CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
the trojan horse
⋆*✧･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:
ON THE FIRST OF April, 2019, a continent away from her birthplace of Dijon, France, Nadine Vidal came to a halt in front of the Icarus Theatre. Her hair was plastered to the back of her neck with sweat, her head was throbbing beneath her bandages, and her chest heaved as she attempted to catch her breath. Beside her were the Hargreeves, similarly dishevelled, their hearts still racing from the attack at the bowling alley. Nadine wasn't one hundred percent sure who their pursuers were, but if she had to take a guess, she'd assume they were Commission-bred. They may have exchanged their cartoony animal faces for more practical gas masks, but it was still the same idea. They were hired guns recruited to eliminate any threats to the timeline—and right now, Nadine Vidal and the Umbrella Academy were certainly threats. They were the only ones who had a chance of helping Vanya, of saving the world from potential destruction.
It was a lot of pressure heaped upon six shoulders, but Nadine was used to pressure—thrived in it, sometimes. Now, she clenched her jaw, taking in a deep breath as a haunting melody pumped from within the theatre. Vanya's orchestra. Just like her music at the cabin, this harmony was alluring, intriguing. It filled you up until it made you feel like you could float away. Until you could take off to explore the skies.
They were just about to enter the theatre with only an inkling of a plan when Allison put a hand on Luther's chest, preventing him from taking another step. "Wha—" Luther began, but quieted when he saw Allison hold up her notepad.
I NEED TO GO ALONE
Immediately, Luther was shaking his head. "Allison, I can't let you do that, all right? She's beyond reasoning."
Nadine gave him a withering look.
"You hear the music?" Diego snapped, trying to remind them that they were under a strict time limit. "It's started."
Luther stepped forward. "Do you honestly think she's gonna listen? After everything that's happened?"
"She will." Nadine stepped towards Allison, raising her chin defiantly. "She'll listen to us. If I can come with you," she added to Allison, who hadn't said anything about going with a partner. "I'm supposed to be the ones that stops this. I think... I think I can help her."
"We don't have time for this," Klaus muttered, looking close to pulling his hair out.
"Allison?" Nadine looked to her for permission. Allison took a second to think, pursing her lips, and then, finally, nodded. Luther let out a sigh.
"Okay."
Nadine turned to him in surprise. "You're letting us go?"
Luther took a step back, gesturing towards the theatre. "We'll stay outside until we know something goes wrong. If that happens, we'll follow you inside, and the six of us can try and take down Vanya." He swallowed. "But for now... you two can go ahead."
Nadine noticed he wasn't quite meeting her eyes, but she didn't have time to speculate. Instead, she took Allison by the arm, determination swelling through her. "Come on. We can still save her."
The pair climbed the stairs, their hearts in their throats, and then made their way into the theatre. As soon as they pressed through doors, Nadine started feeling horribly underdressed. Perhaps that was an irrational thought, given how close she was to the end of the world, but old habits died hard. Everyone sitting in the audience was dressed to the nines in tuxedos or fanciful dresses, draped in pearls, and here Nadine was in the outfit she'd scrounged together after her shower—a knee-length polka-dotted sundress paired with the bowling shoes. Fortunately, though, these thoughts didn't remain for long. Not when Nadine's eyes locked on a certain figure on-stage.
Vanya was wearing a tuxedo, black as night, and—Nadine couldn't help but admit this—she looked damned good in it. Her hand glided over the violin like it was an extension of her arm, her brow creased slightly in concentration as she pumped out the melody that had the audience so enthralled. All would've seemed normal, like just an ordinary concert, if not for the matter of Vanya's eyes. For instead of the warm brown Nadine had grown used to, they had now turned a vivid, electric blue.
Nadine and Allison halted in front of the stage like the music had put them under a spell, and for a moment, they just listened, trying to prepare for whatever might come next. And that was when Vanya's eyes found them, locking onto each in turn.
She didn't lash out, as Luther had expected. Instead, Vanya smiled, a beautiful thing that made Nadine's stomach warm. Nadine beamed back. She'd known all along that Luther had been wrong about Vanya, but believing it and seeing it herself were two different things. Now, she had proof that Vanya wasn't some homicidal maniac; she was the same woman that Nadine had met that first day. The same woman who she'd started to open her heart to.
Nadine could've sworn the moment she spent with her eyes connected to Vanya's lasted forever. But then, of course, Luther had to ruin it.
A movement flickered in her peripherals, and before Nadine had time to fully focus on it, Luther and Diego had already made it halfway across the stage, attempting to get to Vanya. Before they could even get into her proximity, however, Vanya struck out with her bow, sending out a beam of energy that blasted both men off of the stage.
The two of them went flying, crash landing in the audience. The concert spectators, who'd witnessed the entire thing, rose to their feet, screams tearing loose from their lips. They began to flood the theatre, no longer the dignified group they'd been when Nadine and Allison had walked in, and Vanya continued to stand in the center of the stage, her electric eyes investigating the scene.
Nadine stumbled back, limbs seizing up in shock. Her own eyes were still glued on the stage, on Vanya, which was why she saw the orchestra attempt to escape next. Before they could, however, Vanya turned back to them, sending another burst of energy towards them with her violin bow. It rattled over the performers, and they sank back into their chairs, continuing to play the haunting melody that had welcomed Nadine inside. This time, however, the music was accompanied by a chorus of screams.
When Nadine's mind had finally caught up with everything that had happened in the last thirty seconds, she realized she couldn't continue to stand in the aisle, gaping like a fish. So instead, she made her way over to Luther and Diego, who hadn't yet stood up yet. The two of them were groaning, obviously in pain, but Nadine wasn't thinking of any of that when she slammed a kick into Number One's shoulder.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" she shouted, her rage spilling over like water in a pot. "Why did you do that? Allison and I were taking care of everything!"
Diego moved to stand up, but Nadine, red spotting her vision, sent him back down with a shoe to the ribs. He groaned, clutching at his abdomen, and Luther snapped, "What the hell, Nadine?"
"You ruined everything, you self-important bastards!" Nadine screeched. She was so angry that she was trembling all over—or perhaps that was from the constant waves of energy Vanya was still sending into the crowd. "Vanya wasn't attacking anyone until you attacked her! Now she's out of control, and it's your fault!"
Her eyes went back to Vanya, who had resumed playing, power warping off of her. Nadine's skin was staticky, the same sensation that had run through her back at the cabin, and her fists clenched. Vanya was out of control again. Luther and Diego's attack had been like a spark on the fuse of a bomb, and now the bomb had exploded, wreaking complete and utter havoc. Nadine knew that if Vanya wasn't stopped soon, then it was a very real possibility that the bomb would wipe out all of humanity. Which was why she needed to get onto that stage. To keep the bomb from causing too much damage.
"Now I have to go try and fix everything you two just fucked up," she snapped. "Thanks a lot for that."
With her jaw clenched, Nadine turned away from Luther and Diego, trying to push her way through the still retreating audience. "Oh, mon Dieu," she murmured, unimaginably frustrated. ""Les femmes nettoient toujours les dégâts que créent les hommes."
Women always clean up the messes that men create.
Unfortunately, reaching the stage was a harder task than it may have sounded. Navigating her way through a stampede of terrified people was like swimming upstream—all of the forces were conspiring against her. Even though Nadine was large enough that she wasn't completely swept away by the current, she still had to suffer a barrage of elbows grinding into her, chunky heels treading on her toes, and a near chipped tooth from a particularly violent gentleman. She kept going, however, not bothering to be gentle, letting the pain and her rage ground her. She didn't know if Klaus had gone along with the plan, but right now she was so angry she wanted to wring the necks of all of the Hargreeves men.
After a few minutes of fruitless efforts, Nadine realized she was never going to make it to the stage. So, instead, she was forced to join Luther, Diego, and Allison, who were all crouching behind seats, gasping for breath. "Well, she's stronger than expected," Diego was saying. Allison threw her notepad at him.
Luther glared at her. "Yeah. We're fine, thanks for asking," he said dryly. But when Allison continued to look steamed, he seemed to realize an explanation was in order. "Look, I almost lost you once, all right? I wasn't about to lose you again."
Nadine crouched down near him. "Well, then, it's a good thing you weren't going to lose anyone," she said. "You should've let Allison and I go ahead with the plan. It was working—we might have actually saved the world. But instead, you did what you always do—you barged in when you weren't needed! And now look where we are. Back at the start."
Diego breathed out a sigh, turning to his brother. "All right, well, so much for the element of surprise. What else you got?"
Allison knocked on the seat, getting their attention. Once all eyes were on her, she mimed playing the violin. Diego scoffed at the gesture. "Yeah, no shit, Allison. Tell us something we don't already know."
"She's talking about the violin," Luther clarified. He peeked out from behind the seat and elaborated, "It's her lightning rod. If we can take it from her and stop her from playing, we might have a shot."
That might not have actually been a bad idea, but, of course, the Umbrella Academy couldn't have a single minute of peace. Because just then, gunfire exploded through the theatre, a thunderous beat in Vanya's melody. Nadine didn't have to look to know who it was. It was the goons from the Commission, who'd returned for a round two. This time, though, there were no lanes the Umbrella Academy could slide through. No exit they could burst through.
They were trapped.
On stage, the members of the orchestra were once again trying to get to their feet, abandoning their instruments in an attempt to escape a fate of lead. Unlike last time, however, they were able to leave—Vanya seemed too caught up in her own music to notice.
"What the hell happened to Klaus?" Diego shouted. "He's supposed to be our lookout."
"Yeah, you surprised?" Luther snapped back.
Just then, there was a woosh of electricity, and Five materialized out of thin air. "What's with all the lollygagging?" he asked immediately, striding forward.
"Five, get down!"
Five ducked just in time. More bullets buried themselves into the theatre seats, and Nadine continued to crouch, shielding her head as if her arms—well-muscled as they were—could somehow protect her from being embedded with the bullets. She looked up at the stage, worried about Vanya being exposed, but found that not one of the gunmen was aiming at Vanya. They were letting her live.
The Commission must've given a new order, now—protect Vanya Hargreeves, the harbinger of the apocalypse. After all, if she died, it wouldn't go on as scheduled.
Luther, meanwhile, was snapping at Five. "Five, what the... I thought you bailed on us!"
"I had an errand to run," said Five. He looked around, regarding the gunmen with a hint of worry. "This is not good."
"You know these guys?" Diego asked.
"Yeah, I do."
"And?"
As more masked gunmen made their way into the theatre, Five replied, "Well... we're screwed."
With quick efficiency, Diego hurtled his knives at some of the approaching Commission cronies, and Nadine inched forward, attempting to formulate a plan to get to Vanya without getting her brains blown out. Before she could come up with anything, though, Klaus came dashing into the room, leaping over the railing with a panicked, "Guys, it's Cha-Cha! It's Cha-Cha, she's c—"
"Klaus! Get down!" Luther shouted, and now it was Klaus's turn to drop as gunfire rained where he'd just been standing. As soon as he hit the ground, Five spatial jumped, teleporting onto the back of one of the masked gunmen. As he took reign of the gun and shot at their other attackers, Nadine crawled forward, her shoulder aching each time her arm touched the ground. The alleyway came back to her in a flash, but she shoved the thought away, knowing now wasn't the time to get caught up in memory. For Five was right. Things were not looking good.
At the rate they were going at, the Umbrella Academy wouldn't even make it to the apocalypse.
But that was when a new piece was added to the gameboard. An electric blue glow—much like the colour of Vanya's eyes, the air warp in Five's teleportation, and the skeleton of her own illusions—caught Nadine's eye, and when she looked up, she found Klaus, his fists encased in blue. Standing in front of him, translucent and cerulean, tentacles breaking loose from his stomach, was Ben Hargreeves.
This was one sibling Nadine hadn't expected to ever meet.
Ben—not alive, exactly, but not completely dead, either—took out half of the gunmen with ease, tossing them through the air before they could riddle the Umbrella Academy's skulls with bullets. Nadine couldn't help but watch, even though the sight of so much death made her skin crawl. Her mind was whirling, goosebumps prickling on her skin.
It was clear now that Klaus's powers went deeper than just seeing the dead, and sobriety had unlocked them. Which meant that his claim in the bowling alley had been true. Ben Hargreeves had been the one to save Nadine and Diego from being crushed.
Nadine had suspected back then that Klaus had been telling the truth, but hearing it was one thing, and seeing the proof with her own eyes was another. Blood sprayed through the air as Ben tore the Commission goons apart, and then, finally, the gunfire quieted.
With the threat gone, Ben's tentacles shrank back inside of him, and he faded into nothingness.
Klaus let out a gasp for air, like he'd been holding his breath the entire time. "Now who's the lookout?"
Nadine stood up again, knowing she was now safe from the gunfire, and looked to Vanya, who was still playing her violin with gusto. As she played, a white light enveloped her, almost too bright for Nadine's eyes. But through the blinding illumination, she could see that, strangely, Vanya's black suit and violin were beginning to bleed into the same shade.
The theatre began to shake, just like the Academy had. Cracks spiderwebbed across the ceiling, dust rained down on Nadine's head, and her knees nearly buckled under her weight as she pushed forward. There was blood running down her face, she realized numbly. She didn't know if it was hers, or from the gunmen.
She reached the others just as Diego asked, "So, how do you wanna end this thing?"
"We surround her," Luther instructed. "All right? We come at her from all angles."
"So it's a suicide mission," said Klaus wearily.
"Yeah, but one of us could get through," Five rationalized. "It's the only chance we've got."
"Are we all in?" Luther asked. Five, Klaus, and Diego nodded, but Nadine and Allison stayed quiet, their eyes locked onto the lone figure on stage. "All right," he continued. "Allison? Nadine?"
Allison, unable to speak, merely shook her head, and Nadine clenched her fists. "Don't hurt her."
Luther ignored her. "Stage left," he instructed Diego. "Stage right." He pointed to himself. "You guys take the front." That was Five and Klaus.
The trio immediately took off, heading towards Vanya, and Luther turned back once more towards the pair. "I'm sorry," he said. "There's no time. If she finishes this concert, the world goes up in flames."
Nadine stared at Vanya for a minute, the havoc she was wreaking, and then clenched her jaw. She thought back to the Vanya she'd met—with a smile that could restart the sun, who danced with Nadine with her eyes closed, who had sat with her while she cried—and then to the Vanya she'd come to know recently—who lashed out, who'd slashed Allison's throat, who killed Pogo and Grace, who had burned the Academy to the ground. And she knew, she knew that Vanya hadn't meant to do any of those things. But she had. And Nadine was only just now realizing how terrified she was.
I need to stop her, she thought. Tears burned in her vision. Any way I can,
She grabbed at Luther's arm just before he ran off. "Wait. I'm coming with you."
Surprise and gratitude flickered onto Luther's face, and he gestured for her to follow him. The two of them headed to stage right. Nadine's blood roared in her ears. Her hands were coated in a combination of blood and sweat, and she rubbed them on the skirt of her dress as the ceiling crumbled further. Surprisingly, given how utterly frightened she was—of dying, of her friends dying, of losing Vanya forever—her mind was clear. It burned with one purpose, and one purpose only; stop Vanya before it's too late.
"Now!" Luther yelled, and that was all the cue Nadine needed. She launched herself forward, sprinting towards Vanya. She didn't know what she'd do when she got there, didn't know whether or not she could bring herself to hurt the woman, but she ran forward anyway. Right now, that was all she could do.
But that was the moment Vanya swung out with her bow, carving another graceful arc into the air.
Energy sprung out from the instrument, a tremendous force that slammed against Nadine like a truck. For a moment, everything turned white, her world bleeding at the edges. Then the pain hit, and it was worse than anything she'd ever felt—worse, even, than her shooting. It was a constant ache, seeping into her, and for a moment, Nadine genuinely believed she'd been turned inside out. From left to right, from right to wrong.
With her vision blurring, Nadine looked down at the source of her agony: her chest. There, a white light had pushed through her skin, sinking through muscle and bone until it seized onto her life force itself. It was connected to Vanya, who had done the same to each of her brothers, suspending them in midair. Nadine hadn't even realized her feet had left the ground.
But God, it hurt. Every second that passed was a second where the pain grew in severity, where Nadine herself grew weaker. Her mind quickly lost any rational thought—instead, Nadine just wanted to give up. If she closed her eyes, she knew she could. Simply stop fighting and slip away. Simply let herself die.
Wasn't I supposed to die, anyway?
But Nadine Vidal had never been a quitter. She'd fought her way through so much, spitting out blood and teeth and raising her fists for another round. She'd been shot. Battered. Bruised. Concussed. She'd dislocated joints and been choked and sucker-punched and yet, throughout it all, she'd pushed her way through. She may have died in previous timelines, but that didn't mean she had to die in this one. She was supposed to save the world, and ever since she'd figured out how it had ended, she'd known, deep down, what she had to do.
With a tremendous amount of effort, Nadine managed to look up, catching Vanya's gaze. She knew now that, no matter how terrified she'd been, she never really could've hurt her. The others had thought killing her was the only way to save the world, but they were wrong. Nadine knew the Vanya she cared about was still in there. Knew it was possible for her to come back from this. Knew it was possible for her to change.
After all, this week had changed Nadine more than the past twelve years had. She'd finally opened her heart to acceptance, to love, and she hadn't lost either, even though she'd always feared she would. And if she could be shaped so profoundly, then so could Vanya. Nadine knew it with every fibre in her being.
"Vanya." It was hard to speak when all she wanted to do was scream. The word came out in a whisper, but still, it managed to attract Vanya's attention. Though Nadine's vision was continuing to blur, shapes that had once been solid morphing into fuzzy lines, she could tell that Vanya was looking at her. So, with her body about to burst, she managed to choke. "You've always—you've always been special, Vanya. I'm sorry it—I'm sorry it took so long for you to see it."
Because this was what Nadine Vidal had to do to save the world.
She had to save Vanya.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the energy beam still piercing into Nadine snapped.
Nadine tumbled to the ground, landing hard on her side. Her eyes shot open, and she gasped, coughing frantically as she tried to fill her deadened lungs up with air. With every breath, life stirred back inside of her, and it only took moments before everything came back into focus again.
She staggered to her feet, which took longer than it should have. With her vision now clear, she could see that Vanya's face had changed. Luther, Diego, Five and Klaus—their faces sunken, their mouths contorted into silent screams—were still imprisoned within her beams of energy, but Vanya was no longer staring emotionless at them. There was a stirring in her eyes, and she was blinking blearily, as if she'd just been roused out of sleep.
But Allison, who was standing behind her, was unable to see those changes. Tears ran down her face as she held a gun to her sister's head. All she could see were her siblings, moments away from dying. She was doing what she thought she had to.
Nadine started forward desperately. "Allison!" she screamed. "Allison, don't—"
The gun went off. But it went off beside Vanya's ear instead of in her skull. As Nadine ran forward, the energy beams suspending Vanya's brothers broke, sending all of them to the ground. As Nadine watched, infuriatingly helpless, Vanya arched back, a single beam of light tearing from her chest. It shot into the air, breaking through the ceiling. Nadine ignored it, even as glass rained down on her. Instead, she leaped onto the stage, where she found Vanya, unconscious, laying in Allison's arms. Footsteps told her that the others had followed.
"Is she alive?" Luther asked. Allison nodded, and Luther breathed, "She is? Yeah?"
Nadine grabbed Vanya's wrist, feeling the pulse of life thudding in it. "She's alive," she announced, dipping her head in relief.
"Oh, thank God," Klaus whispered.
A grin spread onto Luther's face. "We did it. We saved the world."
No thanks to you, Nadine thought, but didn't say. Instead, she clutched Vanya's hand in hers, tracing her thumb over the soft skin in soothing, rhythmic circles. "You're okay," she whispered. "You're okay. I've got you, okay? We're okay."
Apparently, though, all serene moments Nadine had with Vanya seemed destined to be ruined. This time, it was ruined by Klaus. "Uh... guys? You see that big Moon rock coming towards us?"
Nadine reluctantly tore her gaze away from Vanya and up to the sky. Her stomach lurched with nausea when she saw what Klaus had pointed out.
The moon had been full tonight. Nadine remembered it bathing her in a milky glow, back at the ruins of the Academy. It had been her main source of light when she'd made her way to the Super Star Bowling Alley.
Now, it was in pieces.
And one of them was heading right towards Earth.
"No," she breathed.
"That's not good," said Luther, getting to his feet.
Klaus clutched at his dog tags. "So this is it, huh?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly. "So much for... saving the world."
"If only Sir Reginald could see us right now, huh?" said Diego. "The Umbrella Academy. A total failure."
Nadine thought to her Dad, to Camille, to Henri, to Eloise, to those kids in the library and the couples in Griddy's Donuts and even fucking Cheddar. Her heart clenched, stubborn tears springing to her eyes. She'd tried—she'd tried so hard to keep them safe. But she hadn't managed it.
She'd failed.
"At least we're together at the end," said Luther, his voice hollow. "As a family."
"Maybe you are," said Nadine. She hated how weak her voice sounded. "But not me. My dad, he's... he's a continent away. He's going to—" her voice cut out. A sob broke free. "He's going to die without me."
She was about to create a Sanctuary around the Umbrella Academy, something beautiful for them to fixate their eyes on before they were incinerated. Then Five spoke up.
"This doesn't have to be the end."
Everyone turned to him. "What?" Luther asked. "What are you saying, Five?"
"I think I have a way outta here. But you gotta trust me on this."
Everyone immediately shook their heads, turning away, including Nadine—because Five had been wrong about her. She'd gotten so fucking close to preventing the apocalypse, but she'd failed. She wasn't a Chosen One. She was nothing.
Maybe she'd never been anything.
But Five didn't give up so easily. "Well, then, we might as well accept our fate, because in less than a minute, we're gonna be vaporized."
Diego finally caved. "What's your idea, then?"
"We use my ability to time travel. But this time, I'll take you with me."
"You can do that?"
"I don't know. I've never tried it before."
Diego swallowed. "What's the worst that can happen?"
Five shrugged. "You're lookin' at it. A fifty-eight-year-old man inside a child's body, so there's that."
"Oh, what the hell? I'm in."
"Yeah, whatever," Klaus piped up. "I'm in."
"Me too." Luther nodded. "Allison?" Allison nodded, and he turned to Klaus. "What about Ben?"
"Great, yeah, he's in."
"Nadine?"
All eyes were on her, and she stepped back, startled by the sudden attention. Tears were still running down her cheeks. "You want me to come?"
"It's either that or be vaporized," said Five. "And besides, what I said earlier still stands. You're one of us now."
Nadine clenched her fists. "This is crazy."
"And?" Five tilted his head. Nadine managed an inkling of a smile.
"Crazy ideas are my favourite. I'm in."
Five nodded. "Okay, great. Luther, grab Vanya."
Luther began to lift Vanya's stagnant form, then halted. "Wait, should we be taking her?" he asked. "I mean, if she's the cause of the apocalypse. Isn't that like taking the bomb with us?"
"The apocalypse will always happen, and Vanya will always be the cause," said Five, "unless we take her with us and fix her."
Everyone nodded at that, and clustered together in a huddle, knowing they didn't have much time. Gripping each other's hands (Nadine found herself holding onto Five and Allison), the seven (eight, including Ben) members of the Umbrella Academy prepared themselves. As the chunk of space rock got closer, Five squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating hard. Immediately, there was a crackling of electricity, and a blue light began to spread around the group, all of whom were clutching onto each other like lifelines. Nadine took a deep breath as the world warped above her.
"It's working!" Luther shouted.
"Hold on!" added Five. "It's gonna get messy!"
Indeed, as Nadine looked to the siblings, she found young faces staring back at her—the faces of the Umbrella Academy's thirteen-year-old selves. Looking down at her own arms, Nadine found herself smaller, limbs whittled to sticks. There were even the ghosts of split knuckles marring her dusty hands.
She closed her eyes. My name is Nadine Vidal, she told herself. I'm twenty-nine years old. I've been shocked and attacked and been targeted by the Commission, and I've lived through all of it. I'm stubborn, and determined, and more dangerous than you'd think. I'm a wildfire, a Trojan Horse, and I won't go down in flames.
And with that, Nadine Vidal, Trojan Horse indeed, disappeared, and the world crumbled to pieces.
FIN.
⋆*✧･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:
118,019 words, and we're finally at the end of this book. i'm not going to be doing some long, sappy author's note, even though finally finishing ignis fatuus feels like saying goodbye to an old friend. all i have to say is thank you for making it to the end. here's to season two :)
there will be one more update in this book, and that's the book two announcement/sneak peek. then ignis fatuus will finally be marked completed :')
thank you so, so much for reading <333