Walking back into the academy sent a few chills down Dusk's spine as she entered the entrance hall of her former home. Part of her couldn't help but wonder if this was all a setup and the remaining Sparrows would attack them at any moment. She entered the living room, noticing Grace holding a plate of sprinkled cookies. On the wooden table were a few snacks, from cheesy balls to assortments of raisins and nuts.

"Thank you," she softly spoke, grabbing a cookie from Grace's plate. As the caretaker glanced over at her, she saw one of her eyes was missing. How in the world did she... she could feel Luther's gaze on hers, signaling that Grace stabbed herself in the eye. Regardless, the circumstances of the lost eye were very creepy. "Welcome, please make yourselves at home," Fei spoke, a few of her ravens trailing behind her, along with Ben and Dahlia.

"Bitch, this is our home," Allison rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, what was that?" the icy Sparrow glared, her eyes turning ice blue. The Rumor glared back at her, daring her to let her guard down. As she sat down in one of the numerous chairs, Pennycrumbs sitting on her lap, Victoria also glared at the blonde. "Ice shit..." she lowly growled. "Uh... does anybody want jellybeans?" Luther stepped in, hoping to break the awkwardness. 

Dahlia, Victoria, and Allison all backed down, but not without letting out their own quiet sighs. "Where the hell is Viktor and Klaus?" Diego questioned. "With our luck, probably kugelblitzed by now," Five responded. What the hell, Five? That's my boyfriend you're talking about! "Ooo, what happened to your hand?" Fei questioned, looking at Diego's gauze-wrapped hand. But before Diego could respond, Ben clapped his hands, silencing the room. "We don't have time for idle chitchat. Everyone sit down," he instructed.

Dusk sat on the left couch, scooting next to Five and Diego. Lila joined in on the end. "So... this is nice, right? All of us here together, one big happy family," the ape-man tried lighting up the mood though it didn't seem to be working. "Look, I know there's been bad blood between us. Whatever. Bygones, right?" Dusk could tell that this new Ben wasn't one for long speeches.

Diego raised his hand, getting Ben's attention. "If I kill you, do we get our Ben back?" the Kraken asked. Fei snickered as Diego made it clear his question was only hypothetical. "Keep talking, and your hand won't be the only thing that's bleeding," Ben threatened. "Right, if you guys are done, I'd like to get back to a plan," Five intervened, not wanting this truce to turn into another brawl. Rushed footsteps came from the entrance hall, and Viktor entered the room, looking worried.

"Where is he? What did you do to Harlan?" he asked, his gaze shifting from Allison to Ben. "They didn't do anything to him... I did," Allison slightly lurched forward in her seat. "I killed Harlan," Dusk's eyes widened, but at the same time, it was no surprise to her that Allison had killed someone. If she was capable of hurting her siblings, she was very much capable of murder. Maybe not with killing Harlan, but perhaps the raven or one of their siblings.

Viktor just stared at her in disbelief. "I... I don't understand why?" He stammered. "Because he didn't deserve to live," Allison said lowly. "What? Because they said so? You don't have to listen to them!" As the two continued their spat, Ben scooted between Dusk and Diego. The couch was big enough to fit about five people. But even then, the more people sat there, the more cramped and crowded it became. "I bet you 20 bucks on the little one," Ben whispered to Dusk and the time traveler. "Shush!" the raven put a finger to her lips, keeping her eyes on the argument,

"Y-you could've talked to me. We could've figured out something else!" Viktor reasoned, but Allison was having none of it. "So you could lie to us again and take his side?" Allison glared. Wait... is Viktor hiding something from us? "Because that's exactly what happened. I know Harlan killed all of our mothers," Dusk's jaw dropped. Out of all the people in the world who could've done it, she never suspected Harlan.

"Who told you that?" Viktor inquired. "Harlan told me. After you lied about it to my face," Allison growled. Dusk didn't know who to believe. She feared this was Allison's way of causing tension in the family again, or maybe she was telling the truth for once. "Viktor, is this true? Was Harlan behind all this?" the phoenix asked, catching his attention. "Yes, but he didn't mean to hurt anyone. He--" "How do you know that?" Five interrupted, masking his hint of anger.

Number Seven explained that he never meant to do any of this. He knew Harlan to be sweet and loving until he turned into one of them. "I screwed him up. And if you need someone to blame, I'm right here--" "What makes you think I don't?" Allison cut in, folding her arms across her chest. A look of realization washed over Viktor. The longer he stared at his sister, the more he realized she did this to hurt him. Everything she had been doing since they arrived in the new timeline had been retaliation because she lost her daughter.

"This wasn't about saving the world. This was about hurting me... payback for--" Allison rose from her seat. The closer she got to Viktor, the more Dusk felt her demon awaken deep within her bones. Her relationship with Viktor was one of the strongest growing up, if Allison were to do something now, in front of everyone, there was no doubt Dusk would either join the argument or grab Allison by her neck.

"Go on, say her name," The Rumor egged on. Luther attempted to settle the argument once again, but Allison put her hand up, silently telling him this was not his battle therefore he shouldn't get involved. With reluctance, he sat back down. "Did killing Harlan bring Claire back?" Viktor gritted his teeth. "Did protecting him bring Sissy back? It was just as personal for you," Allison snarled. "But I didn't kill anyone!" Viktor shouted. "But you RISKED everyone! Do you know what that felt like?! Watching you fight harder to protect the man who helped destroy my daughter than you ever did to bring her back?"

Keep calm, Dusk. Just keep calm... Her hands began to clench into fists, and she could feel the tiniest spark of flames near the corner of her eyes. "God, this whole family is so quick to tell me to suck up my pain and so worried about fixing yours! Somebody had to pay because you never seem to. Destroy the world, kill Pogo, almost kill me, and for what? So we can run around and clean up your mess? I'm sick of it..." If you keep talking like this Allison, I will put you down.

Out of the corner of his eye, Five could see his twin on the verge of attack. "Take it easy," he whispered both to her and Allison before Ben shushed him, clearly invested in the argument. Viktor sucked in a breath. "Okay, I-" "SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Allison screamed. Viktor's mouth was sealed by her powers, robbing him of his ability to breathe. The siblings all stared at one another in shock, confused by how she was controlling him without saying, 'I heard a rumor.'

"Every time I build a new life for myself, you end the world and TAKE IT FROM ME!" the anger in Allison's words further hurt Viktor. "How are you doing this without saying I heard a rumor?" Five asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "Just a little residual gift from Harlan," Number Three answered. "Alright! Knock off the power shit, Allison! It's not okay!" Luther jumped in. But even his efforts couldn't get her to stop. If she continued, she could kill Viktor.

Eventually, he was able to break free, coughing up a storm and taking in every breath he could.  Allison leaned in close, saying in a hushed tone. "We should've left you in the basement..." That was the straw that broke the camel's back for Dusk, as her eyes had fully turned red, ready to kill her. "THAT'S IT!" she shrieked, leaping from her spot on the couch, grabbing Allison, and throwing them across the room towards the bar.

"Holy shit! Girl fight!" Lila chuckled, biting into her piece of twizzle. Consumed by anger, Dusk and Allison rolled around on the floor, pulling hair and slapping each other. As Allison flipped Dusk onto her back, the raven tucked in her legs, kicking her sister hard enough to make her fly towards the wall. "Just because you lost your daughter, it doesn't give you the right to hurt people! Assaulting Luther and rumoring me to walk away from it and almost killing Viktor. WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SUCH A CUNT?!"

The room went dead silent as they all gaped at what they heard. "Ooo, those are fighting words right there!" Ben laughed. "Quit acting like you're the only one who's lost someone! We've all lost people, but you keep making everything all about you!" Dusk continued. "Wait! You said she assaulted Luther?" Sloane asked. "Unfortunately, yes..." the raven nodded. Sloane stared at Allison in disbelief before shifting her gaze to her boyfriend. "Is that true?" she questioned. Luther just stared at the ground, a look of hurt crossing his face as he remembered everything.

"Like you lost anybody, Dusk," Allison scoffed. "I lost Mary and James along with Jack, my only male friend before Klaus came back into my life! Not to mention, I almost lost Victoria!" Dusk screeched. Victoria set Pennycrumbs on the ground, pulling out her bo staff. "But they weren't your children... that's why you don't understand my grief," Allison growled. "Dusk has a point. Despite everything that's happened to me, I don't actively go out and hurt people that don't deserve it!" Victoria spoke up, making Allison roll her eyes.  "After this mess is done, your dead to me," the raven vowed.

As she was about to walk away, Allison started lowly cackling. "If anyone should be dead, it's you," Dusk's eyes immediately turned back to blood red as a fireball ignited in her hand. "Say it again. I dare you..." Allison took a step towards her, the fire of chaos still burning within her. "You said you blamed yourself for what happened to our Ben. You're right. It shouldn't have been him. You should've died that day,"

Those words struck Dusk like a bullet to the heart. Within milliseconds, she felt tears sting her eyes. "Alright, that's enough-" Dusk lost control of herself, elbowing whoever it was behind her, making them yowl in pain. As she turned around, she saw she hit Five in the nose. "Oh my god, I-I'm so sorry..." she stuttered. As she turned her gaze back to Allison for the last time, she grabbed a nearby decanter and threw it in her direction. It narrowly missed Allison's head, breaking into pieces against the wall.

"Fuck you, Allison," With that, Dusk rushed out of the room, fighting back her tears.