Chronological markers: this scene fits in as a deleted scene from The Umbrella Academy, season 3, at the very beginning of episode 7 (while Klaus is on his way to the bus-ball with Reginald Hargreeves in the morning).

Suggested soundtrack: The Amygdala - Dyson Spheres

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April 6 2019, 11:31 am

I didn't go back to the Hotel to sleep last night. I couldn't bring myself to leave Klaus alone here, even though I tried my best not to interfere. I resisted the temptation to enter Reginald Hargreeves's office again, only probing the Marigolds inside. Sometimes pulsing faintly, other times incandescent, each time he forced Klaus back to life. I don't know how many times he did it, only to get him to be able to return in about half an hour. Then - finally - he allowed him sleep. Around six in the morning, I ended up dozing myself off on the living room sofa.

"Rin?"

Through my sleep, I hear a voice trying to wake me. It isn't hostile: in fact, it's soft, almost affectionate. I don't open my eyes. I'm not sure if it's real or just part of a dream. But the voice repeats:

"Rin, wake up. It's late now."

My eyelids tighten, and eventually, I open them to glimpse an impeccably neat figure kneeling on the carpet. Long, well-groomed hair, a particularly flattering cross-heart crop top, and a sparrow tattoo barely visible at the edge of her sleeve. Sloane watches me with a smile, as if reunited with me after ages, though we've barely met.

But I know who she's really looking at and what she's contemplating. She's taking in all the similarities and differences between me and the teenager Chris used to be, whose physical form was obliterated during the 'Jennifer Incident', thirteen years ago. I take a deep breath and simply sit up.

"Damn. These couches are terrible to sleep on."
"You should've asked. The house has-"
"Forty-two rooms, I know."
"Sixty-six, actually."

I forgot even Hargreeves Mansion has its doppelgänger in this reality. I sigh.

"I wanted to stay close to your father's office… because Klaus is inside."
"Oh. Not anymore", she says, standing up. "They both left for the countryside this morning."

I blink in surprise and worry. Shit. I missed their wake-up, but I was too exhausted to manage anything.

"The countryside…"
I doubt it's to harvest turnips, but Sloane clearly has another reason for waking me.
"Would you come down with me to Chris's psykronic alcove? The three of us need to talk. It's about the radiant energy aggregate in the basement."
"The Kugelblitz..."

She looks pleasantly surprised that I know the name, and I realize something I hadn't anticipated. She seems to grasp the subject and isn't as airheaded as I might've thought when we first arrived. I stand and try to clear my thoughts.

"I need coffee."

For some reason, whenever I'm at Hargreeves Mansion, I get dramatic cravings for a strong, well-roasted liquid. Sloane turns to the bar, where a heavy, vintage-looking thermos sits. Without touching it, she makes a tall, hipster-worthy cardboard mug decorated with a sparrow levitate. I wonder if I'll get a tote bag of goodies as a parting gift. The coffee pours into the cup, a lid snaps on top, and she floats it toward me.

"Luther told me you drink a lot of it. Chris used to as well, back in the day. Now he has to recharge his cube often."

Coffee in hand, I follow her through the living room and into the hallway, heading to the elevator. She opens the scissor gate and gestures for me to step in. I've always been fascinated by this house having such a relic: a mechanical marvel from the early 20th century, still miraculously operational. I love feeling its mechanisms, even more so than its counterpart in the Hotel Obsidian.

"Chris has been more unstable since I arrived", I tell her, aware of it even if he - at least - doesn't have abdominal pain, due to a lack of, well, an abdomen.

"Yes. He'll need to stay in his alcove for most of the morning."

I know the memories he shared with me yesterday drained him, perhaps even emotionally, if a cube of pure energy can feel such things. I won't bring this up with Sloane. I understand now that nothing about the Jennifer Incident or the rank-switching of Ben and Marcus was truly explained to them. Chris has kept it to himself, likely to avoid hurting Ben even more than he was already.

The elevator descends, light streaming through the gate. I sense Sloane's presence and even her Marigolds differently from the other Sparrows. I have my doubts now about whether her kindness, compassion, and romanticism were cultivated by Hargreeves, or if her bond with Luther was meant to unite us. The result, though, is that she isn't one of the vipers the others have become, including Chris. Especially Chris. Though, with me, he's tolerable.

"I'm sorry", she says, catching herself staring at me too intently. "You look so much like him."

I blink. I don't blame her. I suspect she liked Chris, amid all the chaos of this family. Maybe they had a close relationship in the past.

The elevator halts in the basement, and we step into the dim corridor I visited the other day. Chris is there in his 'alcove', just as I first saw him 'resting'. Sloane approaches the small control panel Hargreeves maintained and presses a button I assume activates an intercom.

"Kit, Rin is here."

I nearly smile at the nickname. It makes me think of KITT, the AI car from Knight Rider, but now isn't the time to tease Chris. The intercom crackles, and I greet him through the porthole, which opens with a decompressing hiss. Instantly, he can access my nervous system, and I smile.

"Yeah, it's coffee", I confirm, raising my cup.
I know he still craves it after all these years but can never drink it again. I add:
"It was my one condition for talking quantum physics with you. And I should warn you: I never finished high school."

I have bad memories of conversations with Five, where I couldn't keep up. If Sloane is as versed in astrophysics and gravitational whatnots as he is, I'd rather set expectations now.

"Kit and you approach energy intuitively", she says. "That's enough to understand what we're trying to do today."

I don't know if Christopher feels as clueless as I do hearing this, but I decide to swallow my pride.

"Today?"
Sloane nods.
"Chris and I convinced Ben to attempt an operation to contain the Kugelblitz. Cooperatively: no family feuds. Using powers intelligently, in combination."

My eyes widen slightly. This is something Klaus and I realized in the 1960s: individually, our powers are what they are. Combined, they can produce far greater effects. Like when I combined my power with Klaus's to bring myself back to life.

Even though I'm no physicist, I understand that the Kugelblitz is tied to a gravitational anomaly. Sloane's power relates to that. And we certainly have other assets.

"Viktor also manipulates energy", I say, "in a way infinitely more powerful than Chris or I, who use it subtly to infiltrate machines… or people."

I blink, refraining from mentioning how Viktor caused an apocalypse directly in the past. He's grown in control: he only triggered a nuclear apocalypse indirectly in Dallas. And now, the Kugelblitz, while linked to his actions, has an even more distant causal chain. Who knows: maybe in a few more timelines, he won't be responsible at all? I add:

"And Lila… she can copy and amplify anyone's powers if needed."
"Yes, all true", Sloane agrees, but her expression suggests she has a specific plan in mind. I can see it on her features.
"You have an idea, don't you?"

Sloane may appear superficial at first glance, but I suspect she's by far the smartest and most competent in many areas. She nods.

"I'm considering proposing to Five that we try to trap this thing in a Dyson Sphere."
I squint. Yep, this is one of those moments when I'll need a lesson. Chris vibrates as if he agrees with her. I laugh softly.
"To me, Dyson means vacuum cleaners."

Sloane smiles, free of the condescension Five would have shown.

"Dyson Spheres are technological constructs built around a star or other celestial body to capture emitted energy."
I straighten up. Oh. Yeah. I've heard of that.
"Right, I see. Sci-fi is full of examples of that, used to power advanced civilizations."

In 'Childhood's End' by Clarke and Orphans of the Sky by Heinlein, there are such structures. Dave and I once spent an entire lunch over sandwiches talking about that. Sloane nods.

"As it happens, Kit's psykronic cube technology originates from a prototype developed by Dad for hypothetical Dyson Spheres: to meet humanity's energy needs. Here it's used to contain and channel his vital energy, but the principle is the same."

I'm hit hard by this revelation. Harder than I probably should be. After all, I knew Hargreeves was a businessman involved in such projects: in space exploration and technological innovation, since its early days, through the Omega Corporation. But to think he pursued energy solutions for this planet now spiraling into space-time obliteration?

Today, I can connect this with Makȟá Zuȟéča's downfall: the ludicrous energy demands of advanced civilizations, and how they might resort to siphoning their Sun's energy with such inventions. It no longer surprises me that Hargreeves possesses this technology. I now understand why.

"You think…"
"Kit could contain the Kugelblitz, possibly, yes. If we act before it grows too large."

I look at Chris, glowing blue in his alcove. Calm and serene, as if he's already embraced the idea after discussing it with Sloane. She elaborates:

"If Viktor - with Lila's support, if necessary - helps me condense that thing int hte time between two of its impulses, then it's reasonable to think Chris could trap it… and 'digest' it gradually. He wouldn't need to recharge for a while, as it would self-sustain him."

I frown, staring at my feet. Chris is unstable: I know this better than anyone, given my presence here. I tremble a little, unlike him. I'm afraid. Afraid for him.

"It's not without risk", I say quietly, and Chris immediately understands the words are for him.
"Isn't there another solution? Couldn't Allison just… rumor the Kugelblitz out of existence?"
Sloane shakes her head.
"Allison can redefine reality's parameters, but not if reality itself no longer exists, as happens with these aggregated black holes."

My brows knit in anguish. But Chris, still glowing with calm resolve, is light-years away from the impulsive, manipulative cube I first met. It's as if he knows his role is here. He crackles softly, and I shake my head.

"Imagine if you don't make it?"
Sloane remains still.
"Yes. That's why he wanted you here, to make this decision."

I look between them, and I understand. There's a significant chance this will fail. That Chris will be lost. That the Kugelblitz will resume devouring everything after taking him away.

"You want to know… if I'm okay with facing my own end…"

My throat tightens as Chris gently sends his energy into my brain. There's no violence in it: just infinite kindness, akin to what I can sometimes muster. Almost as if he's embracing me with arms he doesn't have. Much like how I only hug others in exceptional or desperate situations.

"Don't say that, Chris", I tell him, even though I know he's right. "You haven't been fading away since seventeen. I'm the one who doesn't exist here…"

I've felt it since our arrival. That everything I've experienced - my memories, my context - belong to another timeline. That, by extension, I've been erased from this reality. And now he tells me he's the one half-alive, and I must carry on? That even if he's gone, I'll be what remains of him here?

Tears well in my eyes, but he forces them back, directly within my mind. He downloads his resolve into me. I feel his determination in this moment.

He isn't afraid.

"We have to try, or all reality will collapse in days."

Sloane is fundamentally right. This is worth attempting before resigning ourselves to a reset. I close my eyes.

"I should…"
One thing becomes obvious. Chris needs to be more stable, and my presence jeopardizes that.
"I should leave, so he has fewer… energetic flatulence issues."

Even though I try to joke, my tone is serious. And I doubt even returning to the hotel Obsidian or the other end of the city would suffice. Chris crackles that he'll stay in his psykronic alcove as long as possible, letting others carry his 'voice' to Ben's interfamilial meeting. My heart aches.

Now that I understand the Omega letter Reginald assigned to the two of us literally symbolizes his Oblivion project, I grasp the gravity of losing Christopher, perhaps mitigated by the fact that I'm still here. Hargreeves is in the countryside? It's probably for the best. The others will have full freedom to act.

"I wish I could help", I tell him quietly, ready to leave. Sloane smiles again with a look she'd likely have given him, too.

Inside his alcove, now sealing shut to provide a final, crucial recharge, Chris glows in azure, nearly white, like never before. And finaly - directly in my mind - he sends me perhaps the kindest words he's crackled since seventeen:

'Don't worry. You already have.'

-

Notes:

Did you notice Christopher was missing from the 'interfamilial' meeting Ben called that morning? Now you know why.

Even though the show explicitly mentions a Dyson Sphere being used to contain the Kugelblitz in Episode 7, the nature of this technology and why Chris is tied to it is never explained. I wanted to fill that narrative gap here, and I think this arc has reasonable coherence now.

We all know how things will end for Chris. It breaks my heart, but it had to be tried. Now you also understand why he was so unstable, and why he may have failed.

Any comment will make my day!