Author's note: Welcome to my first fanfiction story! This is a sort of introduction chapter, but I do have an actual plot ahead. If you don't care for the character featured in this chapter (which happens to be Vanya), don't worry because I will be writing in the point of view of each character at least once. Some more than others, though.

With that said… I present the first part of this story…

Of Monsters and Men

Six Weeks

Vanya's eyes snapped open, only to be met with the thick black blanket of nothingness called darkness. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and waiting for them to adjust to the light. The haze of sleep began to slip away as she saw more clearly, and she was suddenly reminded of the past few weeks of her life. To say "new life" would be inaccurate, but it wasn't her "old" one either. Six weeks ago, give or take a day or two, she had woken up not with a mattress and a room, but shaking and arms holding her. Hands grabbing. She shook her head to clear her foggy memories.

Vanya didn't remember vividly what had happened that night, but from everyone else she had gathered that Five had somehow taken them back in time to when they were kids. It was just like his last jump in time- physically, they had changed, but they had the consciousnesses of adults.

What no one told her, however, was why they had jumped in time. Her biggest question was: was it because of her?

She knew she had lost control of her power, scared and angry. So, so, so angry. It was that anger that led her to nearly killing Allison. A wave of guilt passed through her, and Vanya tried to push the negative thoughts out of her head. Allison had already forgiven her, and Vanya had returned the favor. In fact, Vanya had managed to look past her mistreatment… for most of her siblings. She still tread carefully around Luther, avoiding his eyes and excusing herself from anywhere he entered. And, of course, she had not forgiven their father. But neither had anyone else.

Hargreeves, who, in many ways, was the bane of all of their lives, was alive and well again. He ordered them around just like when they were children when they first arrived back, but eased off a bit later. They had all chosen to icily ignore him. He was the reason that any of this had happened, anyways.

Six weeks later, sitting on her bed in her room, Vanya reflected on how her six adopted siblings were doing. Yes, six. Number Six, aka Ben Hargreeves aka The Horror was alive and, unlike father, unwell. He acted alright, but Vanya had spent enough time pretending that she was okay to realize when someone wasn't. Old habits die hard. It was in the way that he softly walked around, as if he was still the ghost he was for almost thirteen years. Not only that, but he tended to avoid everyone who wasn't a recovering drug addict.

Speaking of Klaus, the previous junkie was managing decently. He was completely sober- no relapses. But, just like Ben, it was clear that he was itching to pick up his bad habits. He had begged everyone in the large household to get him- or let him get- a fix. Just to ease his way, he had claimed. Although grudgingly, every Hargreeves man-child tried their best to help Number Four in his journey to sobriety. By "help," they meant not getting him anything and keeping him away from it.

Allison, now without a scar on her throat, was doing well under the circumstances. She'd let go of the past with her siblings, but was still tortured by memories of Claire. She regretted leaving her in the future. Sometimes, Vanya had caught the former movie-star in a vulnerable position while reminiscing over the mistakes she had made with her daughter. Luther, though still hesitant out of shame, tried his best to comfort Number Three. She had long since stopped pushing him away and, in a complete twist, had even started to become closer with him.

Diego spent a lot of time hanging around Mom, seemingly wary to let the fake woman out of his sight. He had always been close with her, closer than any of the other Hargreeves children, but something must have happened to make him fix himself to her like this. Something Vanya didn't know about. Even still, he always had a hard look on. Vanya was sure that he was cracked somewhere inside. Instead of trying to find help or getting better, he resumed training with dad in order to "regain his old skills."

Actually, all of them had been practicing somewhat, but less vigorously than when they were first kids. Vanya was controlling her powers, reining in her wild emotions. No more cuts and no more broken bottles.

That just left Five. As the oldest and self-proclaimed wisest of the Hargreeves "children," Number Five refused to share anything with his siblings. He acted perfectly fine at the (limited) family meals but, behind closed doors, drank all of his pain away. The liquor cabinets were steadily emptying, and this time Klaus wasn't to blame. One time he mentioned a "Dolores," but only once, and then he trailed off, staring into some abyss in his mind before snapping at Vanya and stalking off.

Their father had tried to talk to Vanya only once in the last one-and-a-half months. It was two days after their adult minds had intercepted their teenage ones. He had called her into his office, seated in his chair with that superior aura he had mastered. The room reeked of foul memories, and Vanya found herself disgusted with the man she knew as her father. She made up her mind there and then- she hated him. But still she came, stood in the same place she had many times before, and listened to the man speak.

"Number Seven-"

"It's Vanya," she interrupted. He closed his mouth and actually raised his eyes to meet hers behind his monocle.

"Vanya," he said with contempt, "it seems as if you are ready to resume your training. Tomorrow, at six o'clock sharp you are to meet me here for instructions." He looked back down at whatever he was doing, silently dismissing her, but she wasn't having it.

"No." Eyes snapping back up, Hargreeves glared at the now teenage girl.

"Why not?" He asked, keeping his harsh tone.

"Because now I know what I can do. We both know that I'm powerful. I'm not that same little girl that you so easily manipulated. If I want training, it's on my own terms. I don't want your help and I don't need it." With that said, she stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her. Dramatic, sure, but effective.

True to her word, Vanya did not appear the next morning, opting instead to accompany Allison to breakfast at a nearby café. He didn't summon her again.

Despite rejecting her father, Vanya did practice. She wasn't such a loose cannon, and she controlled her great powers, travelling to secluded places with Allison to practice. It was much better than when she was with "Leonard." Allison was patient and stayed quiet while Vanya focused in on sounds- heartbeats, far-off trains, sometimes even the rustling of leaves. However, Vanya never invited Allison's shadow, Luther. She wasn't ready to face him yet.

"Hey, Vanya?" Allison had started one time. Vanya hummed and faced her adoptive sister. "Maybe… maybe you should, I don't know, try to talk to Luther," Vanya made like she was going to interrupt, "hold on, wait! Just listen to me." Vanya looked unhappy, but stayed silent. Allison nodded in thanks.

"I know what he did was wrong," Vanya snorted, "but he's really sorry. I know he is. He was just upset and worried about me, you know how he is…" She trailed off and glanced away.

"Why doesn't he say that to my face then?" Vanya demanded angrily.

"You've been avoiding him! Every time he's within thirty feet of you, you book it! Maybe if you just-"

"-Just what, Allison? If I forgave him for betraying me and not even regretting it? Or if he does, he sure doesn't know how to show it." She answered the unformed question.

"It's just, you forgave everyone else. I thought that maybe you could do the same for him. It's up to you, but know that I've let it go and I hope you can, too. I love both of you and I won't choose between you two." There was a moment of silence before Vanya spoke.

"I wasn't asking you to. I… I know you love Luther." Allison blushed. "I love you, too, and I'm sorry for yelling. I'm just not ready." Allison was quiet for another moment, and then she nodded.

"Alright. I can accept that. I hope that you'll be able to forgive him someday. It feels like this- us going back- is a chance to mend our twisted family. I would hate to see that opportunity wasted." The two women- now girls- didn't speak for a bit, just processing the last few moments in peace. Then, Vanya sighed.

"Let's go home. Maybe we can all have a family dinner? I promise to not run away from Luther, at least for tonight." Allison immediately brightened and they went on their way to the Hargreeves household, but slowly enough to keep casual conversation alive.

Dinner started at six o'clock that night, but only Allison, Luther, and Vanya were there at that time. The other siblings (Dad was not invited) were taking their sweet time getting here. Everyone had been informed earlier, but clearly were not inclined to show up on time. Numbers One, Three, and Seven stood in awkward silence until Allison sat first.

"I just ordered some Chinese food from that place a couple blocks away," said Allison.

"Perfect." Vanya sat down next to her. Luther fidgeted, reached for the chair next to Allison, but then changed his mind and sat down by Vanya. They didn't talk, but that was all they were ready for, or Vanya, at least.

A few moments later, Diego sauntered into the room.

"Why so q-q-quiet? D-dammit!" He shook his head. "Sorry about that," he muttered, grabbing a seat across from Allison. No one answered.

Next was Klaus, accompanied by Ben, who was hovering around the brunette. Klaus sat by Diego, and Ben followed quickly to seat himself next to Klaus.

The six of them made very small talk while they waited for Five. Maybe ten minutes later, they all grew impatient.

"Guys," Klaus whined, "I'm starving." He was more than a little disappointed when nobody replied with 'nice to meet you, starving.'

"We're waiting for Five." Luther didn't look at Klaus when he said this, purposely looking away from everyone seated.

"Ah I see Mr. Gorilla Man, or ex-gorilla should I say, is still in charge. Our glorious leader, thank heavens we have you to order us around." When he got no reply, Klaus rolled his eyes and started laughing. "Oh, come on guys, it was just a joke. You're all being…" he paused, looking at Ben for help. Ben just shook his head at him. "fun suckers. Yeah! The lot of you. Just people-sized vacuums of fun." He looked around to see a reaction, but all he got was five exasperated preteens glaring at him. Folding his arms and sitting back in his chair, he finally stopped talking, making an annoyed face.

Five never ended up coming to that first family dinner, and no one asked why. In the six weeks after the incident, he only came to two of the dinners. They were always kind of awkward, but Vanya felt like it was helping somewhat to bring them together.

As it turned out, they really needed to be brought back together.

Vanya, at the six-week mark where she was sitting on her old bed, frowned when she heard a loud thump coming from the floor above her. Followed by another and another and another until the thumps resembled marching. She cautiously walked to the door and pressed her ear against the door in order to hear better. That's when she heard an effeminate shriek.

"Allison!" Vanya yelled. She bolted out the door but stopped suddenly. A giant figure, black and dripping wet was standing right in front of her. She stared at the goo-monster, alarmed but fascinated.

"What are you?" The creature lunged for her, but Vanya ducked just in time. The small girl darted around the massive monster and ran for it, glancing behind her to see it pulling its giant fist out of her door. Then, on the stairs, she saw another one of the creatures holding Allison, who was unconscious, in its arms. She hesitated, shocked and scared, and stopped moving. It was only for a second, but in that time, the first monster had made its way behind Vanya. Her scream was silenced by a black goo that got into her mouth and nose, making her choke.

She thrashed around in its grip, clawing and hitting, but nothing was working. She tried to focus on a sound in order to use her powers, but the substance coming from the creature had gotten into her ears. Vanya's vision became spotted and fuzzy, and she felt herself becoming weak. In the distance, she vaguely heard people yelling, just like the last time she had unintentionally slipped into darkness.

To be continued…

Next time:

"Where the hell am I?" He sunk down on the floor, back against the wall while clutching at his scalp. "Go away! Leave me alone!" His screams persisted until his throat became dry and scratchy. "Help me," he whimpered. Couldn't one of his siblings come to help him, at least once?

Author's note: Wow okay thanks if you read this. I'm telling you now that this story will probably get darker as it progresses. Also, feel free to suggest things you want to see. I'm open to almost anything. The path this story is going on is very flexible.