AN: Hey guys, I'm back! It's been a quick minute, and I know I promised a chapter for about a week ago but sometimes life happens. I hope you all had a great Christmas and Happy New Year! It's 2020 y'all! I hope y'all had a great holiday and now, onto the story!

Fwap!

A wrinkly, old newspaper falls into a bin that holds more scraps. Dried tear stains cover the front page amongst tears and specks of dried blood.

David leaned in to read the cover aloud;

"The Backalley: Samantha Smythe's tragic demise

"Earlier this week, the renowned Smythes sadly lost their eldest daughter, Samantha Smythe, after a mugging incident.

"While walking home from school, she apparently took a shortcut through a back alleyway where tragedy struck. An undetermined number of muggers appears to have overpowered her, beating her before stabbing her in the stomach before she presumably tried to escape her captors.

"She was found dead on Saturday at 3 am, just blocks from her home."

The New Directions and Warblers shared confused looks. Some had a vague memory of this news and could finally place it but most were struggling to see how they got this story from the memory that they saw.

"He couldn't have… could he?" Trent turned to look at Wes. Wes looked down.

"... The Smythes do have a lot of money and influence."

"Besides, after what we saw, can we really make assumptions anymore?"

David skimmed before continuing,

"Samantha lives on through her aforementioned parents and younger siblings: Sabrina and Sebastian.

"Sabrina is only months old and will never know her sister; the family is unsure if they will raise her with or without the knowledge of her sister.

"Sebastian now takes on the role of eldest child and heir to the Smythe fortune. He was unavailable for comment, likely to busy grieving, but his parents spoke on his behalf stating that he dearly misses his sister but will continue to be strong for both her and Sabrina.

"After leaving such a nice family with a break that never can be fully mended, Samantha's killer, or killers, still evade capture. The CCPD assures that they will do their best to bring peace in this time of chaos."

The onlookers are shaken out of their stupor by a mirthless attempt at a laugh, sounding more like a choked sob, from the memory.

There sits a slightly older Sebastian from the one they saw earlier, appearing in his preteen or early teen years. It is obvious that years have passed since Samantha's death, though the pain still looks fresh on his face; A face that is, however, covered in bruises with minor cuts and what looks like a busted lip to complete the look. His friends' hope for justice seems to be unlikely.

"One day… one day, they will know what he did to you, to us. It won't be in vain… I promise." His voice is a strangled whisper by the time he chokes out his last statement, tears welling, but he holds them back with much effort.

Everyone looking on felt the tears swelling up and tried their best to follow his lead.

A rushed flurry of footsteps snags everyone's attention; Sebastian's head whips towards his door when he hears the pitter-patter of tiny feet.

A soft but forceful knock plants itself on his door before the sound of hopping follows. Sebastian quickly put the paper back in the box and shoved it underneath his bed, back into the sanctuary where it hid in darkness from that which lurked about.

He got up and moved to open the door, only managing to help the determined child who was pushing the door open with obvious effort.

"Yes?" He asked, smiling down at the person in his doorway.

A little girl, about 4 or 5, trotted on in his room. She was dressed as any typical 5-year-old, pink princess dress and all. It had been her tattered ballet shoes which caused the clambering down the hall as she attempted to dance her way to Sebastian's room.

Her brother looked down at her with a soft smile on his face, a kind of fondness that those onlooking had never seen on his face.

The Warblers smiled: It was rare to see Sebastian with such genuine joy. They only really saw it when he was singing (and know that they thought about it, after random personal calls that he always brushed off as "nobody important").

The New Directions were surprised to see that who most of them felt was the Devil incarnate actually had a soft side. It was kinda cute.

"Daddy wants to see you." Despite the wild aura that surrounds most children, Sabrina spoke softly, almost as if she didn't want to be heard.

Sebastian looked away, annoyance and agitation flashed in his eyes along with a hint of fear, before looking back up at her with a playful smile.

"Okay, is that all, Princess Sabrina?" Faint fairy laughter twinkled around the room as he affectionately swooped his hands through her hair to twirl the ribbons dangling from her hair.

Everyone smiled at their interaction; Maybe this memory wouldn't be so bad after all.

He paused for a moment for, in her bemused state, the glitter that had dusted Sabrina's cheeks had smudged, revealing a splotch of bright pink.

"Princess, where'd you get that?" He asked, rubbing away the glitter to reveal what would surely age to be a bruise.

Sabrina looked away from her big brother though he already knew the answer to his question.

"Goddamn it!" He thought.

Concern bubbled amongst the group. They already felt bad enough that Sebastian had been hurt, but this sweet, little girl. It appeared Sebastian felt the same.

"Darling," His hand softly moved her face so that he looked at her. He grimaced when she flinched from instinct- something he knew all too well.

"When did this happen?"

Sabrina looked down, mumbling, "A lit'le while 'go."

Sebastian grimaced, looking down at the hardwood floors.

'You didn't protect her! You should have protected her!'

The New Directions flinched at his inner thoughts, feeling sympathy and concern for the one person who mere minutes ago they viewed as their enemy.

The Warblers were confused by what they heard. They always had envisioned Sebastian as a ruthless leader who only cared about himself, the Warblers, and his friends if they were close enough. What they were seeing was breaking that image.

He stalked off, down the hallway. Fear covered by enamored protectiveness propelled him down that hallway to their father.

It was an act of mercy from whatever power was allowing everyone to see these memories that the audience didn't follow him, stopping instead to stare at the now white hallway. The purity of the walls seemed to mock them now that they knew what went on between them.

"You said you would leave her alone!"

Slap!

Everyone listening winced; they could only imagine what was going to happen. They were spared from the horrors that were happening when the scene seemed to speed up and they found themselves in an almost pristine white bathroom once the black blurs faded.