The car trip had been mostly silent as the three made their way toward their father's company building. Thea had spent most of it staring out into the darkened night, deep in her thoughts.

Once again, her mind had wandered to the time spent in this world alone before Five had arrived back into her life. She hadn't even been sure what the future would entail had nobody found her. Thea would never have given up looking, but could she honestly believe that she'd want to continue living in a world without them?

It's not like she was suicidal or anything – she'd already recovered from those downward-spiralling thoughts – but what had gotten her out of that void of grief and depression had been family.

Specifically Klaus.

How could she go on not ever knowing of his fate? Knowing if he was okay or even alive? Obviously, her worry for the others was substantial but it was different with Klaus. Unable to truly explain why, Thea could only liken it to a connection between the two. It was like no matter how far they were separated, whether by time or place, they weren't truly whole until back together again.

It was like she was the moon orbiting his earth – or perhaps he was her moon and was always in her periphery, even while living separate lives. Coexisting alongside the other at their own paces, yet naturally drawn back again before too much time could pass spent apart.

Sometimes, when she was young she had snuck out of the Academy late at night to stargaze upon the rooftop. The mystifying feeling as she'd stared at the stars had always given her an odd warmth. It was comforting knowing that those same stars she was looking up at had lived thousands of years before her and would continue doing so long after she was gone.

That same comfort was what she derived from having her twin close. It was the thought that, no matter what happened or how much time they spent apart, that Thea and Klaus would remain as one; something so concrete and biologically connected as twins that it couldn't be broken, was a relief to her.

Just like those stars, their bond would continue on. But, while it was a relieving concept, Thea actually needed to know of her brother's fate for it to be of any value. She needed to know that he was safe.

She wanted to know that they were all safe.

Thea could quite honestly say that she'd never felt so unsure of herself since being dropped into a foreign time. She felt like the only thing she could hold onto was her family.

The only consistent in her life anymore, was family.

The first few days – weeks, months even – hadn't been easy. Thea had seen horrible things during her time in this new world. Or old world. Not only did men treat women with the casual degradation that she'd thought mostly gone in her future; but the misogyny was so deeply rooted in their culture that when she had questioned one of her male clients on his choices, the man had looked back at her with such shock, such offence, that Thea was sure he had instead misconstrued her words as a threat against his entire family.

The worst thing by far, however, was the sheer incredulous display of casual racism by the majority of the citizens. The first time it had happened and Thea had walked into a diner which, unknown to her, had displayed a hanging sign reading 'Whites Only', she had stared up at it in a horrified stupor.

When the woman behind the counter had asked her if she needed anything with the most friendly of smiles – the offensive sign swinging above her head, almost innocently – Thea had sent her the most scathing glare possible before storming out of the diner, slamming the door behind her.

The passer-by's on the sidewalk had given a wide berth to avoid her visible fury as she hissed and seethed at the blatant and disgusting display of discrimination. While she knew that there were still plenty of issues in her own time – as well as many strides still needing attention regarding discriminatory laws and views – Thea had been spoiled and sheltered in the luxuries of the future and it's progressive approach to change.

She had forgotten just how cruel the past was to those who were different.

Hell, they're cruel to those who look even the slightest bit different from them, despite us all being human! No, they're cruel to those who do look like them, too...if you don't fit the mould, you're a target.

This had been an issue Thea hadn't accounted for in her unwilful ignorance and now, she was even more worried for her sister. Allison was one of the strongest women, no strongest people Thea knew and could kick the ass of anybody who even dared look at her in the wrong way. However...

In this kind of environment, that could land her in even bigger trouble. Plus, if she still can't speak, how will anybody know of her issues? How can they help her integrate into society...to make a future for herself...

Thea had even contemplated the brief thought of what they'd all do should they remain stuck in this time period. Sure, there were more pressing concerns like the oncoming apocalypse – for the second time in her life, who else could boast that? – but it was a persistent concern, regardless.

Before Hargreeves' death and the whirlwind that had subsequently followed Five's return, Thea had enjoyed a quiet life working in a large bookstore in their town centre, focusing her time and efforts on recommending her favourite novels to customers and helping them find that one book they'd searched for everywhere. She'd contented herself to taking happiness from a customer's glee at a new purchase or a child's excitement at the next instalment of their favourite series.

At home, she'd relax alongside her brother – when he had finally had enough of partying and casual hook-ups – and the two would cook food together before playing a movie in the background, more often than not, falling asleep on the couch before the intro had even finished.

It had been a simple, if not routine life and Thea had been content with that.

But what can we achieve living like this? Can I really carry on in such a toxic environment for the rest of my life?... Perhaps I could move away from here? I wonder if Europe is any better during these times...

Thea could speak fluent German – amongst many others – and wondered if perhaps herself and Klaus should consider visiting their birthplace. Considering they all survived long enough to see past the apocalypse, that is. She wondered how difficult it would be to convince the others to join her...

Even if we somehow travel back to the future, I can't ignore the desire to travel and do something with my life. It might even do me some good. I've heard that seeing just how big the world is really helps put your worries and fears into perspective.

"-ea, Thea."

The sound of her voice being called soon snapped her from her thoughts and she looked up into bright blue eyes, ones that looked so much like her own. She blinked in surprise.

"Yes?"

Five's brows furrowed in concern. "We're here," he said and Thea only just realised that the car had stopped moving and both of her brothers were staring back at her. Waiting for her to move.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said with a breathy chuckle. She quickly got out of the car and waved away their concerned looks. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Just caught up in my thoughts," she reassured them, a crooked grin on her face.

Neither looked particularly convinced but they had a bigger issue to focus on right now. They all turned to stare at the very modern-looking glass building in front of them that belonged to their father. Thea was sure that the glass doors made the building look open and inviting during the day, but in this kind of darkness, the emptiness only made it even eerier. Thea didn't enjoy the unease at feeling so exposed.

Who cared if she was superpowered and was flanked on either side by her just-as-stupidly-powerful brothers? – one of whom had even been a professional assassin – Thea was only human and so she was allowed to be freaked out!

...

Ok, so a fear of the unknown at her age was a little embarrassing, but goddamn it, this was totally the start to one of those cliché horror movies Klaus had made her watch! And if she'd learnt anything from those, it was that the ditzy blonde always died first!

Is it too late to dye my hair!? Why couldn't my power be shapeshifting instead?

She tried – as conspicuously as possible – to hide behind Five, though by the way he cocked his brow at her shifty actions, she was being all too obvious. Damn. She smiled in an attempt to disarm him and considered it a success when he rolled his eyes and turned to focus on the entrance instead.

Diego had knelt to look a little closer at the lock, squinting his eyes in the darkness as he muttered about the best ways to pick a lock. This scene was a little familiar to Thea and she couldn't stop herself from commenting on it.

"Just don't throw yourself through the glass like last time," she said with a giggle.

Diego scowled at the embarrassing reminder of the time he'd launched himself head-first through the glass panel of Leonard Peabody's front door. Instead, he changed the topic and instead turned to Five, questioning him on just how long it'd been since he'd seen their father.

The sudden turnabout gave Thea pause, and she bit her lip at the sudden reminder that they could very well be meeting Reginald Hargreeves, tonight.

"Forty-five years," Five answered, wearing a conflicted expression.

Thea was silent as Diego and Five ruminated over that, before the former brought out a small knife from his pocket and began shimmying the lock. Blinking at his actions, Thea was about to open her mouth to point out the rather obvious way they could get inside – you know, using their brother that could literally spatial jump anywhere he wanted – but was cut off by Five speaking.

"You know, when I was stuck out there in the apocalypse, there wasn't a day that went by when I didn't hear his voice in my head."

His tone was bitter, which was to be expected. Their last moments together hadn't exactly been the most pleasant, and Thea herself had even held onto that guilt for the longest time, worried that her actions in attempting to stop Five would have been the last impression he'd hold of her. She was forever thankful for the opportunity to make amends with her brother, even if he held nothing but love for her, regardless.

"What was he saying?" Diego asked, glancing briefly in his direction.

Five chuckled, a bitter, rueful sounding laugh. "I told you so."

Diego scoffed a laugh of his own, knowing just how likely it was for their father to say something like that, even to one of his very young children who had mistakenly dropped themselves right into the apocalypse.

The old man would probably make it into a training exercise.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, the Dad of right now has never met you before, so he can't say the same thing."

"I'm sure he'll find a way," Five said dryly.

There was a moment of silence after his words before he looked through the glass door he'd been leant against and spatial jumped inside, twisting the lock free with an audible click.

Thea laughed at her brother's groan of defeat as he rose from the ground, putting away his knife and muttering about 'cheating' under his breath. She flicked him on the arm lightly, a teasing smile on her face.

"You need to start taking more advantage of those around you, Diego."

"Hey, don't start selling me out to everyone. I'm no taxi," Five said with a narrow stare.

Thea's teasing smile turned into a smirk as she laid a hand upon her chest. "Are you saying you refuse to take me with you, anymore?"

"You know I'd take you anywhere," he winked, cocky grin back on his face.

He opened the door inwards and gestured inside with his other arm, his posture the epitome of gentlemanly but his eyes shining in mischief. Thea walked inside with her nose in the air, playing the part of haughty noblewoman perfectly. Her previous worry was far from her mind at this moment and it was all thanks to Five.

"Why, thank you Mr Five, what a gentleman you are," she said.

Diego's blank expression at their banter spoke volumes of how little he thought of them right then, mutterings of 'demon brother' and 'idiot sister' slipping past his lips. Thea let the snub slide, making a note to brief her brother on his bad habit of muttering insults under his breath loud enough for those around him to hear.

No, she wasn't petty. Not one bit.

"Can you two cut the roleplay for a minute and concentrate on our next steps?" he asked, staring pointedly at them both.

Five scoffed, that sarcastic smile back on his face. "What's there to plan? You go one way and we'll go the other. Shout if you find anything."

He said it so simply that Thea was inclined to go along with it but she stopped short, realising a flaw in his plan.

"But wait, won't we cover more ground if all three of us split up?"

"Weren't you the one hiding behind me a minute ago?" Five shot back with a smug grin.

Thea pursed her lips at his words, unable to disagree. She wasn't sure what was more shameful, being afraid of the very obvious horror-movie set they were currently in, or hiding behind her brother who, while older than her, was currently in the form of a thirteen-year-old boy.

"Fine," she said, exasperated. "But you can't tell me this place doesn't give you the creeps!" she asked, looking toward both brothers with wide eyes.

"Nope."

"Not really."

They both answered negatives almost simultaneously and Thea sweatdropped. Great. So she was the only lame one of their group, then.

I wish Klaus was here, he'd totally get what I mean. Hell, he'd likely play-up the whole scaredy-cat persona and then I could feel brave for looking after my poor, frightened twin...

"Neither of you give me anything to work with!" she muttered in frustration.

"Huh?" Diego asked, eyeing her like she was going crazy. Which was much more likely than it seemed. Getting stuck in the past can do that to a girl.

"Forget it," she dismissed.

"Look, there's only two doors, so I'll take the left and you guys take right," Diego instructed, stepping up to the leader's role.

They'd already realised that the room they were stood in was much too untouched and riddled with dust to be anything but a front and so it went without saying that they'd have to dig much deeper if they wanted to find anything. If they wanted to find their father.

Before she could argue, Diego had already slipped through the door and disappeared from sight. Five nudged her toward the other and so the three were now down to two.

When the door opened, they were greeted with a tightly-packed hallway, the walls on either side leaving barely enough room for them both to walk side by side. Multiple doors occupied both walls.

Trying the first door yielded little results, but when Five twisted the handle to the opposite door, it creaked eerily in the silence. With a soft push, the door turned inwards and the dark room behind it was revealed to them. At first glance, it was much too dark to see anything at all, but with a quick flip of the switch situated in the hallway, the light flickered on and revealed to them both a disturbing scene.

Three mannequins were awkwardly positioned in vintage furniture, their models reminiscent of a mother, father and child. The room even had a false window where the scenery of a suburban town was painted, the white-picket fences and lush bushes creating an ideal world they lived in.

Thea winced at the scene, her previous thoughts about being stuck in a horror movie becoming all the more real. Oh god...it's straight out of a movie! It's like we're in the serial killer's house...the sick, twisted killer who likes to play pretend family...

"Five," she whispered, one of her hands clutched to his blazer sleeve in a display of unusual childishness. "This is seriously fucked up."

"Tell me about it," he muttered, his eyes taking in the entire room for anything that would hint at their father's plans.

All too suddenly did the lights shut off and they were descended into darkness.

Thea's grip became even tighter and it was a relief when she felt Five's body move closer to her own. He guided them further down what Thea had now dubbed the 'murder hallway' until they came to another room, this one much larger and containing pretty expensive camera equipment.

The camera was pointed towards a table set up with plastic food, similar to the ones children played with. Three more mannequins were seated around the table, as though enjoying their family meal. The lighting in this room was brighter and it helped Thea relax as Five began rummaging through the files and papers left in the room.

She cautiously moved further into the room, keeping her guard up as she tried taking everything in. For a reason unknown to her, she paused at the sight of the small easel, a reminder of the rare days within the Academy that she would be able to enjoy time off to draw. It was one of the few times she'd truly felt like a real child.

Feeling a little more confident with the light back on and the bittersweet memory, Thea made her way toward another door in the room, pushing it open and seeing that this room too, had working lights. She turned to Five.

"Hey, I'm going to check a little further on."

"It could be dangerous," he warned her.

"It'll be fine," she waved away his concerns. "Look, the lights are on and everything. Plus, it's quite obvious that this place is abandoned. I'll go and see if there's anything beyond creepy play-houses in here."

When he still didn't look convinced, Thea compromised. "If I don't find anything, I'll meet you back by the car in twenty, okay?"

Five stared at her for a moment in silence before nodding his head, muttering a quiet 'stay safe'. Thea smiled brightly and promised she would before slipping through the door and making her way further into the building.

The next few rooms weren't anything different than the others and Thea made quick work of getting the hell out of there. Just because the lights were on, didn't mean she enjoyed the sensation of being watched by glass eyes.

Honestly, Thea just wanted to be of some use. She wasn't ashamed to admit that she felt a little useless right now and had hoped that by splitting up she'd be able to find anything of use.

But nothing. Nada. Zilch.

She sighed, blowing her fallen hair out from her face in annoyance.

As though God was watching her plight and had decided to finally take pity on her struggle, her eyes zeroed in on the dusty desk to her left and the single elastic band that lay on top. Like a man dying of thirst catching sight of water, Thea practically dove for the rubber band and swiftly gathered her ridiculously long hair into her hands.

She made quick work of tying it all up into a high ponytail, almost moaning in relief when she felt the cool breeze brush against her neck.

Wait... cool breeze? Indoors?

Blinking a few times at the thought, Thea spun around on the spot in order to pinpoint just where the air was coming from. She spotted a window cracked open ever so slightly, mostly hidden away within the shadows and walked closer.

With a huff, she managed to yank it upwards. The wood was chipped and looked about ready to rot but the refreshing air was very welcome in the stale room.

With her newfound hair-tie and actual breathable air, Thea wasn't so pessimistic about her venture. Sure, it's not really anything useful towards our investigation, but I'm feeling pretty damn comfortable right about now.

Her smug grin was soon wiped from her face, however, when she heard it – groaning.

Frowning at the sound that seemed to be coming from outside, Thea pushed her head through the window and blinked a couple of times, trying to accustom her sight to the darkness of the night. The groaning continued and she recognised it as someone in pain.

Forgoing her fear, she slipped her frame through the small gap and landed on a fire escape that creaked ominously at her sudden weight. With hurried, yet careful footsteps, Thea followed the sound of the low moans until she came upon a squared-off section that was seeped in fog.

In the centre of it all, lay a black-clad body, surrounded by a rapidly growing pool of blood.

Thea's eyes widened as she caught sight of their face.

"Diego!" she breathed out in horror, rushing toward her fallen brother and collapsing to her knees beside him. She cradled his face in her hands, shocked when one of his eyes opened up to greet her blearily.

"T-Thea..." he whispered. His voice sounded like it was choking on something and Thea felt her own throat tighten when she realised it must have been blood.

"Oh god, Diego...what do I do?" She was panicking, something that went against everything she'd been taught but Thea couldn't recall a single lesson as she stared with wide eyes at the blood on the floor.

The gold of her dress had bled a deep red and her pale skin was now soaked crimson. She shakily brushed his messy curls from his sweaty face, meeting his eyes.

"Diego, are you-" she stopped herself from finished her sentence. Of course he's not okay, idiot.

"H-hurts...Thea, i-it...hurts," Diego said brokenly.

He was struggling to speak between each painful breath and Thea brought her hands to settle over the wound, attempting to apply pressure in a futile attempt at stemming the flow of blood.

"I-I'll fix it, don't worry." Her words sounded like a lie, even to herself and Diego chuckled, groaning immediately at the throbbing pain in his abdomen.

"No...laughter, then..." he said in an attempt at sarcasm.

What can I do? What am I supposed to do!? Diego... her eyes stared at where the most concentrate of blood was on his body, a difficult job in the pitch-black night and Diego's dark clothing. If only I could stop the bleeding...

She looked at her brother's face and was alarmed to see his eyes closing. Shit, he can't fall asleep, not before we can get him some help!

"Diego, open your eyes," she begged him, lightly patting his face in order to get his attention. "You have to stay awake okay? Please."

"Hurts...can't..." he was slurring his words now and Thea's heart was beating wildly in her chest.

What was she supposed to do in a situation like this? Her powers were all for shit! Why couldn't she have some sort of medical ability? Something to take the pain away!

If he could just stay conscious long enough for help to arrive then he'd be safe!

She lowered her head in overwhelming sadness, pressing her forehead against Diego's as tears welled up in her eyes. I'm useless after all...I can't even save my brother...

Please...I'd take the pain from you if I could...

"Thea."

I'd take it all on to myself...

"Thea."

Please, Diego...

"Thea!"

The shout made her flinch and as her eyelids fluttered and she slowly opened her eyes again, dazed blue met warm brown.

"Diego..?" she whispered.

"Thea, what did you do?"

He looked more awake than ever and his tone was oddly serious, though tinged with a little awe, too. As she pulled back almost robotically, hands still clutching onto her brother's shirt, Thea saw that his eyes looked clearer – completely free from the clutches of oblivion.

"I-I don't..."

"The pain...it's gone." His words were said in awed shock and he stared up at her with wide eyes.

His body remained in the same position and as Thea glanced slowly to her hands, she could still see the blood flowing from between her fingers.

The wound – it's still bleeding, but then...why is he...okay?

"I don't know what the hell you did, sis, but thank you."

Thea wasn't sure her hearing was quite working and she stared blankly down at Diego's crooked grin. She didn't smile back, too frozen in confusion to even twitch a single muscle on her face.

"Thea, what-"

"Diego!" a voice called out and the man turned wide eyes toward an all too familiar face.

Lila came running out of the fog like she was sprinting for her life, taking in the scene with surprising ease and not wasting a second before she began to peel his limp body off of the floor, hefting him into her arms. The sheer difference in their weights didn't seem to bother her, in fact, she made the feat look easy.

Thea, still shell-shocked from before could only stare up at the girl with lost eyes.

"Lila? What...what are you doing here?" she asked slowly, blinking as though the strange girl she'd only met so very recently would suddenly disappear.

Perhaps she'd also been wounded alongside her brother, and this was all just some delusion caused by blood loss?

"We need to get Diego medical attention, quickly," the other girl said, already dragging her brother's form further away, their forms obscured with the thick fog. Diego had seemingly fallen unconscious at this point as his head was limp against Lila's arm.

"But, how did you know-"

"It doesn't matter! He needs attention!" Lila said and without a glance towards Thea's prone form, her hands reached out towards them both in a futile effort to stop them from leaving, she disappeared from sight.

"...how did you know where we were?" Thea whispered into the empty night.

Her body felt heavy and her limbs were locked in place, unable to move. Mechanically, her eyes traced down to the ground, the pool of blood that her brother had lain in only moments ago shining ominously within the moon's light.

Thea sat, alone within the dark on her scraped knees and desecrated dress and stared blankly at blood-soaked hands.

"What did you do?"

"The pain...it's gone."

Thea's mind was buzzing almost painfully. She clutched her head between her hands, smearing blood into her hair, gold bathed in crimson.

What did I do?

Was this entire chapter just for one scene? Yes. Do I regret bulking it out so much that it was impossible to cut anything out? Nope!~

For those who were looking forward to Thea pushing her power, we'll see more of that in the next chapter (as well as an explanation) Also, a little chat with Five about Lila's suspicious actions...

(Also, is it way too obvious in this season just how much I lowkey ship Thea and Five? I'm trying super hard to be loyal to my benny-boy but damn, Thea & Five don't make it easy with their kind of chemistry!)