☂ 

     Nova had never seen anything like the academy.  It was large and vintage, more like a castle than a house.  She paused as she reached the gate in front.  Diego slowed, noticing how she was staring at the academy in awe, with lips slightly parted.  "Why the long face?"

     Her shoulders rose and deflated as she breathed heavily.  "It's just," she allowed her eyes to leave the building and make contact with the handsome boy in front of her. Though that might've been a bad idea due to the fact that Diego was prettier than the building and could take her breath away again just as easy.  Suddenly she forgot to finish the rest of her sentence.  "Are you sure you want me to be here?"

     Diego stared off into space, looking over at a tree on the sidewalk with a cocked head.  Finally, he nodded, making eye contact with Nova again.  "Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure," he opened the gate for her and she followed through.

     Thank God Diego told Nova about Pogo.  Although, Nova was way more worried about Grace.  She knew how much Grace meant to Diego.  "You're gonna love her," Diego said as he opened the door to the library with one hand, holding Nova's hand in the other.

     "I'm gonna love anyone who you love," Nova said, knowing the list of people Diego would kill for was very short.  Diego smiled happily, his cheeks raising so they partially covered his eyes, looking at the dark haired girl.

     "Ma, I'm home," Diego announced his presence to Grace.  Nova let Diego's hand go as she saw the happy look on Grace's face.  Normally she would tease him for being such a momma's boy, but she remembered how Artemis always was with their mom, so she let the thought go, only thinking of the obvious happiness radiating on both Diego and Grace's face — even though she was a robot. 

     Grace happily welcomed Diego into her arms, closing her eyes in bliss as the boy gave her a small squeeze.  "Diego. I've missed you," she said as she let herself take a step back from her son.

     Diego gave her a small nod.  "Mom, I would like you to meet Nova," the dark—haired girl loved how he said her name — like she was a shooting star or a planet in the sky.  Then again, Nova was in love with half the things Diego said.

     Nova took a step forward, extending her hand.  "It's nice to meet you.  Diego has told me so much about you," she smiled.  She was a little taken back when Grace pulled her into a full—on hug. 

     "Well, it's about time," Grace smiled at the girl.  Nova knew she was a robot, yet she felt completely safe and not at all uncomfortable.  Matter of fact, she liked the attention Grace gave her.  Grace's finger ran over a ring on Nova's hand.  "Oh, my," Grace brought Nova's hand up to her face.

     Diego immediately reached his arm out and started shaking his head, pointing at the ring.  "Mom, it's not what you think."

     "Will you be taking the Hargreeves last name when you marry?" Grace batted her eyelashes at Nova, who stood there with a surprised look on her face.

     Nova remembered what Diego said in the car.  It had been many years and she probably didn't even run the way she was programmed to anymore since no one cared for her.  Nova decided to entertain the woman.  "Well, we haven't really talked about it.  But Diego's welcome to taking my last name if he wants it."

     Diego paused, staring at the dark haired girl with a slightly amused expression.  "Rio Sage?"

     Nova shrugged, trying to ignore Grace's knowing smile.  "I was thinking just Rio since it was my mom's name before she combined it with my dads."  Diego nodded slowly, resting his tongue on the roof of his mouth.  Nova recognized his hesitant look immediately.  "That's just a general thought I have for if I ever decide to get married at all and—"

     "I like it," Diego interrupted her, his lips slowly curving into a smile.

     "Oh well," Grace cut into their stare, going on to inform them that she saw Luther head upstairs and that they should get settled in, reminding Nova to make herself at home.

     "This place is gorgeous," Nova admitted when she was walking alone with Diego through the halls, practically following him around since she knew he wanted to talk to Luther about the death of their father.

     Before Diego could comment, he caught sight of his estranged sister.  "What is she doing here?" he asked Allison, but turned to Vanya before she had a chance to respond.  "You don't belong here.  Not after what you did."

     "You're seriously gonna do this today?" Allison asked.  "Way to dress for the occasion, by the way."

     "At least I'm wearing black," Diego said without looking back as he paraded up the stairs.  He gripped Nova's hand so tight she thought it might bruise.  'I'm sorry' Nova mouthed to Allison and Vanya as they watched them disappear.  Diego lead them down the long halls, clearly remembering the place like the back of his hand.  Once they got to the room Luther was standing in — presumably their fathers — Diego and Nova stopped outside the door to share a look.  "After you," he held his arm higher, leading Nova into the room before him.  She gave him a crazed look.  "One of the benefits of having you here is that you're better at leading," Diego muttered in a low voice. 

     That wasn't a lie.  Nova rolled her eyes softly and stepped into the room, wiggling her slim figure in the space between the door and the wall.  "Hey there," Nova spoke up, dropping Diego's hand as the brooding man fell in line behind her.

     "I can save you some time," Diego said now that they had Luther's attention.  "They're all locked.  No forced entry, no sign of struggle.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  Oh, you got big, Luther," Diego noted as Luther stood straight in front of the duo.  "What's the secret, huh?  Protein shakes?  Low carbs?"

     "What do you want?" Luther asked.  Jeez, so much for brotherly love.  Nova looked to Diego, his cue to answer.

     "The autopsy report," Diego waved a piece of paper in front of the tall guy.

     Luther snatched it away from Diego.  "And you have this why?"

     "Well, that's because I broke into the coroner's office," Diego was never one to shy away from telling what he was up to.  "And surprise, surprise, Dad's death was normal."

     "It was just typical heart failure," Nova took a deep breath, taking in the room, unaware of how Luther questioned her silently, eyebrows furrowed.

     "Yeah, so?" Luther said.  "What's it to you?"

     "So, why are you in here, checking all the windows?" Diego asked him before Nova could answer.

     "Were you the first one on the scene?" Luther questioned.

     "Pogo found him."

     "Yeah, I talked to Pogo.  He said he couldn't find Dad's monocle."

     "And your point being?" Diego asked. 

     "Can you think of a single time you saw Dad and he wasn't wearing that monocle?" Luther pushed.

     Nova and Diego shared a look. "No."

     "Which means someone took it.  Which means there's a chance he wasn't alone when he died," Luther explained his theory.

     "There is no mystery here," Diego cut him off.  "Nothing to avenge.  Nothing to solve, nothing like that.  It's just a sad old man who kicked it in a big, empty house.  Just like he deserved," Diego said the last part in a low voice.  Nova lowered her gaze to the floor, clearly not wanting to be involved in any conversation doing with their father, who was a monster according to Diego.  He told her all about how he would treat them, from having their mom assign them names and teach Diego not to stutter (it showed weakness!) to locking Klaus in the cemetery in an attempt to get the young boy to learn how to control his powers.

     "You should leave," Luther growled.  "Both of you," he looked at Nova, who rose her head at the mention of her.  Diego slipped his hand into Nova's with ease.

     "Whatever you say, brother."

☂

     "So what is it that you do?" Allison asked Nova.  Before she asked, it was just Nova and Klaus filling up the spacious room with chatter.  Nova knew Klaus and all his bad habits, but she didn't mind talking to the man, and Klaus already approved of his brother's girlfriend.

     "I'm a schoolteacher," Nova nodded along, tapping her foot in the air as one leg sat over her other.  "Although, it's more of a hassle to become one than to do the job. I probably should've just studied psychology like the rest of my family did."

     "No, she means what do you do?" Klaus wiggled his eyebrows as he told Nova with a giggle and knowing smile, egging her to tell Allison she was one of them.

     Nova smiled.  "I mean, I can heal people and control water, but that's just for fun.  I'm not into the superhero gimmick like some of you," Nova directed her glare towards Diego, who was sitting by the crackling fireplace, listening to Nova's calming voice.  Klaus couldn't hold back a loud chuckle from the bottom of his throat.

     "So you're one of us?" Luther concluded.  "One of the forty—three?"

     "One thing you should know about Miss Thing here," Diego cut in, looking at Nova with a lowered gaze that made her weak in the knees, unadmittedly.  "Is that she's early to everything.  Including her own birth."

     Nova sighed.  "I came a day early than the rest of you.  On the twelfth hour of September thirtieth," she admitted.  It was so weird for her to put it like that, but she hadn't told anyone of her secret since Hannah, and that was years ago.

     "So how'd you two find each other?" Vanya, who was sitting on the other side of Klaus, asked.

     "Oh, do please tell the story," Klaus sat back on the couch with a smirk, closing his eyes in satisfaction like a puppy.  "It gives me chills."

     Nova looked to Diego, unsure how to put it.  "Remember when I got hurt when we made our public debut as the academy?" he asked the group of siblings.  "Nova was there, with her brother."

     "Oh, you have a brother?" Allison asked.  "Is he like you?"

     Nova swallowed a lump in her throat, wanting to jump to answer before Diego could — she could already see him shaking his head in the corner of her eye.  "No, my brother wasn't like me, or you guys for that matter, at all.  But he adored you guys, especially Ben.  He loved all the good work you guys did."

     "Nova healed my cut that day," Diego decided to wrap the story up.  "And then years later she healed me when a bullet grazed my arm when I jumped in front of her to save her when another bank was being robbed.  It was intense."

     Nova rolled her eyes.  "It wasn't that bad, you crybaby."

     "Anyways, I asked her out, but she had a boyfriend at the time, so we stayed friends," it was quiet for a moment, and Diego scoffed at the looks his siblings gave him.  "I didn't kill him!  Okay, I didn't!  Even though I should've," Diego shook his head, resting his hands on his knees.

     "That's all in the past now," Nova quietly said, knowing Diego blamed himself for what went down between her and her ex.

     "Um," Luther awkwardly cut the new silence.  "I guess we should get this started," he stood up.  "So, I figured we could have a sort of memorial service in the courtyard at sundown.  Say a few words, just at Dad's favourite spot."

     "Dad had a favourite spot?" Allison asked curiously as Nova rested her head in the crook of Klaus's neck.

     "You know, under the oak tree," Luther explained.  "We used to sit out there all the time.  None of you ever did that?"

     "Will there be refreshments? Tea? Scones? Cucumber sandwiches are always a winner," Klaus said as he began lighting a cigarette.

     "What?" Luther asked, eyebrows furrowed.  "No.  And put that out.  Dad didn't allow smoking in here."

     "Is that my skirt?" Allison noticed as Klaus stood up and stretched.

     "What?  Oh, yeah, this.  I found it in your room.  It's a little dated, I know, but it's very breathy on the bits," Klaus waved his ring—clad hand around the front of his lower body before sitting back down.

     "Listen up," Luther cut back in.  "Still some important things that we need to discuss, all right?"

     "Like what?" Diego asked.

     "Like the way he died."

     "And here we go," Diego said, reading Nova's mind exactly.

     "I don't understand," Vanya said.  "I thought they said it was a heart attack."

     "Yeah, according to the coroner."

     "Well, wouldn't they know?"

     "Theoretically."

     "Theoretically?"

     "I'm just saying, at the very least, something happened.  The last time that I talked to Dad, he sounded strange," Luther said.

     Klaus gurgled his drink.  "Oh, surprise!"

     "Strange how?"

     "He sounded on edge.  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 stood up, and walked over to Luther, though he was still significantly smaller than him.

     "No.  He must have known something was going to happen.  Look, I know you don't like to do it, but I need you to talk to Dad," Luther turned to Klaus.  Klaus pointed to himself in question.

     Nova furrowed her eyebrows.  He clearly didn't know how Klaus's powers worked.

     Allison scoffed as she drank more from her crystal cup.  "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?" Klaus mimicked.

     "Since when?  That's your thing," Luther pushed.

     "Look, if he says he can't do it, he can't do it," Nova jumped in the conversation, much to Klaus's appreciation and Diego's amusement.

     Klaus nodded.  "Yeah and besides, I'm not in the right frame of mind."

     "You're high?" Allison asked.

     "Yeah! Yeah!" Klaus laughed.  "I mean, how are you not, listening to this nonsense?"

     "Well, sober up, this is important," Luther said.  Nova didn't really pay attention, stealing the cigarette from Klaus's hand and smoking it once before returning it.  Yeah, he really didn't get what Klaus's gift was like.  "Then there's the issue of the missing monocle."

     "Who gives a shit about a stupid monocle?"

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

     "Where are you going with this?" Klaus asked.

     "Oh, isn't it obvious, Klaus?" Diego said smoothly.  "He thinks one of us killed Dad."

     It was quiet for almost half a minute before Klaus spoke up in surprise.  "You do?"

     "How could you think that?" Vanya asked.

     "Great job, Luther," Diego said slowly.  "Way to lead," he walked in front of him, nodding his head, telling Nova to follow.  Nova got up, realizing how hungry she was.  Maybe Diego would lead her to some food.

     "That's not what I'm saying," Luther tried to explain himself, but everyone was getting up from their seats.

     "You're crazy, man," Klaus said.  "You're crazy.  Crazy."

     "I'm not finished," Luther said as everyone was evacuating.

     "Sorry, I'm just gonna go murder Mom," Klaus said as he followed Nova out of the room.  "Be right back."

     "That's not what I was saying."

     Sure enough, Diego lead Nova to the kitchen where Grace fixed them up some food and they took it back to the now empty living room to eat it on the couch.  Nova would not let Diego forget how amazing the house was to her, even if he related it to hell.  They even danced when they heard the sound of music playing from upstairs, and Nova recognized it immediately.  She danced to the song when she mad breakfast in the mornings, and sometimes Diego would slip in, watching the girl as she faintly moved her hips back and forth to the song.  It was little things like those mornings that kept Diego sane.

     Thunder rumbled, the music stopped, and the lights flickered.

     Random objects went flying everywhere, including a knife that flew across the room and into Nova's leg, earning a loud grunt from the girl.  "Holy hell," she said, thankful that her long hair was in a braid, or else it would be flying everywhere with the wind, much like her skirt was doing.

     "Nova?" Diego asked, ducking his head so he was her size.  "Are you alright?" he grabbed a fistful of Nova's skirt to get it to stop moving.

     Nova nodded.  "It'll heal soon," she forcefully tugged it out of herself, growling.  It got dark, and they could hear Klaus yell out, questioning if it was their dad in their presence.  He'd clearly never summoned someone before, but Nova didn't say anything.  Diego and Nova found themselves outside with everyone else watching as a blue space seemed to be forming in the sky.  "What the fu—?"

☂

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