"I am not going to let your selfish desires tear this family apart," Allison smirked. I'm selfish?! She's the one who can't stand me being with another woman! "Don't you dare..." Astrid warned. But Allison opened her mouth again, speaking the sentence the Shadow Girl feared since her girlfriend was tortured. "I heard a rumor... you broke up with Sloane," Another vortex containing Allison's voice flew towards her ears, breaking free from her sister's previous command, Astrid desperately tried to cover them before it was too late.

As Luther came up the stairs, he caught glimpse of what was going on through the railing. And watching Astrid become hypnotized by their sister's heartless command left him speechless. I can't let this happen, I have to make Allison set her free! But just as he was about to charge up the rest of the stairs, Allison looked directly at him. He looked back at Astrid as she fought against the rumor, but soon her eyes rolled into the back of her head, a gasp escaping her lips.

"What have you done?" Luther spoke angrily. "What I had to do," Allison shook her head, her arms still folded across her chest. "Really? Did you have to make Astrid end her relationship when she's happier than I've ever seen her?!" He scoffed. "We'll be dead within four days anyway. Their little fling will be kugeltoast," Allison squinted. Luther spoke again, commanding that as the Umbrella leader, she set Astrid free. But Allison just chuckled.

"She'll thank me one day. Now butt out, or I'll rumor you as well," Allison took a sip from her drink. From the corner of his eye, Luther watched Astrid walk down the stairs and towards the revolving doors. She was going to the Sparrow Academy to break things off with Sloane, just like Allison wanted. "You're pure evil," Luther growled before running down those steps, nearly tripping on the last one as he chased after Astrid. "Trid, wait!" Luther called out as the sounds of sirens wailed all over the city. Everything surrounding the hotel was smoldering, and black smoke rose from the buildings that caught fire.

He ran, trying to keep up with her as she walked the next block to the Academy, still calling out to her while coughing and trying to filter the air with his shirt. Finally, he was close enough to grab her and spun her around, embracing her in a tight hug. "Get your ape hands off me!" She struggled, trying to kick and claw her way out. "No! I won't let you do this to Sloane! Come on Astrid, fight it!" Luther pleaded. "You love Sloane. I know you do!"

"No, I don't! Why do you think I'm breaking up with her? Let... me... go!" She snarled. Astrid tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but Luther couldn't squeeze her any harder without suffocating her or breaking a few ribs. "Look at me, okay? I'm here. It's Luther, your brother. Remember me?" He whispered. Astrid's eyes were tightly closed, but as she opened them, she saw his face, his words echoing in her mind, trying to pull her back to reality. The cloudiness of her eyes faded, and she stopped struggling. Looking around and remembering Allison's horrible words, the Shadow Girl hugged him, letting out her tears of betrayal, anger, and sadness.

"I know, I know," Luther comforted, putting her back on the ground. "Why would she do this?" Astrid sobbed. "She's going through a lot, Triddy," Luther responded. "Right. But that doesn't give her the right to cause me to almost break Sloane's heart all because she doesn't want us to be together. Not to mention Allison tortured her till she almost had an aneurysm!" It broke Luther's heart to see his little sister this way. If he could've traded places so she wouldn't have to feel the pain, he would've. But who knows what Allison would have done to him?

The siblings sat on the concrete bench, Luther's arm still wrapped around her back. "This was why I was so nervous to tell everyone besides you," Astrid sighed. "I knew this would happen. I just didn't expect the reactions to be so extreme," Luther nodded in agreement. Sure, they didn't have to accept what was going on between Astrid and Sloane right away, but they definitely could've been more calm and collected about it.

"Do you think Sloane loves me?" Astrid asked. "Is that even a question? Of course she does!" Luther nodded. "I just feel like Allison put all the doubts in my head," She shrugged. Luther took Astrid's hand and lightly squeezed it, causing her to look up. "I saw you two when Sloane was held hostage. And I might not be a love expert, but from the way she looks at you, I can tell she loves you to the moon and back," He swore. Astrid wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "You really think so?" She double-checked. "Mhmm. Quite honestly, I think you two are a great match," Luther nodded.

A smile returned to Number Eight's face as she felt part of her happy self return, and she embraced Luther again a little tighter. "Hey, thanks for coming after me and being a supportive brother," Astrid muffled. "You're welcome, Ast," Luther smiled. The moment the two pulled apart, they stood up and started going their separate ways. "Tell Sloane I said hi, alright?" Luther called out. "Okay, I will!" Astrid nodded, walking the remaining one and a half blocks to the Academy.

~~~~~~~

While all the chaos was happening with her girlfriend, Sloane was unaware of everything around her as she sunk back into her dreams of traveling the world. Ever since her return to the Sparrow Academy, Ben and Fei brought her up to speed and showed her the glowing ball of orange in the basement. And while the two were struggling to figure out what it was, and Grace was calling it a God, Sloane identified the terrifying cluster as a kugelblitz, thanks to some science lessons from when they were kids.

If it wasn't for her, they never would've been able to figure out the timing of the kugelwaves and the meaning behind the tiny black holes inside of it. As she flipped to the next page of her travel guide, Sloane was pulled back to reality by a knock at the door. She could see the faint outline of a person from the glass and went downstairs. As she answered it, she looked over her shoulder to make sure neither her brothers nor her sister had heard it. And just as she suspected, the person at the door was Astrid.

"Hi!" Sloane smiled. "Hey, can I come in?" Astrid asked. "Always!" Sloane backed up and opened the door the rest of the way. As Astrid walked into the entrance hall, she felt the gentle caress of Sloane's hand touching hers. "My siblings should be winding down now, so until then, we have to be really quiet," Sloane whispered, taking off her girlfriend's jacket. "That's fine. I'd rather be with you than anywhere else right now," The Umbrella sighed.

Just then, she could feel her stomach begin to grumble with hunger. With all the stress trying to come up with a plan must've left an aching pit in her stomach. "You want to sneak in a few snacks from the theater?" Astrid questioned, having heard the low grumbles. "Sure, why not?" Astrid shrugged. As the two tiptoed down the hall, Sloane quietly opened the double doors, locking them in case her siblings were walking by and heard the noises.

The two women reached into the popcorn machine and started grabbing the sodas and few candy boxes as they watched the giant metal bowl pop and spill popcorn into the buttery pile. In the back of her mind, Astrid couldn't stop thinking about what the outcome could've been had Luther not gotten to her in time to stop the breakup. Just the thought of seeing Sloane so heartbroken and shocked made her shudder.

"What's wrong?" Sloane asked, handing her one of the small bowls of popcorn. "It's nothing," Astrid smiled, shaking her head. While the gravity girl had doubts about her girlfriend's emotions, she kept silent and hoped being in each other's company would help cheer her up. As they sat in two of the cozy leathered seats, the two flipped through channels, the volume being the lowest they could get without waking anyone up. And as they both stared at the screen, watching an older romance film, Astrid's doubts came creeping back in.

Sloane could see the expression on Astrid's face, looking like she was trying not to cry while fighting with her inner demons. "Baby, please tell me what's going on," Sloane begged, her warm hand caressing Astrid's cold and clammy hand. "I just... wish my family could see how amazing you are. Luther and Viktor see it, but I don't understand why no one else does," Astrid sniffed.

"Did someone say something?" Sloane questioned. "Allison said if we stop the kugelblitz, you'll act like I never existed," The Sparrow's jaw dropped at that. Someone had to be extremely heartless to say something like that. "Please don't be mad..." Astrid begged. "No Triddy, I'm not mad at you," Sloane stood from her seat and crouched near her girlfriend's seat. "Why would I forget about the woman who showed me what love is? The woman who makes me happy every time I see her?"

Sloane leaned forward, wiping Astrid's tears as she looked down at her. "I showed you what love is?" Astrid inquired. "Yes, you did. I don't know how I got so lucky to have you, but I'm sure glad our worlds collided," Sloane confirmed. As the feelings of joy coursed through Astrid's body, she was both in shock and love as Sloane leaned in to kiss her, Astrid's hands immediately cupping her face. 

Their kisses became more and more intoxicating as their lips moved in sync, and as the minutes of nothing but passion-filled kisses continued, Sloane stood up, arms wrapped around Astrid's waist, and she let out a surprised gasp as she felt her girlfriend's legs wrap around her waist.