"Five, how in the world do you know Victoria?" Dusk slowly shifted her gaze to him as the elevator doors closed. "I could ask you the same question!" Five replied a hint of snarkiness in his voice. The raven's mind kept looping around in circles as she wondered how and when her best friend and brother met. She wanted to know. No, she needed to know. A staring contest between the time traveler and phoenix commenced, and as Dusk kept a focused gaze, she noticed Five seemed to be caving in, though it was unlike him to ever do that.

"We can handle the redhead problem later. Right now, we've got bigger issues to deal with... stopping the kugelblitz!" Luther called out, forcing the two to break the stare. Dusk sucked in a disappointing breath, folding her arms across her chest. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Viktor walking away from the family meeting. She knew this was about surrendering Harlan, and she instantly followed, calling out his name.

"Hey, I can see you have a heart for this kid, but I haven't seen you this protective over somebody since Leonard. I can't help but feel concerned," Dusk noted. "Harlan is nothing like Leonard. He wouldn't hurt me," Viktor assured. That doesn't give me much confidence. When someone says something like that, they end up getting hurt! Luther overheard the conversation between the two, immediately assuming Harlan had a hold over him. "Stop covering for him!" he demanded.

"Covering what?" Five inquired, seemingly regaining his calm demeanor. The Umbrellas walked over, their curiosity also getting the better of them. "Harlan didn't mean to hurt anyone," Viktor insisted, a hint of pleading in his eyes. "Really? You mean when he did this?" Luther scoffed, pointing to a cut on Viktor's right cheek, making Dusk and the rest of her sibling's eyes widen. "Wait, he did that to you?" Five asked, his eyes widening to the size of saucers.

"That's it. I'm gonna end him!" Diego growled, his pointer and middle finger caressing the tip of one of his blades. "Stop. I know how this looks, but Harlan didn't ask for this. If we hadn't gone back to 1963, if I hadn't saved him--" Luther cut off Number Seven, reminding him that Harlan was the one who killed Jayme and Alphonso, not him.  "He's right. If there's even a slight chance of getting out of this alive, we need access to the kugelblitz," Dusk sighed as she folded her arms over her chest.

Viktor tried explaining that there were only five Sparrows left and that they could overpower them. This thought made all the Umbrellas shake their heads as they could not risk losing family in the process. "Harlan is insignificant," Five spoke up. "You once told me that no one is insignificant," Viktor pointed out. "They're going to kill him if we give him up," The Umbrellas looked amongst themselves, some immediately shifting their gaze to the ground. They knew given the Sparrows' rage, they would go through with it.

"So? We're talking about one person versus saving billions of lives here. Is this really a debate for you people?" Lila commented. "Hey, Little Britain? You don't get a vote!" Viktor snapped. "Lila lives in this universe too. Besides, she's family now. Along with the redhead, sorta," Klaus came to her defense. Lila gave the junkie a slight side smile before Diego stepped in, claiming he wasn't going to let Harlan finish Viktor off. "Five days ago, he was just a little kid. And am I supposed to decide if he lives or dies?" Number Seven did his best to keep his composure, though tears of frustration were welling in his eyes.

Dusk slowly walked towards him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "We're down to ethical triage here, all right? We can't save everyone no matter how much we want to," she spoke in a firm but soft tone, almost like a mother disciplining her child. "You're on our team now, and unfortunately, there are times when we have to make the hard calls,"

Viktor looked at each of his siblings with a look of defeat. Though the realization sank in, it was still a bitter pill to swallow. "Let me go get him. Maybe I can convince him to come quietly," With that, he walked up the stairs, leaving the Umbrellas to wait. "I need to go check on Victoria," Dusk muttered to Klaus, kissing his cheek before going her separate way.

~~~~~~~

As she stood outside Victoria's door, Dusk took a shaking breath. If she reacted so harshly towards Five downstairs, he must've done something to really piss her off. She knocked on the door three times, greeted by a low growl from the other side. "GO AWAY!" it ordered. "Victoria, it's Dusk. Can I come in?" the raven clarified. The door slowly creaked open, only the redhead's eyes visible from the opening. They squinted at her as Dusk stood there feeling uneasy.

"If you're here to convince me to come downstairs, it's not gonna happen!" the redhead swore. "No, I'm not! I just wanted to check on you," Dusk shook her head. The door inched open just enough for the raven to slip through, and as Victoria looked into the hallway to make sure nobody was trying to eavesdrop, she shut the door.

Dusk could feel the tension not only in the air but inside her. If she wanted to get the details out, she had to play the cards right. "That was... quite surprising down there," She sighed. "Well, if you think I'm gonna let somebody who mentally destroyed me get away with it, then your sadly mistaken! You know I don't go down without a fight," Victoria vented, her face still red with rage.

"I know that, Vic. And you have every right to take revenge against someone who hurts you. But Five is part of my family," the raven nodded. Victoria swung her head around, glaring at her like a predator hunting for its prey. "So, you're siding with him?" she clenched her teeth. "I'm not choosing sides. I just want to know what happened. If you don't want to talk, it's fine. But remember, I'm here for you," The redhead slightly bit her lower lip, a low exhale escaping her as she tried to fight away her fury.

Victoria took a seat and began explaining everything, from the day her birth parents were murdered to the day she had been recruited by the Commission and trained with Lila. There were times when the redhead had a few tears roll down her cheek, but she quickly wiped them away, trying to maintain her composure. "When Five became part of the Commission, I didn't think much of him. I thought he'd be your average recruit. But something about him pulled me towards him," Vic tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Though she wouldn't admit it, Dusk felt awkward hearing her best friend talk about her brother. But she said nothing and continued to listen. The redhead explained that their relationship slowly grew romantic, though he seemed hesitant at first. Probably because of that mannequin he carried with him, not to mention the trauma from the apocalypse. "Then one day, he said he had to take care of something and that he'd come back for me when it was taken care of." 

Dusk's eyes widened as she realized when Five came back to save his siblings and the world from the apocalypse, he left her behind. And with the 1963 doomsday and now a Kugelblitz wiping out humanity, it was no wonder he forgot his promise. His confusion during the confrontation further stirred Dusk's theory. "Oh shit..." Dusk gulped. "Need I mention the breakdown I endured when he didn't come back for me?" the redhead shook.

"I can imagine how hard it must've been for you..." Dusk placed a consoling hand on her shoulder. "...You've been through so much. And you deserve all the happiness and good luck the world has to give," Victoria felt something brush up against her leg, making her look down to see Pennycrumbs looking up at her. She picked up the little dog and placed him in her lap, stroking his head.

"I don't know if you heard it before the... fight. But-" "I know, the world's ending. And I'm guessing you guys are going to try and put a stop to it?" Victoria interrupted, raising an eyebrow. The raven nodded, if the Kugelblitz was bigger than all the Umbrella Academy's other obstacles, they needed some extra help, someone other than the Sparrows. "Listen, I know you have your reasons for hating Five. But with I think with you and Lila on our team, we can finally end these unnatural events,"

Victoria pondered that thought for a moment. The thought of being involved with Five made her blood boil, but she supposed she could swallow the anger until the world's end was resolved. "I don't know..." she crossed her arms. Dusk scooted a little closer as a mischievous thought crossed her mind. "What if I told you you'd get a free pass to mess with Dahlia?" she whispered. Victoria softly chuckled at the thought of getting some payback. She'd be sorry for messing with them soon enough.

"Okay, deal. But keep that bastard away from me, or else I will not hold back,"

A/n:  Sorry I've been so MIA for almost a month! But I'm finally back! To be honest, September has not been the very best month for me for numerous reasons, but hopefully, with the spooky season on the way, I will be more active! :)