One day, thirteen hours, and thirty minutes before Sententia.

By the time Kraken reached Vanya's room he had devised eight hundred and eighty-five ways to finish off Space while he slept. Angrily Kraken flopped back into a nearby chair. What did the stupid monkey know about anything anyway? He was in over his fat head when he talked about them. Irritably he drummed his fingers on the armrest.

Growing up he'd known that he wasn't normal. He hadn't thought that he was special though. He had thought that he was some sort of criminal getting punished. It was only later that he realized it wasn't his fault. By the time he was ten he was already a very bitter person. What can you expect when you torture a child and get them addicted?

Everyone in the Academy was hooked on something. Séance was the only one who was literally addicted to drugs though. Rumor was addicted to the lies she told. She wanted was to believe that things were different from what they were. .05's was probably power. Yes, he'd looked awfully smug as he'd explained how he knew things better then everyone around him. Space's was similar. He probably wanted authority though, not power. Or respect. Yes, respect sounded about right. Well, good luck getting that.

Vanya was hard to place, more so then Space or .05. After awhile he'd realized that it was to be valued, to have a good place somewhere and to not wake up every morning for no reason. Her addiction was slightly less intense then everyone else's though. Then again, she hadn't been in the house for as long as everyone else. Thank goodness for that.

It was Hargreeves fault. He'd been like a drug dealer, encouraging them in practices that made them each weak and submissive. The craving never went away. Each member simply went from addiction to addiction. Perhaps each addiction could be substituted for something else, something more wholesome. Then it might not be so bad. Until then everything seemed corrupted and warped.

His addiction? That was actually quite simple. His addiction was to not be like his siblings. It wasn't rebellion. It wasn't a search for individuality. He'd just decided that the right way to do something was the opposite from the rest of the Academy. Lately that addiction had been supplanted by a stronger one. Currently she was asleep, still knocked out by a blow to the head by some weirdo in a hood.

Sighing he threaded his fingers through each other. All of that didn't mean he didn't love Vanya. He just felt it strongly. It was to a higher degree then his other feelings, except perhaps of anger. Was it natural, was it normal? No. Nothing they did was. So it wasn't a surprise that he couldn't have a normal relationship.

So what if she didn't feel it on the same level as he did? He still knew she felt it. Everything from the way that his opinion mattered so much to what she said when she talked in her sleep made him sure without a doubt that his feelings were requited. He was willing to do whatever it took to keep this addiction.

Vanya stirred in her sleep and opened her eyes. Getting up he walked to her side.

"Feeling better?"

"Slightly," she said as she winced and put her hand behind her head.

He paused.

"You know I didn't mean what I said."

"Diego, you don't-"

"I want to," he said, sitting down on the bed's edge, "I can risk an apology. You mean that much to me."

He saw a laugh fighting its way from her lips. He picked up one of her hands and kissed the inside of it.

"You mean…just about everything."

Her hand curved so that he could feel it against his cheek. Leaning down he locked lips with hers. Ecstasy pierced his mind as he felt her deepen their kiss. Slowly he leaned down further, pushing her into the bed. Suddenly his communicator started to ring.

"Let 'em wait," he murmured huskily before leaning in for another kiss.

He felt Vanya's lips twist into a smile. Her fingers were buried in his hair, making it easy to ignore the ringing. After a few minutes the communicator flipped on by itself.

"I don't want to have to come up there. Now get down here with Vanya," said Space irritably.

He really was going to kill him in his sleep. Sighing angrily he said;

"I'll be right down. Vanya still has trauma though. She has to stay up here monkey-man."

There was no reply and he climbed off the bed.

"Trauma?" she asked.

"Try getting up," he said, "It'll send your head spinning."

Vanya tried to do so but abruptly fell back down again. Kraken repressed a laugh.

"See what I mean? I'll be back up in a minute."

"Sure," she said, "Try not to kill anyone."

"I don't make promises I don't intend to keep."

He grinned as Vanya gave a small laugh. Yes, this addiction was worth anything.

.

.

.

.05 leaned up against the wall angrily. Space had called him back earlier then he should've. That had made it so that he wouldn't make it before closing time at Costello's diner. He really needed coffee. Irritably he snapped the pocket watch open and closed a few times. Then his eyes slid over to their visitor.

Georgiana was sitting patiently in a chair with a briefcase on the table. She was completely nonplussed and had her hair smoothed back so that not even a hair was out of place. She worried him. There was something not normal, not human about her. He'd faced inhuman things before, but not ones that looked so confident. She turned and gave him a thin lipped smile. .05 didn't smile back.

When Kraken finally descended Georgiana looked up and gave another one of her plastic smiles.

"Who's she?" he asked.

"Solicitor," shrugged Rumor, "She wouldn't tell us anything else."

"And I won't," she said, "until all of you are here. Now one's dead but what's the other's excuse?"

"Head trauma," Kraken said as he narrowed his eyes.

"Oh that's a shame," she said, "So I suppose I'll just have to continue. Like I said, I'm Georgiana Lockwood and I am a solicitor of sorts. Your father left things with me that wouldn't be safe elsewhere."

She paused for a minute to open the briefcase. Space sighed and said;

"As interesting as I think this'll be I don't see why we all have to be-"

"It has bearing on the attack on the carnival," Georgiana interrupted smoothly, "But before I proceed there is something else you need to know first. Your father was quite an unusual man."

"We know that," Kraken snorted.

"I don't think you understand," smiled Georgiana, "He was an unusual man. Or, as I could say, not a man at all. Or perhaps I could say, not from this planet?"

.05 shrugged. He'd known that for years. The others looked mildly surprised.

"He was actually from Stigand. You wouldn't know it, it's not in this particular galaxy. Even there he was a very gifted individual. We were saddened to hear of his death."

"We?" Space said.

Once again smiling Georgiana gripped one hand with another. With a fluid movement she ripped the skin off like a glove. Once again .05 was the only apathetic one when a layer of shimmery blue skin was revealed.

"Yes," Georgiana smiled, "we."