𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 ~ 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴

~ 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙬𝙤: 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙃𝙤𝙢𝙚 ~

"I'm wondering that too. I've never had my ass handed to me like that before," Luther glanced over to her. "It's like... here you go, it's your ass," Astrid squinted as she suspected whatever damage the Sparrow's leader had inflicted left the Ape-man partially concussed. "Okay, how many fingers am I holding up?" Number Eight held up three fingers a reasonable distance away and watched Luther try to guess the correct number. 

"Oh my god, we forgot Vanya!" his eyes widened with realization. But as he was about to stand up, they heard a set of footsteps approaching, and to their relief, Vanya was okay. Battered and bruised yes, but still alive. "Are you okay?" Allison asked. "Apparently, so is Ben," Klaus added. "Yeah, and he's a complete dickhead," Astrid stated.

The dickhead statement was passed around like a hot potato and very quickly, Five grew tired of the repetitive statement. "Okay, the next person to say 'dickhead' is getting a punch to the throat," he sighed. In unison, the siblings got one final 'dickhead' jab in, making the time traveler roll his eyes. "Klaus, did Dad ever tell you why he was calling them his kids?" Diego placed a hand on his junkie brother's shoulder.

"He sure did!" The Hargreeves stared at him with interest, watching as he gathered his words. "Dad was so repulsed by us back in Texas, that he adopted an entirely different group of children just so that he didn't have to raise us!" Astrid sucked in a quiet breath, feeling regret course through her veins. We never should've confronted him in Dallas. Maybe these Sparrows wouldn't be here if we hadn't. "Classic, old man," she scoffed.

"So, he just didn't want us anymore?" Vanya inquired. "Did he ever, V? He's treated us like shit for years. Some of us more than others..." Astrid trailed off, once again hearing his voice in her head, screaming at her. "I think you all are missing the big picture. If Dad didn't adopt us as kids, he changed the timeline. So, who knows what else is different now?" Five spoke up. Allison squinted at him, sarcastically asking if he should know that since he saved them so many times. "Sorry Allison, but it might take me more than 20 minutes and a traumatic brain injury to figure this out. Is that okay with you?"

"No actually, it's not!" The Rumor bit back. "Look, it's fine. We still have the Commission's briefcase. So worst case, we can go back in time and fix it," Vanya reasoned. "I agree. We can go back and fix this," Diego nodded in agreement. But right across the other side of the bridge, Astrid could see Five was hesitant about the idea. Sure, time travel was complicated, it always had been. But there seemed to be something else bothering him.

"Where's the briefcase, Five?" Luther questioned. "Yeah, about that..." Five stared at the ground for a moment before returning the gaze to his siblings. "...I no longer have the briefcase," He admitted. Everyone stared at him with worry and shock. "Where the hell is the briefcase?!" Allison questioned, trying to stay calm but the anger in her voice was evident. With no answer from Five, the Hargreeves Seven realized that they were once again, stuck in a new timeline with no way to get back.

Here we go again...

~~~~~~~

An hour passed, the siblings had gathered their remaining strength and walked through the park, earning the glares and whispers of the people walking by. Astrid kept looking forward and tried not to think about it too much. The same went for most of her siblings, but some were growing irritated. "Why is everyone staring at us?" Klaus glanced around. "Because we look like the damn Village People just lost a fight," Diego snarled.