𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 ~ 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴

~ 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙮 𝙉𝙞𝙣𝙚: 𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 ~

"Gather up, children! Now that we've had a chance to catch our breath, the real work can begin," Reginald declared, stepping back onto the ground level from the left staircase. "Ah, the myth of the seven bells, eh?" Five questioned. "Exactly! Somebody's been paying attention!" The old man nodded. "So we find the bells, and then what?" Diego inquired. "No, no, no. The bells are just a metaphor for this. The sigil," Reginald flipped his booklet around for the others to see, and inside were the sketches of a star and an array of lines, dots, and squares all connecting. "The sigil," Five again spoke up.

"Correct, Number Five. The sigil is the key to the seven bells. Once we find this symbol, we're one step closer to resetting the universe," Reginald explained. "What do we do when we find it?" Sloane asked. Reginald paused as he looked over at her. "I don't know," he admitted, making everyone gasp. How could Reginald not know where the sigil is? Was this mission all for nothing? The Hargreeves silently asked themselves. "Excuse me? We're here because you said you have a plan," Viktor spoke up, folding his arms across his chest. "I do, up to a point," Reginald clarified.

Lila snickered as she shook her head, muttering they would be stuck in this hotel, forever staring at the walls and eating bad sushi. "Finding the sigil is our only way out of here and the best chance we have at resetting the universe," Allison stated. "Funny how you and Dad are on the same page," Luther glanced over to her, his eyes squinted, his voice dripping with venom. But Allison could only respond with a dirty glare before focusing her attention on Reginald. "Okay, so where do we start?" Viktor broke the awkward silence. "We'll split into groups. I will go with Allison and Sloane, Ben, Luther, and Five with Viktor," Reginald answered.

"No, we want Allison," Luther furrowed his brow. "Ben for Allison," Five clarified. "We've trained together, so it makes more sense if we take Allison," Allison rolled her eyes, claiming that was unnecessary and that she was perfectly capable of going with their dad. "Why not?" Viktor inquired, but Allison couldn't give a good enough reason. "Splendid idea. Allison, you go with the Umbrellas. Sparrows, stick together. Everyone takes a different floor. We must find that sigil," Reginald instructed.

"What about us?" Diego asked. "Nobody needs to hear your endless bickering, so you're a duo. Now, spread out, leave no stone unturned, and meet back here in 30 minutes," Reginald brushed them off. With that final statement, everyone separated into their groups and took the elevators, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of the sigil. As the Umbrellas and Sparrows broke off into the elevators, the lift was filled with silence, only broken by the soft and rather ominous elevator music. While Luther didn't say it out loud, he had a sneaking suspicion Allison was their father's accomplice. And while he didn't want to believe she could also be behind Astrid's murder, his gut was trying to tell him something he didn't understand.

The doors slowly opened, and the Umbrellas followed each other out of the lift and into the hallway, searching every nook and cranny in every hotel room for the sigil, but finding it was easier said than done. "Someone went through a lot of trouble to hide this thing," Allison commented as she looked under one of the beds and then the dresser. "How big is it supposed to be?" Viktor asked. "You know, dear old Reg didn't say," Allison replied snarkily. "Really? That's surprising. I figured you'd know more about his plan," Five spoke.

Allison could feel the tension behind her and turned around to see them looking at her with suspicion. "What is that supposed to mean?" she inquired. "I saw you and him in the White Buffalo Suite during the wedding," Five said, slowly walking towards her. "Five, I don't know if now's the best-" Viktor tried to stop him, but Five was persistent. What is he doing? What's going on? Luther looked between the three of them. Had there been some conversation Luther had not been involved with? It had to be about Allison. What else could it be if they were questioning her about?