"S-Sloane?" Luther's jaw nearly fell to the floor. There's no way... this can't be real! Sloane's alive?! The wind caught in Dusk's throat. When Sloane first went missing, she held onto hope that one day one of them would find her, aimlessly lost in the crowd, looking for her family. However as time passed, and they all grew occupied with their lives, they slowly concluded she was the last victim of the Kugelblitz timeline. Of course, Luther refused to believe she was gone, as did Dahlia, still feeling Sloane's presence deep within her heart.

And now, there she was. Just across the room from them, looking as radiant as ever.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Sloane's eyes flickered to each member of the group. Luther and Dahlia stood up from the couch and ran over, wrapping their arms around her. "You're alive! You're really alive!" Luther sighed with relief. "I've missed you so much, Slo!" Dahlia sobbed. But rather than hugging them back, Sloane tensed up and pried their hands off her. "Who are you?" She looked bewildered, like a deer caught in headlights. "Sloane, you have to remember me. I'm Dahlia, your sister! We grew up together in the Sparrow Academy," Dahlia reminded.

Sloane's eyes squinted, trying to pinpoint Dahlia's face in a sea of fuzzy and faded images. "I'm sorry... I don't remember you," Sloane's voice grew quiet. Dahlia stepped to the side as Luther tried to help refresh her memory. "It's me, Luther, your husband. You've been gone for a long time, but we're here now, together," Luther cracked a small smile, the bittersweet memories of their clandestine meetings and shotgun end-of-the-world wedding. But Sloane shook her head, continuing to claim she didn't remember him, or any of the other siblings.

"No, no, no! You have to remember me!" Luther pleaded; his eyes filled with desperation as he gripped both of her shoulders. "Luther..." Viktor warned, realizing just how dire of a situation this was. "Get off of me!" Sloane shouted. "Sloane, please you have to remember!" Viktor and Dusk dashed over to Luther, the pair trying to convince Luther to sit back down. "I-I'm so sorry... I didn't mean..." He stammered, watching as Rosalie stood next to Sloane, and his long-lost love gripped onto her for comfort. "It's okay, Sloane. It's okay," Rosalie whispered. "How is any of this okay? She doesn't remember me! She doesn't remember Luther! She doesn't remember any of us!" Dahlia's voice wavered on the verge of tears.

"Rosie, why don't you escort Sloane back to her room? I can take things from here," Abigail instructed. "Yes, mother," Rosalie nodded, wrapping a hand around Sloane's back as they walked up the staircase. "What did that son of a bitch do to her?" Dahlia growled. "Reggie didn't do anything," Abigail's voice remained calm and composed. "Then how did she lose her memory?" Dusk questioned. But just as Abigail was about to respond, the front doors burst open, and Reginald and three more of his bodyguards stormed into the room.

"My chief of security informs me that the tiny hamlet of New Grumpson, Maine is still smoldering in the wake of your colossal epitiude," The old man grumbled. "Reggie, darling, please," Abigail sighed, as Reggie leaned in, planting a quick peck on her cheek. "Tell me everything I want to know or suffer the consequences!" Reginald threatened. "You first!" Viktor challenged, the wind and orange whipped around him, the presence of his father rekindling the fires of his anger. "I'd like to see you try, old timer!" Dusk's eyes grew darker, her wings started to poke out from behind her back.

"Hey, hey," Allison grabbed Viktor's wrist, while Klaus placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Easy, doll," He whispered. "Ah, I see it's true. I suspected you couldn't have done all the damage au naturel. But how?" Reginald cocked his head questioningly. "Reggie, enough!" Abigail commanded. "Is this how you treat your guests? Threats and interrogations? What type of example are you setting for Rosie?" Reginald turned around just as Rosalie reentered the room and sat back in her chair. "I... uh," Reginald stammered, for the first time in his life in front of the siblings. He always had a rapid comeback, but with his wife and daughter present, he was speechless. 

"Now, sit down, and we'll have a conversation like a civilized species," Abigail patted the seat next to her, and with a quiet sigh, Reginald sat down. "Guess we know who wears the monocle in this relationship," Allison blinked in surprise. "Tea, Father?" Rosalie offered. "No, thank you, dearest Rosie," Reginald declined. Dearest? What type of universe are we living in where Reggie calls his children pet names? Dusk wondered, remembering only him calling her by her given number, and rarely the occasional use of her name.

"If I may be so bold as to ask, how did you regain your powers? Why did you destroy the town of New Grumpson, and what have you done with the girl?" Reginald started over; his tone laced with fake calmness. "We'll explain it all, if and only if, you tell us what happened to Sloane," Dahlia bargained. Reginald's eyes slightly widened before turning back to normal. He opened his mouth to speak, but with Rosalie and Abigail present, he couldn't admit the truth behind Sloane's disappearance.

"Do we have a deal?" Dahlia was growing impatient the longer Reginald stayed silent. "If it puts an end to your vendetta against me, so be it. We have a deal," He gestured for them to go on. "Well, it's kind of a long story. But it all started when we were approached by Sy Grossman," Luther started, Abigail's gaze shifted to her lap, while Reginald looked confused. "I'm unfamiliar with the name," He stated. "Oh," Luther blinked, figuring his father must've known who he was. "You know what, Reg? I think the real question is why you'd build an entire town to hold a girl prisoner?" Allison pointed out.

"Her name is Jennifer, and I wasn't holding her prisoner. I was protecting her," Reginald clarified. "Protecting her from what?" Viktor questioned. "From you, naturally," the monocle answered. "So, she is one of us?" Allison questioned. "I'm afraid not. She's nothing like you. In fact, she's your complete opposite in every way imaginable, and she has more power than all of you put together," Reginald explained. Here we go comparing people again... Dusk held back a sigh, taking another sip of her tea.

"How powerful are we talking on a scale of one to ten?" Klaus inquired. "It goes far beyond a simple number on a scale, Number Four. Her powers are so strong it obliterates it," The old man answered cryptically. "That doesn't answer the question," Dusk scoffed. "Well, I don't know how else to explain it to you!" Reginald's patience was wearing thin. "It's not rocket science, Reggie. It's very simple, is she capable of ending the world or not?" the brown blonde asked through clenched teeth.

But rather than give his adoptive daughter the answer they had searching for, he turned his focus back to Dahlia. "You said you wanted to know what happened to Sloane?" He double-checked. "Yes, and what you did to make her forget we existed," Dahlia nodded. "For heaven's sake, I didn't do anything to her," Reginald insisted. "The loss of her memory was a mere side effect. Sloane was not part of their original timeline," Reginald gestured to the Umbrellas. "Therefore, when the world reset, she was lost to Oblivion,"

"But she wasn't lost in there forever," Abigail spoke up. "We found her late one night, stranded and on the brink of death. That was nearly five years ago, and she's been living with us since then. We've been trying to put the broken pieces back together, but we haven't had much luck restoring it," The Hargreeves looked at one another, still unable to comprehend how Sloane was able to escape Oblivion when the other Sparrows were not so lucky. "I don't understand, if Sloane survived Oblivion, why didn't Marcus, Fei, or Christopher make it out as well?" Dahlia inquired.

"And if Sloane didn't belong to our timeline, then by that logic, Dahlia and Ben shouldn't be here either," Viktor realized. "We're still trying to figure out how this is possible, but it truly is fascinating," Abigail said. Allison couldn't hold back the scoff that escaped her lips. "Fascinating? Sounds like a bunch of bullshit!" she rolled her eyes. Before Reginald could once again protest he didn't have any involvement in Sloane's fate, the doors again burst open. "Hey!" One bodyguard shouted, but Diego, Lila, Five, and Victoria ignored him as they joined the group.

"We need to talk about Ben," Diego said bluntly, holding up the folder. He flipped through the folder, to the pages containing the redacted info regarding The Jennifer Incident. "In Moldovan, from Moldova. And it's mostly redacted," Diego passed the folder to Allison, who was hardly able to get through the blacked-out paragraphs. "Oh great, so we can't read it or see it," Allison retorted. "From what I can tell, this document is from our original timeline, it explains how Ben died," Five added. "It refers to it as 'The Jennifer Incident,"

"We already know how Ben died," Luther stated. "Okay, then tell us," Five gestured. "Well, it was a tragic accident. Ben, our Ben, died because we failed as a team. Nobody was responsible, and..." Luther trailed off, his words sounding emotionless and recited. "And what?" Victoria inquired. "Dusk, how did Ben die?" Five glanced towards his twin. "It was a tragic accident. Ben died because we failed as a team," She answered, Luther joining in at the end of her sentence. "Well, this is getting trippy," Dahlia's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Nobody was responsible, yet we were all responsible," Allison, Klaus, and Diego chimed in. "Ben Hargreeves represented the best of us. Ben was the Umbrella Academy,"

The Umbrellas looked amongst themselves in shock, the details of the Jennifer Incident had seemingly been removed from their minds. Almost as if it was either too painful to recall, or perhaps there was a firewall inside their brains preventing them from explaining exactly what happened. "What kind of sick party trick is this?" Lila crossed her arms, glaring down at her father-in-law. "Okay, can any one of you remember how Ben actually died? Anything?" Five pressed on, but no matter how hard the siblings tried to remember, all they were met with were blurred images and muffled voices. 

"I... I wasn't there," Viktor replied. "Well, Victoria, Dahlia, and I weren't there either. But the rest of you were. You think you'd remember something about the death of your beloved brother, but you don't," Five pointed out. "What the hell is going on here?" Luther demanded. "Isn't it obvious?" Victoria glared at the old man, her time-traveler boyfriend soon followed. "Somebody's been playing putty with your hippocampus," Five called him out. "Messing with our memories," Diego murmured. "Just like he did to Sloane," Dahlia growled.

"Wait, Gravity Girl is alive?" Lila turned to the icy blonde. "Must I have to explain myself again, Sparrow Eight? As fascinating as this may be, I assure you I haven't the foggiest notion of what this is about," Reginald denied. "You know something, old man," Diego stormed over to the monocle's seat, towering above him. "You are speculating about the actions of a completely different version of myself from a completely different timeline," The monocle reminded.  "That said, it does sound like something I might do,"

Allison slammed the folder onto the table, making him jump at the sound. "Christ on a cracker!" He mumbled, placing a hand on his chest. "Here we go," Allison grumbled, her arms folding across her chest. "There may or may not have been a certain clandestine project with a certain clandestine intelligence agency," Reginald admitted. "Human experiments on the mind, I should've known," Five shook his head in disgust. "Psychologic warfare was all the rage back in the '60s, but it was only a brief contract. Immensely lucrative," Reggie seemed to enjoy the idea of taking people's memories, and behind that nostalgic look on his face, Dusk could see the smile of a classic narcissist. You sick bastard...

"So, you can erase memories?" Luther squinted. "With the human mind, anything is possible, young man," Reginald answered. "If you can erase them, you can restore them, right?" Victoria inquired. "With the proper technology," Reginald nodded. "Which you have?" Lila questioned. "Naturally," The old man answered. "I'm sure it's in this building somewhere," "Alright, old man, here's the deal. You're gonna put them back. Every memory that has to do with Ben's death. Because if you erased the Jennifer Incident, that means there was something important enough that you'd take the time to get rid of it," Five instructed.

"I will do no such thing! We need to track down the girl before it's too late!" Reginald insisted. "Reggie, please," Abigail grabbed her husband's hand. "Darling, this is messy work. It could take hours, days!" Reginald's voice wavered with just a hint of panic. "Whatever chain of events that has been set in motion is ultimately your handiwork. Whatever timeline it happened in, help them. Please," Abigail stared deep into the depths of his soul. "Father, we will all help track down the girl, but right now, we need to help them remember what exactly happened," Rosalie joined in, grabbing his other hand.

Reginald shifted his gaze between his wife and daughter, even though it had been six years since he managed to bring them back, he still wasn't used to having two people in his life persuading him in the right direction. Maybe it was because he spent so long by himself, making one impulsive decision after another, or maybe it was something else. But whatever the reason, Reginald slowly exhaled, agreeing to help the Umbrella Academy get closure on their brother's death.

~~~~~~~~~~

Deep within the dimly lit basement, Reginald led the siblings into one of his experimentation rooms, where seven oddly shaped chairs sat in the middle of the room, the wires all connected to one control panel. "Well, this keeps getting creepier and creepier..." Klaus shuddered, feeling the cold air conditioning brush against his exposed skin. "Yeah, definitely one of the top five creepiest places I've ever been in," Dusk chuckled nervously. Through deep blue lights that covered the room, the couple watched as Reginald strapped Allison, Luther, and Diego into their seats.

But as Klaus looked down and saw the long wires underneath his feet, his heart started pounding, and it only pounded faster as he watched Reggie lock in the headrests, keeping his sibling's heads from thrashing around. "On second thought, maybe this isn't such a good idea," He squirmed. "I just remembered I'm not a big fan of electrocution!" Klaus turned around, ready to dash out of that basement like his ass was on fire. But Dusk grabbed his wrist, pulling him back towards her. "Dusky, come on! I don't want to do this!" Klaus whined.

"I know you don't want to, but we have to. I'm here, we'll get through this together," Dusk assured. "But what about you? I'm scared, Dusky," Klaus gulped. "What if doing this puts you or the..." Dusk quickly pressed a finger to his lips. "I'll be fine, they'll be fine. I've still got some pain tolerance within me," she assured. But as she removed her finger, Klaus continued to spill his worries. "I just don't think that given your condition, you should be doing this," Klaus whispered. "I must know, Klaus. I've spent years blaming myself for not being able to save him. I need to close this chapter so we can start a new one,"

Though he couldn't see her face very well, Klaus could see just that familiar spark he fell in love with all those years ago. And while he continued to worry about the potential danger their child could face, he knew it was going to be hard to convince her not to go through with this experiment. "Okay, but if you start feeling woozy or sick, I'll get you to the hospital lickety-split," He vowed. "Thanks," She choked back a chuckle upon hearing him say lickety-split. "Your turn, Klaus," Reginald gestured him over to one of the empty seats.

With a gentle kiss on Dusk's knuckles, Klaus followed their father into his seat. As Reginald buckled him in, he could sense Klaus's anxiety as he locked the headrest. "Just get cozy, Klaus. It'll be fine," Reginald assured. "It's not just that I'm worried about," He admitted. "There's no backing out of this now, what else is the problem?" the monocle squinted. "It's Dusk, Dad. She's..." Klaus stammered, subtly pointing to his wife as she stood next to Victoria and Dahlia. "She's what?" Reginald whispered. "With child..." Klaus answered. "She'll be fine, right?"

"Of course! You'd think I let a pregnant woman anywhere near my experiments if it were to cause her harm?" Reginald assured. "Trust me, dear boy. She'll be okay, and so will he," As Reginald helped Dusk into the next chair, his father's words echoed in his head, and his eyes widened. He?! "Do we all have to do this? Can't you just do it to one of us?" Allison asked from the other side of the room. "Fragments of your original memories are still locked away in your minds. They are all integral pieces of a bigger puzzle," Reginald answered.

"I want to be connected too," Viktor stepped forward. With a shaking inhale, Victoria stepped forward as well. "Me too," She declared. "But you guys weren't on the mission," Luther looked at them confused. "I wasn't on the team then, but I am now, and I want to know the truth as much as you do," Viktor said, without a hint of hesitation. "Vic, are you sure you want to do this?" Five asked, grabbing his girlfriend's hand. "You might see something you might not want to see," "I've seen plenty of bad things in my life, Five. One mission gone wrong isn't going to scar me. Besides, the more info we can get about this Jennifer girl and her involvement, the better," Victoria confirmed. 

"Excellent. Please take your seats," Reginald nodded approvingly. As the redhead and Viktor lay back in their seats, Reginald looked over to Dahlia and Lila, asking them if they'd be joining in as well. "I think we're going to spectate," Dahlia answered. "Ditto, no offense, but I'm not letting you near my gray matter," Five commented. "Very well. Rose, come help me with these restraints please," Reginald sighed. "Coming!" Rosalie nodded, stepping over the thick wires and cables over to the chairs, strapping half of the siblings in, while her Reginald handled the other half.

"Whoa, what is that?" Dusk gestured to the strange black object in the blonde's hand. "Wouldn't want you to lose any teeth. It's gonna be a bumpy ride," Rosalie said before easing the mouthguard into Dusk's mouth. With the flick of a few buttons, the machine turned on, the blue illuminating lights started flashing red. And with one last loving look at her husband, Dusk turned her gaze back to the ceiling. "Wait, is this gonna hurt?" Luther muffled. 

"Indubitably,' 

~~~~~~~~~~

October 14th, 2006

"Step lively, children! We have a mission to do! Number One, round up the children!" Reginald's voice boomed throughout the hallway of the Umbrella Academy. "Let's go! Get your asses in gear!" Luther clapped, peering into the rooms of his siblings to make sure they were finishing getting ready. "My man, Diego!" He nodded approvingly as Diego was dressed in his uniform, back pressed against the wall. "My ass is always in gear," the youngster replied. "Come on guys! Come on!" Luther knocked on the closed door of the bathroom, opening to find Dusk and Allison trying to pull Klaus out of the bathroom while he laughed uncontrollably. 

"Are you kidding me, Klaus? You just got out of rehab!" Dusk strained. "I'm California sober, Dusky Wusky!" Klaus slurred. "Come on guys, just hurry up, Dad's waiting," Luther instructed before turning back into the hallway towards Ben's room. But rather than getting ready, Ben sat on the bed, deeply invested in his book. "Ben! Why aren't you dressed?" Luther asked. "I'm not going," Ben answered, licking his finger before turning to the next page. "But we'll be one man down,"

"Relax. Vanya can take my place," Luther turned towards where Vanya was standing, inches away from Ben's mirror, dressed in their uniform and wearing Ben's domino mask. "I want to help you guys," Vanya insisted. But Luther shook his head, peering into the hallway as he called for their father. "Narc," Ben muttered. Immediately after, Reginald pushed the door open the rest of the way, surprised at Ben's lack of readiness. "Number Six, why aren't you dressed?"  Reginald demanded. "He says he's not going," Luther explained.

But as Reggie stared down at his adoptive son, with a glare so sharp it could cut through cheese, Ben eventually caved in and started ready to join his siblings. "And what do you think you're doing?" Reginald caught a glimpse of Vanya. "I just... I thought I could help on the mission," they quietly mumbled. "Take that off immediately! You look ridiculous," Reginald spat, turning on his heel.

As the Umbrellas gathered in the living room, Reginald stood on the opposite end of the room, a corkboard full of newspaper scraps and security camera images pressed onto the corkboard, a small reading light hanging overhead. "A Moldovan arms dealer has acquired a deadly new weapon. It's being held in a shipping container, awaiting a buyer," He explained to the children as they all listened intently. "Your mission is to locate and destroy the weapon before the deal can be made. Number One will take point,"

"What about me? What should I do?" Diego asked. "Stop asking questions! Now children, whatever you do, it is imperative that you keep the weapon contained. Do not under any circumstances, open the container," the monocle warned. "Is that understood?" The Umbrellas nodded with assurance, and with the faintest hint of a smile underneath his bushy mustache, he sent the children to the rooftop where Pogo was waiting for them in the specialized aircraft, and as the children buckled their seatbelts, the chimpanzee's voice buzzed over the intercom, telling the children to prepare for departure.

As the aircraft flew through the air, Dusk looked out of the windows, down at the flashing streetlights and passing cars. "This is so cool!" Dusk smiled, catching a glimpse of Ben looking out of the window alongside her. "Yeah, pretty cool," Ben nodded in agreement. What felt like seconds later, the aircraft landed, one and a half miles away from one of the warehouses where the new weapon was supposedly being held. The Umbrellas slipped the domino masks over their faces before following behind Luther, keeping an eye out for any mercenaries who might be lurking nearby.

Filing into the warehouse, the Umbrella reached for their flashlights, searching high and low through the endless stacks of crates and barrels. Off in the distance, they could hear a faint chatter, and Luther put his hand up, signaling for his siblings to stop moving. "Tangos, three o clock," Luther whispered, slightly poking his head out, watching as the mercenaries walked by. Once they were out of sight, the Umbrellas continued walking, filing toward the circular metal container. "This is the one, let's go," Dusk nodded, remembering the images posted on their father's corkboard.

Allison set the small briefcase on the ground, opening it to reveal the bomb Reginald had given them shortly before their departure. And Ben and Diego carefully primed the bombs for a certain time, they stopped upon hearing more mercenaries coming their way. "Guys..." Luther's voice filled with urgency, knowing if they stuck around any longer, their gooses were cooked. "Go, I've got this!" Ben ushered. "Ben, are you sure?" Dusk looked over her shoulder, hearing the footsteps getting closer.

"I got this!" Ben confirmed. "Okay, Dusk, Diego, Allison, Klaus, you're on me, let's go," Luther instructed. The five siblings darted off into the darkness as they hid behind crates, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. As one man's back was turned, Diego covered his mouth with his gloved hand before reaching for his knife and slitting his throat. "Did you hear something?" Another man asked his buddy. "I don't know..." The other man grew cautious, making sure his gun was full of ammo. Suddenly a chuckle burst through as Dusk landed on the ground, her wings glowing brighter than a roaring fireplace. 

"Evening, gentlemen," She smirked as the men turned around and tried firing their weapons at her. But as they pulled the trigger, Dusk chuckled as their weapons jammed, and as both of the men started fiddling with the trigger, two fireballs ignited in her hands. "Guns are for sissies, let me show you how to really open fire!" With two accurate shots, the fireballs landed on the mercenaries, engulfing their chests with the roaring flames. Dusk watched with glee as they tried to put themselves out, only to choke on the smoke in the process.

"Wow..." Klaus watched her with admiration as the men collapsed onto the ground, their bodies beginning to smolder. "She's..." He gaped. "Smoking hot?" Allison teased. "Y-yeah, smoking hot..." He smiled. "Alright, I think that's all of them," Luther sighed. "Where's Ben? Shouldn't he be finished by now?" Diego questioned. As the group ran through the labyrinth of wooden and metal crates, they saw Ben perched above the container, the lid lying right next to him as he peered into the hatch.

"Ben! What the hell are you doing?" Dusk hissed. "There's someone in here, we gotta get her out!" Ben answered. "That wasn't part of the plan!" Luther insisted. "So what? You're gonna blow up an innocent girl?" Ben questioned. "But Dad said-" "I don't give a fuck about what Dad said!" Ben snapped. "We've got to help her!" As Number Six reached into the container, trying to help the young girl trapped inside, Luther pressed a button on his earpiece. "Dad, we've got a bit of a problem,"

But Luther was only met with the faint sound of static, as he pushed the button again, he called for their father, but again, only static. Moments later, Ben pulled a young girl with messy black hair and a long white dress out from the container, and they climbed down the ladder. "Okay, let's go, Ben," But before either Ben or Jennifer could get a word in, a loud gunshot rang through the air, a bullet piercing through Jennifer's forehead, and another bullet piercing Ben's a split second later.

"BEN!" Dusk's screams echoed throughout the warehouse as she and Klaus fell to the floor, desperately trying to wake him up. "Come on, buddy! Wake up!" Klaus's voice shook as he flipped Ben onto his back and discovered the damage, a clean shot through the center of the forehead. "No..." Allison and Dusk sobbed. Through her tear-filled eyes, Dusk looked up to see the one responsible for the death of her brother... And in the dim white light, her eyes widened upon discovering it was their father.

"I told you not to open the container..."