For this chapter when something is in italics, it is a flashback or Y/n reading something
Y/n's POV:
I stare at the notebook in front of me as I flip through the pages again and again. There has to be some sort of mistake. Where is my birth mother?
"Maybe I just missed her page," I say as I flip back through the notebook.
"Y/n, you have been looking through that whole notebook since we left. You would have noticed by now," Klaus says. I shake my head as I close the notebook.
"Then where is my birth mother!"
"There has to be a reasonable explanation for this. Look, we still have a few more hours till we get to the hotel. Why don't you rest and when we get to the hotel we will figure this out," Five says.
"No, I don't want to rest! I want to know what the hell happened to my birth mom," I say.
"Love, I understand that. But if you don't calm down your powers will get out of hand and you might accidently flip this car. Just get some rest. Please," Five says as he looks at me. I look at Five before letting out a sigh.
"Fine," I mumble.
☂ ♡ ☂ ♡ ☂ ♡ ☂ ♡
I rest my head in Five's lap as he runs his fingers through my hair. Five got tired of driving so he and Klaus switched spots about an hour ago. I close my eyes and try to fall asleep but it was impossible.
Who the hell was my birth mother? It can't just be a coincidence that everyone else's mom was in that notebook and not mine. And on top of that, everyone else's birth mom is dead. But what about mine? Is she dead too? Maybe my mom did die but that lady just didn't put anything in the notebook.
I continue to think of any possible explanation for what happened to my mom as Five continues to run his fingers through my hair. I have to admit, it was kinda easing my nerves.
"Hey, do you think The Sparrows would let me use their bathroom? I really got to pee," Klaus says.
"Huh," Five asks.
"Well the academy is a few minutes from here and I don't think I can wait till we get to the hotel."
Right as Klaus mentions The Sparrows and the academy, I immediately remember something. The Sparrow's conversation last night...
"Why does she look like her?"
"Dad always told us about her arrival."
"13. We were 13."
"We don't deserve to say her name."
I also remember how people were taking pictures of me at the hotel and saying I looked familiar.
"I'm sorry, I'm just a really big fan of yours!"
"Sorry, you just look really familiar."
"Gabriella Costa?"
I let out a small gasp and sit up. Oh shit...No, what I'm thinking can't be true. It can't be...right?
"You okay," Five asks me.
I look at Five and then out the windshield. The Academy is only a few feet away.
"Klaus, stop at the academy," I say.
"You got to pee too," Klaus asks.
"No, I got to talk to dad and those fucking Sparrows."
Furry fills me as I think about this. There's no way I could be right. For the first time in my life, I don't want to be right. I pray to God that I'm wrong and I'm just going crazy from the lack of sleep I have gotten the last few days.
"Wait why? Is everything okay," Five asks as Klaus puts the car in park in front of the Academy. I just ignore him, grab my bag, and climb out of the car.
"ASK THEM IF I CAN USE THEIR TOILET WHILE YOU'RE IN THERE," Klaus calls to me.
"Do you want us to come in-"
Before Five could finish his sentence I slam the car door shut and walk up to the Academy's gate. I open it and practically run up to the door. I pound on the door so hard that my fists start to hurt. But I don't care, I'm angry and I need answers. And I need them this second.
A few seconds later the door opens to reveal Ben and the rest of The Sparrows. Well, all except Marcus. When they see me, Ben and Fei let out scoffs, Jayme and Alphonso roll their eyes, Sloane gives me a small smile, and Christopher makes whatever the hell that sound is that he makes.
"What are you-," Ben begins to say, but before he could finish his sentence, I sling them all into the walls like I did last night.
They all fall to the ground and I run inside. I run up the stairs and towards Dad's office. I can hear The Sparrows chasing after me. When I reach Dad's office I burst in to see him sitting on his couch eating some biscuits while watching TV.
"WHO THE HELL IS GABRIELLA COSTA," I yell.
Dad turns around and looks at me. I can feel The Sparrows all standing behind me as they watch the scene unfold.
"What," Dad asks.
"Who. Is. Gabriella. Costa," I ask as I walk towards him.
"Good luck explaining this one pops," Alphonso says from behind me.
"Kids, please leave us alone. We need to talk," Dad tells The Sparrows as he continues to look at me.
I turn around and look at The Sparrows. Most of them had smiles on their faces. Well, all except Sloane, she had kind of a sorry look on her face.
"See you later...Gabi," Ben says. Sloane hits him on the arm, giving him a look that tells him to stop.
The siblings all leave and I slam Dad's office door shut. Dad pauses whatever the hell he was watching on the TV and gets up.
"Y/n there are some things that you just shouldn't know. You can't know," Dad says.
"Reginald if you don't tell me who Gabriella is in the next 10 seconds so God help me I will find a way to stop your heart from beating," I threaten. Dad looks at me for a second before sighing.
"Gabriella... was The Sparrows number eight."
My heart drops to my stomach and I suddenly feel nauseous. No...
"What," was all I could get out.
Dad looks at me for a second before walking over to his desk. He opens a drawer and digs around in it for a second. A few seconds later he pulls out a piece of paper and walks over to me. He hands me the paper and I look at it. It was a newspaper article titled "The Sparrow Academy's Gabriella 'Costa' Hargreeves is now missing."
I slowly look down at the black-and-white picture below the heading. I didn't know it was possible but my heart drops even more and I suddenly feel like I'm going to pass out.
"That's me...," I whisper as I look at the picture, "That is me when I was 13 years old!"
"That is Gabriella," Dad says.
"THAT IS ME! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THAT'S GABRIELLA? THAT'S ME," I yell.
I look at the picture in disbelief. The picture was of me when I was 13 years old. Although, I don't remember taking the picture. As I continue to look at the picture I realize my uniform was different. Instead of the umbrella logo on it, it had the Sparrow logo...
"Okay, I get what you are saying. She does look like you-"
"Looks like me?! She is me!"
Dad looks at me for a second before nodding his head.
"Okay, yes, you and Gabriella are the same person. You have the same mother and the same powers. She is you, just with a different name, and grew up as a Sparrow."
I shake my head as I take a seat in one of the chairs. I can't believe this...
"Do the other Sparrows know this," I ask as I look up at Dad. Dad nods his head and takes a seat in the chair in front of me.
"Yes. I warned them about you before you guys arrived. I didn't want you to find out this way. I didn't want you to find out at all."
"Why did they act like they didn't know me when we first arrived?"
"I didn't want you to find out who Gabriella was. Not after what happened to her," Dad says.
"Did she go missing?"
Dad stays silent for a few seconds before shaking his head.
"Gabriella died on a mission when she was 13. We covered up her death and said she went missing so the public didn't know that The Sparrow Academy failed one of their own."
"How did she die," I ask as I look down at the picture in the newspaper.
"A fire explosion. There was a shooting at the local mall. One of the guys let off a bomb that started a huge fire. She tried to control the fire but lost control of her powers and the fire eventually exploded. It took Gabriella with it."
I take a deep breath and look at Dad, trying to process everything he just told me. This can't be happening. I was a Sparrow? Well, technically, Gabriella was a Sparrow. But Gabriella and I are the exact same people just with different names. So technically I am a Sparrow.
I think about it for a second before shaking my head. No, no I'm not. I was born an Umbrella and will always be one. I don't care if I was a Sparrow in this timeline, me, as in Y/n Hargreeves, was born an Umbrella, not a Sparrow. Gabriella's the Sparrow, not me. I don't care if we have the same mother, same powers, and are the exact same person. In my mind, we are two completely different people.
"Tell me about her," I say as I look up at Dad.
"She came from Italy. I found her when she was 6 years old. Her mother... your mother, she brought her to me. She couldn't handle Gabriella's powers and didn't know what to do. So I adopted her-"
"You bought her," I correct. Dad looks at me for a second before nodding his head.
"Your guys' mother, wanted Gabriella to keep her last name. Hense, Gabriella Costa. She wanted her to keep it so Gabriella knew her birth mother's last name and could maybe reconnect with her one day. That was one of her requirements to let me keep her.
"So... I- she, came to the Sparrow academy when she was 6? You didn't adopt her as a baby," I ask.
"I'm not going to lie to you Y/n, I looked for you as a baby. After our conversation in Dallas, I knew I was going to adopt The Sparrows and not your other siblings or your husband. But I knew I wanted to adopt you. When I finally found you, your mother didn't want to give you up. No matter how much money I offered. She was a stubborn woman, just like her daughter. Six years later your mother brought you to me. Well, she first wrote to me. She explained how she didn't know how to handle your powers and didn't know what to do. So I offered to take you in. By the time she brought you to me, your name was already Gabriella."
"I am not Gabriella. We are two completely different people," I say.
"The only difference is your guys' name and you are an Umbrella while she was a Sparrow. Other than that you two are the same exact people. Same powers, same mother, born in the same place, all of your genetics are the same, you look exactly alike because you are Gabriella."
"No, Gabriella passed away. I am still alive. Biologically, we may be the same person, but in my mind, we are two completely different people."
"Kinda like doppelgangers," Dad says with a smile. I nod my head.
"Exactly."
"...that's fair."
Dad and I both stay silent for a few seconds. I hate awkward silence but what am I supposed to say after figuring out that I- my doppelganger from this timeline was a Sparrow and passed away when she was 13? Thankfully, Dad breaks the awkward silence.
"Gabriella was one hell of a powerful kid."
I lean back in the chair I was sitting in as I look at Dad. I then feel something on my back. I turn around and see that I still have my backpack on. I take it off and set it on the ground. It was then that I catch a glimpse of something through the open zipper. The notebook Dad gave me. I open the backpack, take the notebook out, and hold it up for Dad to see.
"In this notebook, you wrote Number Eight instead of my name. Was this the notebook you took notes on Gabriella in," I ask.
"Yes...that was Gabriella's notebook."
I then remember how Dad ran tests on me. Realization quickly hits me.
"This is why you wanted to run tests on me and asked me to join the Sparrows. You want your number eight back... you wanted to see if I was as powerful as Gabriella!"
"Y/n-"
"Don't "Y/n" me! You know it's true! I can't believe this. I can't believe I was this stupid to fall for that. Five was right, I shouldn't have come here," I say as I stand up.
"Please listen to me-," Dad begins to say, but I shake my head.
"Am I wrong," I ask. Dad shakes his head after a couple of seconds.
"I can't believe you thought you could convince me to join The Sparrows."
"I thought that if I showed you that you were once a Sparrow, then you would want to join again."
"Gabriella was once a Sparrow, not me."
I shake my head and begin walking towards the door. Just as I was about to open the door Dad stops me.
"Wait..."
I close my eyes for a second, take a deep breath, and look at him.
"What?"
"Take this," Dad says as he holds out the newspaper article, "You might want to learn some more about her."
I don't say anything. I look at the paper and watch as it floats toward me. When it reaches me I grab it and shove it into my pocket. I turn around and open the door where low and behold, The Sparrows stood.
"Seriously," I ask as I roll my eyes.
"We just had to make sure you didn't kill our Dad," Jayme says.
"I was tempted," I mumble as I walk away.
As I walk down the hall I look behind me to see all of The Sparrows going into Dad's office. When they were gone, I look around the academy. I then notice the hall that leads to where the bedrooms are. I look around one more time to make sure no one was looking and walk toward the hall.
I look around as I walk to the bedrooms. When I reach where the bedrooms were I look at all the doors. It wasn't hard to find Gabriella's because hers had a "G" block on it. I take a deep breath and slowly walk to the door. I look around one more time, and when I see no one in the hall, I step into the room.
A sudden chill rushes over me as I look around the room. I find a light switch and turn it on. The room was a very light pink color with a double bed, light pink sheets, a desk that was full of papers and books, a makeup center, a wardrobe, a small bookshelf, and an armchair. Lights that weren't plugged in hung from the ceilings and posters (along with what looked like poems) were hung up on the wall. There was also a huge picture wall above the bed.
I slowly walk over to the bed and look at the pictures. Another chill goes down my spine as I look at all of them. All of the photos were of me from when I was a toddler to when I was 13. Well, technically it's Gabriella in these pictures but still. It's like someone cloned me, put me in this timeline, and made me a Sparrow.
I feel uneasy looking at these photos but I can't seem to look away. Most of the pictures contained Gabriella and the younger Sparrows in them but there was one that catches my eye. It was a picture of Ben and Gabriella smiling in front of a big building. They both had their arms on each other shoulders and were pointing to a big build board that was on the building behind them. The build board had a picture of Ben and Gabriella on it. It felt weird seeing another version of myself in a Sparrow uniform.
I look around and notice a journal sitting on top of the stacks of paper. I walk over to the desk and look at it. Everything was surprisingly very neat and clean. I pick up the journal and hold it. I also look through the papers. The top stack had unfinished schoolwork on it while the papers below it were finished schoolwork that was graded. Almost all the papers had A's on them.
I look at the journal that was in my hand and open it to the first page. My eyes widen as I read it. Holy shit... it was her diary.
If you are reading this that means you are reading my (Gabi's) diary. No one is allowed to read this. If I find out you did I will reboot you. If you are lucky I will just reboot your memory and not your heart :)
And yes, that means you too Ben. If I find out you read this I will personally chop off each and every one of your tentacles and sell them for $500 each on the black market to some crazy fans. And you know... I don't fucking bluff.
Said with love,
XOXO Gabi
I flip through the pages and notice the dates on the top of the pages. She wrote in here every day. She never missed a day. As I was flipping through the pages something catches my eye. A picture... I pick it up and look at it. In the picture was a lady who looked to be in a waitressing uniform and was standing in front of a restaurant with a big smile on her face. Who is she? I put the picture on the desk and read the page the picture fell out of.
May 29th, 2002
Dear Diary,
Today has been an... interesting day to say the least. So get this; I decided to sneak into Dad's office because last night he took mine and Sloane's monopoly board. Why? Because ordinary children play monopoly and we are not ordinary. Anyways, I snuck into his office to get my board back while he was doing private training with Marcus. As I was looking through the drawers I found a letter. It was from a lady named Emma Costa. Yeah, that's right, her last name is Costa. So, I read the letter and found out it was about me and it was from my birth mom to Dad!
I always knew I didn't get adopted as a baby (In fact, I remember bits and pieces from when I was a toddler, but not much) but Dad would never tell me my birth mom's name. He only let me keep her last name because apparently, my birth mom insisted that I keep her last name so I could maybe find her one day. Anyways, I read the letter and it talked about how she couldn't handle my telekineses (I guess we didn't know about my telepathy and rebooting powers yet) and she didn't know what to do. So she brought me to dad and he adopted me. Actually, he bought me for $8,000.
I immediately wrote down my mom's name and went to the library where I looked her up. It took me a while but I finally found information about her. Just like the letter said, her name is Emma Costa, she lives in Italy, and she owns a restaurant. She is 35 right now so she was 22 when she had me. I could immediately tell she was my mother because she looked like me. Same skin tone, same hair, same facial feature. The only different thing was her eye color. I immediately printed the picture and took it home.
There's a part of me that... I don't want to say hate because I don't hate her, but strongly dislike my mom for giving me up to this God-awful family. Don't get me wrong, I love my siblings, but the way Dad treats us makes me not like her for giving me up. But another part of me also understands why she did what she did so I can't really hate her.
I wonder if "The Other Gabi" knew about our mom. I hope at least one of us met her.
Speaking of "The Other Gabi", I asked Dad about her again today but he gave me the usual "I met her a long time ago, I realized I failed her and her powers as a kid, so I adopted her again but by the time I adopted her, my name was already Gabriella."
Honestly, I don't understand this whole "Other Gabi" thing. I mean, according to Dad we are the exact same person. Same DNA, same powers, same Mother. So does that mean I am her and she is me or are we still two completely different people? Dad said the only thing different is her name, she isn't a Sparrow, and she isn't here yet (whatever that means). I guess we are the exact same person just with different names. I just don't know what to put when I write about her. Do I put "me" or do I put "her"? It's all confusing. I guess I will just do what I have been doing and write her as "her/she" and "The Other Gabi" so I don't confuse myself. But at the end of the day, I am still her and she is still me. I hope to meet her one day...
Anyways, I got to go. I'm supposed to go hang out with Sloane for a bit then Ben and I are going to spar later tonight. See ya!
XOXO,
Gabi
PS; I am going to put the picture I printed of my Mom in here so I don't lose it.
I close the journal and look at the picture in my hand. Holy shit... this is my birth mother! The more I look at the picture, the more I realize she does look like me. Just like Gabriella said, she had the same skin tone, same hair, and same facial features as me. The only thing that was different was her eye color. I notice the restaurant in the background of the photo and remember my mom owned a restaurant. That must be it in the background.
I open the journal back up and flip through it until I find the last page that was written it. When I do, I read the date on it. December 5th, 2002. This must have been the day before she died. I quickly tear out a piece of empty paper from the journal and grab a pen from the desk. I don't know why, but I felt the urge to write down the data.
As I was writing, I could feel someone standing behind me. I wait a couple of seconds before turning around and backhanding the person. Ben stands there with a smirk on his face as he wipes the blood off of his lip.
"Nice hit Gabi," he says as he nods his head.
"Stop calling me that. I'm not Gabriella. She's just my doppelganger," I tell him.
"Doppelgangers don't have the same DNA or have the same birth mother. You and Gabi have the same DNA and same mother because you are Gabi and Gabi is you."
"Well, I don't know what else to call it."
"You don't call it anything because you are the exact same person. Everything about you two is the same."
He may be right...but that doesn't mean I am going to be called Gabriella or become a Sparrow.
"You're not supposed to be in here," Ben says as he looks around.
"You just said I am Gabriella so technically this is my room then," I say with a small smirk.
"Gabi."
I give Ben a confused look.
"Huh?"
"She didn't like Gabriella. Said it was too formal. She preferred Gabi."
I just nod my head.
"What are you doing in here anyways," Ben asks.
"I was curious what Gabi was like."
Ben turns around and looks at me. The minute he does I can tell something left his eyes. I don't know if it was his boldness or his rudeness but it was replaced with...sadness.
"You look a lot like her, just older. She was 13 when she died but you look 16 or 17" Ben says.
"I'm stuck in my 16 year old body," I say.
"Well, I'm glad I can see what she would look like at 16. Despite you being older then her when she died you still look a lot alike now that I'm really looking at it."
"I would hope so. We are the exact same person."
"So, are you coming back to join the family? We could use you on our team again."
"I was never part of the team or a part of this family," I say.
"Technically you were."
"Technically I wasn't. I was born in The Umbrella Academy and will always be a part of The Umbrella Academy. That's like saying you are part of The Umbrella Academy because the other Ben was, which, by the way, you two are complete opposites personality wise."
Ben scoffs. "So I've heard."
"You know, we are kinda in the same situation. My other self is dead and your other self is dead but yet here we are, alive and well," I say.
"You know, we could really use someone like you on the team," Ben says, completely ignoring what I just said. "I saw you fight yesterday. You're good, not as good as Gabi, but we can work on that. And you have the same powers as her which is a bonus. Dad could teach you to be just as powerful as Gabi was."
"So that's what you came in here for. Dad thought just because you used to be my brother you could convince me to join The Sparrows."
"You read my mind?"
"No, but I know that's something Dad would do."
"Admit it, you want to join The Sparrows. You want to know what your life could have been like if you weren't in that other stupid family," Ben says as he walks towards to me.
"That's not true," I say.
"Like it or not, this is who your family is."
"No, it's not."
When Ben reaches me he grabs my shoulders so I can't move.
"I know Gabi is somewhere in you. Come back to your family," Ben says. I look at my shoulder to see Ben was still holding them.
"Let go of me," I say as I look up at him.
"You know this is where you belong Gabi."
I can't take it anymore so I reboot his memory. Ben lets go of me as he looks around confused. Before he could ask anything I run out of the room. When I was far away from the bedrooms I look down at the picture of my birth mom. I fold it up and put it in my pocket.
As I was walking back downstairs I notice a portrait that had Gabi, Dad, and the rest of The Sparrows in it. Suddenly, I feel nauseous again and like I am going to faint. I found out too much at once. I need to get out of here. I need Five. I run down the stairs and into the entrance hall. Just as I was about to leave, someone calls my name.
"Y/n! Wait!"
I turn around to see Sloane jogging towards me.
"Sloane, I'm sorry but I really don't have time. I need to get out of this house," I say. When Sloane reaches me she smiles.
"Here..."
She holds out her hand to me. I look at it to see it was a necklace that had the sun on it.
"I want you to have it," Sloane says. I look up at her with a confused expression.
"What," I ask.
"It was Gabi's."
"But I'm not Gabi..., okay, well maybe I am, but I'm not your guys' Gabi. I'm Y/n and I'm an Umbrella, not a Sparrow."
"I know, but," Sloane looks around, "Don't tell Dad I told you this...okay?"
I look at her for a second before nodding my head.
"Gabi knew about you."
"I know, I read about it in her diary upstairs."
"Dad always warned us about your' arrival, he just never said when you would come because he never knew. But he never told us about your other siblings. Dad trained Gabi to be better than you. To be more powerful than you. He always referred to you as "The other Gabi". He always told her to be better than "The other Gabi," or to be more powerful than "The other Gabi."
That explains why she called me "The Other Gabi" in her diary.
"Why? Why did he train her to be more powerful," I ask.
"Because he said from what he heard and saw whenever he met you the first time, he didn't train you to your best extent. He didn't want to fail again."
"But what about the necklace?"
"Gabi would have wanted you to have it. She didn't tell Dad but, she didn't want to be better than you, she was just excited to meet you one day. She thought it was cool that she had another version of herself," Sloane explains.
I watch as she pulls out something from under her shirt. It was a necklace and it had the moon on it.
"She got these for us on our 10th birthday."
I look down at the necklace that Sloane was holding then back up at her.
"I'm not your guys' Gabi. Hell, my name is not even Gabriella. But, I'll wear it only because I at least want to do my other self some honor," I say with a small smile. Sloane smiles and I put it on.
As I was putting it on, Sloane must have noticed my other jewelry because she says, "Oh my Gosh, your jewelry is cute! Where did you get it?"
"Oh, the necklace Five gave to me for our birthdays one year and the first ring is my engagement ring and the second one is my wedding ring," I say.
"Can I see?"
I smile and hold out my hand for Sloane to see.
"I keep forgetting you're married. You and Five look so young."
"We are actually the oldest. We're 58."
Sloane looks up at me in shock.
"What? I thought you were joking the other day when you said that," Sloane says. I let out a small smile and shake my head.
"To make a very long story short, Five accidentally got us stuck in the apocalypse when we were 13 by time traveling us too far, and then we got stuck in the future, aka the apocalypse, for 45 years, then we got married when we were 17, and then many years later we time traveled back but when we did the calculations were wrong so we got stuck in our 16-year-old bodies."
As if on cue, Five blinks next to me.
"Oh, that was easier than I thought. Thought I would have to look everywhere for you," he says. When Five notices Sloane he gives her a glare.
"What are you doing," he asks her.
"Calm down, she was just looking at my rings," I explain.
"You got good taste in picking out rings," Sloane tells Five.
"Thanks, I found them in the apocalypse," Five turns to me, "Now we got to go."
I nod my head and look at Sloane.
"Bye," I tell her.
"Bye," she says with a small smile.
I grab Five's hand and he blinks us to the car where Klaus was waiting.
"How did it go," Klaus asks.
It was then that I remember Gabi, and my birth mom and them asking me to join The Sparrows. I don't know why but I suddendly feel tears roll down my face as a rush of emotions takes over me. It's stupid, I shouldn't be crying about this but I can't help it. I found out too much in two days and I don't know how to handle it. When Five notices the tears rolling down my cheeks he puts his arms around me and I lay my head on his shoulder.
"Hey, it's okay. What happened," Five asks as he runs his hands up and down my back.
"You want me to start driving to the hotel," Klaus asks.
"Yes, I need to get out of here," I say. Klaus nods his head and begins to drive away.
"You want to tell us what happened in there," Five asks.
I sit up and look at him and Klaus. I take a deep breath and begin telling them everything that I found out.
Anyways, originally I had different plans for Gabriella Costa. Gabriella was going to be Y/n's birth mom who was famous but I changed it last minute to where Y/n is a Sparrow but is named Gabriella.
Originally it was going to be where Y/n's birth mom was a famous singer and died a few minutes before her performance but the police covered her death up and said she went missing when really she died like all the other mothers.
But then I saw your guys' comments saying "omg she's the other sparrow" or "omg she's Gabriella" and I got some DMs asking if Y/n was Gabriella so I changed it all last minute. Also, I realized it wouldn't make sense for TUA to have 8 members, and TSA only had 7 so I changed it last minute.
Anyways, here is the fun fact for this chapter:
In the apocalypse, Five and Y/n found a picture of all of their siblings together in what was left of the academy. They carried it around with them so they didn't forget what they looked like
See you guys next chapter!❤️