Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

PROLOGUE: TRAINING TRAUMA AND BOOK SALES

*****

Eighteen years ago…

Cyrille struggled to reach the door of the greenhouse, which she’d been locked in by her father for the last three days with orders to make all of the plants in there grow. And she hasn’t had anything to eat or drink this whole time, and this was making it really hard for her to concentrate and focus her powers over plants.

‘Dad says that this will help my powers get stronger,’ she thought, pulling herself up and tugged on the door handle, trying to get it to turn, but it was locked on the outside, and so she banged on the door in frustration. ‘Well guess what! It’s not f*cking working!’

“Dude!” she shouted, banging on the door. “It's been three days! How the hell am I supposed to do sh*t if I'm starving and dehydrated?!”

A shadow approached the door and Cyrille backed up when she heard a key in the lock, and the door opened to reveal Darius with a grim expression on his face, and absolutely noremorse of any kind for what he was doing to his own daughter.

“You will remain in here until you make the plants grow,” he reminded her. He shut the door, locked it, and walked away.

Cyrille ran at the door and tugged on the handle, screaming and swearing up a storm. “You're an f*cking sadist! I'm starving and my mouth is as dry as Death Valley!”

But he didn’t come back, and Cyrille turned away from the door, facing the plants, and she let out a furious scream, her hands and eyes glowing green.

Suddenly every plant in the greenhouse grew fast, many of them exploding out of the walls and roof, destroying the greenhouse, and she passed out.

Darius ran back out with Lennox, Maki, and Flora, the later going to Cyrille and carrying her back inside. He stared at the remains of the greenhouse, shaken by the destruction and the plants that were still growing, but was starting to slow down.

‘This is unexpected,’ he thought, writing in his book about the results, ‘and this is because of anger. Amazing.’

*****

One month later…

This time, Cyrille was stuck in a forest far way from any signs of civilization, and she barely had any supplies with her this time. She thought she was going on a camping trip with her family, but it had been a lie, and this was just another way for Darius to get her to use her powers to, in his words, make them stronger.

Cyrille faced her father, who was by the jeep. “You're an abusive f*ck, you know that?!”

“This is where you will remain for the next five weeks. Survive.” Darius got into the jeep and drove off in a cloud of dust.

“HEY! ONE DAY YOU'RE GOING TO GET EXACTLY WHAT'S COMING!” she screamed, shaking a fist in the air. “AND I HOPE YOU SUFFER A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE! I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!!!!!”

*****

Five weeks later, Darius returned with Maki to the forest and found Cyrille, who was much thinner, dirty, had thorns embedded in her skin, many infected rashes, and she also had too many scrapes to count.

“F*ck…you…” Cyrille mumbled before blacking out onto the ground.

Maki went over to Cyrille, scooped her up into his arms, and carried her back to the jeep while Darius took out his book and wrote in it. He then went into the forest to see where Cyrille had been living, making more notes about the paths she most likely took, what she used to food when her supplies ran out, and found her camp site, noting what was in it as well.

Satisfied, he gathered up the camp stuff, went back to the jeep, where Maki was attending to Cyrille, packed everything, got back in the jeep, and drove back toward the city.

*****

Darius stood in the training room with Bailey, who was close to passing out and was crying.

“Please…” Bailey begged, “no more…am tired…am scared…”

Darius was holding a stopwatch. "Again, bear. You must reduce your time!”

“It's 1 am…” Bailey wept. “I just want to sleep.…Please…no more…no more!”

"Again!" Darius ordered.

Bailey shook their head and kept crying. “It's too painful! I need more time!”

Darius yanked on their ear sharply. "Again!"

Bailey cried out in pain and started transforming once again, tears running down their cheeks.

*****

For hours, Bailey kept trying to fluctuate between small and big, depending on what their dad called out. And then they collapsed.

“Enough…” Bailey wheezed, tears and sweat running down their face. “I can't do anymore…Am exhausted bear…”They started crying.

Darius put away the stopwatch and took out his book, writing in it for a moment. "We shall resume in ten hours time." He then walked away without a look back at them.

Bailey curled up in a ball, crying, unable to move. “Please…help…someone…”

Flora came running in, falling to her knees next to them, and gathered them into her arms. “Oh…my poor, Bailey. I’m here. Momma’s here.” She got up and carried Bailey out of the training room to care for them.

*****

Five years ago…

Vanya walked up to a pawn shop with her violin case strapped to her back, and she paused to look at the window display, which was offering first edition copies of The Umbrella Academy comics and The Hawk Academy comics side-by-side.

‘Dad would be pissed if he saw this,’ she thought, opening the door and she headed inside the shop, where she purchased a red typewriter. ‘Of course, dad isn’t going to be happy with what I’m going to do either. No one in the family will be, but what do I have to lose?’

Vanya left the pawn shop with her purchase.

*****

Vanya spent the next week, between rehearsals at the theater, working on typing out her story with the opening line: “My name is Vanya Hargreeves, and this is my story.” And when she got the final draft of her family story done, she took it to a publisher, who read through it, and got it published with a photo of Vanya, kinda smiling, on the back while the cover was a photo of Vanya as a kid.

*****

For two months, Vanya’s book, Extra-Ordinary, was on the best sellers list, she did tours and readings until interest in the book eventually faded, and by the time this happened, nearly everyone in the world had read the book, even Five trapped in the future managed to find an intact copy that he read to Delores.

Every member of the Hawkins family read the book, with Darius smirking at some of the truths that were revealed about Reginald Hargreeves.

Luther, who took it to the moon base with him, Diego, who taped the book cover on the punching bag so he could punch her photo, Allison, who read while getting her hair and makeup ready for filming, Klaus, who read it while at AA meeting, Ben, who read it while waiting for the meeting to end, and even Grace and Pogo read the book, Reginald merely put the copy that Vanya sent him on a shelf and walked away from it.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER ONE: ROI SHARES WITH HIS SISTERS

*****

Andrea’s POV:

I sat before my vanity, applying my makeup as I got ready to head out to my occult shop to open it for the day, and use my medium powers to commune with the spirits that either came to visit me, to summon on the behalf of others, or visit the home of someone who is being haunted by a spirit or even a poltergeist.

Well, I like to think that I get visited by spirits, but after all these years, I’m not sure if I really do get visited or if it’s just a figment of my imagination. I know that Klaus Hargreeves can talk with the dead and even conjure them…when he isn’t drunk as a skunk.

Either way, I had my shop to run, and occult stuff to sell.

I finished applying my makeup, pulled on my coat since it was still raining outside, grabbed my bag, and headed for the door of my bedroom…finding a note that’d been slid under the door. “Huh.”

I picked up the note, unfolded it, and read it.

Andrea,

Meet me in Justine’s room, I got something for you to see.

Roi.

Hmm, this was unexpected, and yet, I did have some time before I had to go to open my shop. So I pocketed the note, opened my door, and headed out to see what Roi needed me for.

*****

I knocked on the door and entered when I heard Justine’s voice letting me know that I could enter, and when I did, I found Roi, Justine, Delta, Mystic, and Cyrille were all in there. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Have a seat,” Justine requested, gesturing to one of the few chairs that wasn’t covered with books on electronics, random bits of tech, and gadgets that were either assembled, disassembled, or were halfway between the two. “Roi and I got something for you four to see.”

I sat down in the chair. “What is it?”

“Ok, so you know how two days ago, I went to the future,” Roi began, “and saw that everything has been destroyed, and I saw, well I saw you five, plus Vanya, get taken. I may have found a lead on one of the kidnappers.”

“Which one?” Mystic asked. “The creep with the tentacles? The woman who takes Vanya? The owl people?”

“The third one,” Roi answered. “Still working on the other two, but something did occur to me about the people wearing owl masks. I’ve seen those masks before on the men who tried to rob that bank back in 1999.”

I blinked. “Wait, are you saying that those men are involved with those owl people you saw in the future?”

“Kinda, it took a while to piece it together,” Roi admitted, “but with Justine’s help and examining the evidence from that day, and checking the files at the hospital, we got it. Although we also got attacked by more men wearing owl masks, which is ironic since it gave us a big piece of the puzzle.”

“Wait, you guys got attacked?” Cyrille questioned, alarmed. “Why didn’t you call for backup?”

Roi and Justine shared with us about going to the evidence warehouse to look at the original evidence from the bank robbery, going to the hospital with Teala, Matt, Safiya, and Sierra, and getting attacked there while gathering up as much information as they could.

“And what matters is that we got out just fine,” Justine promised her sisters, “and we were able to piece quite a bit together thanks to my obtaining one of the cellphones from one of the attackers.” She gestured to a table that was covered with two of the owl masks, a cellphone, files, photos, and medical data from the hospital. “You see, in these masks are some unusual tech, which runs on a type of energy not found in our universe…well in our dimension I should say, and when those men wear these masks…”

“They’re being controlled by whoever is behind the technology,” Roi interrupted. “The second that the men from the bank robbery, and those men from last night, no longer had the masks on, they went back to normal with no memory of what happened. Now each of those men then and now had cellphones, and they must’ve gotten a call or a text that triggered something in their subconscious that allows whoever whammied them to take control.”

“But wait,” said Delta, her forehead furrowed. “Cellphones were still relatively new back then. How could anyone be sure that those particular men would have cellphones, and I don’t even think texting was possible at the time.”

“Matt actually came up with a theory about that,” said Justine, picking up the cellphone and removed the back to reveal the interior, pointing to what looked like a tiny green emerald embedded inside. “This is the source of the energy that’s also in the owl masks. Matt’s theory is that the men are chosen at random, and that it’s possible that every cellphone in the city may have these green gem thingies inside them, waiting to be activated.”

Roi nodded. “Yeah, by phone call, like back in the late 1990s, by text, or hell, even by video chat,” he added.

This left us all stunned, knowing that someone was able to control others through their cellphones was a scary thought, and then something occurred to me.

“Wait, if this is true, then why don’t they just use that tech to take control of us?” I asked. “I mean, one phone call, text, or even video call could get ushacked by them easily.”

“I actually had the same thought, Andrea,” said Justine, turning to one of her computers and began typing, pulling up images of the items in question, “and based on what I’ve found, the energy in the masks and phones can only affect someone if they have a certain brand of cellphone. We don’t have that brand or any of the standard brands since dad prefers to get our phones from a private source.”

“Smart of dad to do that,” Mystic commented. “All right, so what about whoever’s after me and the chick who is after Vanya?”

Roi sighed. “I’m still looking into that,” he admitted. “But what I did find about tentacle man was this.” He got out a few printouts and showed them to Mystic, who took the papers, and her eyes, along with my, Delta, and Cyrille went wide.

“Wait, so some kind of Cthulhu Squidward is after me?” Mystic asked. “Ew!”

“Listen,” said Roi, “there’s still six days to figure out how to keep the world from ending and make sure that you girls, Vanya included, don’t get grabbed and taken away. And I’ll be keeping you all in the loop as I find out more. Ok?”

“Ok.”

“Sure.”

“All right, dude.”

I nodded. “Ok.” And with that, we parted ways, and I was off to the garage to get my car and head to work, trying and failing not to shiver at the thought of someone being after me for some reason.

The question was why was someone or something after us girls?

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER TWO: FILMING AND REHEARSAL ISSUES

*****

Roi’s POV:

I tried to not think about the world coming to an end in six days for a bit since I had both film editing and directing to do at the studio that made the movies that Gabbie starred in, and honestly, I needed a break and so focusing on something like my job would be very helpful…at least I hoped that it would be helpful.

Of course it didn’t help that it was still raining, but the good news was that all of the scenes being filmed today, they were all indoor shots, and that meant the odds of us all getting wet were unlikely…I hoped.

*****

“All right,” I said, pointing to an image on my iPad. “Once cameras 2 and 8 are in position on the balcony, let Gabbie know that she’ll need to be ready to be on set in five minutes, got it?”

“On it, Mr. Hawkins,” said the head cameraman, and he headed off, shouting orders into his walkie while I seated myself in my chair on the rig that camera one was based on. “All right, guys, get camera 2 and 8 into position on the balcony. Now!”

I flipped through the script for Frozen by Her Laugh, noting some changes that the writer had made based on my recommendations and the reminder that this was a drama/comedy and not a horror movie, and was pleased to see that a decent percentage of the scenes that called out for sex, were now reduce to being less overly visual.

‘If I hadn’t insisted,’ I thought, ‘the budget would’ve blown up by the cost, Gabbie would be furious since even she won’t cross the line into porn territory, and how it’ll be more of her grabbing the male lead, yanking him into a bedroom with the door slamming shut, and just the sounds of what’s going on inside the room.’

I knew some directors were big on explicit sex scenes, even for comedies, but I prefer my more sane route, and so did Gabbie…to an extent.

Just then, my walkie squawked, pulling me from my thoughts, and I clicked the button. “Yes?”

`“Dwayne here, sir, I got a Mr. Alp Ozbek here to see you.”`

I suppressed a groaned at the name, for I knew who Mr. Ozbek was, and why he was here without evening having to ask.

Alp Ozbek was the head of Lonely Tree Studios, and he’d been trying for the past ten years to get my studio, Ancient Tower Entertainment, to go out of business with near-constant attempts to lure away Gabbie, our sister Nikita, who was in charge of makeup, and most of my cast and crew.

So far, he’s been unlucky, and I fully intended to get him out of there before he could cause any trouble during filming.

“I’m on my way.” Sighing, I got out of the chair and headed to deal with this recurring problem that was a near-constant thorn in my side.

*****

Nikita’s POV:

“Oh sure, I can totally fly out to Los Angles next week,” I said, writing the time and place in my planner while talking on my cellphone. “B*tch, of course I can do that, I’m one of the top makeup artists for a reason. Great, I’ll see you next week. Bye and kisses!”

I clicked off my phone, pocketed it, wrote a few additional things in my planner before I slipped it back into my purse, and I turned back to Gabbie, who was in the chair, waiting for me to finish up her makeup for the shoot. “Fashion week Los Angles here I come!”

“Unless Roi says otherwise,” my sister teased and I shot her a look. “Just saying, because of the whole world coming to an end thingy.”

I snorted and picked up the palette to resume putting makeup on her face. “Gabs, if anyone tries to end the world, you know we’ll stop it,” I stated, applying a dusting of gold blush to her cheeks. “The world isn’t going to end in six days if I have anything to do about it.”

“Don’t you mean you and DeStorm?” Gabbie teased and I snickered. “I mean…unless you think I can seduce whoever this person is.”

I smirked and was about to speak when there was a knock on the door to room, and Roi came in, heading straight for the mini fridge, retrieving a water bottle. “What’s up, boss?”

“Alp headache,” Roi muttered, now riffling through my purse until he retrieved the bottle of aspirin I kept in there for emergencies, and downed a couple of the white pills with a swing of water.

Gabbie and I exchanged a look. “Ozbek.”

“So, what did Ozbek the Karen want this time?” I asked, returning my focus on finishing up Gabbie’s makeup with some black eyeliner to give her an Egyptian look that the movie called for. “Did his cheap-a** car breakdown again?”

Roi sighed. “No, just the usual complaints, but I got him to leave.” He then finished off the water and tossed the bottle into the recycle bin. “All right, Gabbie, five until we start shooting the scene.” He then left.

I took that as a cue to finish up Gabbie’s makeup, and I sent her on her way. I then packed up the makeup that wasn’t going to be needed, and I went to see how the filming was going.

*****

Vanya’s POV:

I got out of the taxi cab and ran through the rain to the door to the theater, hating that I was running late. “Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t.” I hadn’t meant to oversleep, but I managed to fail to set my alarm last night when I got back from my dinner with Leonard.

‘Of course, even when I get inside, they’ll probably just act like they didn’t notice that I wasn’t here,’ I thought, pulling open the door and ran inside.

*****

I entered the room, finding that the orchestra was practicing and the cast was in the other room, rehearsing. I made my way to my seat, trying to be as quiet as possible to not draw attention to myself, and yet I flinched when my violin case clunked on the floor during my attempt to put it down quietly.

The music stopped and my face went red when the conductor looked at me, along with some of the violinists, including Helen, but she only looked at my briefly, but it was enough for me to see that she clearly thought that I was just holding the orchestra back.

“Um…I'm so sorry I'm late,” I apologized.

“I hadn't noticed.” The conductor cleared his throat and tapped his baton on the stand. “From the top.”

I quietly sighed, got out my violin, tuned it, and joined in on playing the music once I figured out which piece was being played. I did note that Leonard smiled at me, and that helped my feel a little better.

*****

Mystic’s POV:

I would love to say that rehearsal started off without a hitch, but that would be a lie, and it was due to one of our regular actresses. Her name was Priscilla King, and she was well-known for playing various female villains in the productions.

Unfortunately, she was also a diva that keep challenging my scripts.

“Honestly, witches?” Priscilla questioned, eying the script for The Siren of Salem with obvious distain, and given that she was going to be playing Madame Mayor Azuba Channel, that was rich coming from her. “Dear, witches are so bland. And this is hardly the time for something Halloween-related.”

I knew that she was trying to get a rise out of me and, unfortunately, it was working. I’ve crossed swords with Priscilla before, and this time, I was going out for blood. “Listen, Priscilla, that’s the script and that’s the storyline, so deal with it.”

“Yeah, back off already,” Delta agreed, frowning at the diva. “You do this with every production, and it gets old really fast.”

Priscilla scoffed. “Fine, but if it flops, it isn’t my fault.”

Aaron, bless his heart, cleared his throat to stop any other arguing. “All right, all right, let’s start rehearsing.”

I was glad when rehearsal was finally underway.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER THREE: A LOT IS GOING ON PART ONE

*****

Bailey was hard at work, drawing the image of a humanoid bear, which was the superhero for the comic book series, Bear Of Freedom. Their superhero was known as The Bearclaw, and they were currently locked in battle against their arch-enemy Dark Mastermind, who was currently trying to take over the world.

They had been drawing comic books for Comic Emporium for a number of years, and they were very successful.

As Bailey worked, they got out a peanut butter/honey sandwich and nommed on it, grateful that their mom always made their favorite sandwich for them every day. They also had their favorite drink, honey water, in their mini fridge, and other honey-themed treats.

It wasn’t long before Bailey finished drawing The Bearclaw and stretched before they started tracing the image out in black ink.

‘This is going to be the best one yet!’ they thought happily.

*****

Cyrille’s POV:

I was hard at work at Imagination Productions, where I and other animators were busy working on animating the scenes for an upcoming animated film, and boy was I feeling the pressure of getting these scenes ready.

But I was also living for the pressure and stress of making some wonderful for others to enjoy, and working at Imagination Productions was also a dream come true. I’d gone behind dad’s back to apply for the internship at the studio, and boy was he furious when he learned that I’d gotten the internship when I told him.

But I didn’t care that he was furious, not after all the crap that he’d put me and my siblings through, and there was also the matter that by working at something I loved, it gave me time to let my mind drift to other matters, and lately, my mind was drifting back to what Roi had said about someone or something being after Mystic, Andrea, Delta, and myself.

It was scary to know that I was being targeted by some unknown threat, and it made me wish that my plant powers were stronger then they currently were. No, I didn’t miss being locked in the greenhouse for days to make the plants grown, or even being dumped in the forest for a week with limited supplies, I just wish that my powers were stronger, and I knew that I wasn’t the only one wishing that sometimes.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I returned my attention to my work, and I animated a scene of the upcoming film, Foxes in Space! Which was about a crew of foxes having comical adventures while traveling through space, and I giggled at some of the silly scenes that I and others were working on so that the movie could be released on time in the theaters.

The scene I was currently working animating was of the fox captain and the fox engineer trying and failing to keep a rookie fox from stealing energy from the ship’s engines.

I giggled as I added in the sound effects while one of my co-workers was adding the voices that the voice actors had recorded so that they match up.

I’ve worked on a lot of different films since getting my job, but doing the comical animated movies were definitely the fun ones to work on.

*****

Delta’s POV:

I left the theater and headed for Good Vibes for a pick-me-up. I didn’t normally bow out early from work, but the sets were drying and even Aaron agreed that my leaving so that I could get my paintings packed and ready for the art gallery was important.

Another reason for me to go to Good Vibes, was that I really needed some of Jc’s vibes and Ro’s baked goods, and that was largely because of the bombshell that Roi and Justine had dropped on me, Mystic, Cyrille, and Andrea this morning about what they’d figured out concerning the people in the owl masks and the being with the tentacles.

‘Why these owl people are after us is a mystery,’ I thought, getting into my car and drove to Good Vibes.

*****

I arrived in the parking lot of Good Vibes, got out and locked my car, and I headed inside the café, greeting Jc, who was already working on my preferred drink and pointed out that Ro had created a new brownie to try: peanut butter and marshmallow brownies.

I grabbed one of the brownies after I paid for my order, and sat down at one of the tables, taking a bite of the brownie. I couldn’t help but grin since it tasted wonderful, and I could feel the stress disappearing as I took another bite.

I got out my sketchpad, a pencil, and I began sketching out an idea for another painting for the art gallery.

*****

Meanwhile over at the Hargreeves residence, Grace was in one of the kitchens, humming as she cooked breakfast for Luther, Allison, Ben, and Klaus. Reginald had already had his breakfast and had left for a meeting somewhere, and no one had been able to convince Five to leave his room, not even Grace when she informed him that she was going to fix breakfast.

“So, there’s been no word from Diego?” Ben asked quietly.

Luther shook his head. “No, and given how beat up Five looked when he came home last night, I bet it’s related somehow.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised that Diego hasn’t been arrested for going to crime scenes when he’s not a cop,” Allison remarked. “Especially given that one of the Hawkins’ is a detective the last I heard.”

“Diego has been arrested a few times,” Klaus said sleepily, sipping orange juice in order to wake himself up. “He admitted it once to me when he was drunk. Mom, are you sure I can’t have a shot of champagne with this?”

“No, you cannot not, Klaus,” said Grace, glancing over her shoulder at him before returning her attention to the eggs that she was cooking, and resumed humming to herself, and this gave Luther to voice a concern that he had about their mom.

He’d noticed last night that she had dusted the same vase ten times before moving on, and normally she only had to dust something once or twice with her feather duster.

“I’m worried about mom,” Luther admitted, glancing at Grace. “I’m worried that her programming might be failing.”

“What makes you say that?” Allison asked. “She seems fine to me.”

Ben, however, shook his head. “No, Luther has a point,” he admitted. “For the past month or so, mom has started acting a bit odd. I’d be having a conversation with her about something, and her face would turn odd, like she was about to say something, and then not say it while acting like nothing happened. She’s been forgetting a few things as well, like putting out the milk bottles to be collected, misplacing the food order form, and she actually forgot to give dad his monocle back after she cleaned it for him one night.”

“That isn’t like mom at all,” Klaus agreed. “Did you try talking to dad?”

Ben sighed. “I did try, but he gave me the usual brushoff, insisting that mom’s fine, and if there was something wrong, then he and Pogo would take care of it.”

“That’s so typical of dad,” Allison muttered.

“Eggs are ready!” Grace announced, startling them and she turned to the table, placing before each of them plate with two sunny-side-up eggs and bacon shaped like a smile, and she was oblivious to their uneasy expressions. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Now, eat up. All of you.”

Exchanging looks, they ate their breakfast.

*****

Meanwhile at the department store, there were cops and cop cars parked outside when Detective Patch arrived at the scene.

‘They really did shoot up the place,’ she thought, getting out of the car and headed inside to check out the crime scene.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER FOUR: A LOT IS GOING ON PART TWO

*****

Once inside, Patch sighed when she found Diego examining the scene and walked up behind him, wising that DeStorm was there and not at the hospital, investigating the attack that occurred there last night.

“Do you seriously still not understand the chain of custody?” she questioned, looking and sounding annoyed since she hadn’t had any sleep last night due to everything going on. “If you touch it, I can't use it.”

Diego was crouched over some of the bullet casings and he didn’t need to touch them to figure out which kind they were, having swiped one from the doughnut diner last night that hadn’t been found by Patch when she searched him.

“Let me save you andHawkins some time running ballistics,” he said, straightening up and faced her. “These nine-millimeters haven't been manufactured since 19-”

“1963. Odd, I know,” Patch interrupted, briefly enjoying Diego’s surprised expression. “Matching casings were found at a murder scene last night. Ishmael's Towing.”

“The driver?” he asked, although it was clear that he already figured out what happened.

Patch nodded. “Found him hanging from the ceiling.”

“Looks like he must have known something after all,” Diego remarked, and his tone became sarcastic. “It's a shame nobody told you to go talk to him.”

Patch fixed him with a look that would’ve left him dead in seconds. “Cut the crap, Diego,” she snapped with a sleep-deprived tone. “In the span of 24 hours, I've had attacks in four different places across town. Whatever this is, whoever this is, they're not slowing down. So, if you really give a sh*t and you've got any fresh ideas, I'm all ears.”

Diego could tell that she was at her wits’ end, and so he decided to change tactics, along with subjects. “The guy's kid, in the doughnut shop?”

“I've got units tracking the extended family in case anyone goes after him,” Patch answered, choosing not to reveal that she already knew that the kid from Griddy’s Diner was really Five.

Diego nodded and gestured around at the store. “Well, this place must have surveillance footage.”

Patch shook her head. “No, it doesn't exist,” she announced, for it was odd that the store didn’t have any security and then decided to share a bit of information with him, hoping that he would reveal something. “The first unit on the scene clocked two shooters fleeing the premises, wearing, get this, creepy kids' masks.”

‘Good way to hide one’s face,’ Diego thought. “The city is really going to sh*t, huh?”

“Coming from the guy dressed in spandex?” she questioned, her eyebrows raised.

Diego rolled his eyes. “It's not spandex, it's leather,” he corrected her and then got a sly smile on his face. “And you used to like it. A lot, if I recall.”

Patch groaned and covered her face with her hand, notneeding that memory in her mind right now, and she was hoping no one was paying attention to them. “God, please un-remember that.”

He grinned and shook his head. “Etched into the data bank, Eudora.”

Patch glared at him and walked away. “And we're done.”

“Yeah, well, you go fill out your forms while I go hunt these animals down,” Diego called after her. “And, Detective, I do give a sh*t,” he added before leaving.

Detective Beaman watched him go and turned to Patch, who was looking ready to run out of the place screaming. “I still can't get over the fact that you two used to-”

“Not another word, Beaman,” Patch warned him. “Not another damn word.”

*****

Over at the hospital, DeStorm was investigating the attack that’d taken place, and it was clear to him that some of his siblings had been there. He could tell since he was familiar with their abilities, and he was already planning on having a few choice words with them when he finally got to go home and got some sleep.

*****

In the file room, DeStorm knelt to examine one of the bullet casings that’d been photographed already before it got bagged and tagged with the rest, and he fought back a sigh when he sensed who was walking up behind him.

“Do you have a death wish, Hargreeves?” DeStorm questioned as Diego crouched next to him. “’cause I’ll gladly grant your wish.”

“No, no death wish at the moment,” said Diego. “But I can say for certain that these aren’t the same casing from the other three scenes. These look more like the kind of bullets made back in the 1920s for the Tommy guns.”

DeStorm nodded. “A type of bullet that isn’t in production anymore and can only be found in museums or private collections,” he agreed. “And clearly no connection to the shooting at Griddy’s diner.”

“Or they are connected,” Diego countered, “and the ones responsible chose to use different bullets in order to throw anyone investigating off the trail. Think about the timing of this: shootout at Griddy’s Diner, the murder of the tow truck driver last night, along with these two shooting occurring around the exact same time.”

DeStorm couldn’t argue with that logic, but he knew that he would be in heaps of trouble if Diego didn’t leave the scene, or figured out that his siblings had been involved.

He stood and Diego followed suit. “Thanks for the insight, Hargreeves. You can go now.”

“Come on, Hawkins,” Diego protested. “I just got here from the other crime scene. I can help.”

“And you can help by leaving,” DeStorm ordered. “You’re probably right about all of this being connected, but you aren’t a cop, and you will never be a cop. Now get out of here before I arrest you for inferring with a crime scene.”

Diego scoffed. “Fine.” And he left.

DeStorm fought back a sigh of relief and returned his attention to the medical file room.

*****

Diego, however, didn’t leave right away, but did do a quick look around, hearing about the death of the night security guard, and found odd things scattered about the hallway that hadn’t been bagged yet.

‘What the hell happened here?’ he wondered, snatching up what looked like an owl mask and left with it. ‘This isdifferent from the other attacks. But how?’ He wasn’t sure, but he was going to get to the bottom of it, and he wasn’t going to stop, no matter what anyone said about him investigating the case of the shooting.

*****

Five’s POV:

I spent pretty much the entire night going through the papers that Ben gave me, and if this was right, then I had a new lead of how to find whoever was suppose to get the false eye, and that meant that I now had another chance to keep the world from being destroyed in the next six days.

Putting the papers back in the folder, I put it in the bag that Delores was in, I did give her a kiss before I zipped it up, swung the bag over my back, and I opened the window of my room.

I climbed out onto the fire escape, and headed down the steps until I reached the ground – finding myself face-to-face with Pogo. “Oh, Pogo, I-”

“I believe that you will need these, Master Five,” said Pogo, handing me a set of keys and nodded to a plain-looking brown van that was parked at the entrance of the alleyway. “I have obtained transport for you, sir.”

I smiled gratefully at Pogo. “Thanks, Pogo.”

“Just be careful, sir,” said Pogo, who then made his way back inside, leaning heavily on his cane.

I watched him go and, even more determined to keep the world from being destroyed, I went and got into the van, heading out.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER FIVE: A LOT IS GOING ON PART THREE

*****

Five’s POV:

I drove the van, but I didn’t head back to the business right away, instead I stopped at a new café that I haven’t been to before called Good Vibes, and I headed inside to get some coffee to go. I hadn’t dare try to get mom to fix any for me, for I knew that she would say no, and I didn’t want to talk to anyone about what I was doing either.

*****

I entered the café and, almost immediately, I felt at ease, which was surprising. I don’t know what was giving off the vibes, but it certainly fitted the name of the place, which was half full, and I went to the counter…not feeling like I was in a rush anymore.

“Welcome to Good Vibes,” said a man around the same age as my siblings, and when I saw that he wore a gold hawk pin on his shirt, I fought back a sigh since that meant this guy was one of the Hawkins kids. “What can I get ya, dude? Soda? Some baked goods? Hot chocolate? Ice cream sundae?”

“Actually I would like a large black coffee to go,” I requested, getting out my wallet, and I was surprised that I wasn’t being my usual snappish self. ‘Sh*t, this guy must be The Hippie!’ I hadn’t really spent much time around the Hawk kids, but I was familiar enough with their abilities to know which one I was facing right now. “I’m kinda in a rush, so the sooner the better.”

Jc smiled at me. “I’ll have it out to you soon enough.” He took the amount for the coffee from me, and when I turned to find a place to sit, he surprised me by handing me a plate with two brownies on it.

“I didn’t place an order for brownies,” I told him, pushing the plate back.

“On the house,” he told me, offering me the plate again. “It’s a new brownie that Ro made, and who knows, you might like it.”

‘I doubt it,’ I thought, but I took the plate and went to a table by the big bay window to sit until I had my coffee. ‘But then again, I didn’t have breakfast, so this will help until I get something else to go with my coffee.’

I sat down and picked up one of the brownies, taking a bite of it – and I thought I would melt at the delicious taste of the peanut butter, the marshmallows, and the chocolate in my mouth. ‘Ooh…this is good!’ I took another bite, savoring the taste, and I looked around the café.

Most of the tables were filled, everyone was clearly in good moods with their chosen drinks and baked goods, and I just happened to note a woman with short dark curly hair, blue eyes behind glasses, and she was wearing a light orange blouse under a gray jacket, a gray skirt, black leggings, and knee-high black leather boots.

There was something about her that seemed familiar, but I wasn’t sure of how I knew her, and I was pondering this when she spoke.

“You know it’s rude to stare.” She looked up and I glimpsed the gold hawk pin.

“Great,” I huffed, “a Hawkins.”

“Whatever you say, Hargreeves,” she retorted. “Or should I say Five?”

I blinked. “I- what- how?”

She rolled her eyes, picked up her drink, and joined me at the table before I could even protest. “Five, think about it.”

I did think about it, and something clicked. “You’re Delta, and the other night, that was Mystic. Makes sense…I think.”

“Well, it has been a long time since you’ve seen us,” Delta remarked, sipping her drink. “So, what brings you here?”

“Just getting a coffee to go,” I answered, looking around to see if Jc was bringing it over. “I have stuff to do.”

“Would it have anything to do with how you returned to the present?” she asked, catching me off-guard. “I bet going from being an old man to a 13-year-old boy wasn’t easy.”

I was about to ask how she could even knowthat, but then I realized that my arrival properly set off any sensors that the Hawk Academy had around the city, and that they most likely had been spying on the house that day.

“You all were there when I came back weren’t you?” I asked instead, and she nodded. “Just can’t stop pocking your noses into other people’s business.”

“That’s rich coming from an old man stuck in the body of a 13-year-old boy,” Delta retorted. “Don’t forget, it was your father who abducted myself and certain sisters on several occasions back in the day.” Her expression then turned serious and she leaned forward. “Listen, Five, there’s something that you need to know. Roi, he ac-”

I blinked when she suddenly stopped and then I realized that Jc had just walked over with my coffee in a to-go mug. “Nice chat.” I took the mug and stood up, dropping a ten on the table as a tip, and head out, taking the brownies with me.

*****

I got into the van and it was as I was putting the mug in the drink slot that I felt something crinkle in my pocket. Perplexed, I reached in and took out a folded piece of paper, and I opened it, finding that it was a note from Delta that she’d somehow slipped into my pocket when I was focused on Jc and the coffee mug.

I read the note on it, and my eyes widened with shock.

Five,

Normally I wouldn’t share information like this, but I felt that you need to know something important. Two days ago, Roi accidentally traveled eight days into the future, where he found the world destroyed, saw dark forces kidnapping Mystic, Andrea, Cyrille, and myself, and he also saw Vanya being kidnapped by a blond woman in a fancy hat.

Roi also saw you in that future and tried to talk to you, but he was pulled back to the present, and he said that he saw Vanya using powers. Maybe your sister isn’t as ordinary as she’s been lead to believe this whole time.

Talk with Roi, maybe you both can figure out who is trying to destroy the world and keep all of us safe.

Delta Hawkins.

I reread the note a second time, making sure that I was reading this right, and while I knew that Roi and I had the same ability, I had no idea that Darius was having him practice time travel.

‘Then again,’ I thought, stuffing the note into the glove compartment, started the engine, and I drove out of the parking space, ‘this all could be a Hawkins trick, so I’m going to ignore it.’ And so I pushed the note out of my mind and focused on driving.

*****

I drove back to Meritech Prosthetics and parked across the street so that I had a good view of the front of the building, and I sipped my coffee before I picked up the bag and unzipped it.

“Hey.” I took Delores out and cradled her in my arms for a few seconds before putting her on the passenger seat. “Sorry you were in there for so long, Delores.”

I glanced at her and shook my head. “No, I'm not drunk. I'm working.” I sipped my coffee.

“Yes, it's about the eye thing,” I confirmed. “This is the place it was made. Or…will be made.” I sighed. “We just have to wait.”

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER SIX: INSULTS AND FRUSTRATION

*****

Vanya’s POV:

I was glad when we got to have a lunch break and I went into the restroom first. I’d finished my business and was popping one of the pills when I heard a toilet flush, and Helen came out of the stall. I waited until she was done washing her hands before I spoke to her, hoping that maybe, just maybe, she would be nice to me for a change.

“Helen…” I complimented, although I was nervous. “You were great today. Really, really great.”

Helen nodded. “Thanks.”

I swallowed and, hopefully, this was my chance. “It's those runs in the Stravinsky,” I continued. “I've been hacking at them for weeks, and you just make…”

“Make them look easy?” she guessed, and I nodded. “What's your name again?” she asked.

“Vanya,” I answered.

Helen nodded, looking thoughtful…at first. “Vanya,” she repeated before her expression turned cold. “And how many years have you been stuck at third chair?”

When I didn’t answer, she continued.

“At a certain point, it's not about practice,” she stated with a cold insulting tone. “It's whether you've got something special. And maybe you just… don't. You can put in your 10,000 hours, or… you can go find something you're actually passionate about and stop slogging away at Stravinsky like a scared 13-year-old. Think it over.”

Helen left me in the restroom, and I felt cold inside, for the way she talked was just how my father would talk about me being ordinary.

Maybe she was right.

*****

In the hotel room, Cha-Cha was using a hair-curling iron to cauterize the wound on her arm, and she flinched, but didn’t say a word as she did so. Meanwhile, Hazel was lying on one of the beds and was watching the TV about RV parks.

Upon returning to the hotel, Cha-Cha had extended their stay for another night since it was clear that stopping Five wasn’t going to be as easy as she first thought, and that’d been apparent after Five outwitted her and Hazel during the fight at the department store. She hadn’t know that he had an ability, only that he was good at the job he’d walked away from.

“…at an RV park. But they can have generators on them, they can have their own tanks for waste, everything. All these materials, this is what I'd use on a normal house…”

Cha-Cha finished treating her injuries with the limited supplies in the first-aid kit she’d swiped from the department store, put on a clean shirt, and turned to Hazel, frowning at the TV that he was staring at blankly.

“I don't understand how you can watch this crap,” she complained. ‘He’s been doing this more and more often, ever since he got his wrist hurt during that last mission. Why is Hazel acting like this? Why?’

Hazel shrugged. “You don't find it interesting, how ordinary people live their lives?”

Cha-Cha glances at the TV and raised her eyebrows. “They're agonizing over kitchen cabinets as if the entire fate of the universe rests on whether they choose azure blue or asparagus green,” she pointed out, glancing back at him. “And your point is?”

Hazel shrugged again. “Sometimes there's beauty in the mundane, you know?”

Cha-Cha rolled her eyes and gestured to the hotel room. “Well, then, this is the most beautiful room I've ever seen,” she said sarcastically.

Just then, there was a whooshing sound from the bathroom, followed by a clunk, and they went in there to check it out.

*****

Entering the bathroom and stepping into the tub, Cha-Cha pushed on the wall so a small section opened, and Hazel took out the container that held the note, which he read.

“‘Seven percent reduction in payment due to job delay’,” he read aloud, and started to scowl. “‘Further reduction every 24 hours until job completion’. That is just… I mean… It's only been one lousyday.” He crumbled and threw the note into the trash bin. “Let's see 'em get out from behind their desks, get their hands dirty for once. Damn lazy b*stards.”

Sighing, Cha-Cha took the container back and put it back into the slot, shutting the wall, and it was off with a whoosh. “Are you done?” she asked.

Hazel nodded. “Yeah.”

“Well, let's get back out there and kill this little sh*t,” she ordered and stepped out of the tub, and Hazel followed.

It was time to look for a way to find Five.

And they both knew that their best place to start searching was the doughnut shop that the first shooting had taken place at the previous night, and they were going to get answers from the waitress that worked there. Even if it meant forcing the information out of her.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER SEVEN: ENCOUNTERS, BOTH GOOD AND BAD PART ONE

*****

Mystic’s POV:

I left the rehearsal, feeling a bit down since the first read-through had been rough, and I was now in desperate need for something good vides…or at least something baked by Ro.

‘Why can’t we just go through the first run-through without any drama?’ I thought, heading outside to wave down a taxi since Delta had left early to get her paintings ready to be take to the art gallery by Jesse, and Priscilla had been a pill the entire rehearsal. ‘Every f*cking time! She does this every time!’

I was so caught up in my own dark thoughts that I nearly stepped off the road and into the path of the taxi – when I felt someone grab me and I spun, finding myself facing Andrea Russett. “Oh…hey…” And I knew without a doubt that my heart was seriously pounding in gay, and my lips even tingled a little when the memory of her kissing me surfaced in my mind.

“Hey yourself,” said Andrea, opening the door on the taxi so that she and I could get inside. “Where’s your head at, Mystic? You almost got pancaked.”

I flushed and looked away. “Yeah…uh…well, rehearsal…”

“I get it,” said Andrea, who then told the driver to take us to Good Vibes, and she grinned at my startled expression. “I figured you were wanting to go there after putting up with that b*tch earlier. What’s her problem anyway?” she asked, referring to Priscilla.

“Priscilla is basically a Karen about every script that I write for Aaron,” I explained, “she’s never happy with what I come up with, she gives Delta a hard time about the backgrounds for the scenes, she gets on everyone nerves, and yet, she’s the best at playing female villains.”

“Which is why Aaron doesn’t just give her the boot,” Andrea guessed and I nodded. “Damn, she’s a meanie, that’s for sure.”

I nodded. “Yeah, she is.” And I switched to a different topic, not wanting to talk about Priscilla anymore, and Andrea caught on quickly by changing to other topics that she thought I would be interested in.

Yeah, I’m definitely gay for this lovely woman, and I so want to spend as much time with her as I can outside of rehearsals.

*****

Jesse’s POV:

I drove my van to the building that held Delta’s art studio and I yawned. I’d gotten back home around two am, and hadn’t gotten much sleep, having been wired from the bounty hunting earlier.

Thankfully, it hadn’t been a tough one, and the only part that took a long time was the paperwork itself.

‘I’m starting to think they create more red tape just for the heck of it,’ I thought, sipping my coffee as I parked the van near the front door and got out my cellphone. ‘That or they’re intent on making the job of a bounty hunter harder then it really needs to be.’

I tapped the speed dial on my cellphone, listening to it ring twice before the other end got picked up. “Hey, Del, I’m here.”

`“Come on up,”` Delta responded.`“Just no nyooming. I don’t want the door to get broken again.”`

“Not even a little nyoom?” I asked in a teasing tone, already imagining the glare that she was shooting at her phone since she couldn’t do it to me.

`“I mean it, Jesse,”` Delta said with a warning tone,`“no nyooming this time.”`

I chuckled. “All right, no nyoom. I’ll see you in a bit.” I clicked my phone off, got out of the van, and I headed inside to go up the stairs.

*****

I did keep my promise…to an extent. I did nyoom up some of the stairs, and walked up the rest to the door to the loft and knocked before entering to find Delta finish wrapping up a painting for the gallery.

“Is this all of them?” I asked, gesturing to the collection of wrapped paintings and she nodded. “Damn, girl, you have been busy.”

Delta grinned. “What can I say? I do great artwork and people love to buy it.”

“That’s for sure,” I agreed, grinning at my sister, who returned the grin, and I really was glad that she had this outlet to work with that wasn’t being controlled by dad somehow. “Alright, let’s get these loaded up.”

“Yup, let’s get to work.”

*****

A half hour later, Delta and I had the last painting loaded into the back of the van and strapped down so that they wouldn’t get damaged on the way to the art gallery, and I locked up the back while Delta went back inside long enough to lock up her studio.

I got in the driver’s side, Delta got in the passenger seat, and as I drove us to the art gallery, she caught me up on what I’d missed while I had been away on the bounty hunt.

“Damn, Roi should’ve called me and I could’ve helped,” I remarked, spooked that someone or something was definitelyafter my sisters. “So they’re behind the bank robbery that we stopped when we were all ten years old?”

Delta nodded. “Yeah, and Justine trying to figure out how the tech works.”

I shook my head, amazed. “Damn. Well, I’m not going anywhere for a while, so I can help Roi as much as I can.”

“I’m sure that Roi will be grateful for the help, Jesse,” she told me with a smile.

I grinned. “That’s what I do, ma’am, that’s what I do.”

*****

Vanya’s POV:

I left the theater, both relieved that rehearsal was over and still shaken by what Helen had said to me during the lunch break. I’d been playing the violin since I was a kid, I was using the very violin that belonged to my dad, and I always thought that I was improving with each rehearsal and by practicing every day.

‘But I’ve yet to move past third chair,’ I thought, waiting for a taxi to come so that I could go home, ‘and so that probably means Helen is ri-’

“Hey, Vanya.”

I started to turned to see Leonard approaching me. “Oh, hey, Leonard.”

“That was quite the rehearsal huh?” he asked me and I nodded, not sure of what to say. “Do the actors always get into arguments during rehearsal every time?”

I kinda smile. “No, not always,” I admitted. “I mean…it generally doesn’t get all that bad during the first day of rehearsals, and some of the actors are rather selfish. Well, just Priscilla King really, and Aaron knows how to keep her in her place.”

“I believe it,” said Leonard, waving down a taxi. “Still that Priscilla chick seemed to have it in for the script writer, Mystic right?”

“Mystic Hawkins,” I replied. “Yeah, some people just seem intent on giving her a hard time because of the mask she has to wear due to being immunocompromised. But Delta Hawkins is there to keep those people in line, too.”

Leonard nodded and glanced at the waiting taxi. “Uh, want to see my shop in Bricktown?”

I hesitated and then nodded, for I didn’t have anywhere else to be for the rest of the day, and I actually liked spending time with Leonard. “Sure.”

We both got in the taxi and headed off to Bricktown.

*****

Over at the Umbrella Academy mansion, Luther was talking with Allison, Ben, and Klaus about Grace, and that morning business with the eggs was, in his mind, proof that something was wrong with their mom.

“I don’t care what dad says,” he told his siblings. “I think mom’s programming is starting to fail, and I think we should get the others and have a family meeting to figure out what to do.”

“So, who will go after who?” Allison asked. “I can go get Vanya, her rehearsal should be done by now.”

“And I can go get Five from his room,” said Luther. “He’s been there all-”

Just then Pogo cleared his throat to get their attention. “Actually, Master Luther, Master Five left some time ago.”

Luther sighed. “Ok, Klaus and I will go look for Five. Ben, you can get Diego.” And he wrote down the address of the gym. “I would but…” he tapped the small bandage on his ear.

“Right, let’s go.” And they parted ways.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER EIGHT: ENCOUNTERS, BOTH GOOD AND BAD PART TWO

*****

In a hidden location, the Ancient Council was meeting for an emergency meeting concerning what was currently happening down on Earth, and how it would affect their chances of getting their targets when the time was right.

“The attack at the hospital failed.”

“And they now have more of our magic tech, and the cellphone of one of our troops.”

“Then our magic tech, along with the phone, mustbe retrieved. Do you know where they have taken it?”

“It is now at the house of the targets and their siblings.”

“Then that is where our people must go, and collect it without being either detected this time.”

“Of course, sire.”

*****

Andrea Hawkins’ POV:

I was in the back room of my shop, checking on some of my stock to see whether I would need to order more of certain items that I knew were popular sellers, when the bell over the shop door dingle, and I knew that I had a possible customer.

Setting down the clipboard and pen, I adjusted the sleeves of my black velvet robes that were inlaid with a silver flower pattern, gave my black gloves a quick tug, and then I stepped out through the strings of beads to greet the person.

“Welcome to the Mystical Secret Shop,” I said to a tall black man with short black hair, dark eyes, and he wore a neat black suit over a crisp white shirt, black slacks, and shiny black shoes. “I am Madame Andrea Hawkins, how may I be of service?”

The man smiled and took a white card out of his suit pocket, handing it to me. “Hello, I am Phala Bennett, and I am in need of your skills.”

I took the card and my eyebrows disappeared into my hairline when I saw what was written on it in fancy gold writing.

“‘The Moonlight Mystery Club’,” I read and looked up at him, surprised since I knew that this was an elite murder mystery club that many people would jump at a chance to join, and here was the owner and founder in my shop. “Wow…wow. Uh, which skills of my do you need of?”

“Every year, the club hosts a special event to bring in new members,” Phala explained. “And during the event, I traditionally have a medium perform a séance and some palm reading. Sadly, the medium I would normally bring in is laid up in the hospital due to needing an emergency surgery on her heart, and I have been told that you are quite skilled as a medium Miss Hawkins.”

I flushed and examined the card in order to get my bearings since while this wasn’t the first time I’d been asked to do something like this since opening my shop, to be asked by someone like Phala Bennett, this was unexpected.

‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,’ I thought, feeling a thrill of excitement go up my spine. ‘And who knows? If I can do this, then I might get invited to take part again next year, too.’ I looked up at him and I hand out one gloved hand. “Sir, I would be deeply honored to assist your event.”

Phala smiled and shook my hand with his own strong grip. “Thank you for agreeing, Miss Hawkins,” he said with a pleasant smile. “I shall contact you with all the information that you will need for that night.”

He and I exchanged a few more pleasantries before he purchased some of the black candles that I sold, and left.

I hugged the business card to my chest and danced around, excited beyond belief.

*****

Phala exited the shop and got into the back of his limo, tinting the windows to block out the sunlight with a click of his remote, and from a mini fridge, he took out a glass bottle that held some kind of red liquid.

Pouring some of the liquid into a glass, he put the bottle back into the mini fridge, and he picked up the glass, taking a sip of the liquid and a blissful expression etched itself across his face.

‘A rich vintage,’ he thought, taking out a white gem that bore a strongresemblance to an owl face, and he rubbed his thumb over the surface several times, his fingernails growing just enough to resemble claws while the gem began to glow until a glowing figure appeared before him, seated. “I have made contact.”

“And did she take your offer?”

“Yes, she did without any hesitation,” Phala answered with a smile that revealed his white, almost fang-like, teeth. “I have done my part, and what of yours?”

“Once we have the three princesses,” said the glowing figure, “and we have established the link to her shadow powers and the realm that she draws them from, the dark princess shall be your queen, Alpha.”

“Excellent.” Alpha’s smile grew wider and he sipped his drink once again. “I am looking forward to that day.” And he was looking forward to when he would turn Andrea Hawkins into his queen, and through her, their children would be able to come out of hiding and take back their place as the rulers of Earth with humanity as their food source.

Alpha powered down the gem and pocketed it, sipping his drink once more. Yes, he was looking forward to that day indeed.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER NINE: ENCOUNTERS AND A DATE! PART THREE

*****

Leonard’s POV:

After I showed Vanya around my workshop in Bricktown, both the furniture that I restored for a living and the wood carvings, and convinced her to take the carving that I’d made of her, she and I walked back outside with her, making plans when a tall black woman walked up and she seemed to know Vanya.

“Vanya.”

Vanya blinked. “Allison?” She then pulled herself together and introduced me to Allison. “Leonard, this is my sister, Allison.”

I looked at Allison and I realized that I recognized her for two particular reasons.

“Wait a second, I know you,” I said, trying to place which movie I’d seen her in. “You were in that movie. You're in the movie, the…You were the lawyer. The tough one in the wheelchair, right?”

Allison smiled and nodded, looking a bit embarrassed. “Yeah.” She chuckled a little. “Yeah, that was me.”

I turned to Vanya, who was looking like she was used to this, and she probably was. “You didn't tell me your sister was a movie star,” I said and she was now embarrassed. “Wow!” I looked back at Allison and realized something else about them both. “You were in that Umbrella thing, too, weren't you?” I asked and she nodded, and I looked back at Vanya. “But you weren't in that, were you?”

Vanya shook her head. “No, uh… I was sort of the fifth Beatle of the family, so…”

“I never really did like the Beatles,” I admitted. “More of a Stones guy, myself.”

Allison cleared her throat to get our attention.

“Um, I'm sorry to interrupt, but, uh… could you come back to the house?” she asked Vanya. “We're having a family meeting.”

“And you guys want me there?” Vanya asked, sounding surprised and I looked between them.

“Of course,” Allison told her. “It’s about Mom.”

Vanya nodded and turned to me. “I'm so sorry. I…”

“Oh, don't be,” I assured her. “We'll do a rain check on dinner.”

Vanya smiled a little and left with Allison, and I watched them go.

‘And this works perfectly for what I have planned for tonight,’ I thought, heading back inside the shop to do some work on some orders.

*****

Allison’s POV:

I glanced back at the young man that Vanya had been talking to as we headed to my car, and then I looked over a Vanya, whose face was actually a little flushed. “Who's the guy?”

Vanya started and her flush definitely deepened a little. “Who, Leonard? Oh, he’s a friend from the orchestra,” she responded a tab quickly. “He auditioned yesterday, got in, and we actually went out for food last night.”

“You did?” I asked, immediately interested since this was a sign that Vanya was stepping out of her comfort zone, and I wanted to know more. “Tell me more.”

And we chatted about Leonard all the way to my car and on the way home.

*****

Mystic’s POV:

I was surprised when Andrea asked the taxi driver to wait when we got to Good Vibes, and I was becoming confused when she asked Jc to make our order of our preferred drinks and some of Ro’s baked goods, which did include my favorite gluten-free and dairy-free treats, to go.

“What are you up to?” I asked, curious and partly teasing, noting that she had a kind of flowery perfume on that I hadn’t noticed before. “And what is that wonderful scent that you’re wearing?” I added, inhaling it a bit through my mask. “It’s lovely, just like you.”

Andrea blushed and giggled. “It’s lilies, my favorite flower,” she informed me before giving an address to the taxi driver to take us to.

‘Lilies, need to remember that,’ I thought, filing away the information on the mental file that I was making for everything that I loved about Andrea, and then I realized that the address was for a park that I hadn’t been to since I was a kid. “We’re going to the park?”

Andrea smiled and nodded. “Yeah, it’s a nice day, and I thought some fresh air, along with Ro’s baked goods, would be a prefect way to start decompressing from the stress of today, Sweet Mystic.”

And with those words, plus the pet name, my love for Andrea just went past ten to infinity and beyond. “Oh…I love you so much right now.”

Andrea’s face went red, which had me giggling, and we giggled together on the ride to the park.

*****

Andrea R.’s POV:

I was glad that Mystic was all for going to the park, and to be honest, I wanted to be with her more often and not just at rehearsals. I don’t know why, but I felt strongly connected to Mystic, and the more time I spend with her, the stronger that connection was becoming.

I paid the taxi driver, plus a sizable tip for her help, and then I entered the park with Mystic, she was carrying our food and I was carrying the drinks while I also holding her hand in my own, which made her face go bright red as she giggled nervously.

God I love that giggle!

We walked along one of the paths in the park until we reached one of my favorite spots, which was a picnic table next to a large patch of various purple lilies, and we sat on the table with our feet on the seat as we sipped our drinks and nommed on the treats for a few minutes, content with the scent of the lilies and the calm silence that was briefly broken by the sounds of birds and the occasional laughter of children.

“Thanks Andrea,” said Mystic, breaking the silence around us. “I needed this.”

“I know,” I agreed. “This is one of my favorite spots in the whole park, especially when the lilies are in bloom.”

Mystic smiled and rested her head on my shoulder. “It’s perfect. I want this day to be like this forever.”

“So do I,” I agreed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head, getting another cute giggle out of her, and I also giggled.

This was a perfect moment indeed, and I wanted it to last as long as possible, I really did.

*****

After being at the park for an hour, I got a taxi for Mystic and I kissed her on the lips as it pulled out, which she returned eagerly. “I’ll see you later, sweetie.”

“I look forward to seeing you again, too.”

I grinned and watched as the taxi drove away with my girlfriend. Yeah, she and I are official a couple.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER TEN: ENCOUNTERS, BOTH GOOD AND BAD PART FOUR

*****

Five’s POV:

I was still in the van and watching the building, having only left to take care of personal business and get both food and some drinks for myself and Delores, who I put in the back for a nap.

I sighed and watched as some kids were playing in a nearby park, just having fun as normal kids – when ash started falling from the sky.

Confused, I got out of the van and gasped when I saw that I was back in the future, with everything destroyed and everyone dead, and I panicked.

“No!”

“Five,” said a voice that I thought was familiar that was echo-like until. “Five! Hey, Five.”

I jolted awake, unaware that I’d dozed off and I saw Luther knocking on the window of the van. “L-Luther?” I stammered, unlocking the doors so that he could get inside while I tried to recover from the nightmare I’d been having about the upcoming future.

“You ok?” Luther asked, looking at me with concern.

“You shouldn't be…” I gasped, pulling myself together. “How did you find me?”

Luther became embarrassed and side-glanced at the back of the van. “Um…”

“Hey baby…” said Klaus, and I turned to see that he was in the back, and he was holding Delores in his arms. “Hey, a little privacy, guys. We're really hitting it off back here.”

I became angry, grabbed an empty cup and threw it at Klaus so that he would get his hands off of Delores.

“Get out! You can't be here!” I shouted as he jumped and scrambled out of the van, dropping Delores, who I was quick to catch and put back in the bag for her own safety. “I'm in the middle of something.”

Klaus went to the passenger door and Luther, who was looking even moreconcerned, lower the window. “Any luck finding your one-eyed man?”

“No,” I muttered, slumping in my seat.

“What's he talkin' about?” Luther asked while Klaus wandered away from the van.

I shook my head, not in the mood to explain. “Does it matter? It's Klaus.” And I sighed when it became apparent that Luther wasn’t going to leave. “What do you want, Luther?”

“So, it looks like there might be something wrong with mom’s programming,” Luther explained. “She’s making mistakes and she could be malfunctioning. So I need you to come back to the academy, all right? It's important.”

“‘It's important’,” I repeated and scowled, for I wasn’t in the mood to worry about anything other then keeping the world from being destroyed, and as much as I loved mom, saving the world was more important.. “You have no concept of what's important.”

Klaus came back just then, somehow getting his hands on a small bottle of what I suspected was whisky, and leaned on the door, grinning.

“Hey!” he asked and it was clear that he was already drunk. “Did I ever tell you guys about the time I waxed my ass with chocolate pudding?” He laughed. “It was so painful.”

I glared at him while Luther had a pained expression on his face.

“Klaus, do you mind going over to that bench and sitting down?” Luther asked before I could yell at our idiot brother again. “Five and I are trying to have a serious conversation.”

Klaus shrugged, took another drink from the bottle, went over the bench, and promptly passed out.

“So much for Klaus being sober,” I remarked and Luther sighed. “You should go and get Klaus back home, I have stuff to do.”

Luther shook his head, refusing to leave the van. “Five, what the hellare you up to?”

I shook my head and looked back at the building. “You wouldn't understand."

“Try me,” Luther challenged. “Last I checked, I'm still the leader of this family when dad isn’t around. And I don’t see him around."

I scoffed. “Well, last I checked, I'm 28 years older than you,” I retorted.

Luther was clearly getting annoyed. “You know what your problem is?”

“Really hoping you'll tell me,” I said sarcastically.

“You think you're better than us,” Luther stated, clearly venting. “You always have. Even when we were kids.” He sighed and shook his head. “But the truth is, you're just as messed up as the rest of us. We're all you have. And you know it.”

I hadn’t expected Luther to go that route, pointing out what was clearly true, not that I was about to admit that he was right. “I don't think that I'm better than you, Number One,” I said coldly, glaring at him. “I know I am.” I chuckled as I took my turn to vent. “I've done unimaginable things, things you couldn't even comprehend. Just to get back here and save you all.”

Luther frowned and I could tell that he was struggling to keep his temper in check. “Five, I don’t really understand what you’ve gone through to get back here,” he said, “but right now, we need to talk about mom and what to do before she accidentally poisoned dad, Pogo, or even one of us. Because if her programing is failing, then that’s a bad sign.”

“Mom’s fine, Luther,” I said, fed up with this conversation, “and dad won’t let her malfunction or anything, now go away.”

Luther’s face twitched, making me a little nervous since that meant either someone has made him angry, or had tried to kill him, either way, I could tell that he was angry with me.

But then, he got out of the car, gathered up Klaus and left.

I waited until I was sure that they were gone, got Delores out of the bag, apologized her, and went back to monitoring the building.

*****

Ben’s POV:

I hung out in the gym, watching the various boxers practicing and politely declined when the coach offered me a chance to try out the equipment, for I already had a membership at a different gym, and I was choosing to be out here and not in Diego’s sleeping quarters because I didn’t want to have him throw a knife at me like he did to Luther yesterday.

‘Diego is really close to mom,’ I thought, checking the time on my watch. ‘And so is Vanya, so it makes sense to have them at the family meeting, even if Diego hasn’t forgiven Vanya for the book, she’s still our sister.’

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard someone call out Diego’s name and I looked around in time to see him walking toward the back of the gym in that combat outfit of his, and I hurried to catch up with him. “Diego, wait up.”

Diego stopped and turned, smiling slightly when he saw me. “Ben, what brings you here?”

“Family meeting back at the Academy,” I responded. “It’s about mom,” I added when it looked like he was going to object.

“Mom? Is something wrong with mom?” Diego asked instead, looking instantly concerned.

I sighed. “It’s complicated, which is why we’re having a family meeting to figure out what to do,” I told him. “But I think there is something wrong because she’s having odd moments and making mistakes.”

Diego nodded. “All right, let’s go.” And we headed back outside to get in our respective cars and go.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER ELEVEN: UMBRELLA TATTOO AND OWL MASKS

*****

Meanwhile over at Griddy’s Doughnuts, the place had been mostly repaired and had customers seated at the tables, even the ones that had bullet holes in them, and at the counter, Hazel was sitting with a partly eaten doughnut on a plate.

“You really love doughnuts, don't you?” Agnes asked as he finished the doughnut, which was his second doughnut.

“Is there anything better in this world?” Hazel asked with a slight smile, wiping his mouth.

Agnes chuckled. “Well, I suppose not,” she agreed. “Though I guess I'm kind of biased, seeing as how I make them all day, every day.”

Hazel nodded and chuckled. “All day, every day. Elaborate,” he requested, for he was interested in how the doughnuts were made.

“Well, um…” Agnes began. “I get here before the sun's up. I measure out the dry ingredients, I mix in the slurry real slow, and load 'em all into the extruder.”

“Extruder,” Hazel repeated, chuckling softly at the name of the machine.

Agnes nodded. “Yep. That's what makes them into the doughnut shapes,” she explained. “The real trick is, um… I let 'em rise for about half an hour before I fry 'em up. That's what makes them so… light and fluffy.”

Hazel smiled at her. “How come you're so light and fluffy?”

Agnes laughed. “Well, I guess you are what you eat.

Hazel chuckled again. “Uh, might I try a raspberry jelly?” he requested.

“Oh. Sure.” Agnes got one of the raspberry-filled doughnuts and placed it on the plate before whispering to him. “The secret's in the jelly.”

“Agnes,” said Hazel, noting her name tag. “Beautiful name.”

Agnes blushed. “Well, thanks. It means "pure."

Hazel nodded, taking a bite of his doughnut. “Of course it does.” And they both chuckled, bonding over the doughnut.

Just then, the door to the women’s restroom opened and Cha-Cha came out, heading for him and Agnes.

Hazel cleared his throat and went back into business mode as his partner joined him at the counter. “So, uh… is there anything that you might be able to tell us about the night that this place got shot up?” he asked, hoping to get some kind of lead on where they could find Five.

“Um… Well, I… I mean,” Agnes stammered, “I already told the police everything I know. Twice, actually.” She chuckled a little since the first cop to ask her questions hadn’t even been a cop as it turned out, having seen the fake cop get arrested.

“Do you remember the boy from that night?” Cha-Cha questioned.

“I didn't really notice him, to be honest,” Agnes admitted. “Uh, him and his father sat right over there.” And she pointed to the chairs that Five and the tow truck driver had been seated.

“That most definitely was not his father,” Cha-Cha snapped and the waitress was startled.

Hazel cleared his throat again, getting Agnes’ attention. “We're just concerned for his…safety, is all,” he informed her while shooting his partner a warning look. “It's a dangerous world out there. Wouldn't want anything bad to happen to him.”

“Are you with the police?” Agnes asked them.

“We were hired by his family to help get to the bottom of things,” Hazel explained, going with their cover story. “So if there's anything you could tell us, we'd really appreciate it. I'd really... appreciate it,” he added with a small smile that made Cha-Cha roll her eyes.

Agnes smiled nervously. “I'd... I'd really like to help, but I wouldn't know anything about that,” she admitted, but then she recalled something, something that she hadn’t remember until that moment, and she made a mental note to call the police and share this with them. “Although, come to think of it, there was one thing. He had a… um, a tattoo on his wrist. I mean, who lets a kid get a tattoo?”

“Unbelievable,” Hazel agreed.

Cha-Cha sighed. “You mind drawing that tattoo?” she asked.

Agnes nodded. “Sure, I… Yeah, I can…” She set her note pad on the counter and began drawing with her pen, whispering a little. “It was a circle… and… Good. And there was… Ah, yeah.” She finished drawing the umbrella tattoo and handed it to Hazel.

Hazel took it, thanked Agnes for the doughnuts, paying for them, and then he left with Cha-Cha, for they now had a clue of where they could find Five and finish their mission.

*****

Meanwhile in a different location, a large group of men were inside a warehouse, having been invited there by a strange text, and they were soon greeted by a man who gestured to a number of silver cases that sat on a table behind him.

“Gentlemen, everything you will need are in these cases, and you know what you need to do,” said the man, and they all nodded with slightly dazed expressions on their faces. “Excellent, gather your gear, and head out.”

The men all nodded again, headed to the table, and opened the cases to get guns, ammo, other items, and the owl masks. They then left while the man watched, pleased.

‘This will work out,’ he thought, ‘I’m sure of it, and the Ancient Council shall be pleased.’

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER TWELVE: FAMILY MEETING AND FLASHBACK

*****

Luther’s POV:

“I can’t believe that you let Klaus drink!” Ben snapped at me when I came back with Klaus over my shoulder as he was out cold at the time, and without Five.

“I know, it was stupid of me to let Klaus out of my sight,” I admitted. “Mom’s making black coffee to help sober up Klaus and get him back on track.”

Ben was still angry at me, but he nodded and went to get the coffee form the kitchen while the rest of us waited in the living room with Klaus snoring on the couch.

I noticed that Diego was giving Vanya dark looks, and I really didn’t want another argument to break out, so I took him aside. “Diego, enough.”

“Don’t you tell me what-,” he began, but I cut him off.

“I’m telling you right now, Diego, lay off Vanya,” I snapped and he shut up, clearly startled. “I get why you’re angry at her, but that was five years ago, and I suggest that you stop it with treating Vanya some a threat and like your sister, because she’sfamily whether you like it or not. Got it?”

For a moment, I thought Diego was going to punch me or something, but he sighed and nodded. “Fine, I’ll tone it down at least.”

I nodded, deciding that would do for now. “Thanks.” And we went back to sit as Ben returned with the coffee and this woke Klaus up.

“Ok, so I’ve noticed since coming home that something seems off with mom,” I began and I shared with them what I’ve noticed, Ben and Klaus also shared what they’ve seen. “…and I’m worried that mom’s programing is starting to fail.”

“Why would it start failing after all this time?” Vanya asked. “I mean, wouldn’t dad or even Pogo fix the problem? Update her systems?”

Vanya had a good point, and I had had the same thoughts. “I talked to dad,” I explained, “and he insisted that everything is fine with mom, and that I shouldn’t worry.”

“And do you believe him?” Diego questioned, and I shook my head. “All right, then what should we do? Because she’s our mom and I don’t want to harm her or anything.”

“I don’t want to harm mom either,” I agreed, “and I’m thinking that we should power her down, just long enough to figure out what’s wrong, and have Pogo fix the problems that have been developing.” And I could tell from Diego’s expression, that he hadn’t expected me to make that suggestion, and yet it made more sense then just shutting mom down permanently.

“So…we just power mom down for a little while?” Klaus asked tiredly and I nodded. “Ok…that’s good…I’m going to have a drink.” He moved to get up, but Ben stopped him.

“That’s good,” said Vanya, and even Diego and Allison agreed.

Now we just had to get mom into one of the empty bedrooms to power her down and have Pogo take a look before she accidentally poisoned any of us.

*****

Diego’s POV:

After checking on mom, who was making cookies and I did make sure to switch out the box of laundry dry soap with the right flour, I went upstairs to where our bedrooms were located, not that I’d spent much time in my old room since moving into the basement at the gym.

I hadn’t admitted this to the others, but I’d been aware that something wasn’t right with mom during one of the few times I came by the house before Luther returned from the moon, and it had been during one of the times that dad had been gone on a business trip.

I came by to pick up a few things that I hadn’t taken with me originally and I had smelled something burning coming from one of the kitchens. I went to check and had found a pot on the stove that was starting to smoke, mom was idly mixing something in a bowl, unaware, and I had hurried to grab a towel and got rid of the pot before the smoke alarms went off.

I’d check on mom, who assured me that she was fine and that she needed to warm up some raspberry jelly for a cake she was making, and was clearly oblivious to what had happened. I told Pogo, who promised to tell dad, and from the looks of things, nothing had been done to fix mom.

I went to my old room, sat down on the bed, and I thought back to how mom cared for all of us growing up.

*****

Flashback…

*****

An alarm sounds throughout the house, and Allison rushes through the hallway toward her room to get her mask, shouting at the same time to Luther.

“Coming through!” she shouted. “Come on, Luther!”

Reginald stands in the hallway and he’s annoyed. “How will the Umbrella Academy ever become an effective crime deterrent if we can't even leave the house on time for missions?” he demanded. “We do notwant the Hawk Academy to steal another mission from us again!"

Luther runs past. “Behind you!”

“ Come along, children!” Reginald calls out. “Come along!”

Allison is panting as she searches her room for her mask, in a panic because she can’t find. “I can't find my domino mask.”

Grace walks in with the mask and hands it over to her. “ It needed a little bit of TLC  after the last mission,” she tells the girl.

Allison beams and takes her mask, gives her mom a kiss on the cheek. “ Thanks, Mom.”

Grace smiles and checks on Luther, who is now in his bedroom, doing pushups. “ Ready to go?”

Luther nods and grunts. “Yeah.”

Grace nods and walks along the hallway as Diego runs past with a frantic expression on his face. “Where's my knives?!”

Grace checks on Vanya, who is playing the violin, and she smiles. “Sounds beautiful, Vanya.”

Vanya returns the smile. “Thanks, Mom.”

Grace moves on and when she hears laughter coming from Klaus’ room, she peers in and gasps when she saw that he has set a fire on the floor. “Oh! Klaus!” She quickly put the fire out, and he grins from where he is jumping on his bed.

“ Thank you, Mother.”

Grace sighs and shakes her head as she moves on. “ Boys will be boys.” And she next checks on Ben, who is struggling to zip up his uniform. “Oh, Ben.”

“It… It's stuck,” Ben says with a pout, and she is quick to fix it. “Thanks mom!” He kisses her cheek and dash out. “Guys, wait for me!”

Grace smiles and checks on Diego, who is standing in front of the mirror, and she sees that he’s struggling to speak due to his stutter. “D… Don't mmm… Don't mm… mm… mm...” He sighs and tries again. “Don't muh… muh…”

Grace walks up behind him and puts her hands on his shoulder. “ Remember, Diego,” she advises, “just picture the word in your mind.”

Diego  sighs again and tries. “D-Don't mm… muh… D-Don't mmm… Don't mo-move.” And he beams.

Grace  gasps and smiles. “You did it! I'm so proud of you !” And she and Diego share a happy moment before they hear a throat being cleared.

They turn and see Reginald standing in the doorway with a familiar disapproval expression on his face.

*****

‘That’s dad for ya,’ I thought as the memory faded. ‘If Luther’s right and dad is refusing to believe that something’s wrong with mom, then there is something wrong with mom.’

I didn’t want to lose mom, I didn’t.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: HAND OFF AND ANOTHER FLASHBACK

*****

Five’s POV:

It was nighttime, and I was still waiting and watching the building, having made it clear to Luther earlier that I wasn’t going back to the house, not even to talk about mom, who I was sure was doing just fine. I glanced at Delores, who was propped on the passenger’s seat and looking at me.

“You know, you don't have to tell me that,” I said to her. “I know there are only six days left.” I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, you got a better idea?” I scoffed. “Okay, then.”

Just then, Lance came out of the building with a briefcase in hand.

“There's our guy,” I muttered, watching as he walked away from the entrance and toward the street, where a car pulled up, and to my surprise, he handed the briefcase to whoever was in the car. “What the hell is he up to?”

I was further confused when Lance got handed a brown envelope, which he tucked inside his coat as the car drove away, and he walked away.

Did I just witness a hand-off?

I decided that I was going to follow him, and I teleported away to follow him, leaving the van, along with Delores, behind.

I would come back for her, I would.

*****

Over at the Hawkins mansion, everyone was home for a change, and in his lab, Darius was doing research to determine who was going to bring about the end of the world, and he already had a strong suspicion of who was targeting Mystic, Delta, Andrea, and Cyrille.

‘I have been protecting them this entire time,’ he thought, running scans for any suspicious energy readings within the city limits, ‘and I’ve been making sure that they don’t use their full powers in order to keep them safe. Especially Mystic.’

Darius did pick up the energy left behind whenever Five teleported, but there wasn’t anything else to hint at – wait, he saw that there was a strange energy flux at a warehouse, and he looked up the address, his face paling.

“Oh no…” he whispered, remembering that particular day and mission.

*****

In the warehouse district of the city, a group of thugs are hold up and they have with them, the son of the mayor, and they are holding him for a big ransom.

Unknown to them, twenty figures are making their way toward the warehouse, and one of them is still in the van, trying to get her uniform on as quickly as possible.

The leader checks his watch and smirks at the terrified boy. “Five minutes to go, and if your daddy doesn’t call to confirm that he’s got the money, then you’ll be swiss cheese.”

The boy whimpers and then his eyes widen when all of the guns suddenly disappear during a split-second blur, and the leader and his men have no idea of what’s going on.

“Where’s our guns?!”

“What the f*ck?!”

“Find the guns now!” the leader orders and that’s when the figures appear, one moves fast, another uses shadows, thugs are getting punched, a couple are set on fire, one is being bear hugged, two get clobbered by a big lollipop, four are buried in cookies, two are making out, and the rest are going down in various manners. “Who’s behind this?!”

“I’m here!” shouted a voice and the leader spins to see the late-comer in the entryway of the warehouse. “Once upon a-!!!”

The leader lunges forward and grabs the girl by her throat, cutting off whatever she is about to say, and puts a knife to her neck. “Stay where you are, or this b*tch is going to get it in the neck!”

The others freeze, some are clearly worried for the girl, some are scared, and yet two of them look just plain annoyed.

“Don’t hurt her,” said Delsa, her eyes wide behind her mask. “Please, let Storyteller go.”

The leader shakes his head, for most of his men are down, the boy has rabbited, and he bet anythingthat the cops are on the way. “Nah, I’ll take her with me for whatever you brats will pay for her.” And he starts backing away with his arm around The Storyteller’s neck, and it is when the knife nicks her neck a little, that she goes into full panic mode.

The Storyteller screams!

A burst of energy shockwaves out of her, sends the leader flying into the nearest wall with a sickening crunch, the others get knocked down like ten-pins, and she’s still screaming that gets louder and louder, her whole body starts to glow white as she starts to rise off the floor. And around her, the warehouse starts to warp.

The Iron Fist struggles against the energy to get up. “Someone shut her up before she brings the whole place down on our heads!”

The Nyoom reaches for The Hippie, grabs his arm, and tries to nyoom them both over to The Storyteller…but can’t make any headway through the waves of energy that she’s still unleashing as she keeps screaming.

Just then, Darius appears in the doorway, somehow he is able to move normally, pulls out a device, and he pushes a button on it.

Seconds later, The Storyteller drops to the floor, unconscious, and everyone is able to move. Delsa runs to her sister’s aid, but is turned away by Maki and Lennox, and they all leave the warehouse, unaware of a small crack in reality forming near one of the doorways.

*****

Darius cursed himself for not double-checking the warehouse when he had the chance, realizing that Mystic had unknowingly created a small crack in reality at the warehouse, and he suspected that this was how at least two threats were accessing Earth.

‘I don’t know anything about who could be after Vanya,’ he thought, ‘or if she even does have powers that Hargreeves has been keeping from her for some reason. All I do know is that if he and them are entering Earth in order to go after my girls, then I need to stop them before time is up. Their minions almost got them once, and I can’t let that happen again either.’

Darius didn’t know for sure how, but he was going to protect Earth and his children no matter what.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: ATTACKS ON UMBRELLA AND HAWK PART ONE

*****

At the Umbrella Academy, plans were being made to power down Grace long enough for Pogo to repair her systems, Reginald was in his study, writing in his book and seemingly unaware of what was going on, and yet, outside of the gate to the house, an old yellow car pulled up.

Cha-Cha held up the paper that Agnes had drawn the umbrella on, and she compared it to the symbol on the gate, which matched.

They got out of the car with their guns, and they headed through the gate around toward the house.

Cha-Cha tried the front doors, but they were locked, and Hazel went back to the car. Opening the truck, he got out an oxygen tank with a pressure vale and hose, and took it to the doors.

He inserted the hose into the lock, turned on the vale – and seconds later, the lock shot out into the house, enabling them to go inside.

*****

Hazel and Cha-Cha walked through the foyer, looking around in awe of the place, and Hazel notice the living room. He walked inside and saw something important on the wall above the fireplace. “Cha-Cha.”

Cha-Cha joined him and nodded at the portrait of Five. “That’s our kid.” And that was proof that they were in the right place.

*****

Reginald was pulled from his writings when something started beeping, and he looked up, realizing that it was coming from the security room. Locking away his book in the box in his desk, he got up and headed for the security room to see what was going off.

*****

Meanwhile, everyone was actually at home at the Hawkins’ residence, and little did they know, but a number of cars were pulling up nearby.

The men, all wearing owl masks, got out of the cars, readied their guns, and headed for the house from a number of directions.

*****

Somehow overriding the security system, the men entered the house and spread out, searching for the tech and masks that they’d been ordered to retrieve.

*****

Klaus’ POV:

After Ben read me the riot act for getting drunk and that I would need to go to an extra AA meeting to make up for it tomorrow, I decided to have a bath in order to recover and, hopefully, relax.

I was soaking up the heat and relaxing in the bubbly water – when the voices started up, and I started seeing the spirits of the dead once again. I quickly sat up, breathing hard, and had to concentrate hard to block them out.

“Oh…oh…oh…” I gasped, breathing deeply until my heart started to slow back to normal, and I looked around until I found the towel, which I used to wipe my face, and then I decided to listen to music.

I put on my headset, started the song “We’re Through” on my, iPod, and I went back to relaxing in the tub for a bit longer, unaware that there were intruders that the spirits had been trying to warn me about.

*****

Hazel and Cha-Cha went upstairs, past the bathroom, and found the bedrooms.

They passed a few of them and entered the bedroom of Luther, taking in the contents of the room, and Hazel was impressed to see the selection of records and the record player since that wasn’t something that he expected to see in 2019.

Cha-Cha nodded to a pair of shoes on the floor, which weren’t too big, but they were weighted in order to help Luther adjust being in Earth’s gravity. “Somebody’s been eating his Wheaties.”

*****

Mystic’s POV:

There are times when I’m grateful that I have my own bathroom, and this was one of those times. It’d been a long day, and I was in need of some relaxation.

I enjoyed the time that I spent with Andrea R. at Good Vibes and at the park, and I daydreamed about her while I had myself a lily-scented bath with plenty of bubbles. I was also listening to some of my favorite music and I quietly hummed along so that I wouldn’t be heard since dad, for some reason, didn’t like it when I sang, or even did any humming.

Which was why I liked that my bathroom was sound-proof so that no one would heard me, and I had some peppermint tea, which mom prepared for me, to help me relax further, to get rid of the stress of rehearsal.

*****

The owl-masked men moved silently through the house, some of them heading upstairs, others through the main part, and some into the basement areas to look for the tech and the owl masks. Their orders were not to harm the three chosen, but that anyone else who tried to interfere, they were fair game, and that included Darius Hawkins himself.

*****

Darius was still doing research when the security system alerted him to something being wrong, and he turned his attention to see what was going on. He frowned when he saw that the system to the doors was offline, and he knew that this wasn’t a good thing.

He sent a text to Maki and Lennox to check the house while he went to make sure that Flora was somewhere safe incase that this was an attack.

*****

Over at the Umbrella Academy, Reginald reached the room that held the security screens, and his heart dropped when he saw that there were two intruders in the house.

‘I don’t know who these two are,’ he thought, alerting Pogo to the security threat, ‘but they are notgoing to destroy my home.’ And he hurried out to deal with this threat.

*****

Up in the attic, Luther was seated on the window ledge and was staring up at the moon, missing being up there.

Allison entered the attic behind him, walked over to the window, and she leaned up next to him, looking up at the moon. “Wow, look at that.”

Luther nodded. “Mm. Home sweet home.” He sighed and looked at her. “I'll tell ya, things are a lot simpler up there,” he remarked. “Even with the people stationed at the base, it just seemed simpler.”

“What’s it like?” Allison asked, sitting next to him.

“Quiet,” Luther answered and chuckled. “Cold during the time that the heating system conked out for a few days, and it took forever to repair it since the parts we needed weren’t on board the station. But there were times when, if I timed it right, I could go outside and watch from a certain spot, the sun come rolling over the horizon just right, and the light hits it, everything would turn to white glass. It's… It's beautiful.”

Allison smiled. “I told Claire that you were on the moon,” she told Luther, who looked surprised, “and when she asked why you were up there, I told her that you were protecting the Earth from threats by monitoring the night sky.”

Luther chuckled. “I guess in a way I was.” And they chatted a bit more, like they used to do when they were kids.

Little did they know, there was danger in the house, and all hell was about to break loose inside their home.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: ATTACKS ON UMBRELLA AND HAWK PART TWO

*****

At the Umbrella Academy, Hazel and Cha-Cha were still in Luther’s bedroom when they heard footsteps in the hallway, and they exchanged a look as they put on their masks and headed out with their guns at the ready.

*****

Diego was heading for his room, but stopped when he heard the sound of metal shifting, and he turned to see two masked figures, armed with guns. He dodged the second he heard the guns cocked and the attackers began firing at him.

‘These are the ones who were at the diner and the store!’ Diego thought, rushing at them to take them on.

*****

Luther and Allison were still at the attic window when they heard the gunfire and exchanged uneasy looks.

“Is that…?” Allison began.

“It's coming from our bedrooms,” said Luther, and they both ducked back into the attic, running for the stairs.

*****

Diego was still fighting the attackers, having knocked one of them down, and he was taking on the bigger one, punching him in the gut for all his worth.

`“Cha-cha, shoot him!”` the person in the bear mask called out.

The other attacker, Cha-Cha, tried to take aim at Diego. `“Get out of the way, dumb-a**.”` And the second that he was out of the way, she opened fire at Diego, forcing him to retreat downstairs, and she got up. `“Come on.”` And they headed for the stairs.

*****

Diego yeeted into the living room, ducking behind the couch, breathing hard, and he was cursing himself for not having his knives with him.

‘Dad’s always telling me to be prepared,’ he thought, ‘and the one time that I fail to keep my knives on me. If I get out of this alive, dad will neverlet me hear the end of this when he finds out, and I know he’ll find out.’

He heard two sets of footsteps heading into the living room, and he moved to the other end of the couch – just as the two attackers opened fire, destroying the couch and the tables in the process as they advanced forward.

The two attackers were so focused on going after Diego, that they weren’t aware of others approaching until Reginald did a flying side kick that sent Cha-Cha staggering and was soon under attack from Allison, while Luther grabbed Hazel and threw him out of the living room with a yell.

Diego came out of hiding, helping her with Cha-Cha, who beat a fast retreat, and Reginald fixed all three of them with a look. “Find Numbers four and six, and get them ready for battle.”

The trio nodded and ran out of the sight while Reginald went the other way to prepare to face the two attackers once again.

*****

Both Hazel and Cha-Cha pushed up their masks and exchanged perplexed looks.

“Who the hell are these people?” Cha-Cha demanded, having expected to find and deal with Five, not this.

“I don't know,” Hazel admitted, “but at least we know who owns the shoe.”

Cha-Cha nodded and got up, pulling down her mask. `“I'm going after them.”` And she headed back toward the living room.

Hazel nodded, pulled down his mask, and he went in search of a new weapon since he’d lost his gun.

*****

Meanwhile over at the Hawk Academy, Teala was heading for her room when she head the creak of the wooden floor behind her, and she turned to see two figures wearing owl masks – and she was soon dodging and climbing the wall as they began shooting at her.

“Intruders!” she shouted, reaching the ceiling and was still avoiding the gunfire – when a blur appeared below her, and the attackers were without their guns and being punched by DeStorm while Jesse had the guns. “Look out!”

More attackers appeared in different parts of the house, and all hell broke lose with Jesse nyooming around in an attempt to get rid of as many guns as possible, DeStorm was punching and kicking the attackers, Teala was dodging and leaping down, clawing attackers, and this was just in the bedroom hallway.

*****

In her room, Mystic heard the gunfire and chose to hide in the closest of her room, until she could get dressed.

‘Who’s attacking the house?’ she wondered, quickly dressing herself while getting out a small notebook that she kept opening sentences to use to activate her storytelling power. ‘Who’s trying to kill us?’

Mystic didn’t know for sure of what was going on, but she was going to prove herself for sure.

*****

Flora and Ro were in the kitchen, doing some baking when six attackers burst in – Darius took out two of them while Flora screamed and fled for cover, and Ro buried the other four with a giant cinnamon roll that she conjured up.

“Rosanna, make sure that Flora is safe,” Darius ordered and ran out to deal with more of the attackers while Ro nodded, and she made sure that mom was safe in the safe room.

*****

Alice was in the greenhouse with Cyrille when they heard the gunfire in the house, and they ran back inside, and when some of the attackers saw them, they only went after Alice while two of them tried to grab Cyrille to put her somewhere safe.

Alice used her dream powers on the attackers, sending them off to dreamland, while Cyrille tied up the two attackers in vines. The two girls exchanged perplex looks, wondering why the attackers only tried to harm Alice and not Cyrille, and went to help their siblings against the remaining attackers in order to protect their home.

*****

Two attackers sneaked up on Andrea in the lower training room with the intent of finding a safe place for her, but she trapped them both with shadows just as Tana went after four attackers with her giant lollipop, and four other attackers confronted Bailey.

“Am a strong bear!” Bailey declared, growing into a large bear and proceeded to chase the four attackers around the house, roaring and snarling.

*****

Gabbie convinced two of the attackers to make out. Saf was in bat mode and was terrorizing the attackers with her sonic scream. Sierra was flying circles around the attackers and blinding them. Joey was in crystal wolf form and tearing apart the attackers. Jc was using his vibes on the attackers. Matt was using his theory power to trip and trap attackers in nets, ropes, and bags.

Lauren was using her DIY powers to outwit and trap the attackers. Roi was teleporting to avoid and take out the attackers in a way that wouldn’t tire himself out too much. Nikita was burning the attackers. Liza was punning the attackers into submission.

Justine realized that the attackers were going after the tech and owl masks in her bedroom, and so she was using her tech powers to stop them as much as possible.

Delta, who’d almost been pushed back into her room by one of the attackers with the intent to keep her safe, was using her ice powers to either freeze the attackers in their tracks and/or sending them sliding out of sight on slides made out of ice.

*****

Some of the attackers found themselves facing Maki, and he easily took them out with his fighting skills, and other attackers confronted Lennox, who went into big black cat mode, and he tore into them, snarling and growling.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: ATTACKS ON UMBRELLA AND HAWK PART THREE

*****

At the Umbrella Academy, Ben had been mediating in his room, one of the many ways that he kept the dark dimension located under his skin under control, when the gunfire started up, and he was honestly startled.

“What the hell?” he muttered, getting up and went to the door of his room to peer out, his eyes widened when he saw there were bullet holes everywhere and he could hear more gunfire downstairs. “Klaus!”

He hurried to Klaus’ room, finding the door partly open, and he went inside, finding his brother dancing with just jeans on, and yanked the headphones off his head. “Klaus!”

“Whoa! Chill dude,” said Klaus, taking back his headphones. “Just listening to some music is all.”

“Klaus, the house is under-” Ben began when Luther burst in, making them both jump. “Luther!”

Luther was breathing hard. “Guys, the house is under attack,” he informed them. “Get downstairs now.” And he hurried back out to deal with the intruders, and to locate Vanya since he was sure that she didn’t know what was going on.

Ben turned to Klaus, who was looking surprised. “That’s what I was trying to tell you, bro. Now get dress.” He ran out into the hallway to help.

Klaus blinked, shrugged, and then he did get dress just so that he could see if what they were saying was true or not.

*****

Meanwhile, Hazel was still looking for a new weapon and his eyebrows shot into his hairline behind the mask when he found the cabinets filled with ancient weapons. He hadn’t expected to find something like this, but he did open the door to take out a nasty-looking mace.

‘Not bad,’ he thought hefting it to test its’ weight, and it did have him wondering why this house had these kinds of weapons on display, and he almost missed the footsteps heading for the living room and he focused when he heard a female voice.

*****

“Hello?” Vanya called out, having been in the basement when she heard the muffled noises, and she headed for the living room, unaware that someone was waiting to attack her from the other side of the doorway. “Guys? Is everyone okay? Hello? Guys?”

She stepped into the living room – and barely had time to duck when Hazel swung the mace directly at her head, and she yelped, scrambling away as he went after her, swinging the mace and smashing the walls and posts in the process.

Vanya grunted in pain when a piece of flying wood conked her on the head and she fell down, so that she was on her back, staring up at Hazel when he raised the mace to strike-

“Hey, a**hole!”

-and he was immediately rammed away from her by Luther, and Reginald came out of the shadows and engaged Hazel in hand-to-hand combat.

“Number one, get Number seven out of here!”

Luther gathered Vanya in his arms and bolted down the hallway before she could even react, and Reginald continued to fight Hazel.

‘What the f*ck?!’ Hazel thought, surprised at how skilled this old man was, and was confused by him referring to the two by numbers and not by names. ‘Does everyone in this place have numbers for names just like Five?!’

He wasn’t able to process this further since he was currently in a fight for his life.

*****

Meanwhile in the game room, Allison was hiding and waiting for Cha-Cha, having grabbed one of the pool sticks, and Diego was also hiding, having gotten some knives from the kitchen.

They heard footsteps and Cha-Cha entered, her gun at the ready, and Diego nodded to his sister, who returned the nod – and leapt out of hiding, ramming one end of the pool stick into Cha-Cha’s stomach, causing her to stumble, and then slammed the stick over the woman’s arms, forcing her to drop her gun that got kicked away.

Cha-Cha avoided another strike, rolled, grabbed from the hockey game one of the metal poles, and soon she was fighting Allison, trading blows, a few punches, and even a couple of kicks.

*****

Ben was heading for the stairs when he saw Hazel get his dad in a chokehold and, changing tactics, did some parkour instead so that he landed on Hazel’s shoulders, wrapping his legs around the guy’s neck, and began pounding the mask as hard as he could.

“Let go of my dad!”

Hazel staggered, leasing his grip on Reginald, who was quick to elbow the bigger man away, and did a spin kick to knock him down, barely giving Ben time to get off in order to avoid getting pinned.

Reginald glanced at Ben, who nodded, and they faced off against Hazel together.

*****

Luther ducked into one of the closest and sat Vanya on the floor, checking her head, and found the bleeding cut on her forehead. “Vanya, can you hear me?”

Vanya nodded, feeling dazed and dizzy. “Yeah…what’s…what’s going on…?”

“I don’t know,” Luther admitted, grabbing one of the towels and pressed it against his sister’s head to slow the bleeding. “But I need you to stay here while I help dad, ok?”

Vanya nodded, taking over on pressing the towel to her forehead. “Ok…sorry for being useless.”

Luther smiled slightly and shook his head. “You’re not useless, V,” he stated. “And tomorrow, you and I are going to spend the day together, ok?”

Vanya smiled slightly. “Yeah…but after my rehearsal ok?”

“Ok.” Luther got up and headed back to fight the intruders.

*****

The fight between Cha-Cha and Allison was rather even, and Diego was still waiting for his open, getting it when Cha-Cha suddenly knocked Allison’s legs from underneath her.

Allison landed on her back with a pained grunt, and when the woman raised the metal pole to strike-

-Diego threw one of the knives and it slammed into the side of Cha-Cha’s mask, denting it and made her stagger away so that Allison was able to get away from her. “Why are you attacking us?” he demanded as Allison got up, breaking the pool stick in half over her leg so that she had two fighting sticks. “Who are you?”

`“We just want the boy,”` Cha-Cha replied.`“We know he lives here, and we just want him. So hand him over.”`

‘Does she mean Five?’ Diego wondered, side-glancing at Allison, who was wondering the same thing. ‘What the f*ck has he gotten us all into?’ “Oh, well, in that case…” He did made a move to look like he was going to attack – and Allison struck instead, and the fighting resumed.

And at one point, Diego managed to get Cha-Cha in the leg with a knife, making her scream in pain and retreated with him and Allison giving chase.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: ATTACKS ON UMBRELLA AND HAWK PART FOUR

*****

At the Hawk Academy, the remaining attackers have retreated to the front foyer, where the fighting continued, and it was here that Mystic finally joined in, for someone had locked her door from the outside and she’d had to climb out the window in order to join in on the fighting.

“Once upon a time, the five men in front of me got buried under a giant whoopie pie!”

SPLAT!

Mystic grinned and kept reading out the opening storylines, taking out the attackers, and she was feeling confident that her power was actually useful for a change.

*****

Outside of the Academy, a taxi pulled up and Andrea R. got out, for she was wanting to see Mystic, even though it hadn’t been that long since their trip to the park, and meet the rest of her siblings. She had tried calling Mystic, but her phone had gone straight to voicemail, and so she decided that a surprise visit was in order.

‘This place is beautiful,’ Andrea R. thought, heading for the front door, and it was as she got closer that she became aware of the sounds of shouting and gunfire. “Oh crap!”

She dashed up the stairs, got the doors open, and entered to find absolute mayhem! And she had no idea of what was going on, only that there was trouble, and she could see that Mystic was in the thick of it. She grabbed a thick-looking cane from a nearby stand, and ran forward, bashing the heads of the men in the owl masks.

Andrea R. will admit later on that her mind was blown at the sight of seeing Mystic and her siblings using super powers, for she had no idea that they were the members of the Hawk Academy that she’d heard about growing up, and seeing them in action was amazing.

*****

Little did anyone know, the owl mask on one of the attackers had gotten damage, and the man was no longer under its’ control. What was worse, this man had mental problems, and so when he saw the chaos around him, he focused on what he thought was the source of the problem.

He made his way through the fighting until he was directly behind Mystic, raised his gun and took aim. ‘All daughters of Satan must die!’

Andrea R. was the first to see this and she dashed forward, waving the cane. “Mystic, look out!”

Andrea H., Cyrille, and Delta all heard the shout over the chaos, saw what was about to happen, and they ran forward as well. “Mystic!”

Mystic, however, was distracted by her reading and taking out attackers, and so she wasn’t aware of the danger.

“Once upon a time,” she began with a big grin behind her mask, “the man right in front of me began to sing random show t-”

BANG!

-her eyes widened as she felt something hard thump into her left shoulder, and then she dropped as there was an explosion of pain ripping through it, followed by blood. And she promptly passed out from the sudden shock.

Andrea R., who’d managed to hit the man so that his aim was off, stared in horror at the sight of Mystic dropped to the floor with blood flowing from her shoulder. “Mystic!”

Andrea H., Cyrille, and Delta all stopped, frozen in shock and horror, and in all three of them – something snapped.

Andrea H.’s hands balled into fists, her expression darkened, and she fixed her angry gaze on the man. “You will pay!” Her fists began glowing with a black light, her eyes actually turned black, her hair started turning black, and her whole body began glowing with the same black light as she summoned up shadows that took on demonic forms.

She screamed and the demonic shadows attacked the man, who screamed in fear, and Andrea R. dove to the floor, crawling away as he was being overwhelmed, and she went over to Mystic, cradling her in her arms while getting out a cloth to put pressure on the wound to slow the bleeding as much as possible.

As more demonic shadows shot from Andrea H. and toward the remaining attackers, Cyrille began glowing green, her eyes started glowing green, and as her hair began to turn green, she let out a scream of rage that caused roots to burst through the floor and they grew thorns as they attacked the attackers, tearing into them.

Delta’s entire body began glowing white, her eyes were glowing white, and as the roots of her hair began glowing white, she screamed and began blasting the attackers, turning them into ice statues.

Their siblings immediately started taking cover to avoid getting caught in the cross-fire, and for many of them, this was unexpected and scary, and even both Maki and Lennox had to retreat to avoid getting hit.

Darius, on the other hand, was staring in fear and horror, and quickly took out a device from his pocket. ‘No, no, they can’t lose control,’ he thought, ‘not now, not like this.’ He aimed the device at the trio, and he pushed a button.

The eyes on the hawk pins worn by Andrea H., Cyrille, and Delta glowed, and an electric shock went from the pin and into their bodies. This caused all three girls to gasp and drop to the floor, unconscious, and they were no longer glowing.

The demonic shadows all disappeared, leaving behind comatose attackers, the thorny vines disappeared, leaving behind severely bleeding attackers, and the ice began melting, releasing the attackers, who were starting to look frostbitten.

“Get these people out of here!” Darius commanded and while most of the Hawks did that, with assistance from Maki and Lennox, he hurried over to where Andrea R. was still cradling Mystic, and Flora came running in, having seen everything on the security monitors. “Mystic…”

“Please help her,” Andrea R. pleaded, “I haven’t known Mystic long, but I want to her in my life.”

Flora gave Andrea R. a comforting smile. “We’ll do everything that we can, my dear.” And with the first aid kit, she was able to slow the bleeding, confirming that the bullet had gone straight through, and, with help from Andrea R. and Darius, got Mystic up and hurried her to the infirmary.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: ATTACKS ON UMBRELLA AND HAWK PART FIVE

*****

Meanwhile back at the Umbrella Academy, Luther went charing back into the main foyer, just in time to see Hazel punch Reginald away and judo throw Ben into the nearest wall, and when the man turned toward the front door, he charged at him, grabbing him from behind.

“Come here!”

Grunting, Luther lifted Hazel, who let out a startled yelp, into the air, and threw himself backwards, causing them both to fall to the floor, winding Hazel. He got up and proceeded to punch at the mask, making the metal start to dent and cave.

*****

Cha-Cha had managed to get upstairs and was limping along the hallway.

She stopped when she saw what was going on below, just as Allison and Diego arrived to help Ben up while their father picked himself up.

`“Dammit,”` she muttered, realizing that if she didn’t do something, her partner was going to get killed, and she noticed the rope that was keeping the chandelier up. Getting an idea, she pried the knife out of her leg, putting pressure on the wound, and limped over to the rope.

*****

Hazel, whose head was ringing from the constant pounding, managed to recover enough to punch Luther in the stomach, forcing him off, and he scrambled away as the five Hargreeves started to go after him-

SNAP!

-when the chandelier began to fall.

“Out of the way!” Luther shoved them out of the way – and he ended up getting pinned to the floor as the chandelier smashed into his back, taking him down.

“Luther!” Allison screamed.

Luther, however, grunted and managed to heave the chandelier off his back, taking his jacket and shirt in the process so that his muscular upper body was revealed, and he sighed. “Damn, that was my favorite jacket and shirt.”

*****

Cha-Cha smirked and limped out of sight to find a way out of the house before they regrouped and found her again.

‘These people are powerful,’ she thought, ‘and seem to have a connection to Five, but how? And why do they have such good fighting skills?’

*****

During all of this, Klaus was actually in the downstairs kitchen, getting himself a snack since he figured that he wasn’t going to be useful during the fight, and was humming to himself as he set a frying pan on the stove to warm up as he started to prepare a steak.

Someone entered the kitchen, turned off the heat on the stove, picked up the frying pan, and moved toward Klaus.

Klaus wasn’t aware of this, and so when he got conked, he immediately blacked out.

The person set aside the frying pan, grabbed Klaus under his arms, and dragged him out of the kitchen and out the back door.

*****

Hazel grunted as he hauled his victim out of the house, figuring that this guy could be useful. He reached the car, did a quick check for Cha-Cha, but there was no sign of her, and so he went to work on unlocking the trunk.

He got out a roll of duct tape, used it on Klaus’ wrists, ankles, and even put a strip over his mouth. He then heaved the unconscious man into the trunk, shut and locked it, and got into the car, driving away for he figured that he would meet up with Cha-Cha at the hotel room.

Hazel did, however, make a quick stop on the way to the hotel.

*****

During all of this, no one noticed the figure that entered the house and made their way up the stairs to the study. The figure picked the lock to the door and opened the room, where the figure did a search of the room, taking advantage of the chaos below, and found a hidden compartment.

The figure opened the compartment, found an old-fashion safe, which the figure set to work on cracking, and, after about ten minutes, managed to get it opened, revealing that it was filled with the books that Reginald had been writing in for a long time.

‘I knew that he would be keeping records of what he’s been doing,’ the figure thought, ‘and most likely what he’s been doing with the Umbrella Academy.’

Smirking, the figure poked through the books until the figure found the one that it wanted, picking it up, closed and locked the safe, closed up the hidden compartment, and then the figure left, taking the red leather book with them.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night,Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER NINETEEN: AFTERMATH PART ONE

*****

In the aftermath of the fight, Maki and Lennox were busy doing repairs, after getting Andrea, Cyrille, and Delta upstairs to their respective bedrooms as they were still unconscious from being stunned and had gotten the surviving attackers out of the house and somewhere so that they could be picked up by the police after DeStorm made an anonymous phone call.

*****

In the infirmary, Andrea R. watched as Flora attended to Mystic’s injury, having stitched it up, along with a blood transfusion, and she was amazed that there was a fully functional infirmary in the downstairs of the house.

“I had no idea that Mystic is a Hawk,” she admitted. “I mean…it should’ve been obvious, with the last name and all, but it never occurred to me.” And it was somewhat true, she hadn’t considered it possible that she would be able to date a member of the Hawk Academy.

Flora smiled as she finished dressing the wound. “That’s understandable, dear. I’m Flora Brown, and you could say that I’m their mother, and you can call me Flora,” she said, introducing herself. “And I’m guessing that you’re Andrea Russett, for Mystic has spoken highly about you.”

Andrea R. blushed. “Yeah, I’m Andrea Russett.” She looked at the sleeping girl. “Flora, can I ask you something?”

Flora nodded. “Of course.”

“Why does Mystic wear a mask?” she asked. “I haven’t dare ask Mystic, mostly out of respect and that she and I have only known each other for a short time.”

“I understand,” Flora said. “And the reason for the mask is because Mystic is immunocompromised. She has been ever since she was a little girl, and yet she is so strong and brave to go to work every day.”

Andrea R. smiled. “Yeah, she is,” she agreed. “And I’m glad, too. Because of her bravery to work, she and I met. That and she’s also cute.”

“I’m…not…cute…” Mystic mumbled, blearily waking up. “Andrea? What’re you-? What-?”

“Easy there, dear,” said Flora, gently and firmly keeping Mystic from getting up. “You got shot earlier, and Andrea here, she helped protect you.”

Mystic blinked and flushed, covering her face with the covers in shame. “Oh god…”

Andrea R. tugged the covers down so that she could see her face. “No hiding, cutie,” she scolded, grinning when Mystic’s face went red. “You were awesome, and I can’t wait to hear more about how you can take out bad guys with your awesome ability.”

Mystic shook her head. “I’m not that awesome or that powerful.”

“Oh yes you are.”

Flora smiled and exited the infirmary so that Mystic and Andrea R. could talk while she checked on the others to make sure that they were all okay after the fighting earlier.

‘I’m glad that Mystic has someone who clearly loves her,’ she thought, heading upstairs. ‘She deserves happiness and love in her life.’

Yes, Flora approved of Andrea Russett.

*****

Meanwhile in one of the storage rooms, Roi was meeting with Justine, Matt, Safiya, Ro, Jc, Teala, Sierra, Jesse, Bailey, Alice, Joey, Gabbie, and Tana about what happened during the fight, especially what they’d seen Delta, Andrea, and Cyrille had done after Mystic got shot.

“Why not include DeStorm and Nikita?” Bailey asked. “Am not liking that we are excluding them.”

“I know, Bailey,” said Roi, hugging them, “but I also know that Nikita and DeStorm will just insist what we saw was a fluke, and have Justine and I turn over what the attackers were after to dad.”

Justine nodded and gestured to the box that held the tech and several owl masks. “They were after this,” she explained, “and I managed to grab the mask that belonged to the man who shot Mystic.” She held it up and showed them the damage. “See? Whatever is inside the mask that controls the wearer, it got fried, and that’s why he did what he did.”

Alice gasped. “Oh! Two of the attackers actually tried to lock Cyrille in a closet when we got inside the house,” she recalled. “It was like they were trying to keep her out of harm’s way.”

“And I saw the same happen with Delta and Andrea,” said Joey. “Roi, Justine, do you think whoever the owl masked people work for were trying to keep them, and even Mystic, safe?”

Roi nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m thinking. They came for the tech and masks that we have, and did their level best to keep Mystic, Cyrille, Andrea, and Delta safe.”

“And that plan backfired since the men were stopped,” Jesse remarked. “So, why is it that dad kept telling us that our sisters aren’t that strong, and we see three of them go nearly nuclear after Mystic got hurt?”

The others shrugged. It was a mystery.

*****

Flora checked on Andrea first, finding her sitting up in her bed and rubbing her head, which was a clear sign that she had a headache. “My poor dear, I have some pills for you to take for your headache.”

“Thanks, mom.” Andrea accepted the pills and the water, downing the pills. “Is Mystic ok? Did I-?” But she stopped talking when Darius appeared in the doorway.

“Flora, see to the others,” he said with a grim expression. “I need to speak with Andrea alone.”

Flora was reluctant to go, but she did get up and, after giving Andrea a reassuring hug, left to check on Cyrille and Delta.

*****

After checking on Cyrille and Delta, and assuring them that Mystic was going to be ok and the attackers have been driven away, Flora made sure that the bed was ready in the guest room, and then she went back to the infirmary, smiling when she saw Mystic and Andrea R. chatting and smiling.

“Andrea,” she said, getting their attention. “I’ve set up the guest room for you to stay in for tonight.”

“You’re not sending her away?” Mystic asked and grinned when Flora shook her head. “Woo!”

“Thanks, Flora,” said Andrea R., also grinning.

*****

Over at the Umbrella Academy, Diego realized that there hadn’t been any sign of Grace, and he dashed upstairs to go to her seating area – and slowed to a stop when he saw that it’d been damaged by the attackers.

Some of the pictures were shot up, along with the cushions on the circle couch, and Grace was just sitting there with a blank expression on her face, and a number of bullet holes in her body, her sewing resting on her lap.

“Mom…” he whispered, going over and knelt next to her. “Mom…” He gently touched her arm, but there was no response, she was gone.

Feeling his heart break, Diego got up, gave Grace a kiss on her forehead, and headed back downstairs.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything from Escape the Night, Our Eternity Together, or The Umbrella Academy. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

CHAPTER TWENTY: AFTERMATH PART TWO

*****

Vanya left the closest and returned to the foyer, stunned by the sight of the damage caused to the house during the fight. “Oh my god…”

“It seems,” said Reginald, polishing his monocle, “that those two were here for a reason, but what was that reason?”

“I think they were looking for Five,” said Allison, recalling what had been said. “The one Diego and I fought, female, and said that they just wanted the boy and that he lived here.”

“So, does that mean they have something to do with whatever Five was doing when he was gone?” Ben wondered.

Vanya suspected that it did involve what Five had done and was about to say so, when Diego came back downstairs with a grim expression on his face.

“Mom’s dead,” he announced. “Those b*stards killed her.” He then saw Vanya and his face darkened. “What are you still doing here?”

Vanya was taken aback. “I’m a part of this family, that’s why I’m here.”

“No you’re not!” Diego exploded. “You aren’t a member of this family, and you could’ve gotten killed. Or gotten any of us killed. She is a liability.”

“Vanya’s our sister, Diego!” Ben yelled, having had enough. “Stop going after her like that! She’s family, so just shut the f*ck up!”

Diego glared at Ben, and looked ready to go after him, but Reginald kept this from happening.

“Enough,” he said in a calm but warning tone. “There are more important matters to attend to. Number S-” He stopped when he realized that Vanya had left. “Number Two, you and I shall need to have a talk after Pogo and I attend to Grace. The rest of you, figure out where Number Four has gotten to, and see if you can get a lead on Number Five. This attack is taking things too far.”

Reginald then headed for the stairs while Luther went to get a new shirt and jacket, Allison went to see if she could catch up with Vanya, and Ben went in search of Klaus, leaving Diego all alone in the foyer with his thoughts and, for once, guilt.

‘Vanya has no powers and doesn’t know how to fight,’ he thought, ‘she’s useless and holds us all back. Why can’t they see that?’

*****

Leonard was in the kitchen of his house, fixing himself dinner, when there was a frantic knocking on the front door.

Wondering who it could be, he went to check, and he was surprised to find Vanya, who was soaking wet since it was raining again, when he opened the door.

“Vanya!” Leonard exclaimed and saw the cut on her forehead. “Oh, my God, you're bleeding. What happened?”

“Sorry, I…” Vanya stammered while looking and feeling shellshocked by what happened earlier and hurt by Diego’s harsh words. “I didn't know where else to go.”

Leonard opened the door further to let her inside. “It's okay. Come in.” He guided her into the living room and then went to get her a towel from the bathroom.

*****

Meanwhile at the hotel, Hazel was lying on the bed, watching TV as the magic fingers did their work by making the bed vibrate, and he was eating a doughnut as thunder crashed outside because of the latest storm.

`“… structure of a haunted house . With the main structure in place, we are launching into the creepy corridor, and, without even having to shake a floor plate, it's already starting to feel spooky.”`

Just then the door to the hotel room opened and Cha-Cha limped inside, looking battered and pissed. “Where the hell were you?” she demanded.

“When you didn't come out,” Hazel said calmly, putting down his partly eaten doughnut, “I figured we'd just regroup here.”

Cha-Cha glared at her partner. “And you stopped…to get a jelly doughnut?”

Hazel glanced at his partly eaten doughnut and shrugged. “Maybe.”

“After everything we just went through?” Cha-Cha demanded angrily.

“Well, I needed some comfort food after that disaster,” her partner retorted.

Cha-cha sighed dejectedly, for this was the first time she’d ever lost a fight, or failed a mission at the rate things were going. “Well, tonight's a total loss.”

“Well, I'm not so sure about that,” said Hazel, finishing his doughnut before getting up and grabbing his mask, which had a sizable dent in it from being punched repeatedly by Luther earlier, and headed outside with Cha-Cha following.

*****

Going out to the car and putting on their masks, Hazel unlocked the trunk and revealed Klaus.

Klaus had just barely regain consciousness, and the moment he saw the two figures towering over him in the creepy masks, he began to scream through the duct tape that was covering his mouth.

He was caught.

To Be Continued…

*****

I have so many, so many regrets.

So many lies, so many broken ties.

I wish for my old life.

Wish I could fix my strike.

Cause no one truly escapes the night.

Oh, won't you help me escape the night.

Oh baby help me escape the night.

Escape the night.