CHAPTER FOURTEEN
a fractured alliance

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A FEW HOURS AFTER Nadine's conversation with Luther, a family meeting was called in the Games Room. When Nadine heard about this, she immediately jumped to her feet. She'd spent the last half-hour playing a game of Solitaire with the single, ratty deck of cards Chet had managed to procure for her, and she was certainly ready for something else to occupy her mind.

At first, she might have hesitated to attend a meeting when family was attached to it, but at this point, it was more than clear that she met the qualifications. She was a part of the family now. The Umbrella Academy had fully embraced her, and she'd fully embraced them. She had a place among them. She was welcome. And she really, really appreciated that.

It had actually been Luther who'd called the meeting. Apparently, after he'd spoken with Nadine, he and Sloane had gotten talking, trying to discern a way to bring both of their families together. And, hours later, it seemed that they'd come up with some tentative solution.

Not that Nadine knew what it was. Luther refused to tell her until everyone was gathered, leaving Nadine to wait in suspense. Oh, sure, she wasn't exactly certain that whatever plan he and Sloane had come up with would work—especially with the increase in hostility the Sparrow Academy definitely held toward them now—but she couldn't help her curiosity. What would be the grand gesture that would tell those assholes that they weren't really their enemies? Would the Sparrows even be able to forgive them after what had happened to their siblings?

And, most importantly: did Nadine even want them on her side?

She may have had Sloane as a tentative ally now (sort of. Kind of. Maybe) but that didn't mean she would just forget the bad blood between her, Kadence, Fei, Ben, and Christopher (nor, she doubted, would they do the same). They'd now tried to kill each other multiple times. How could she trust such people, when they might double-cross her any minute?

Still, she might as well listen to what Luther had to say. And, if his idea didn't work, it wasn't like she really had to follow his precedent. He may have still been the so-called 'leader' of the Umbrella Academy, but that was starting to mean less and less. What were numbers to them now, when they technically weren't even Reginald Hargreeves' children?

She met Viktor, Luther, and Sloane in the Games Room. They were the first ones there, but apparently only Allison and Diego would be joining them. Five was still MIA—of course. At least he hadn't been kidnapped—and Klaus was still going down the Chores List with Stanley. Judging by how easily he was distracted, it would probably take him a while to help Stan complete it.

Viktor smiled at Nadine when she approached. "Hey," he said. "How are you feeling?"

Nadine shrugged. "I'm okay. Today's just been—you know. A lot."

"Yeah. I can't believe... I can't believe Harlan's back."

Nadine squeezed his hand. "I'm happy you got to see him again. Even if the circumstances of his arrival were... you know. Rough."

"He didn't mean to do it," Viktor said quietly. "Just in case you were wondering. He just—he lashed out. I know better than anyone how difficult his powers are to control."

"I know," Nadine said. "I figured as much."

"I'm going to help him, though." Viktor lifted his chin. "He's not going to go through it alone."

"Of course you are," Nadine said. Then, almost as an afterthought: "Is he okay now, though? He kind of seemed like he was freaking out before."

"Yeah. Yeah, he's calmed down. He's still in his room. He's going to be okay."

"Good."

Nadine really meant it. What Harlan had done to Jayme and Alphonso—well, it had certainly freaked her out. She still hadn't entirely recovered from the sight and smell of their corpses, warped and inhuman. But, even though Nadine hadn't wanted anyone dead, Harlan still had saved her life. He'd saved all of their lives. And that wasn't something she could ignore, no matter how chilled she was about his methods.

Diego and Allison—who had obviously gotten a haircut since the last time Nadine had seen her—arrived a few minutes later, heads bent, whispering to each other. Nadine swallowed at the sight of them. If she hadn't gotten over what had happened to Jayme and Alphonso, she definitely hadn't gotten over what had happened in the bathroom. Sloane's pained whimpers still echoed in her ears.

Luther, though, just seemed happy that they were here, even though their expressions had fallen at the sight of Sloane. "Okay," he said, clapping his large hands together. "We're all here. Well, most of us. Um, thank you for coming, those of you that did."

"Just get to it," Allison ground out.

"Um, okay. So, uh, we obviously have a big problem with the Sparrow Academy. I mean, we technically broke into their house, they attacked us, they kidnapped me, we kidnapped one of their own. And we were kind of responsible for the death of some of their members. Which, you know, obviously doesn't make things good between us."

"No shit," Diego said. "They tried to kill us!"

"Yes. Yes, they did. But it's not like we were holding back, either." He breathed out a sigh. "The truth is, I don't think we can keep going on like this. This war... it's kind of distracting us from what's really important. If we don't do something about it, we're just going to keep taking hits at each other until neither of us are left."

Sloane nodded. "It's true," she said. "You guys—you're powerful. You're the most even match the Sparrow Academy has ever gone up against. I don't think there's any way a war between us can resolve without taking both Academies out."

Luther gave her a thumbs-up. "Exactly. So, Sloane and I were talking—"

"Conversing with the enemy again?" Diego grumbled.

"Let him finish," Nadine snapped.

"—And we decided that we need a way to let the Sparrows know that we're done fighting. Which is why I propose... well, we let Sloane go."

He paused, giving them all a moment to process this. Nadine chewed on her lip, meeting Sloane's eyes. Sloane swallowed, looking uncomfortable.

Eventually, Allison's eyebrows rose. "You're serious?"

"We use Sloane as an olive branch," Luther explained. "We let her go as a gesture of peace, along with the bodies of Jayme and Alphonso."

"Once I'm back with my family, I can convince them the old guy had nothing to do with you and get them to stand down," Sloane continued.

"You wanna let her go after attacking us? Uh-uh." Diego shook his head.

"Me? I lost two of my siblings to you and your murder troll," Sloane snapped.

"Again, Harlan not with us," Luther insisted.

"Well, he's not not with us," said Diego.

"He was just trying to protect me," Viktor said, shrugging.

Sloane's eyes narrowed. "This only works if I can convince my family he isn't a part of your team, so is he with you or not?"

"Harlan saved our asses," said Diego. "He can stay here as long as he wants." He took a step forward. "You know what, Luther? He can take your bed. Since you're sleeping with the enemy."

"Watch it," Luther growled.

"Diego, enough," Nadine added. "Luther's just trying to fix things."

Diego swung his head over to her. "Since when did you and him get all buddy-buddy? What, are you actually on his side?"

"Guys, come on." Viktor, always the mediator, attempted to get between them. He glanced back at Sloane, then met the Umbrella Academy's gazes again. "Having an ally on the inside could help us right now."

"Right?" Luther agreed.

"Yeah, but how do we know we can trust Gravity Barbie?" Allison asked.

"I trust her."

"Yeah, you trusted emails from a Nigerian prince," said Diego.

"Tunde was not a prince, he was a king, and he was unjustly deposed."

"Oh, my God," Nadine muttered. This was not helping their case.

"Okay." Sloane moved toward them. Her jaw trembled a little bit, but she forced herself to meet Allison's eyes. "So Rumour me again. Go on, not hiding anything. Whatever it takes."

"Sloane—" Nadine began.

"I'm serious," she insisted.

Allison, arms crossed, rolled her eyes. "Do whatever the hell you wanna do, Luther. That's on you. I've got bigger shit to deal with."

With that, seemingly done with the conversation, she made her way to the stairwell.

"Allison. Wait up," Diego called, following her. As he passed the group, Luther sputtered, obviously annoyed. This didn't do anything to stop his brother.

"Okay, okay, okay." Luther huffed, crossing his arms. "I guess they're out."

"Well, I'm in," Nadine said. "I mean, I have no idea if this is gonna work, but... I guess there's nothing to do but try."

"I'm in, too," Viktor added. He grinned. "Let's do it."

THERE WAS A POLAROID TAPED to Kadence's mirror that she rarely paid attention to. Not because she didn't care about it, but because it had been there for so long that it had become a staple in her room. Like her bed, her desk, and the dusty lamp on her nightstand, it was something she would walk by and accept was there, but not make an effort to really examine.

Today, though, she really couldn't help it. In what might've been the first time in years, she approached it, reaching for its edges with trembling fingers. The years had worn it soft, fading the previously vivid colour in the image little by little, but it hadn't frayed it away into nothing yet. The faces that stared back at Kadence as she peeled the photo away from the mirror were still clear as they'd always been.

It was a selfie of the members of the Sparrow Academy. All eight of them, young and fresh-faced (well, with the exception of Christopher), had clustered together, cheek-to-cheek, in order to fit into the frame. Kadence was squished in between Sloane and Alphonso, who hadn't yet begun to scar. Marcus, in charge of taking the picture, was at the front, his head slightly larger than everyone else's. Jayme only had half of her body in frame, but the hand you could see was curled into an obscene gesture. She and Ben wore almost identical scowls, but it was clear, even in the photo, that there was no place they'd rather be. Fei, her hair still long, her eyes still intact, was actually smiling. Christopher hovered just over her shoulder.

It was a messy picture, far from the prim, proper portraits that their father had commissioned from various artists throughout the years, but that made it all the more real. This was the Sparrow Academy, a chaotic team of child superheroes meant to save the world. This was the family that they really were.

They'd only been ten years old, here. This had been before their first mission, before they'd picked out their names. Yet, although Kadence had been designated Eight, she was still grinning in this picture, cuddling close to her siblings. She'd really loved them, back then. Even with the hierarchy that was beginning to alter her relationships with them.

Now, twenty-nine years old, Kadence stared at the photo and trembled. Four people out of eight in this picture were dead. Marcus, their leader, who Kadence used to come to when she had a nightmare. Alphonso, the jokester, who could always put a smile on even an unwilling Kadence's face. Sloane, the softer one, who used to braid Kadence's hair and whisper about girls. And Jayme, the grumpiest of them all, who still managed to show that she cared.

Kadence didn't cry often—her father used to call it a sign of weakness—but she couldn't help the stray tears that streaked down her face at the sight of her family's child selves. Even with the tension that had been building between them for years now, they were still hers. And she—God. She was really going to miss them.

The hand holding the Polaroid shook. She folded her fingers over it.

And let it fall to the ground.

The Polaroid was a token, a reminder of who Kadence was fighting for, but she didn't need it. Not when her entire body was coursing with rage. Not when the blood pumping through her body was hot with vengeance. Not when her mind had narrowed down to a single, vicious goal.

Take down the Umbrella Academy.

So, no. Kadence didn't need to bring the photo with her. She didn't need a reminder of what she was going to do. She wouldn't let such a weakness hinder her.

Her siblings were dead. But she wasn't going to let their deaths be in vain. She wasn't going to let the so-called Umbrella Academy get away with what they'd done.

It was time for her to leave. She'd done as much preparation as she could, going through every single step. There was no point in lingering, now. There was no point in waiting until she was discovered by those in her family that still breathed.

She took a deep breath, ensuring the collar of her suit was straightened. It was. Everything was perfect. Everything was ready.

Her window was locked, but that didn't exactly stop her. All Kadence had to do to get through was wave a hand. Between one breath and another, she took hold of the molecules that made up the glass and shifted them. By the time she'd reached the sill, her window had turned to water, cool and refreshing, emptying onto her floor.

Kadence paid the spillage no mind. Grace would clean it up later—at least, if she'd stopped worshipping the great devourer in the basement (which Kadence didn't even let herself worry about right now) and did the job she was meant to do. Instead, Kadence waded over it, careful not to get her boots wet, and heaved herself up and through the window.

She had to drop into a bush. It hurt, but only a little, even with the various branches and thorns scratching at what little skin was exposed. She didn't pay it any mind, even when one of them cut a line across her cheek. Blood spilled, a thin, even trickle. Kadence let it streak down her face.

Pulling herself out of the bush took a few seconds of struggling, but eventually, she was on her feet again. Glancing back at the Sparrow Academy mansion, she searched for any signs that she'd been noticed. Lights flashing on. Someone knocking on the window. A raven, glaring at her with beady eyes.

There was nothing. Well, it wasn't like they would care, anyway. For once, this was in Kadence's favour.

She kept her gaze on her home for a minute longer, hyping herself up for what she was going to do.

Then she turned and began to make her way to the Hotel Obsidian.

DESPITE THE FACT THAT they'd quite literally tried to murder them this morning, it didn't take much to convince the remaining members of the Sparrow Academy into meeting up with the Umbrella Academy. Sloane had been right—her presence worked wonders. When she spoke to her siblings on the phone, letting them know that she was alive and promising them the bodies of Jayme and Alphonso for a proper burial, they agreed—albeit a little reluctantly—to face their sworn enemies again. The only catch was that they wouldn't be meeting at either the Hotel Obsidian or the mansion, but that was fine. As long as they didn't have a repeat of the earlier battle, they could meet up on the goddamn Moon.

Even so, Nadine was obviously full of trepidation as they made their way over to the given coordinates. They were driving there—Luther was in the front, Sloane was in the passenger's seat, and Nadine and Viktor were in the back. Jayme and Alphonso's corpses had been hefted into the trunk, a process that likely wouldn't have been accomplished without Luther's help. Even so, Nadine swore she could still smell them.

As they got closer and closer, Nadine started to wonder whether this was a good idea. It had seemed entirely logical back at the hotel—at least, as logical as an attempted truce with your enemies could be—but a part of her was beginning to worry that this was all a trap. The Sparrow Academy surely wouldn't be able to forgive them this easily—and nor could Nadine, to be honest. There was no way in hell that this meeting would end with everyone linking arms and being buddy-buddy with each other.

So, it was prudent that she prepared for anything. As the car rumbled over the unpaved roads, veering out of the populated city and into industrial territory, she curled her hands into fists, testing out her illusions. Invisibility was the most important, even though it wouldn't work on Fei and her seeing-eye ravens. Nadine seemed to have gotten the hang of it, but there were always improvements to be made.

She tested out blindness, too, cloaking her own gaze in darkness. She tried morphing her nails into claws, her teeth into fangs. She let fake blood drip from pitch-black eyes.

Viktor, beside her, couldn't see the illusions she was projecting—she'd keyed them to her mind and her mind alone—but, given the look on Nadine's face and the low buzz of her abilities, it was likely that he'd caught on. Even so, he didn't say anything. Instead, he just reached out and grasped her hand.

His touch made her feel a little better. It was a reminder that she wasn't going into this alone. Not only did she have Viktor, the most powerful person in the Umbrella Academy, but she had Luther and Sloane, too. Luther, whose strength was often underrated but impressive when you really thought about it, and Sloane, a member of the Sparrow Academy who was practically on their side now. If this did turn out to be a trap, at least they wouldn't be taken down so easily.

After ten minutes of smoke-belching factories and the stink of chemicals radiating through the windows, Luther pulled the car over to an abandoned lot. There were a couple of crates nearby—all with caution signs and heavily bolted doors—but they were rusted enough that it was clear they hadn't been used in a long time. No one was going to bother them here.

They all stepped out of the car, closing their doors in a cacophony of thuds. "They should be here soon," Luther said, slinging his arm around Sloane. She leaned her head on his shoulder, obviously exhausted by the events of the day. "If there's one thing we know about the Sparrows, it's that they like being early."

Sloane chuckled, leaning further into Luther. It was strange to see them so close when only a few days ago they'd been beating the shit out of each other. But Nadine supposed apocalypses, wrong timelines, and being held prisoner by the other brought people together.

"Just remember to—to stay calm," Viktor said. "We're not trying to bring on another fight. We don't want this war to go on forever. Our main goal here is to get the Sparrows as allies, even if they still don't like us. After all, they're our best bet in stopping these disappearances."

"I know," Nadine said. "I'll, ehm, try not to say much. I really don't want them to know how much I want to punch them." She cleared her throat. "No offense, Sloane."

Sloane shrugged. "None taken."

Despite the toxic feel of this whole location, there was a part of it that was quite lovely. They were right by the lake, which glittered in the light of the city like dozens of sparkling gemstones. It was dark enough that you couldn't see the pollution that contaminated it, the tons of oil dropped in by men who preferred profit to nature. Instead, it was just a well-polished mirror, one that reminded Nadine of the bodies of water back in France.

Viktor kept a hold of her hand as they waited, his touch continuing to ground her. Nadine distracted herself by attempting to come up with ideas for new Sanctuaries. Maybe her next one would be a cave full of glow-in-the-dark mushrooms.

Eventually, the Sparrow Academy's vehicle—a black, boxy Jeep with SPRRW1 as the license plate—came around the corner and drew to a halt. Nadine's breath hitched as the people who'd wanted her dead hours earlier made their way out of the car. Ben, Fei, and Christopher all stepped forward to meet them. Notably, one of them was absent.

"Um," Viktor began. "Thank you for—"

Ben waved a hand, silencing him. "No offense, but I don't really feel like exchanging pleasantries," he said. "So, let's just cut right to the chase. Are you letting Sloane go and giving us the bodies of our brother and sister or not?"

"We are," Luther said. "Sloane is free to go. And, um. The bodies of Jayme and Alphonso are in our trunk. I know it doesn't mean much to you, but we all are deeply sorry for your loss. The man who killed them—he is not a part of our team. We didn't ask him to do that. I promise you, we never wanted that to happen."

Ben scoffed. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with."

Okay, Nadine couldn't help it. "Where's Kadence?"

He shrugged. "Sulking somewhere, I guess. We couldn't find her. Not that it really matters."

Well, Nadine wasn't exactly going to complain about that.

Viktor opened the trunk, and Luther heaved the bodies of Jayme and Alphonso—wrapped in garbage bags, for a lack of a better material—out and into the SPRRW1. Christopher muttered something menacing as Luther made his way back to them, and Nadine tensed.

What Christopher had done to her earlier... well, it was safe to say it wasn't something that would be easily forgotten. The visions he'd planted in her mind, the horrifying scenarios that had quite literally sprung up from her worst nightmares, and the screams had truly been the worst thing a member of the Sparrow Academy had done. Worse than Fei's birds pecking holes in her head. Worse than Kadence's humiliating tricks.

It didn't seem like Christopher had any plans to attack them, but Nadine kept an eye on him anyway. She still didn't really understand what the fuck he was, but when you lived in a world of time travel, robots, and sentient British chimpanzees (speaking of: where was Pogo in this timeline?), it was best not to question things.

When Luther returned, Sloane finally crossed the gravel over to her siblings. Fei embraced her immediately, a tender gesture that deviated from everything Nadine knew about her. Christopher muttered again, though this time, it seemed more like an expression of gratitude that his sister was back.

Oh, fuck. Was Nadine already learning Christopher-ese?

"Well, this is it," Viktor said eventually. "This puts an end to it."

"No," Ben said. A smirk played on his lips. "We want the old man, too."

"What?" Nadine sputtered. "That's not—"

"What are you doing?" Fei asked.

"You wanted a plan," Ben replied. "Here it is."

"It's a stupid plan."

"He isn't a part of the deal," Viktor interrupted.

"He is now," Ben said.

"Ben, they aren't working with him," Sloane argued. "They had nothing to do with the attacks—"

"Then they won't mind finding him and handing him over."

"This is ridiculous," Nadine snapped, thinking of the way Harlan had flinched away from Viktor, the way he'd stared down at the corpses.

"No, it's actually quite simple," Ben replied. "Bring us the man who killed our siblings, and this will all be over. If not..." he trailed off, letting them fill in the gaps. Christopher emitted a series of low, threatening beeps.

Nadine's throat was suddenly dry. Her stomach clenched at the thought of a repeat of this afternoon, or the battle at the Sparrow Academy mansion. She touched a hand to her face. It had stopped stinging, but the scabbed wounds from Fei's ravens remained, ugly and raw. She could still remember the feel of their beaks carving away flesh.

Before any of them had time to argue with this new deal, though, the Sparrows—Sloane included—made their way back into their Jeep. The engine started with a roar, and the SPRRW1 drove off, taking their hopes for a tentative alliance with it.

Nadine stared at its receding form, shaking from head to toe.

Either she sacrificed Harlan like a lamb to the slaughter, or the Sparrows continued to go after them.

She turned to Viktor, who was looking as bloodless as she felt. "What the hell are we gonna do?"

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HAVEN: was that enough foreshadowing, folks??? do y'all have a clue about what's gonna happen next??? >:))

(also LET'S GO i finally found another gif of nora arnezeder with short hair!!)

thanks for reading!! <33