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CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR even towers fall
⋆*✧･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:
SNOWFLAKES FELL FROM the ceiling, dissolving right before they could touch Nadine's skin. She was lying back in bed in the guest bedroom she'd made her, creating a blizzard that was confined to one room—and her mind. The walls were now crystalized with snow, icicles hung in rows from the ceiling, and the floor had turned into a blanket of frost. It had taken around twenty minutes for her to craft this image from the bottom up, but it had been worth it. Although the illusion played out only on her sense of sight, she'd done such a thorough job that it was easy to imagine the bone-chilling cold this room might emanate—arms prickled with goosebumps, fingers and toes turning blue. She'd even made it so that whenever she exhaled, her breath escaped her in a cloud of smoke, reminiscent of what would happen on a winter's day.
This newest creation had spawned from the turmoil rolling through her, a fierce blizzard of its own. What had happened in the Umbrella Academy's basement had been yet another shove towards the edge of the cliff that it seemed Nadine had spent the week balancing on.
She hadn't wanted to leave with Vanya in the isolation cell. She'd seen the fear and betrayal clearly in her friend's eyes behind that soundproof door, especially when Luther had prevented her siblings from letting her out. Nadine knew enough about her to know that she'd always felt neglected by her siblings, but she doubted even Vanya had expected such treachery from them. Being ignored was one thing; being treated as a threat was a whole different one. So Nadine had kept fighting, because she didn't want Vanya to think that she'd abandoned her, too. Even after she'd cut Allison's throat.
Eventually, however, Nadine had known Luther wasn't going to budge, no matter what she'd done. Reluctantly, she'd left Vanya behind, making her way to the guest bedroom in order to formulate a new plan. Luther surely wouldn't stand down there all day—he was probably comforting Allison, who Nadine knew he was closest to. That meant that there would be nobody down there when Nadine snuck back down.
The only other potential problem was Pogo, who had apparently known Vanya had powers all along. Although Nadine knew that he wasn't a bad person (or... a bad chimpanzee?), he'd been raised by Reginald, perhaps from childhood. Back at the funeral, he'd said that he owed Reginald a life debt. He'd been indoctrinated to follow Reginald Hargreeves' commands, and although Luther wasn't his father, Nadine had a feeling that Reginald would've given the same order. To keep Vanya down there, to lock her away where she wouldn't pose as a danger. Maybe he'd even tell Allison to Rumor her again. To make her forget that she was anything but ordinary.
I can get through Pogo, Nadine told herself firmly. He was old; Nadine didn't know how long chimpanzees lived, but she wondered if whatever Reginald had done to him had expanded his lifespan. Still, he was the equivalent of a man in his late '60s, and Nadine knew she could get past him. She didn't want to hurt him, but she'd do it if she had to. She'd do anything to get back to Vanya.
