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"𝐂𝐔𝐂𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐖𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐀 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐑"

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐄𝐓 𝐀𝐒 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑. You could hear a pin drop as Vanya entered the living room, feeling unsure about her presence there. It was her home, the place where she would always be welcome. But somehow, feeling like a stranger was the thought dominating her head.

She looked around herself, trying to spot any differences and seeing none, before noticing the comics that the academy got created for them, thanks to the fame they received for their actions. The comics were set around the house instead of family photos along with magazine articles.

It was painful for Vanya to see all of those covers once again, hence her feeling unwelcome grew bigger. No one was aware of the true reason why Hargreeves put them every chance he got, most likely he wanted the kids to see the responsibility they held on their shoulders, it just gave the house an image of neglectfulness for the children.

Vanya slowly walked towards the big and dusty book cabinet to see her book. The book that wreaked havoc on her family, the book that tore her loved ones apart from her, the book that made her question her own purpose.

The book included Vanya's story about her life as one of the academy kids. Or rather just her telling stories that were too painful for her siblings to hear again. But the entire academy saw this book's release as a way for Vanya to take her revenge on being excluded from everyone else.

Carefully taking the book from the fragile and dusty cabinet, she inspected it in her hands, wanting to see if there were any traces of her father reading it to whom she gave a specific copy with her own note. If he ever even opened it, no one knew.

"Welcome home, Ms. Vanya." The familiar voice of Pogo was heard behind her as he walked inside the living room with his cane.

The chimpanzee always made her feel at home, the same as any of the kids. Being one of the closest family members to her, Vanya's worried emotions started to wash away as she walked over to him with her book in her hands and hugged him. "Pogo."

The embrace felt comforting more than ever, the only person in this household that was delighted to see Vanya back. "So good to see you." Pogo sighed after leaving the hug. "Ah, yes, your autobiography." He looked at the book that Vanya held in her hand.

"Do you know, um..."Vanya glanced down at her book and back at Pogo thinking if she should say it. "...did he ever read it?"

"Hmm..." Pogo thought for a second. "Not that I'm aware of."

Even if Vanya expected the answer to be negative, it still mentally crushed her. Knowing that dad never looked at her the same as others and she answered him by writing a book full of their secrets and stories revealed to the world was a mistake from the very start to her.

Vanya looked to her left and walked towards the painting of Five and Y/n above the fireplace. The painting was of them standing together with Y/n in front of Five and him gently wrapping his hands around her shoulders. "How long has it been since Five and Y/n disappeared?"

"It's been 16 years, four months, and 14 days." Pogo replied to her before looking back at Vanya. "Your father insisted I keep track."

"You wanna know something stupid?" Vanya smiled slightly. "I always used to leave the lights on for them. I was scared that they would come back, it would be late and the house would be dark and they wouldn't be able to find us, so they'd leave again." She explained remembering her love for her siblings.

The two were the only ones that treated her better than the rest of their siblings. To say that it was hard when the two most lovable family members left her would be an understatement. "So, every night I'd make a little snack make sure all of the lights were on."

"Oh, I remember your snacks. I'm pretty sure that I stepped in half of those peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches." Pogo sighed as they both looked back at the painting of the kids. "Your father always believed that Number Five and Y/n were still out there somewhere. He never lost hope."

Vanya sighed looking down at the ground at the mention of her father. "And look where that got him." Pogo turned his head at that response as Vanya quickly changed the subject. "What's sad is that none of us know where they ended up. Maybe dad really believed that they were alive somewhere after all."

The butler didn't know what to reply to that. Yes, it was painful to talk about them again, but the memory of the two kids never faded in the house. "They were inseparable, weren't they?" He tried lighting up the mood.

"Yeah." Vanya chuckled looking down at him. "They loved each other. Even dad saw it."

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𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐑𝐒 to their father's office and walked inside of it with a feeling she never felt before. She looked around herself remembering how they could never come inside in this specific room when they were kids and how their father spent hours in here doing work that no one knew.

Finally stepping over the threshold of his office felt like a sign that he was really gone. Not even bothering to turn the lights on, her eyes drifted from corner to corner of the room which didn't look as if anyone had touched it since the day she left.

Hargreeves always liked to keep things neat and tidy, organization was his main motto in life, so every single part of the room was in the space where it was supposed to be. Even if the thing was broken, you could scotch it over and a small spot of no dust would be left.

But no matter how refreshing it felt coming here, the nights and days when their father would spend here seemed pretty sad when recalling them.

When their mother accepted their requests to come to see their father before going to bed were the times they wished to see some humanity in their dad. But no, even when the kids would come to say goodnight, Reginald would ignore them and act as if they weren't even there.

Allison was slowly walking towards the middle of the room, inspecting the chandelier above her until she heard Klaus rummaging under their father's desk and going through his drawers.

"Where's the cash, dad?" He asked himself as the drawers kept on clattering. Allison looked with a confused and disbelief look and walked towards the table to get a better eye and to make sure that the person who was there was really the person she was thinking about.

"Where's the cash?" Klaus kept on frustratedly asking himself before Allison walked up and leaned over to see him.

"Klaus?" She put her hand on the table and looked down at him. "What are you doing in here?"

Klaus lifted his head up in an instant before turning around and spotting Allison. "Oh, Allison! Wow, is that you?" He stood up keeping his gaze on her. "Hey, come here. Long time." He said as he hugged her with a friendly spirit. Allison gave a smile back to him as the relief of seeing him the same came over her and she was able to relax.

"Too long. Hey, I was hoping to see you, actually, because I wanted to get your autograph. Add it to my collection!" Klaus put his hands together and beneath his chin.

"Just out of rehab?" She noticed the bracelets and showed them to Klaus as she lifted his wrist.

"No, no. No, no, no, no." He pulled away from her trying to hide them under his coat and sighing. No, I'm done with all that. I just came down here to prove to myself that the old man was really gone." He said in a fake sad voice which Allison didn't buy at all. "And he is! He's dead! Yeah!" He clapped his arms as the woman just rolled her eyes.

"You know how I know? Because if he were alive, not one of us would be allowed to set foot in this room." Klaus showed with his finger towards his feet but Allison just looked down at the table without saying a single word. "He was always in here, our whole childhood, plotting his next torment, right?" Klaus sat down in his chair and put his legs up on the table while Allison looked at the letters that were left on his desk. "Remember how he used to look at us? That scowl?"

He pointed up at the painting of their father that was hung up behind him on the wall. "Thank Christ he's not our real father so we couldn't inherit those cold, dead eyes! Ah!" Klaus put his fingers to his eyes and widen them looking at Allison and yelling. She chuckled when Klaus imitated their father, his humor still making her laugh. "Number three!" He said in Reginald's voice until they were interrupted.

"Get out of his chair." Luther sternly said standing in the doorway before walking inside the room. Seeing him to the both of them was almost surreal.

"Oh, wow, Luther!" Klaus stood up as Allison stared at Luther in incredulity. " Wow, you really, uh...you really filled out over the years, huh?" He showed his biceps looking at him.

"Klaus."

"Save the lecture. I was already leaving." Klaus started pointing his fingers around the room. "You guys can talk amongst yourselves." He chuckled softly walking away from the desk and towards the door until he was stopped by Luther.

"Drop it." He put his hand in front of Klaus making him stop at his pace.

"Ex-squeeze me?"

"Do it. Now." Luther didn't take his look off Klaus and after 3 seconds of a staring contest moment, Klaus turned away from Luther.

"All right. All right." He started going through his coat in annoyance. "It's just an advance to our inheritance!" He dropped some things on the ground he took as Allison shook her head and smiled. "That's all it is. No need to get your little panties in a bunch."

Klaus slowly walked out of the room in defeat, not wanting to start a fight with Luther, knowing it was clearly not worth it.

"So, Klaus is still Klaus, in case you were wondering." Luther walked up to the desk and Allison, putting away all of the things that Klaus dropped into their original places.

Allison smiled to herself looking down at her hands. "You know, after all these years, I find it strangely comforting."

"Did you see Diego?" Luther asked walking from the desk and to the cabinets with other things.

"With his stupid outfit?" Allison made fun of the question.

"Oh, I know." Luther looked down at the ground until he lifted his head with a curious face. "Do you think he wears that thing in the bathroom?"

"Like in the shower?"

"Yeah."

"Yes, absolutely!" Allison answered him with a laugh she wasn't able to contain making Luther smile.

"I, uh...I wasn't sure if you'd come." Luther changed the subject in an awkward direction, re-thinking if what he did was acceptable.

Allison's smile quickly faded as she looked down at the minis telescope she held in her hands and was playing with it as it if was a stress-reliever toy. "Me neither."

"You look great."

"Thanks."

Even if the conversation was awkward and odd, it felt very soothing to both of them either way. Yes, it was hard trying to make small talk, but it didn't matter.

"Where's Patrick and Claire?" Luther asked referring to her husband and daughter. But he had no idea that Patrick was now her ex-husband rather than her current one.

"Patrick filed for divorce 8 months ago." Allison answered him leaning on the table and looking at Luther with a confused look on her face until the realization hit her. "Of course, you don't know, you've been gone." She pointed her finger up referring to the moon.

"What about Claire?"

The woman looked down at the ground with a rather upset face, gathering up the courage and strength to answer him. "He got custody." The hard truth to her was too hard to even say.

"Shit." Was all that Luther said to that. But, of course, what else could he say? No human contact for years didn't do well on him. "Well...you could always do your, uh...you know...rumor thing." He walked up so that he was on the opposite side of the table.

"Yeah, I don't do that anymore." Allison quickly answered with a head shake.

"What happened?"

"Same thing that always happens." She looked up and crossed her arms on her chest. "I made a wish, and it came true, and I couldn't take it back."

Luther nodded in response not saying a single word. He knew Allison's affinity with her power better than anyone in the family. To hear that it wasn't as useful for her as it was for him was upsetting. "Did you...did you check Y/n's room?"

Allison's mood changed in an instant at the mention of her sister. "Yeah, it was the first thing I did." She replied raising her eyes with a smile. "You?"

"Not yet." Luther started walking closer to her around the table. "But I will."

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𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 sat in the living room with complete and utter silence. The only sounds that were hearable were the fire silently cackling at the fireplace and Klaus playing with his drinks at the bar, who seemed to be enjoying himself as his siblings were torturing themselves.

The kids all sat across each other on chairs and couches not being able to look each other in the eyes or start a conversation. Eventually, after what seemed like forever to them, Luther heard Allison's awkward drink slurping and went to be the first one to speak up, taking it as a sign.

"Um...I guess we should get this started." He stood up from his seat on the couch with a sigh and looked over at everyone. "So, I figured we could have a sort of memorial service in the courtyard at sundown. Say a few words, just at dad's favorite spot."

"Dad had a favorite spot?" Allison confusingly asked him what everyone was thinking at the moment.

"You know, under the oak tree." Luther answered her almost immediately as if it was common sense. "We used to sit out there all the time. None of you ever did that?"

He looked at everyone noticing their confused faces and understanding that he definitely was the only one. The silence between them was back again at the mention of their father's terrible given childhood to them until Klaus strode into the living room with a wavy walk.

"Will there be any refreshments? Tea? Scones?" He asked walking to the center of the room. Cucumber sandwiches are always a winner."

"What? No." Luther almost cut him off clearly being unsatisfied by his attitude here. "And put that out. Dad didn't allow smoking in here."

"Is that my skirt?" Allison pointed at Klaus.

"What? Oh, yeah, this, I found it in your room." Klaus replied to her showing the skirt with his hands and twirling it like a little girl. "It's a little dated, I know, but it's very breathy on the bits."

"Listen up." Number one had enough of his shenanigans and wanted to figure out something that was relevant to him. And something that he deemed essential. "There are still some important things that we need to discuss, all right?"

"Like what?" For the first time, Diego spoke up from his place, already having some clue what Luther was about to say.

"Like the way he died."

As Luther's eagerness to find out showed itself visible in his answer, Diego looked away with a disappointed look. "And here we go."

"I don't understand, I thought they said it was a heart attack." Vanya also opened her mouth for the first time as Klaus sat down next to her on the couch.

"Yeah, according to the coroner." Luther looked at Vanya with a rather calm look, unlike every other time.

"Well, wouldn't they know?"

"Theoretically."

"Theoretically?" Allison chimed into the conversation starting to get more confused by the second.

Seeing that he wasn't understood, Luther began explaining. "I'm just saying, at the very least, something happened. The last time that I talked to dad, he sounded strange."

"Oh, quelle surprise!" Klaus gurgled with his drink in his mouth making fun of this.

"Strange how?"

"He sounded on edge." Luther looked back at Allison from Klaus. "Told me I should be careful who to trust."

"Luther, he was a paranoid, bitter old man who was starting to lose what was left of his marbles." Diego slowly stood up from his chair and started walking towards Luther.

"No. He must have known something was going to happen." Luther was starting to grow more anxious before turning to Klaus. "Look, I know you don't like to do it, but I need for you to talk to dad."

Number three scoffed from her seat, drinking her alcohol away and mentally rolling her eyes at such nonsense.

Klaus sighed and sat up in his seat. "I can't just call dad in the afterlife and be like "Dad, could you just...stop playing tennis with Hitler for a moment and take a quick call?"

"Since when?" Luther continued interrogating him. "That's your thing."

"I'm not in the right...frame of mind." Klaus tried to make up an excuse not using the keywords.

"You're high?"

"Yeah! Yeah!" Klaus laughed out loud agreeing with Allison. "I mean, how are you not, listening to this nonsense?"

"Well, sober up, this is important." Luther ordered Klaus who heavily exhaled and laid back down. "Then there's the issue with the missing monocle."

Now that was a familiar theme to Diego. "Who gives a shit about a stupid monocle?"

"Exactly. It's worthless." Luther turned to him. "So whoever took it, I think it was personal. Someone close to him. Someone with a grudge."

Number four was starting to lose his, or what was left of it, sanity. "Where are you going with this?"

"Oh, isn't it obvious, Klaus?" Diego gave Luther a death glare. "He thinks one of us killed dad."

Finally, Luther's true priorities were exposed: they weren't his siblings or family, it was their father. Their cold-hearted, worthless father they all, instead of Luther, wish dead. Which was already a wish that came true.

Luther grunted softly at the fact that they found out, even if he wishes that wasn't true. The rest of the siblings' eyes went wide and their shock took over them.

"You do?"

"How could you think that?"

Number one was speechless, not knowing what to say as Diego took the opportunity to make it even worse for him. "Great job, Luther. Way to lead." He mocked him before walking past him out of the room.

"That's not what I'm saying."

"You're crazy, man. You're crazy. Crazy." Klaus added standing up from the couch and walking away as well.

"I've not finished."

"Sorry, I'm just gonna go murder mom. Be right back."

"That's not what I was saying." Luther still continued trying to convince everyone even if no one was listening to him."I didn't- Allison, jeez..."

When not another single soul was left in the room and Luther was all by himself, that's when it hit, even to him, that this reunion was going to go wrong even more. "That went well."

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