"I'm not mad."
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Cassandra Hargreeves- or Number Eight as her father always called her- was the eighth member of the Umbrella Academy. Despite having powers, she had spent her whole life on the sidelines. She had been trained to fight, of cours...
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"Did something happen?" Mom asked quietly from Cassandra's side.
Everyone looked at her from where they had crowded around Dad's favourite spot. They looked at her like she was crazy. Cassandra smiled at her encouragingly from Mom's side as she slipped her arm around Mom's as they huddled under the one umbrella, the rain falling meekly around them.
"Dad died. Remember?" Allison asked, staring at her with that same skeptical look that Cassandra knew was so often aimed at her.
"Oh. Yes, of course." Grace mumbled. Her face fell for a moment but a smile quickly formed on her face when Cassandra have her arm a quick squeeze.
"Is Mom okay?" Cassandra heard Allison whisper to Diego. Cassandra smiled to herself as she saw him nod.
"Yeah, yeah, she's fine. She just needs to rest. You know, recharge."
"Whenever you're ready, dear boy." Pogo said to Luther as he came hobbling outside, leaning on his cane and nodding to Luther to begin his eulogy.
Luther nodded in return and walked forward. He opened the lid of the urn and ceremoniously lifted it, tipping ashes onto the floor where they amounted in a pile and stayed there on the ground. Diego scoffed.
"Probably would have been better with some wind." Luther admitted. Cassandra stared at the pile of grey ash on the floor, her expression blank.
"Does anyone wish to speak?" Pogo asked. No one said a word. The only sound was of raindrops hitting the courtyard's stone slabs.
"Very well. In all regards, Sir Reginald Hargreeves made me what I am today. For that alone I shall forever be in his debt. He was my master...and my friend, and I shall miss him very much. He leaves behind a complicated legacy-"
"He was a monster." Diego interrupted. Cassandra looked up at him, her eyes were hollow and emotionless. Klaus let out a breathy laugh. Luther scowled.
"He was a bad person and a worse father. The world's better off without him."
"Diego." Allison interrupted, her voice sharp as a warning.
"My name is Number Two." Diego retorted, indignantly, "You know why? Because our father couldn't be bothered to give us actual names. He had Mom do it." Diego shouted.
Mom looked up, confused at the sound of her name, like she had no idea what was happening until that point. Cassandra took Mom's hand in hers and squeezed it, smiling with encouragement. Mom smiled back, a vacant look in her eyes as if the smile was just an automatic response. Cassandra couldn't blame her. Most of her own smiles were automatic responses these days.
"Would anyone like something to eat?" Mom asked softly. Cassandra nodded enthusiastically and Mom's face lit up.
"No it's okay, Mom." Vanya mumbled. Cassandra watched sadly as Mom's face fell again.
