8 ○ Umbrella Academy

Applesauce Penguins

I was slow walking into the house; despite the relief of freeing Diego of a terrible accusation, something still felt off. I'd grown accustomed to the drone of 'applesauce penguins' in my mind, but now each syllable was a pound against my skull, a steady, five-system beat. Diego was the first to greet me, sat on the stairs with his hands folded in front of his mouth, leg bouncing with contained energy. "I know I haven't done that in an insane amount of time," I breathed, stepping around the chandelier. "How do you feel?"

"Mostly angry," he grumbled, unable to look at my face. "Five's calling everything off." I caught the way he rubbed his fingers together, a small smile pulling on my lips.

"I hope you stand by it." That brought his eyes to mine, raw, harsh pain shining through his dark pools. "Even though he strangled me and made me possess his ex partner, he helped me clear your name. No hesitations." Diego's brows furrowed but we didn't get to traverse this topic much further, turning as Luther stomped towards us with Klaus in tow.

"You guys need to follow me," Luther sighed, instantly snaring something in my chest. "Turns out, Dad had some more secrets." His eyes trailed blankly over Diego and I before continuing on, the sense of dread coursing through me making it impossible to move until Diego took my hand and pulled me along.

I had a sick feeling of deja vú when we came to an elevator, squeezing Diego's hand tighter the further down it went. I don't like this, I shakily informed, my eyes shooting to his. He didn't respond, just matched the grip on my hand and secured a mental tether. Even with all the comfort that came with these actions, they were still no match for my unease.

The doors opened and we were faced with a circular hallway. It was more than a beat now, far less rhythmic, slamming against my skull so hard I was sure Diego could feel it now, too. It was yelled, begging for me to understand 'applesauce penguins,' urging me to decode whatever message I'd left for myself. We hadn't gotten halfway down the hall before I stopped, the pounding nearly blinding.

Breathe, Diego coaxed, holding my neck and kissing my forehead. I only broke the contact when the doors at the end of the hall swung open, wrenching out of Diego's hold and running forward at the sight of Vanya. She was locked behind a metal door, a long glass window providing the only view into the enclosed room. With each step I took I could feel the erasure shattering, my memories restoring themselves as applesauce penguins decoded itself, like unscrambling dyslexia: Vanya has powers.

Strong arms wrapped around me and I instantly fought against them. "Luther, let me go!" I growled, writhing but unable to get my arms free. "She's scared! Let her go!"

"Get ahold of yourself," Luther ordered, squeezing his arms around me and instantly causing me to still as I took deep breaths.

"Let. Her. Go," I growled through clenched teeth, struggling as much as this tight space against his chest allowed and only increasing the weight of Luther's grip on me. It was only when my back popped in a few places that he held still, holding my eye as I craned my head up to glare at him.

"Vanya's dangerous. She's not in control of her powers," Luther informed, his grip unwavering.

"You locked up our sister because you think she has powers?" Diego asked skeptically.

"No, I know she does. Pogo told me," Luther informed.

"Dad had me erase it from our memories when we were four," I confessed. "Applesauce penguins; I was trying to tell us, but I didn't know what it was until now. Which is why," I started struggling again with each word, "you have to let her go!" I think he was scared of crushing me, because his grip faltered for a second, long enough for me to wrestle myself free and run for the wheel latch.