#viktorla

A/N: So I originally wasn't going to write this at all since it turns out that rewrites are really, really bad for my mental health. But then, my brain refused to leave me alone about the fact that this series was just sitting unfinished. So I decided that I would write it as an overview with shoddy descriptions just to get it out there and finished. Sorry if this isn't what you were hoping for!

With three very young children, birthdays were an absolute headache. They had to make sure that the child or children whom didn’t have the birthday on that day didn’t get too jealous and that the birthday child or children felt special and appreciated on their day. There was also the matter of corralling a bunch of children that were laced with certain amounts of sugar and more excited than physically possible to be. It would have been a lot easier if their children’s friend’s parents actually stuck around to do their job, but the three of them understood why they didn’t.

Still, Viktor had gotten overwhelmed and so took a step outside so that he could smoke. He had picked up the habit while reconnecting with Allison a few years into being in the new dimension. It had been a learning curve and a half to use ‘I statements’ and actually listen to her when she talked. A number of their siblings had moderated their conversation and Diego and Klaus had surprisingly been the two that were able to handle everything the best. Luther usually ended up taking someone’s side or asking if they could just let it go. Five had basically no patience for what Allison was saying about his husband and Lila made far too many jokes about her husband or snapped at Allison for something she viewed as too far. Diego had been to a bit of court mandated therapy when he was in the asylum in Texas, so he knew the way to drag information out of people and read between the lines of what they were saying. Klaus was just generally good at getting under someone’s skin and figuring out what their actual thoughts were, always had been.

The family was back together, nice and proper. They got along for the most part and tried to spend a fair amount of time hanging out with each other, which was why the rest of the Umbrellas had been invited to a child’s birthday party. The only person that couldn’t be considered civil even on the best of days was Ben, but he didn’t really count since they had lost their version of him when his ghost had stopped the world from ending back in Dallas. He had gone to prison for a number of years because he had scammed thousands of people out of their life savings for a lie that he had fallen for himself on social media. Allegedly, Luther was going to save him from himself and make him a decent person. Allison had apologized for all her misplaced anger and was taking counseling very seriously as she figured out how to best place her emotions and actually deal with them. Luther was working as a stripper because he liked being able to show off his body in a way that he could control. Diego worked as a boxing instructer and had a couple of matches when he felt like his body could handle it. Klaus was struggling with his sobriety quite a lot, but he had his entire family rallying behind him to keep him on the straight and narrow. Lila, Five, and Viktor were still together and going very strong, though that shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone since Viktor had been together with them since the beginning.

It was nice to think about the fact that he was properly loved and cared for now that his family had been through something all together, which bonded them to each other forever. He was lost in those memories when something hit him on the back of the head and sent him down to the ground.

Inside, Five and Lila continued on with the party until the children’s parents began to come and pick them up. They helped get the rest of the kids out of the ball pits and hidden in the backrooms of the arcade to wait for everyone else in the lobby when they finally noticed that Viktor wasn’t around. The rest of the siblings went out to try and look for him when they discovered that he wasn’t answering his cell. Five took the kids home so that they could be watched by Lila’s parents, who had moved to America to live with her and her partners even if they didn’t fully understand the unconventional lifestyle that she was leading. Lila stayed with the other guests until the last of the parents had been through to pick up their demonic six-year-old.

By the time that they all regrouped with each other, they had found the ransom note demanding that they could to a specific laundromat that Diego was familiar with. So they loaded up into the back of The Briefcase, which was what Five jokingly called their van since it was the only way that they could transport themselves long distances with time passing now. They drove to the place where the note had demanded they’d come and were met with something quite bizarre.

The man that had kidnapped Viktor had done so because his daughter had been brought into a strange cult, one that Five and Lila had already been following in their job working for the CIA. He showed them some of the evidence that the cult had collected and explained that it was what tipped his daughter over the edge and landed with her in a tiny town up in Maine. One of the things within the box that he provided them with was a swirling jar that had little particles in it, similar to what had been extracted from them when they were in the big machine that had reset the universe.

It all got worked out in the end as they found themselves in a little diner with basically no other patrons. Five extracted the jar of marigold and placed it down on the counter, surprising everyone but his partners who knew that he had already snagged it.

That resulted in a too long conversation about whether or not they were going to take the Marigold and get their powers back. Allison was inclined towards taking it, likely because her life was falling apart around her now that she didn’t have the ability to manipulate everyone into doing what she wanted. The rest of them leaned towards not wanting it anymore, especially Viktor. He had learned how to live his life without the power before so had snapped back into that very easily. His abilities had been what caused them to go through the whole mess about the end of the world in the first place, so to him it made logical sense to not bother with the mess of powers ever again.

Like with any discussion that he had with his siblings, it resulted in someone making the decision for him. They all woke up the next day feeling as though they had gotten run over by something large and heavy. Stuffy noses, sour stomachs, and aching muscles were something that couldn’t be blamed away just on the food that they had eaten the night before and the stress of the holidays around the corner.

So after making sure that their children were fed and on the way to school, the trio piled into the car to go find the rest of their siblings. They met up at the remnants of the house that had apparently been a boy’s home in the reset universe. There it came out that Ben had dosed them with the Marigold so that they could have their powers back and be something again. It was clear to everyone but him that he was the only one that was nothing without his powers, they all had personalities and identities outside of the Academy.

Still, they were plagued with the hangover from their drugging and now had to ride it out together. They decided that it would be best to get out into the middle of nowhere as they headed up to New Grumpson, the place where the man that had kidnapped Viktor said his daughter was located. If their powers ended up coming out in massive bursts then it would be safer for them to be out on the open road instead of in the crowded city that they lived in.

It was a good thing that they had made that call too because about two hours into driving, things began to explode. Viktor had already known that his powers were far stronger than they had been in the past universes based on what happened when he got mad at Ben back in Luther’s condemned house, but it was still shocking when all the windows in their van shattered at once. They were able to pull over when people were beginning to get sick, but that was when they noticed that Klaus was fine.

It was quickly revealed that despite him falling off the wagon more times than any of them could count, he had managed to get around the drugged sake just fine. Most of them were proud of him for not drinking when Ben had pressured him to but they were all kind of annoyed that he was the only one not suffering from their magical universe juice hangover.

When they finally made it to the tiny town in Main, they split up so that they could go searching. Klaus stayed back in the car since he had no powers and wouldn’t be able to defend himself from anything or be much use with how nervous he was now. Five went to go work on his own since he was always better like that, he got too distracted when either of his partners were around despite Lila also being trained by the CIA and Commission. Diego and Lila went to scope out the town square while looking for toys that he could bring to Grace since he had forgotten a birthday present for her the day before. Luther and Viktor went to an antique shop together where they chatted a bit about Sloane and how the search for her was going. Allison followed behind them but stayed quiet since she was the one to make Sloane disappear in that machine.

Luther barely had the money for a computer, so the search for his wife was going slow. All of them also understood that it was entirely possible she wouldn’t love him in the new universe since she wouldn’t have been brought up in the same way. Luther held out hope, though, and thought of her in everything that he did.

It was around that time that they noticed something was wrong. The woman in the wheelchair that supposedly owned the antique shop that they were at pulled a gun on them, which sent their powers into overdrive so they could protect themselves. Lila and Diego did the same in the town square, fighting off the maniacs with guns and getting back to the van. Klaus had believed he discovered Jennifer, but the woman was shot and then Ben appeared with the real Jennifer. They got all their things loaded up into the van and then began to drive away as quickly as they could.

That was when it was revealed that Klaus had been shot. The only way that they could think to save him was to give him his old powers back. After all, that was what had saved him from all the stupidity of his life before in the past universe. So Allison tipped the jar of Marigold into his wound and then waited with baited breath for him to come back to life. 

Once he did, there was quite a bit of shouting. Klaus was mad at them for giving him back the powers that had tormented him for so much of his life. They were all mad at him for not being thankful for them saving his life.

Eventually they all got back into the car and continued on their way. Viktor felt a lot better than he had before, now that the hangover from their powers was beginning to ware off. He was a lot happier when he and his partners got home and were able to see their children. It was only for a little bit, though, as they were quickly called back out into the world. Luther and Allison were planning on finding Reginald and giving him a piece of their mind before they tried to take information from him.

Viktor was on board for that in a heartbeat despite wanting to spend some time with his family. It had bothered him his entire life, the reasoning behind taking his powers away and treating him as Reginald had. He knew now that he would never be able to do that to his own children, in fact he took deliberate care to make sure that each of them knew that they were special in their own unique ways and were loved more than the entire world.

So when they arrived at the grand mansion where the Hargreeves lived, he was rather annoyed to be met with the wife instead of the husband. Abigail was kind enough as she explained some of what had happened in better terms than Reginald had. She told them that the marigold had been something that she created in her attempts to understand the universe better, but at the same time that she had created the marigold something called durango had also been made. They were informed that was what was inside of Jennifer and why it was bad that they had been in close proximity to her.

That was when Luther revealed that Ben had likely touched her, which was why the two of them had disappeared not long after they had gotten back to The City.

Before they left the house, Reginald did approach them and Viktor was finally able to get out his feelings. A lot of shouting and power pouring from the super nova that once more lived in the center of his chest had made him feel more sedated and comfortable. Abigail had managed to calm them all down and get them up to his lab so that they could have their memories extracted. 

Luther, Diego, and Allison were the ones that actually remembered what had happened to Ben back in their own timeline since Viktor hadn’t been allowed to come to any of the missions. They all lashed out at him as well, though none of them had the power and vitriol to be as angry as Viktor had. When they stormed out of the house and left their brother behind, it meant that Viktor was the one that had to take up the job of going with Reginald so that they could find Ben and Jennifer.

He got to talk to his children and explain was happening to his in-laws before he left, but there was something heavy in his stomach that was convincing him he was never going to hear their little voices again while he was leaving.

In the meantime, Lila and Five had gone out to an empty field that they knew about from their time working with the CIA so that they could explore their powers more. Lila paced the field and discovered that she could pick up on different powers depending on where she was. Five speculated that she was actually reaching across universes, but he wasn’t entire sure. They discovered that every single time Five jumped, he was down in the subway again and then back up like no time had passed at all.

That was when Lila suggested that they use the subway to find a way to make sure that Ben had never died, as a way to try and protect the universes from ending. It was kind of hair brained and stupid, but they had something very precious that they had to fight for. Five may not have known it six years ago, but when their daughter was born and placed into his arms she became his entire world. He would give up thousands of universes and lives just to make sure that she was okay and happy, the same for the twins as well.

They jumped down into the subway and then began to explore the forgotten structure. They discovered more tunnels and trains. They delved further into it with nothing more than the confusing language on the walls and a hand map that they had found early on. They didn’t know how much time was passing outside of the need to sleep creeping further up on them and hunger gnawing at their stomachs. Five was quickly lost back into the man that he had become when he was trying to survive in the first apocalypse, but this time he actually had one of his partners with him.

Lila kept track of the times that they had to sleep in one of her notepads and used that as the days they had been away. Five kept track of where they had gone in his notebook, though Lila had teased him for it in the beginning. They took care of each other and made sure that sanity didn’t wane too far and leave one of them as a husk of what they should have been. They held the other when they were sick, nursed injuries, and soothed nightmares that came from what should have been pleasant dreams. Mostly, they grew closer in how much they missed Viktor and their children.

After seven years, they finally conceded that they couldn't keep doing this. They traced the single stop back to a universe that they had found post-apocalypse. There were no people, but there was a lovely victorian mansion with a greenhouse garden that supplied them with plenty of food. They made a life for themselves up top and tried their best to forget about the subway when they weren't exploring it for the purpose of collecting scrap metal.

Five had given her a gift to celebrate their marriage, they had passed ten years when they were lost somewhere in the subway so the gift he had gotten her for supposedly unlucky thirteen was something nice and sentimental. She had cuddled against him and cried her entire heart out about how much she missed their husband. He knew the moment that he delved down into the subway that he needed to try and look for that book. It had come to him then, where he had dropped it, so he immediately picked it up and let her know that they could get home.

They had missed a couple of stops when he had lost it the first time, but they remembered those enough to be able to get back. The two of them spent the next couple of months getting enough supplies together that they would be able to find their way back. 

They did just that, of course. They rushed back to their house and found that Viktor was still gone. That didn’t stop them from hugging their children like they hadn’t seen them in years. It was true for them while it just confused their little ones to the end of the earth.

Once they had finished doting on their children, they filled their siblings in on what had happened. They both waited anxiously by the phone for Viktor to call, only being pulled away from it when their children asked for them. They had spent so long away from their husband that it felt like their heart was being crushed as the moments dragged slowly by. They’d had each other when they were struggling through the blank loneliness of the subway, but Viktor had been the one to bring them together and the one to make their hearts sing with adoration, so it felt wrong to be in their home without him after longing for him.

The call finally came late into the night after the kids had been put to bed. Five was the one to pick up the phone, but he and Lila quickly shared the receiver as they listened to the story that he had. He and Reginald were somewhere in the middle of New Grumpson and The City, they had been tracking Ben and Jennifer. They explained what they had been doing and promised that there would be a tearful reunion when they all found each other again.

Five and Lila gave a tearful goodbye to their sleeping children. It ached something fierce to have to leave them again when they had just gotten them back. While neither of the ex-Commission Agents had ever believed that they would really have a family, despite Lila and Viktor planning to have kids, they had taken to it like a duck on water. It hurt to know that their children had faded from their memories after seven long years had passed and now they were having to leave again after just getting them back.

Being reunited with Viktor made up for the pain. They were able to hold the small man in their arms once more, kissing all over his face. They had reminded themselves that barely any time had passed for the rest of their family over and over again, but barely did anything to satiate the overwhelming adoration pouring out of their bodies.

That was before Viktor had told them the plan and they had almost immediately told him they wouldn’t do it. Reginald and the other members of the Academies managed to convince them into it, though.

Lila and Viktor entered into the hotel that Ben and Jennifer had holed themselves up in. Lila hid behind a desk so that the monster Ben had turned into wouldn’t be able to see her. Allison slipped in from a window on the other side of the room.

Viktor approached the Ben monster while keeping a close eye on the Jennifer one that was slowly shambling down the steps. His voice was calm and compassionate as he tried to convince him to stand down and come get help. When it became obvious that wasn’t going to work, Allison used her mind control powers, updated thanks to the raw marigold in her system, told him that he had to hold still. She did the same thing to Jennifer and then held her in one place with a barrage of her powers.

Lila and Viktor jumped into motion then. They were on either side of Ben at that point and were able to extract the mess of marigold and durango from him with each other. Viktor was the one that held it after that because they couldn’t just let it go yet. Lila turned to do the same thing to Jennifer, and once she had the massive ball of raw energy and element in her hands she pulled the two apart and released them. Viktor did the same thing before he collapsed down into the ground, both of them exhausted from the overuse of their powers.