𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 ~ 𝗞𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀

~ Chapter Sixty Five ~

"I'm so confused," Diego said a few seconds after Five finished explaining the complicated paradox. "Well, someone killed our mothers, so we shouldn't exist. But clearly, we do exist, and the universe can't handle it, which is a problem," Viktor summarized. The Hargreeves were soon interrupted by Stanley and his consistent practice of karate shouts while flinging around a pool stick.

"Stanley! Now is not the time to be doing karate, okay?" Diego scolded, the tone nearly making Dusk jump from her seat. "Mom and Aunt Victoria said I need to practice!" the twelve-year-old whined. "Yeah well, they aren't wrong. You're very bad." "Well, I saved your pathetic ass!" Stanley pointed out. The amount of sass and sarcasm that could come in such a small package made Dusk's eyebrows quirk up. This little dude has more sass than I did at his age. I like it! 

She went back to stroking Klaus's hair as he lay on her lap, glancing down at the photo of his mother and the article about her death. "I'm so sorry things didn't go the way you hoped," the raven whispered. "I thought things would be different here. Since the Sparrows have taken over, I thought I could finally find my other self, and... now most of it's gone," he sniffled.

"Come here," She gestured for him to look at her. He switched positions and did as she asked, feeling her cup his face in her hands. "We'll find out who did this. And when we do, I intend to make them pay, not only for you but for the rest of the family," she swore, wiping away his streaming tears. The look in her eyes proved she meant every word, giving him a little comfort. The raven kissed his forehead before pulling him into her chest, continuing to coo in his ear.

"Hold on. So we caused a paradox, what does it mean?" Allison questioned. "It's hard to say. It's all been theoretical until now, but things have started to disappear," the time traveler answered. "Such as?" Dusk queried. "Uh... lobsters-" "And a shit ton of cows," Klaus muffled. Five continued, claiming that this could be the beginning of something bigger and more serious. Most of the siblings scoffed and shook their heads in disbelief, the typical response to their endless adventure of saving the world.

"Aren't you retired? You know, you can't just keep dragging us through hell because you have an itch only an apocalypse can scratch and then expect us to deal with the fallout. You're not the boss!" Allison folded her arms across her chest. "Fine, I'm the messenger and I'm telling you something terrible is coming," Five spoke slowly, only making Allison even more irritated. "Then if something terrible is coming, let's attack the Sparrows, get the briefcase and go home!"

"Alli, as much as I'd love to go back to the way things were minus the apocalypse, this is our home now," the raven sighed, her gaze still focused on her boyfriend. "That's easy for you to say. You didn't lose a daughter and left your husband in the 60s," her sister bit back. For a moment, Dusk contemplated bringing up leaving Mary and her son but given Allison's current intoxicated state, she'd consider it some contest of grief. And frankly, the fire inside Dusk had settled for the night, and she did not wish to rekindle it.

The silence was soon broken as Stanley was back at it again with the noise, knocking over the rest of the pool stick display. This was the beginning of the end for Diego, as he angrily stormed over to the kid. "That's it. I'm telling your mom!" He growled, grabbing him tightly by the arm. Stanley stuck his tongue out, squinting at his Dad. "Diego, you keep yelling and being rough with that kid, your gonna give him the same amount of trauma Dad gave us," Dusk spoke up.