As Dahlia stumbled out of the grocery, occasionally grabbing at her bleeding leg, she kept a close eye out, wanting to catch her rivals making their escape. But with the consistent traffic of citizens crossing both sidewalks, it was difficult for her to differentiate who could be the raven, ginger, and little boy. Eventually, she gave up and hobbled back to the Sparrow Academy, Alphonso's candy request in her coat pocket. 

"The next time you ask me to get you candy, the answer's no," the Icy Sparrow remarked, tossing the bags onto the coffee table. "What's got you so sour this morning?" Jayme raised a brow. "Not that it's any of your business, but dragon lady and I crossed paths," Dahlia rolled her eyes. The pair looked at one another before bursting into laughter. "That explains why you're walking like that!" Alphonso coughed.

Sparrow Eight sucked in a breath, resisting the urge to spew ice shards at them. Her left hand remained on her leg as she climbed the stairs to grab some medical supplies. The pain in her leg became worse and worse. Not only was she losing a lot of blood, but she could also feel remnants of glass shards piercing her skin. Although it hurt like hell, this was nothing compared to the frostbite she sustained years ago. As she rested her leg on the bathtub, pulling at the shards with tweezers, Dahlia bit her lip harshly, muffling her screams.

Damn you, dragon lady! Just can't leave us alone, can you? The blonde continued to remove the glass, the taste of blood and metal filling her mouth. The amount of glass seemed to be endless. Twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen pieces fell into the trash can, Dahlia's blood completely covering them. As she bandaged the wound, a bang came from the closed door. "What?" She called out as Ben pushed the door open.

"Get yourself suited up. We're meeting the Umbrellas at the Hotel Obsidian," Ben instructed, not paying mind to the mess. "And why on earth are we meeting up with them?" Dahlia clenched her teeth, remembering her fight with Dusk. "I thought you said we were obliterating them," "If they didn't bring back Marcus. Get it right, D. We're leaving in twenty minutes, don't keep everyone waiting," Ben clarified before walking down the hall toward Sloane's room.

Dahlia squinted as he passed her, shaking her head at the mere sound of his voice. But she pushed him away from her mind as she got ready. The red and black latex suit was skintight, and as she pulled it over her legs, the bandages rubbed against the leather, almost testing them to see if more blood would spill out. Dahlia zipped up the suit and stared at herself in the mirror. 

She hated that suit. There were times when she felt like she couldn't breathe in it, and it would tighten around her like one of those laced-up corsets from back in the 19th century. She met up with the rest of the Sparrows in their van, her back pressing against the seat as the vehicle started moving. Soon, her mind became fuzzy, like she was in a dream. And as she closed her eyes for a brief moment, she recalled hurried and panicked voices.

FLASHBACK BEGINS...

"Come on!  Come on! Can't this thing go any faster?!" Sloane shouted to Marcus, cradling Dahlia's frostbitten body in her arms. The only thing Sparrow Eight could feel was numbness. She tried to move, but her body was too stiff and too frozen. Her lips moved as she tried to speak, but the only thing close to words that came out was gurgles and whimpers. "It's gonna be okay, Dahl. I'm right here..." The gravity girl whispered, choking back a sob.

Dahlia's hazel brown eyes slightly opened, seeing her sister's sad yet hopeful expression. That look in her eyes provided some amount of warmth in Sloane's heart, knowing she wasn't gone. Hesitantly, she ran a hand through Dahlia's snowflake-covered hair. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ben just staring straight ahead as Fei and Jayme did their best to care for Christopher, who was also moaning in pain, complaining about how he couldn't feel his legs.

Sloane wanted to scream. She wanted to grab him by the throat for endangering her best friend and brother's lives. But despite her anger, she held it back, keeping her attention on Dahlia. "I-I'm so c-c-cold..." Dahlia hoarsely whispered. Reaching in-between one of the metal seats, Sloane pulled out a brown blanket, draping it over the first blanket covering Dahlia. They weren't the finest quality of blankets, but better than nothing.

Dahlia tried to stay awake the rest of the way back to the Academy, but the cold wanted her to cave into eternal sleep, but even with every frozen nerve, she fought it to the very end.

FLASHBACK ENDS...

"Wake up, Icy!" Dahlia's eyes shot open, and she was greeted by the look of annoyance on Jayme's face. "Are we there yet?" the blonde asked, unbuckling her seatbelt. "Duh! Now come on!" Sparrow Six persisted. When Dahlia made the small jump onto the sidewalk, she looked up at the tall multiple-story building for a moment, before walking towards the front entrance, her and her siblings pushing their way through the revolving doors.

The guests inside the hotel took notice of their presence, some of them snapping photos as they got in formation. The Sparrows stared directly ahead, watching as five of the seven Umbrellas stood across from them, crossing their arms. Let's see... Knife Boy, Rumor Girl, Little Dude with big powers, Ape-freak, and... Dahlia squinted as she and Dusk made eye contact. She had also been beaten pretty badly, as she could see a wet white rag wrapped around her arm along with a few cuts and bruises.

"Well, thanks for coming," Viktor broke the ominous silence. "Oh yeah, super glad to be here," Jayme replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. The two academies briefly spat insults, but the icy rage inside of Dahlia was growing. The more she stared at Dusk, the more she wanted to end her. The raven seemed to get the message, as she mouthed the words, Try me. 

"Where's the briefcase?" The Rumor asked. "Where's our brother?" Ben crowed. With the Umbrella's prolonged silence, it became pretty clear that Marcus was not with them. Did this idiot really think they had him? What am I saying? Of course he did! "Maybe we should try this again before I lose my temper... Hand over the briefcase or no deal," Allison growled. "Tiny problem, the deals off,"

Dahlia's wrists slightly bent as she readied her weapon. Her target was in her sights, and soon she would be dead. "MOLOTOV THIS, BITCHES!" The same little boy from earlier was running around with a flaming bottle, startling the hotel occupants. As the knife boy turned around to reprimand him, the tween dropped the flaming bottle, setting one of the banners on fire. "Power Up!" Ben instructed the Sparrows. And with pleasure, Dahlia readied her ice shards. And while most of her siblings were caught off-guard, Dusk released her power as well. The battle of ice and fire would have a round three.

"Now, Chris!" Ben looked over at the floating cube. And with a few spins and chatter, red beams emanated from the cube, sending the Umbrellas screaming and making them fall onto the floor, desperately trying to plug their ears. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Dusk screamed, attempting to fight back against the noise as it grew louder. "Kill them!" As the Umbrellas continued to wither in pain, Dahlia, Jayme, and Alphonso slowly walked toward them.

As a deadly-spiked icicle formed in her hand, a loud masculine scream echoed throughout the hotel. When Dahlia looked up, she was stunned to see yellow energy bolts coming her way. She quickly backed away and ducked down, desperate to protect herself. In all the madness, she looked up to see Jayme and Alphonso being struck by the rays. And just as they randomly appeared, it was all over. Jayme and Alphonso's bodies hit the ground, half of their faces seared and lifeless.

"JAYME! ALPHONSO!" Fei screamed, reaching out a hand to them. "Fall back!" Ben shouted. And as quickly as they could, the remaining Sparrows piled into the revolving door, making their escape back to the Academy. As the van sped away, Dahlia looked behind her in a panic hoping that Sloane was right behind them. But to her shock... she didn't make it.