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❛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘ. ᴘᴀɴ ᴇғғᴇᴄᴛ. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚ ▎❛ 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐎𝐍𝐄 ❜ ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ's ᴍʏ
ᴇᴘɪᴄ ʙᴀᴄᴋɢʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴍᴜsɪᴄ?꒱
❝ THE NUMBER EIGHT IS
A KARMIC EQUALIZER ❞
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The passage glittered with reflective mirrors that seemed to distort the time and space around them. Alexa was too distraught to notice the kaleidoscopic surroundings but Deianira took them in warily. She walked cautiously in front of Sloane, behind the British woman and her boyfriend. Lila was the first to shove open the door as the rest of the Hargreeves followed her. When they exited into the room, she turned around in several circles to process the differences— but also similarities— that they were seeing.
"Let's never do that again," Viktor panted as he stepped out of the portal.
"What, narrowly escape an apocalypse?" Five asked.
Diego had immediately taken to looking suspiciously around the room but he chimed in: "well, it's kind of our thing, isn't it?"
Allison stared at the buffalo's ass that stuck out of the wall. Ben seemed curious about it too as he reached a hand up to touch its tail. "There's something very wrong about that."
"Same suite, just ass-backwards," Lila explained.
"No hyperbole there."
"This is some hardcore Alice in Wonderland shit," the Asian man commented.
"Yeah, and it only gets weirder."
Reginald came last through the portal and closed the portrait behind them. "At last, the other side."
"Wait— where's Klaus?" Viktor wondered.
Reginald was breathless as he spoke but that was more from their narrow escape than any emotion tied to his explanation: "children, I'm sorry, but your brother. . . I did all I could, but he didn't make it through in time. The Kugelblitz has claimed its last victim."
"No," Five countered him coldly. "He was right behind me when I entered the tunnel."
"We need to go back," Alexa protested shakily.
"There's nothing to go back to. Children, there will be time for tears later. Right now, we have to keep moving." The older man stalked past them without another word.
☂︎ ☂︎ ☂︎
As expected, they weren't given much time to grieve over the loss of their second brother; soon enough they were exiting the elevator to spill out into the lobby.
"It's magnificent," Reginald breathed.
"You guys should have stayed here. This place is way nicer," Ben commented dryly.
Diego's voice was borderline unfriendly as he spoke up from his place at the front of the group: "Lila and I barely got out of here alive, remember?"
Deianira smirked confidently. "That sounds like a you problem."
"Yeah," the Asian man greed. "I'm here this time and the numbers are in our favor."
"I think you mean we," the brunette corrected him evenly. She crossed her arms against her chest and raised a challenging eyebrow at him. Her brother only rolled his eyes in response.
"Well, whatever it was, it was strong, fast and super pissed," Lila told them.
"Alright, so whatever you do, do not ring this bell," the dark-haired man instructed them sternly. "Unless you wanna lose a finger or a tentacle."
Lila glanced around at the assembled group. "To take out this thing we'll need to be in the right state of mind, okay?"
Five walked away from the group to try the entrance but his brother called over to him: "don't even try it, Five. Doors won't let you out."
"So, what, we're stuck here?" Allison asked.
"This place is a test and a trap and a means of salvation, all at once," Reginald offered.
Viktor glanced at the notice that was perched on the desk. "Does anyone know what that sign says?"
"Yeah," Diego said. "It says 'do not ring the bell.'"
Five responded to his brother: "we get it, Diego. Bell bad. What do we do? Does anybody know?"
Allison tried to get their father's attention. "Reggie?" When he didn't seem to hear her, she called his name again. There was still no response as he continued to pour over his journal.
"I'm hungry," Lila stated amidst the quiet flipping of pages. "Does anyone fancy an unagi roll?"
"How can you possibly eat at a time like this?" Ben demanded.
"I don't know. How can you be a dick at a time like this?"
☂︎ ☂︎ ☂︎
They broke into groups as their father took his time to compare aspects of the hotel to his notebook. Alexa was quiet as she sat with Five and Viktor. Her gaze was distant and glassy as she kept replaying the moment she'd stumbled in on her brother's body lying on the ground. (So terribly, awfully like what had happened to Ben.) Her boyfriend had taken her red-stained hands in his unflinchingly while he gently ran a wet cloth over the drying blood.
Viktor reached over to put a gentle hand on his sister's knee. "Lexi," he began softly. "How are you holding up? You know that none of us blame you, right?"
The blonde sniffled slightly. "Allison does."
"Okay, everyone with a working brain," Five corrected his brother's statement. "We're gonna get to the bottom of this, Lexa. I promise. Like the old man said: once is happenstance, twice is coincidence and three times ain't gonna happen 'cause I'm not a gibbering idiot."
She gave him a weak, halfhearted smile for the choice of his wording. "I'm almost certain it's dad."
Viktor's eyes widened. "How can we be sure?"
"Are you serious?" the boy asked with disbelief. "This is his modus operandi. We've seen this before. Have you forgotten how we all came together in the first place?"
"Dad's funeral," Alexa answered quietly. She tightened the hand that was holding her boyfriend's as she glanced over at him. "How could I forget the reason how we were reunited?"
He felt his ears burn as he became moderately flustered and he cleared his throat to hide his awkwardness. "Exactly. He pulled this on you rubes before and he's doing it again now."
Viktor didn't seem to be convinced. "Come on, Five."
"He lost the vote to come through the tunnel, yet here we are."
"Are you really sure that he could kill Luther?"
The girl let out a short, hysterical giggle. "Vik, he could probably kill all of us without batting an eye. What we should be worried about is who's next on the chopping block."
Five gave her a concerned look. "Lexa, that's not going to happen. We already know to be suspicious of him. But what's worse is that he's not alone. I think Allison is involved."
"No. No," the brunet denied. "No, she was right behind us in the tunnel. She helped you get to safety, Lexi."
The blonde shook her head as her eyes fell to her hands that were clasped in her boyfriend's grasp. "That doesn't mean anything, Vik. You know we've never gotten along— don't you think her sudden desire to help me is a little suspicious?"
"While Lexa's point does have merit, I'm not talking about Klaus," the boy cut in.
"Luther?" Viktor seemed even less inclined to believe him. "What? No, she would never do that."
Five didn't waver from his point. "She's been unravelling since we got to this timeline."
"Yeah, she lost her daughter."
"And she killed Harlan."
Their seventh sibling shook his head. "Look, even if you're right, I can't imagine they're just gonna come clean if we confront them."
"I agree." Five said while the girl nodded in assent.
☂︎ ☂︎ ☂︎
Deianira leaned against the check-in counter as she eyed the bell curiously. "What do you really think would happen if I rang that?"
"We'd all die," Sloane answered.
The Romani woman turned at the sound of her soft answer. She took the blonde's hands in hers to get her wife to meet her gaze. "Do you really have such little faith in my fighting skills?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood.
Sloane shook her head and glanced away. "Please, Nira. Now isn't the time for jokes."
She smiled faintly. "It's always the time for jokes." The brunette tugged on her wife's hands to pull her closer. "What are you worried about, Sloany?"
The blonde looked up to meet her gaze again. "I don't. . . I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Pfft," she scoffed. "Something would happen to me? Me? Yeah, right. We've faced so much worse than this. Remember that time you dared me to look in Ben's bedside table? I'm still traumatized from that!"
Finally, the other woman offered her a small grin. "Nira, you're the one who said 'do you dare me to look in Ben's bedside table?' And remember when I said 'no, there's probably things that you'd never want to see in there?'"
Deianira waved an airy hand. "Ah, you just don't want to look like the bad guy. But don't worry— I love you so much that I'll allow it."
Sloane rolled her eyes fondly. "I love you too, you know."
She tightened her grip on the brunette's hands to lift herself up on her toes. She pressed a gentle kiss to her wife's lips. The Romani woman slid her hand out the hold to wrap an arm around the blonde's waist. She tilted her head for a better angle to deepen the kiss as Sloane melted against her. Just as Deianira slid her tongue into her wife's mouth, their father's grating voice reached their ears. She groaned as they reluctantly separated.
"Gather up, children!" Reginald announced as he came down the stairs. They gathered from the various areas of the hotel where they'd spread out as they waited for something to happen. "Now that we've had a chance to catch our breath, the real work can begin."
"Ah, the myth of the seven bells, eh?" the boy asked derisively.
Reginald was unperturbed by his mocking tone. "Exactly. Somebody's been paying attention."
"Okay, so we find the seven bells— then what?" Diego wondered.
"No, no, no. The bells are just a metaphor for this." He held up the well-used journal to show them the page he'd turned to.
"The sigil."
"Correct, Number Five. The sigil is the key to the seven bells. Once we find this symbol, we're one step closer to resetting the universe."
Sloane spoke up: "what do we do when we find it?"
"I don't know."
Viktor wasn't pleased with this admission. "Excuse me? We're here because you said you have a plan."
"I do, up to a point."
Lila scoffed with disbelief. "Great. So we'll just stay in the hotel forever, staring at the walls and eating bad sushi."
"Finding the sigil is our only way out of here and the best chance we have of resetting the universe," Allison argued.
The boy eyed his sister warily. "Funny how you and dad are on the same page again."
"Okay," Viktor said as he let out a breath. Their sister stared at them stonily. "Where do we start?"
"We'll split into groups," their father announced. "I will go with Allison and Sloane. Ben and Five with Viktor."
"No, we want Allison," the brunet protested immediately.
"Ben for Allison," Five agreed. "We've trained together so it makes more sense if we take Allison. Also we want Lexa."
Their sister rolled her eyes. "Yeah, no thanks."
"Why not?"
Seeing as she had no answer to her brother's question, Reginald acquiesced easily. "Splendid idea! Allison, you go with the Umbrellas. Sparrows, stick together. However, groups will only be in twos and threes, so the number eights will be a group."
His words were immediately met with protest from both fives: "what? No!"
Sloane glanced worriedly at Deianira as she continued: "Nira's not known for working well with new people. . . or anyone. If she's with us there will probably less arguing—"
"Yeah," Five cut in quickly with his own glance in the blonde's direction. "Besides, Lexa's offensive skills aren't the best. She's more for defense, so—"
Deianira rolled her eyes at the pair's concern and strolled casually over to the girl. She wrapped a comfortable— if not slightly threatening— arm around her shorter counterpart. She smiled, but it came out more cat-like than friendly. "Don't worry, fives. The eights will take care of each other. What do you say, Stormie?"
While some of their siblings looked confused at the nickname, Alexa straightened slightly at the reference to the comic book character she'd read so much about. She met Five's gaze evenly. "I can handle myself. Trust me— I've got this."
"What about us?" Diego asked.
"You're a duo. Nobody wants to listen to your endless bickering," his father answered bluntly. "Now, everyone take a different floor. We must find that sigil. Spread out, leave no stone unturned, and meet back here in thirty minutes."
☂︎ ☂︎ ☂︎
The elevator doors chimed as they slid open to let out the final occupants of the lift. Deianira exited first; her steps were confident and sure as she took in their surroundings. Alexa followed behind her at a slower pace with wary, uncertain glances as she made her own observations. The two women walked in silence down the long hallway for some time until the brunette couldn't stand it anymore.
"So. . ." she drawled as she raised a curious eyebrow at the blonde. "Your number five doesn't have confidence in your fighting skills?"
Almost immediately, Alexa felt her face flush and she looked away. "It's not that!" she disagreed quickly. "He's just-he's just overprotective. A lot has happened and he just wants to make sure I'm okay. He knows I can fight—"
Deianira chuckled. "You know, denial is more than just a river in Egypt. But sure, I'll play along. Let's say it isn't him. Why don't you believe in yourself?"
The teen jerked her head up to meet the other woman's gaze, her own eyes wide with sudden surprise. "Wha-what? Of course I do!"
"Yeah right. You'd let your family walk all over you if I hadn't stepped in. Are you really content enough to just sit on the sidelines while they fight?"
In an effort to avoid the brunette's question, she opened a door to one of the rooms that were adjacent to the hallway. Inside, it looked just like Hotel Obsidian's décor; there was nothing that indicated a hidden sigil anywhere. She shut the door only to find Deianira waiting for her response. The Romani woman's dark eyes watched her with interest and her arms were crossed loosely across her chest.
"We're gonna be spending the foreseeable future together so instead of making things awkward by avoiding me, just answer the question and move on," she stated, sounding clearly bored.
Alexa shook her head. "Why are you so focused on fighting? My job is to protect my siblings. As their number eight, yours should be, too."
"Oh, sweetie," Deianira cooed in a condescending tone. "Don't you know that protection and destruction go hand in hand? You can't have one without the other."
"But we shouldn't try to cause more pain— more chaos. That's why we need to protect others from it."
The brunette stepped forward and put a deceptively comforting arm around the girl's shoulders. "Let me tell you a little story. Do you believe in numerology?"
As they resumed their path down the hall, the blonde glanced at Deianira's arm uneasily. "Um. . . some aspects, I suppose. Five would call it hokum, though." She smiled faintly at the thought.
"Fair enough. Well, do you know what the number eight symbolizes?" When the girl offered a negative answer, she continued: "it is a symbol of harmony and balance— that much is true. It also represents strength, which is the intersection of where our beliefs diverge: the number eight is a karmic equalizer."
"I don't understand," Alexa said with a frown.
"That's because I haven't made my point yet," the Sparrow countered calmly. "The number eight is depicted as both a creator and destroyer. So, while you may have the tendency to go the former route, my position as number eight is just as valid because I am the other side of the same coin."
"But I've never wanted to hurt anything— or anyone," the teen argued. "Have you ever wanted to protect?"
Deianira waved her hand dismissively. "You're getting too caught up in the semantics. You don't have to be both, but both can coexist as separate people." She looked over at the blonde thoughtfully. "I suppose that answers my previous question: you are content to be the peacemaker. You are weaker than I thought you'd be."
"Just because I'd rather spend my time loving than fighting doesn't mean I'm weak!" Alexa protested. "What about you? If your number five was in danger, wouldn't you sacrifice yourself for her? Or are you so self-preserving that you'd let her die? That would be chaos and destruction, wouldn't it?"
The Romani woman's arm dropped from the blonde's shoulders as she came to a sudden halt. The girl almost stumbled into her as Deianira's expression hardened. "Don't talk about Sloane like that. If I could break your dome with barely a snap of my fingers, what do you think I could do to your number five?"
The blonde's eyes widened almost comically, though the abject look of terror on her face was anything but. "You wouldn't," she breathed out, all of the fight slipping away like the air let out of a balloon. Her hands curled into fists as she reached for the power that she wasn't sure would answer.
Before either woman could do anything further, a deep, hollow sound rang through the hotel. The building shook on its foundations, causing the pair to look around with confusion. The sudden, ominous feeling chased away their brewing argument as Alexa's brows furrowed. "What the hell was that?"
"Well, if I had to hedge a bet, it would be that one of your stupid siblings rang the bell."
"My siblings? In case you've forgotten, your brother and your wife are also possibilities!"
"Hey! Don't call my wife stupid!" the brunette snapped. "As for Ben, I suppose it's entirely possible that he did it. Let's head back to the lobby."
Alexa crossed her arms. "Why do you get to call the shots? And who's to say that the lobby is the safest place?"
Deianira threw up her hands in exasperation. "Fine! Let's stay here and die, shall we?"
"We won't die," she retorted. "Not if we work together to defeat whatever it is that we have to fight."
"Oh, so you're all into fighting now, are you?"
The girl paused as one of her hands came up to tug on her blonde hair nervously. "What if— for once in my life— I don't want to run from my problems? Maybe the answer that you assumed was wrong, but I was. . . too afraid— ashamed— to answer honestly?"
"Why would you be ashamed of wanting to fight?"
"Because I have a place in my family and that's on defense. I'm supposed to leave the fighting to my siblings while I protect them from the sidelines. It's. . . kind of why they see me as the 'baby' of the family, I guess. And maybe. . . it's also why Five doesn't think that I can handle it." She looked down as she clasped her hands together. "But. . . I'd like to try to stand up for myself. I just don't know if my powers will agree."
Deianira smirked and lifted her hand. A ribbon of red smoke wove around her fingers, almost indiscernible in the yellow light. "Maybe I can help you with that."