Sloane. Hearing the name out loud sounded smoother than butter. It suits her perfectly. Something about this girl kept dragging her in. Astrid had no idea what, but it was like a siren's song to sailors. She wanted to know more about her, maybe she wasn't like the other Sparrows. And if their two households weren't in the middle of a brawl, they could've gone somewhere quiet and maybe have five minutes of a peaceful conversation.

But just as she finishing giving the Sparrow her name, Five, Luther, and Allison came running down the hall, screaming at her. "Ast, we're leaving! Come on!" Luther said hurriedly, grabbing her sleeve and pulling her off the floor. When they reached the end of the hallway, they heard the sounds of ravens screeching and wings flapping toward them. They looked back and saw seven or eight of the winged beasts, looking ready to pluck their eyes out of their skulls.

"Run!" Five shouted. With adrenaline pumping through them, they continued running down the hall, hoping to reach the back entrance. They were about halfway there when Five realized he forgot their key to fixing this mess... the briefcase. "Shit! I'll be right back!" he said before blinking back to the entrance hall. Allison, Luther, and Astrid ran as far as their legs would carry them. As the door was in their sights and the birds got closer and closer, they barricaded themselves in, hoping they were safe at last.

But before they could calm their beating hearts, squawking and the tearing of wood punctured the door. The three Hargreeves backed away after feeling some of the beaks pinching them and trying to grab at their clothes. "Does this never end?!" Allison groaned. The afternoon sunlight filled the dim room with light, and Astrid saw the window was big enough for them to crawl through and led right into the alleyway. "Come on!" Astrid pointed, opening it the rest of the way and watching as Allison ducked underneath it.

Astrid also made her escape, but when it came to Luther, he found himself halfway out the window, stuck due to his muscular torso. "Come on, big guy. Suck it in!" Number Eight strained as she and her sister pulled on Luther's arms.  The wooden door finally gave way, the squawking growing louder and louder. "Pull, Ast! PULL!" Allison shouted. With another sharp tug, the rest of Luther's body slipped through the window, and they fell onto the wet pavement.

Surprisingly, the birds hadn't followed them outside, but they were circling the room while Fei clenched her fists in anger. "We should go meet up with the others," Astrid suggested. Both siblings nodded, and they walked back to the front of the Academy, finding the rest sitting on the concrete. "You guys alright?" The blonde questioned, staring at the blood and bruises they sustained. 

"Does it look like we're okay? These guys beat us to a pulp!" Diego snarled. Okay, sorry I asked! "Listen, it's not safe for us to stay here. I say we go somewhere and catch our breath," Five said as he grimaced at the gash on his forehead. "I agree with Five. There's a park across the street, we can rest up there," Luther gestured to the streetlights and leafy green walls surrounding the park entrance. They limped and grunted as they walked down the gravel paths, keeping their eyes peeled for anywhere to sit.

Five minutes into their walk, they came across a white bridge that led to the other side of the small lake. Resting a foot or two away from the railings were picnic tables and benches, some in the shade while the rest were engulfed by the sun's light. Astrid plopped down next to Luther, trying to stretch the soreness out of her system. "Who would've thought some of these Sparrows could be so... brutal?" She muttered.

"I'm wondering that too. I've never had my ass handed to me like that before," Luther glanced over to her. "It's like... here you go, it's your ass," Astrid squinted as she suspected whatever damage the Sparrow's leader had inflicted left the Ape-man partially concussed. "Okay, how many fingers am I holding up?" Number Eight held up three fingers a reasonable distance away and watched Luther try to guess the correct number. 

"Oh my god, we forgot Vanya!" his eyes widened with realization. But as he was about to stand up, they heard a set of footsteps approaching, and to their relief, Vanya was okay. Battered and bruised yes, but still alive. "Are you okay?" Allison asked. "Apparently, so is Ben," Klaus added. "Yeah, and he's a complete dickhead," Astrid stated.

The dickhead statement was passed around like a hot potato and very quickly, Five grew tired of the repetitive statement. "Okay, the next person to say 'dickhead' is getting a punch to the throat," he sighed. In unison, the siblings got one final 'dickhead' jab in, making the time traveler roll his eyes. "Klaus, did Dad ever tell you why he was calling them his kids?" Diego placed a hand on his junkie brother's shoulder.

"He sure did!" The Hargreeves stared at him with interest, watching as he gathered his words. "Dad was so repulsed by us back in Texas, that he adopted an entirely different group of children just so that he didn't have to raise us!" Astrid sucked in a quiet breath, feeling regret course through her veins. We never should've confronted him in Dallas. Maybe these Sparrows wouldn't be here if we hadn't. "Classic, old man," she scoffed.

"So, he just didn't want us anymore?" Vanya inquired. "Did he ever, V? He's treated us like shit for years. Some of us more than others..." Astrid trailed off, once again hearing his voice in her head, screaming at her. "I think you all are missing the big picture. If Dad didn't adopt us as kids, he changed the timeline. So, who knows what else is different now?" Five spoke up. Allison squinted at him, sarcastically asking if he should know that since he saved them so many times. "Sorry Allison, but it might take me more than 20 minutes and a traumatic brain injury to figure this out. Is that okay with you?"

"No actually, it's not!" The Rumor bit back. "Look, it's fine. We still have the Commission's briefcase. So worst case, we can go back in time and fix it," Vanya reasoned. "I agree. We can go back and fix this," Diego nodded in agreement. But right across the other side of the bridge, Astrid could see Five was hesitant about the idea. Sure, time travel was complicated, it always had been. But there seemed to be something else bothering him.

"Where's the briefcase, Five?" Luther questioned. "Yeah, about that..." Five stared at the ground for a moment before returning the gaze to his siblings. "...I no longer have the briefcase," He admitted. Everyone stared at him with worry and shock. "Where the hell is the briefcase?!" Allison questioned, trying to stay calm but the anger in her voice was evident. With no answer from Five, the Hargreeves Seven realized that they were once again, stuck in a new timeline with no way to get back.

Here we go again...

~~~~~~~

An hour passed, the siblings had gathered their remaining strength and walked through the park, earning the glares and whispers of the people walking by. Astrid kept looking forward and tried not to think about it too much. The same went for most of her siblings, but some were growing irritated. "Why is everyone staring at us?" Klaus glanced around. "Because we look like the damn Village People just lost a fight," Diego snarled.

The Kraken snatched the cowboy hat from Klaus's head, and Klaus reached out and protested, trying to take it back. "You know what? I need to go find Claire. I will catch up with you guys later," Allison said, growing tired of her brother's antics. "Wait, let's get somewhere safe, clean up those cuts, and then we'll go find her," Astrid said as she grabbed her sister's hand.

"Man, I hate those guys," Luther gritted his teeth as he stared off into the distance, noticing a billboard with the Sparrow's faces plastered all over it. "Look at them with their... stupid smug..." the Ape-man stuttered, trying to come up with a good insult. But all he could do was stutter "smug" like it was the only word he knew. "You'll get it eventually, big guy," Klaus patted his bicep.

"What are we still doing out here? We can't just stand here bleeding out in this park," Allison asked. "I don't know, but we better gear up fast before they come back for round two," Diego replied. Astrid looked out of the corner of her eye, asking him why he thought the Sparrows would be coming after them. But Diego only responded with, "Because I would." "To be fair, we did bust up their antiques and shit," Klaus reasoned.

"I don't think those crime-fighting supernerds are going to let that go," Luther added. "Let's just think of someplace off the radar where we can lie low and not draw attention," Five suggested. "What kind of place could we NOT draw attention?" Diego queried. None of them could come up with a good place off the top of their heads. But given one of their sibling's history, he was bound to know of some low-key locations.

They all looked at Klaus as he spun around in a circle until he caught their gaze. Suddenly, one hiding spot clicked. "Come on, it should be..." He pointed to another one of the paths leading to some older buildings. "...This way!" They followed him down the path and past the rows of trees until they found themselves outside of a multi-level white brick building. The Hotel Obsidian. Why do I get the feeling I've heard of this place before? 

As they approached the sliding glass door, the siblings piled into it, bunching together like sardines in a can. "Come on, seriously?" Luther bit his lip in frustration as they moved forward, the glass door slowly letting them out one by one. When Astrid broke free, she glanced around, taking in the neon pillar lights and the dated but interesting interior. "Oh, Hotel Obsidian. I missed you, you slutty old dame! Absorb her... absorb her into your bosom," Klaus gushed.

"Way back in her heyday, she played host to world leaders. Roosevelt, Gandi, Stalin, Gorbachev, Castro, King Olaf of Norway, a few of the Kim Jongs, Tito, Dali Lama, Elvis, and not one but two Kardashians allegedly," Some of the Hargreeves lent an ear as the junkie continued with his history lesson, while Allison went to the nearby payphone to make a phone call. "Nowadays, she's a flophouse, a party house for those of us not looking to be judged by society's rules and norms,"

"You mean, a place to hide?" Luther commented. "Exactly! It's perfect! And the best part is, she's gonna look after us, no questions asked," Klaus whispered. Astrid didn't have to look around to know that people were still staring, she could feel their eyes on her like a thousand daggers waiting to stab her with more judgment. She walked over to the check-in desk, where a hotel employee dressed in a blue and yellow suit leaned over to feed the little dog sitting on top of a pillow.

"Chet, Mon Frere! It's so great to see you. I'd like my usual suite, por favor!" Klaus gasped as Chet looked up at them with a blank but confused expression. "I've never seen you before," the clerk replied. "See? I told you, discreet!" The junkie grinned. "Please stop scaring my dog," Chet said firmly as Luther and Diego reached out to pet the little pooch. "We need some rooms please," Vanya spoke up.

Chet nodded and placed a little sign down, reading Cash up front. The Hargreeves' eyes widened as they dug through their pockets, hoping to find reasonable amounts of cash. But to their misfortune, they only had pocketed objects. "Let's see what we could trade," Luther instructed. Astrid dug through her coat, pulling out a few pieces of yarn from one pocket and crumpled receipt in the other.

The only valuable item in the vast of condoms, mints, and a throwing knife was the old-fashioned watch Luther wore around his wrist, a gift from Jack Ruby. The Ape-man took it off and handed it to Chet, asking how much the exchange would get them. Chet briefly examined the watch with a tiny magnifying glass before walking to the key hooks and grabbing two sets. "Mozel Tov," he said, sliding the keys across the desk. 

Relieved to not be sleeping on the streets, the Umbrellas headed towards the elevators, eager to set up their sleeping arrangements. "Let's meet back at the bar in two hours so we can make a plan, okay?" Five spoke up as he caught a glance at the nearby fish tank. The mention of a plan made Diego's ears perk up. "I have a plan. We attack the Sparrows, and we take back our house, and then we punch dad around a bit until he admits that we're better and he loves us more. Boom! Done!"

The others ignored him as they filed into the elevator, claiming he needed to relax. "Those shitbirds are staying put for a while. I'll bet they're as wiped as we are," Klaus explained.