on the walls-everywhere, actually.

The hair on Elisa's neck stands up when she hears a baby's cry. It's hers. Immediately, Elisa crosses the living room. There's no time to look around now. She has a job to do. She must protect the baby from Number Five. She must protect herself from Number Five.

Elisa walks through the hall. Her parents haven't woken up . . . yet. They will if Elisa doesn't make the baby-herself-shut up. Fortunately, she knows the way very well. Elisa walks through the house like she has actually grown up in here.

Her head peeps through the door of her old room, and yes, there lays a baby in her cradle. It's incredibly weird to realize that it's her. Not some baby, but really her. In awe, Elisa approaches the cradle.

The baby watches her with wide eyes. She doesn't recognize Elisa, of course. She doesn't realize it's actually her from the future. Then the baby starts crying again-no, screaming.

Immediately, Elisa's eyes widen. "Shhh," she whispers quietly. "It's okay, little o-" Elisa stops herself. She will not use the nickname the handler gives her. This baby should never hear it. If everything goes right, the baby never will.

Unfortunately, the baby doesn't stop. She screams loudly, not caring one bit about Elisa's attempts to comfort her.

"Oh, come on." Elisa sighs. "I'm here to save your fucking life. If you keep on yelling, you will ruin your own life."

The cry doesn't lessen even a little.

"Was I always this annoying?" Elisa mumbles quietly. "It's a miracle that the handler hasn't beheaded me."

"Elisa a réveillé." Another voice joins in. Elisa recognizes it immediately.

"Mom," she whispers to herself. Her eyes fall on the baby again. "Do not give me away," she threatens the baby-herself. "Do you understand me? Do not-"

The door cracks open.

Quickly, Elisa jumps away from the cradle and the baby in it. She bends through her knees, and starts crawling to the closet.

"Oh, Elisa," Elisa's mother whispers softly. "You've got to sleep a little longer, ma joie."

Elisa's heart swells, and she can feel herself tearing up. She had no memories of her mother, and now she's hearing her voice. 'Ma joie', she called her. It doesn't take long until Elisa's cheeks are wet.

When Elisa's mother takes the baby-Elisa-in her arms, the crying stops. Elisa watches her mother through the tiny opening of the closet. She watches how her mother twirls around with the baby in her arms without showing a sign of tiredness. The smile on her lips never fades-not even a little.

"You're tired, aren't you?" the heartwarming voice of Elisa's mother sounds. Elisa listens to every single sound, grinning. This is her mother. She's doing this for her.

The baby responds with some sound, but Elisa doesn't understand it. Her mother does, though. She took it as an answer to her question.

"I knew it." She laughs quietly, not wanting to wake her husband. Some cracking sounds are heard, and Elisa assumes her mother is laying the baby back in her cradle.

"Bonne nuit, ma petite."

Then the door closes.

A sigh escapes Elisa's lips combined with a sob. With a softly shaking hand, she wipes away her tears. When that's done, she crawls out of the closet again, careful not to scare the baby. That's why Elisa stays on the ground. The baby won't see her this way.

Having to, she starts to form a plan in her head. If Five comes into the room, then she won't be able to fight without scaring the baby-herself-to death. If that happens, then the baby will scream . . . again. Her mother or father will be forced to come, and they'll discover the two fighting. No, that can't happen. This Five will kill them if they see him. That'd only mean an earlier death and less memories for Elisa.

Five won't come through the window here, in the room. That'd be too noisy. The baby would wake up, and the crying and screaming would start again. He's smart. That's why he'll be smart enough to come inside some other way.

Knowing that, Elisa crawls to the door. Luckily, the baby doesn't notice her. An adorable giggle fills Elisa her ears when she is on point of closing the door. A smile comes upon her lips. She can't ruin it for this baby-for herself. She's still so oblivious to the hard world out there. She doesn't know which future she might face, and Elisa plans on keeping it that way.

The door closes easily and without any cracking. Elisa walks quietly through the hall. There aren't any windows here, so Five can't enter the house here. He won't enter through some window in her parents' room, either. That'd be dumb, and he's everything but that.

He'll enter through either the living room or the kitchen, Elisa is sure of that. She can place herself somewhere he won't see, and wait for him. There she can fight him-as quiet as possible, of course. Maybe if she succeeds in knocking him out, then it'll be all right. She won't have to kill him. She won't have to kill Five. Her lips tremble a little at the thought. He'll live.

Her hand sneaks into her jacket its pocket, and her fingers fold themselves around the knife's handle. She'll be all right, and Five'll be all right. No one has to die tonight if Elisa succeeds in knocking him out. With that thought, Elisa seats herself on the ground in the hall.

A minute passes quickly.

An hour passes. The waiting reminds Elisa of last time she waited for Five to come to his apartment. She also fought him there. He almost killed her, too. It was so close. Too close.

Another hour passes. The moon is shining brightly. Its light brightens the whole hall, living room and kitchen through the windows. Elisa guesses it's somewhere after midnight. It can't be much later.

Crack.

Elisa straightens herself, but she stays in her sitting position. She can't move quickly-at all, actually. Five can't notice her, or he'll flee.

The window opens.

Elisa watches a figure climb through the tiny window, and an excited but stressed smile comes onto her lips. This is the moment where she'll stop him. It all depends on this moment. Her future, her parents' future, Five's future.

A humming sound catches her attention. It's the figure. The humming is quiet enough so Elisa's parents won't hear, but it annoys the hell out of her. She narrows her eyes at the figure, but he is still oblivious to her presence. Good. The figure doesn't close the window again. It stays open for when he needs to go.

In the shadows, Elisa stands up. She leans against the wall, with a satisfied smirk forming onto her face. She's still unseen. The figure, on the other hand, is everything but unseen. He walks into the moonlight, and Elisa watches him carefully. It's Five-she didn't expect otherwise, but it still awakens something inside of her. Is it guilt? Pain?

Five moves smoothly through the kitchen. He takes in the details he's able to see in the moonlight, the weapons he could use. Elisa has a head start on that. She knows the contents of every drawer. She knows her way here. Five does not, and he walks right into her trap.

Even when he comes in the hallway, he does not see her. She's perfectly hidden in the shadows. His humming is still irritating her, though. Elisa rolls her eyes at him when he's just a few steps away from her.

"Can you shut it?" she asks him in a confident voice. "I'm trying to sleep here, you know."

The figure, Five, freezes. His head turns to her, to the shadows. He still can't see her properly.

Still smirking, Elisa takes a step forward, into the moonlight. It welcomes her happily. The light makes her skin look paler, and her hair a sort of lighter shade. Her smirk, though, doesn't get affected by the light even a tiny bit.

"Monsiour," Elisa greets him with her best accent. "What are you doing in here?"

Five frowns at her. He realizes the tiny hall they're in, and he is forced to take step backwards. "You're not supposed to be here," he mutters under his breath, but it's that quiet that Elisa can hear him.

"I know." She smiles. "I'm not supposed to be here, but you aren't supposed to be here, too. If you go, I'll go."

"I need to do something," he hisses aggressively.

"I know that, too."

"Who are you?" he asks her hastily, trying to form a plan in his head.

What's your name?

What's yours?

"I'd say your worst nightmare, but I'm not sure that's right." Elisa chuckles quietly.

Five's eyes scan the room, still unsure about what he should do. His knuckles are starting to become white in his fists.

A strong pain fills Elisa's chest as she watches Five's every move. He looks exactly like her Five. Not a single difference-well, on the outside. He is completely different on the inside.

My younger self will be there, Elisa.

I'm not afraid of a fight.

She isn't afraid of a damn fight, but she doesn't want to fight . . . him. Every part of her wants to run, and make sure no fight breaks out.

He won't let you stop him. He will stop you.

But every part of her wants to save her parents, too. She must. It's her fault they're going to die in just a few years. She must fix it. She must save her father and her mother.

Ma joie.

Ma petite.

Seeing her hesitation, Five strikes. His fist goes for her nose, but Elisa-being at least a little attentive-succeeds in bending through her knees in time. When his fist is back at his side, she stands up straight again. He's better than this, but he hadn't expected her to have a fight in her, too.

His eyes narrow at her. No, he hadn't expected her to even have reflexes.

"Answer this time," he commands Elisa. "Who are you?"

Let me ask my question again: who are you?

A no one, really.

It'd be the perfect time to smile a cruel smile, but Elisa can't. She can't fight Five.

Again, Five notices the lack of fight in her. This time, he doesn't use his fist. Elisa-still hesitating-doesn't notice his next step. His foot plants itself in her stomach.

"Oomph!" Elisa's eyes widen, and when Five kicks her backwards, she stumbles, falling on her back. An annoyed groan of hers sounds when Five approaches her with a smirk.

"Your luck didn't last long," he tells her, his voice full of satisfaction.

He bends through his knees, over Elisa's body. She lets him, pretending to be harmless. The time will come where he'll see that she's everything but.

When his hands reach for her neck-which she expected him to do-she grabs the knife out of her pocket. She presses it against his throat, pushing it in his skin so he feels. His eyes widen immediately.

"That wasn't luck, my friend." It's Elisa's turn to smirk again.

"Shit," he curses. "You are one-"

"I'm loads of things," Elisa agrees. "But listen here: I can't have you putting that serum in the baby."

He glares at her.

"Didn't expect that?" Elisa tilts her head to her side. She should feel happy about having won. It'll only take one cut, and it'd be done. The baby in the room just a few steps away would have a happier future.

"You're still undecided," Five states.

"Like I said I'm-"

"Loads of things." Five smiles against the sharp knife, feeling the blade against his skin. "Apparently."

Five's hands leave his side, and he pushes Elisa aggressively away. She lands against the wall with a bang. She's sure that that'll bruise later. Then she realizes there won't be a later. After she kills this Five, it'll be over. Her life will be over. She'll disappear.

"Well, I'm not undecided," Five tells her, grabbing the collar of her jacket with one hand. He doesn't lift her up, instead, he only forces her to come closer to him. His other hand folds around the knife in her hands, and throws it to the other side of the room.

"Fuck." She glares at him.

He now takes the collar of her jacket with both hands, causing her breathing to hitch. In a quick movement, his hands fold themselves around her throat. What a déjà vu, Elisa thinks.

"You understand, don't you?" he asks. "You are in my way."

"Just as you are in mine."

Five doesn't have time to react when Elisa lifts her knee and pushes it with all her power in his groin. A groan leaves his lips, and he stumbles backwards.

Just like last time, Elisa thinks. He shouldn't have underestimated the power of a woman's knee.

While Five's still groaning, Elisa straightens herself. Her hands place themselves on his chest, just like she'd have done with her Five, but this time she uses force. She shoves him backwards, and now it's him who's back lands against the wall. It was loud, certainly, but there's no movement audible in the parents' room.

Quickly, Elisa rushes herself to her knife. A relieved smile lights up her face when it's back in her hand-where it should be. Elisa's head turns back at Five who's against still the wall. His eyes are on her, and he's still recovering.

Elisa strides to him again. Once again, she aims for his private part, and again, she doesn't miss.

"Argh!"

Her knife gets pushed against his throat again, and this time there's no hesitation in her eyes. This will happen. She will kill him. She must.

-

My exams start next week. That means I'll be unable to write as much as I'm used to, but I'll do my best. I've got some chapters put aside already, so I can post the next two weeks. But I won't post as much as I'm used to. After those two weeks, I'll be able to able to write a lot ! :)