𝐗𝐈𝐕
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𝟏𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐎𝐕
The walk to the Sparrow Academy had been awkward for Five and I, to say the least. I was still overwhelmed with emotion; grieving over Stan's death, and furious at Five for ignoring it. And also for trying to keep me out of this. I hated how he was so determined to keep me away from everything. I'd suffered so much that it couldn't hurt me anymore. What once felt like my life had fallen apart, now felt as if a needle had pricked my finger and that was all. I'd lost my sense of feeling. Now it was mostly just numbness.
Me, Lila, Sloane and the Hargreeves were now sat in the parlor, whilst Grace offered us a plate of sugar cookies. She looked as beautiful as every other time I'd seen her, though she was missing an eye. In its place was a mess of bright blue wires. I found this only slightly disturbing, though I didn't dare say anything. Nothing really needed to be said anyway.
"Lovely to meet you." Lila smiled, filling her hands with as many cookies as she could hold.
Grace offered me next, but I shook my head politely, despite how appetizing they looked. I didn't really feel like eating right now. She continued to offer the plate around, when Diego noticed her eye. I watched as he signalled to Luther, a questioning look on his face.
"Stabbed herself in the eye." Luther whispered, acting out his words. I grimaced at the thought. How could a robot even do that?
Diego seemed to think the same, as he mouthed a 'How?' to Luther. However, before he could answer, a cawing from a crow filled the room, alerting us of Ben and Fei's arrival.
"Welcome." Fei greeted as she entered the parlor. "Please make yourselves at home."
Allison rolled her eyes, venom laced on her tone, "Bitch, this is our home."
"Excuse me?" Fei asked incredulously, narrowing her eyebrows at Allison.
Luther picked up a bowl from the table, attempting to ease the tension, "Uh, jellybean?"
"Where the hell is Viktor and Klaus?" Diego asked, as a couple of us began to take a seat. I sat beside Lila, keeping a careful distance from Five.
"With our luck, probably kugelblitzed by now." Five sighed, no hint of sorrow evident in his tone. It was almost as if he didn't care.
"You're a dark little dude sometimes." Diego scolded.
Fei's eyebrows raised as she spotted the gauze around Diego's fist. "Ooh, what happened to your hand?"
Ben clapped his hands together loudly, silencing the room. "We don't have time for idle chitchat. Everyone, sit down."
"'Please' would be nice." Diego muttered in a mocking tone, earning a soft chuckle from Lila.
Ben clearly didn't find it amusing, as he said with a monotonous tone, "No."
Everyone who was still standing reluctantly obeyed, aside from Luther. He paced around a small area, before he, too, clapped his hands together.
"So, uh...This is kinda nice, right?" He grinned awkwardly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, "All of us here together...One big happy family."
He chuckled nervously, before leaning in to Sloane, "I feel like I'm sweating. Am I sweating?"
She held the side of his face, saying something in a hushed tone that I couldn't quite make out. He sat beside her, leaving only Ben standing.
"Look, I know there's been bad blood between us. Whatever. Bygones, right?" He said, his voice still flat.
Diego raised his bandaged hand, leaning forward slightly.
"Question?"
"Yeah, if I kill you, do we get our Ben back?" Diego asked, earning a snicker from Fei. I held my fist up to my mouth, attempting to quiet my own laughter.
"Hypothetically." He added, as if to clear it up. That only made me want to laugh more.
"Keep talking, and your hand won't be the only thing that's bleeding." Ben threatened, stopping mine and Fei's quiet laughter.
"Okay, if the testosterone twins are done," Five spoke up, silencing Ben and Diego's bickering, "I'd like to get back to a plan."
Quiet footsteps entering the parlor caught my attention. I turned my gaze to the direction, seeing Viktor march in. He looked confused, worried, and angry all at once.
"Where is he?" He asked, directing the question at Allison.
"Viktor." She spoke calmly, though there was an almost menacing tone to her voice.
"What did you do to Harlan?" Viktor asked Ben this time, who simply cocked his head at his words.
"They didn't do anything." Allison still seemed calm, but Viktor looked on the verge of tears. "I did. I killed Harlan."
A quiet gasp came from my right, and I looked over to see Lila with a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide and her eyebrows raised. I was sure my own expression reflected hers, as I looked back to Allison. I wasn't entirely sure I'd heard her right.
"Wh-What..." Viktor's voice was just a whisper, and the tears brimming at his waterline threatened to fall at any moment. "I- I don't...I don't under...stand...Why?"
Allison's voice was spiteful and full of venom as she spoke back, "Because he didn't deserve to live."
Ben grabbed a tub of cheese balls from the table and slotted himself between Diego and Five. He whispered something incoherent to the latter, to which he answered back in a hushed whisper.
"What? Because they said so?" Viktor's voice was trembling, and I resisted the urge to step in and comfort him. But I knew this wasn't any of my business.
"You don't have to listen to them. They don't get to tell us what to do. You could've...You could've talked to me. We could've...figured out something else." He cried.
Allison simply looked back at him, her face blank and emotionless. "So, what, you could lie to all of us again and take his side?"
"That's not what happened." Viktor muttered. I watched as Allison's temper began to grow.
"Oh, no, that's exactly what happened." She argued, her voice low, "I know Harlan killed all of our mothers."
A chorus of 'What?'s filled the room as I felt my eyes widen. I didn't realize someone like Harlan was really capable of something like that, but I guess there was a lot I still couldn't understand.
"Bloody plot twist!" Lila exclaimed from beside me, as Diego sighed.
"Who told you that?" Viktor murmured, his voice shaky.
"Harlan." Allison hissed, "After you lied about it to my face."
"Is that true Viktor?" Diego asked, though his voice was calm and almost gentle, "Harlan started all this?"
"Yeah...But he didn't mean to...hurt anyone. He-" Viktor was cut off by Five.
"How do you know?" His hostile tone surprised me, though I still couldn't bring myself to look directly at him.
"Because I knew him. And he was sweet and kind until I made him like us." Viktor's voice trembled as if the tears collecting in his eyes were about to flow over. "Okay? So I screwed him up. And, if you need someone to blame, I'm right here-"
"What makes you think I don't?"
"This wasn't about saving the world." Viktor uttered, "This was about hurting me. Payback for-"
Allison stood suddenly, taking slow, menacing steps towards Viktor. "Go on." She hissed, her voice a whisper, "Say her name."
Luther stood, attempting to intervene and stop whatever was about to happen.
"You know what? Maybe we should all just take a minute-" Allison held out her hand, not even sparing a glance in his direction. He sat back down obediently. "Okay."
"Did killing Harlan bring Claire back?"
"Did protecting him bring Sissy back? Because it was just as personal for you-"
"I didn't kill anyone!" Viktor yelled, louder than I'd ever heard him shout before. I was starting to regret not staying at the hotel like Five had suggested.
"But you risked everyone!" Allison enunciated each word slowly, "Do you know what that felt like? Watching you fight harder to protect a man who helped destroy my daughter than you ever did to bring her back?"
"I don't know how to bring Claire back." Viktor admitted, his voice soft again now. "Okay? No one does. But I was there for you. I tried-"
"To what? Help me grieve? God, this whole family is so quick to tell me to suck up my pain and so worried about fixing yours. Somebody had to pay, because you never seem to." I guess I could understand Allison's suffering, but she still had no right to take it out on Viktor.
"Destroy the world. Kill Pogo. Almost kill me. And for what? So we can all run around and clean up your mess? I'm sick of it." I was beginning to feel just a little more than uncomfortable, and I could only hope that it wasn't just me.
"Take it easy, Allison." Five's calm tone was a vast contrast to Allison's hostility that it almost surprised me. Ben shushed him gently, staring eagerly at the pair.
"Okay, I- I-"
"Shut your mouth!" Allison bellowed, causing me to instinctively bring my hands to my ears. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't now terrified.
"Allison!" Luther scolded, standing up again as I stared at Viktor struggling. His eyes went white before fading back again as he tried desperately to open his mouth.
"Every time I build a new life for myself, you end the world and take it from me!" Allison shrieked the last part, causing me to squeeze my eyes shut. I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder as Lila placed her palm there to reassure me. Still, I kept my eyes squinted.
"How are you doing this without saying 'I heard a rumor'?" Five asked, surprising me. How was that his concern right now?
"Just a little residual gift from Harlan."
"Alright, that's it! Knock off the power shit Allison!" Luther shouted, approaching the woman, "It's not okay!"
Viktor began to gasp and cough for air as Allison finally let him open his mouth. He keeled over in pain, still coughing violently.
Allison bent down to whisper into Viktor's ear, though it was still loud enough for the rest of us to hear, "We should've left you in the basement."
"Woah! Allison, alright!" Diego yelled, standing in unison with Five. I wasn't entirely sure of the context behind that, but I knew she'd overstepped the line, based on everyone's horrified expressions.
Viktor suddenly threw his arm back, his fist colliding with Allison's nose. She gasped in pain and shock as she fell backwards. A soft gasp escaped my own lips as my eyes widened at how much the situation had managed to spiral.
Allison turned back to face Viktor, a threatening expression plastered across her face. A small drop of blood trickled from her nose.
Viktor turned abruptly and left the room, still panting heavily. I couldn't quite believe what had just happened.
"You okay?" Five asked Allison in a soft voice. I almost scoffed at his lack of concern for Viktor. How the hell did no one seem to care about him right now?
I decided that since nobody else was, I would go to find and check on him. I pushed myself up from the couch, earning a confused look from most of the Hargreeves, but a glare from Allison. I wasn't entirely sure whether or not it was personal.
"Where are you going?" Five asked, as I turned to follow Viktor. I wasn't sure how much more of his over-protectiveness I could take.
"To go check on Viktor, since you're all concerned about Allison right now." My tone came across much harsher than I intended, so I added a quick, "Not to be rude. I just think it's important he knows that someone cares about him right now."
Since Five had no answer to that, I turned back and swiftly exited the parlor in search of Viktor.
As I left, Allison muttered something under her breath, to which Five replied in a hard voice, "Don't ever talk about her like that."
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so i know i said abt the spoilers and stuff but they aren't coming for a couple chapters 😍😍
anyways love y'all, have a good day/night <33
❪ chapters released every wednesday, 4:00pm and friday, 5:30pm ❫
-eva xoxo