To Nightfall

Chapter 1: Meet the Family

Seven figures stood in the room, staring up at the balcony. They were all dressed in black, aside from the young boy who was in a uniform much similar to theirs, only his was blue rather than red. From the looks of their dirtied and bloodied faces, they had fought their way to get here, and (Y/N) wasn't sure if she liked that.

Her breath hitched when her eyes zeroed on the other young figure in the room. Those (e/c) eyes, that (h/c) hair, that nose... it was hers. It was all her, except the girl lacked the age in her features, her adorable scarred face untouched by seventeen years. (Y/N) wasn't planning on meeting her younger self, but today deemed itself to be less than normal than any other day.

Across the room from her, Ben entered, hands folded in front of him and a look of disgust and disapproval on his face. He stared at their visitors for a few short seconds before bellowing out,

"Dad, who the hell are these assholes?"

At the mention of her father, (Y/N) craned her neck to find Sir Reginald Hargreeves standing on the other side of the parlor, watching the entire scene unfold. Heart hammering in her chest, she let a grin lazily stretch across her face as she elegantly stepped into the room.

"And would you look at that?" She made her way over to Ben, her eyes never leaving her preteen counterpart even as she leaned against her brother's shoulder. "One of these assholes looks... very familiar."

The strangers widened their eyes at her as she mockingly raised a brow at herself, tapping her bracelet-clad wrist against Ben's arm. In unison, the seven breathed out,

"Shit."

Klaus smiled in disbelief. "Ben." He whispered, gaining said male's attention. Luther slowly walked closer to the two siblings with narrowed eyes.

"Is that really you?"

Ben didn't answer them, but he did shrug his sister off of his shoulder.

"And who are the weirdos on the balcony?!" Diego shouted up at the six figures staring down at them in confusion.

"They are the Sparrows," Reginald answered. "My children."

A sudden rumbling shook the tables in the parlor, some of the artifacts rattling with it, but no one had noticed. Everyone was too stunned to notice anything other than each other. The fifteen Hargreeves all glared each other down, the Sparrows more defensive than their counterparts. Five narrowed his eyes and turned around to face his father.

"I'm sorry. What do you mean, your children? That's not possible, old man."

"Of course, it is! I think I'd know, wouldn't I?"

The Sparrows on the balcony silently made their way into the parlor, grouping with their siblings to have a stand-off with the intruders in their home. Klaus grinned and pointed at Ben.

"Everyone else can see Ben, right?"

"Cute hat, Sundance." Ben quipped. Klaus tipped his hat in appreciation, but his smile faltered when Ben rolled his eyes at him, not the response he was hoping for.

"They call themselves the Umbrella Academy," Reginald announced. "A group of scheming, perfidious malcontents who accosted me in the fall of 1963 when I was away on business in Dallas. Be warned, they claim to be my spawn."

Allison stepped closer to him. "'Claim'?" She scoffed in disbelief before turning to her brother. "Look, Five, what the hell is going on?"

"I don't know yet, but it's concerning."