Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Alternates of Me:

Chapter 1:

‘‘Wh-what?’’

It’ll take just a minute. You might wanna check on your dad. One of them really hates Blitzø.

‘‘What are you-’’

There was a blinding light coming from every reflective surface in the room before Iva left, Via could feel the lack of her presence.

What did she do?

>>> 

Stolas and Blitzø had been enjoying popcorn and the new season premiere of My Little Hellponies when Via ran out of a portal and barged into their living room looking panicked.

And in combat clothes?

It did kind of look like what she’d worn at the trial but she had weaponry on her; different kinds of knives, a sword and a gun. All angelic.  

‘‘VIA!’’ Stolas couldn’t help but shout, shocked.

Standing up and running to her, not caring about the popcorn now spilled all over the floor, though he hesitated to embrace her.

Loona peeked her head out of her door, too. She shot Blitzø a look that asked what was going on, but he couldn’t answer her.

‘‘There isn’t any time to explain, we need to get to-’’ Octavia tried to tell them, but she cut herself upon noticing a glint, a light coming from the windowed, glass door to the balcony.

Blitzø must’ve noticed too, because he flipped the couch and pinned her dad and her to the floor on the other side, Loona simply ducking behind her door as the glass was shattered by a blow Via could only identify as magical, and pieces flew all across the room.

‘‘VIA!’’

‘‘STOLAS!’’

‘‘BLITZØ! WHAT THE F*CK!?’’

‘‘SH*T.’’ Via needed to get them out of here. ‘‘RUN!’’

They didn’t question her. They hurried out of the apartment and into the hallway.

‘‘Run where!?’’ Blitzø asked.

‘‘ROOF!’’ Via needed to see what the other her was up to.

But when they made it up there, she was waiting for ‘em. She looked a little taller than her but not by much. She couldn’t be much older than her either.

She was wearing a cloak that concealed most of her goetic features, but her eyes glowed a bright purple that gave her away.

‘‘Begone!’’

Via warned her before her dad could ask: “what the f*ck?”

‘‘You don’t belong here. Return to your own world!’’

‘‘Sure.’’ The other Via said.

The other me. Hmmm… T.O. Via… Tovia? No, Tavia. Makes more sense. Via decided to call her.

‘‘Right after I’m done here.’’  

She charged at Blitzø with the same sword Via had on herself -guess their tastes were- but Via’d been expecting it, so she blocked it with a magic shield very easily. Tavia looked pissed now, though.

‘‘You’d shield that little filth that killed my dad!? Oh, but of course, what would you know about that? YOURS IS ALIVE, RIGHT THERE!’’

She pointed at Stolas.

‘‘Whatever.’’ She then seemed to calm, walking closer to them at a slow pace. ‘‘Get out of my way, or I’ll make you.’’

‘‘I told you, this isn’t your world. Things are different here. Events happened differently.’’

‘‘I. Don’t. Care.’’ She fought with magic this time, Via fighting back.

She’d never actually taken anyone on in a magic duel before, but managed to hold her own. For how long, she wasn’t excited to find out.

‘‘What do we do?’’ She barely heard her dad ask his boyfriend as if he’d know what to do.

The guy seemed to think the same thing. ‘‘Stolas, I don’t even know what this is! How’s there two of them?’’

‘‘She literally just said “other world”, dad.’’

‘‘Wait, that alternate universe bullsh*t is real?’’

‘‘I don’t know what the other you did, but she clearly wants you dead for it.’’ Stolas deduced.

‘‘Didn’t she say her world’s Blitzø killed you?’’ Loona asked while cringing at a blow Via took, but she got back up before Stolas could run over there.

Not to mention they were moving too fast.

‘‘I-I’d never…’’

‘‘I know, love.’’ Stolas reassured him. ‘‘We don’t know what happened there, and I don’t care about that, I care that we get away. She wants to kill you!’’

Blitzø was about to agree, and lead them back down the stairs, but he happened to glance at the alternate Via, and saw the look on her face as she looked at him.

He knew that look. ‘‘… No.’’

‘‘What?’’ The other two asked in about the same amount of confusion.

‘‘We can’t just leave Via to fend that lunatic version of herself, by herself, just because they’re fighting with magic that we don’t have.’’

He could tell Stolas didn’t want to either, and it was probably killing him inside that he couldn’t help her right now.

‘‘Tell me if I’m wrong, but she’s barely holding her own, isn’t she?’’

He asked his boyfriend who looked even more sad as he looked over to the two Goetian teenagers brawling with various spells.

‘‘The other one does seem to know more advanced spells.’’ The owl admitted.

‘‘She only wants to kill me because that other me hurt you, if I can convince her that I won’t, she might stop.’’

‘‘That actually makes sense.’’ His daughter approved.

‘‘Okay, let’s hope I can convince her.’’ He was probably going to get his a** kicked, and possibly his head severed, but he had to try.

‘‘HEY! VIA! THE ONE FROM THE OTHER REALITY OR WHATEVER!’’

The girls were both taken aback, which made them both halt mid-attack, making them fall on opposite sides of the roof before getting back up and staring at him.

‘‘WHAT!?’’

Blitzø turned to the alien one. Huh, Alien Via. Nice. ‘‘I don’t know what happened in your world, but I would never hurt Stolas.’’

She snarled like an enraged predator.

‘‘Ask her if you don’t believe me.’’ He pointed to their Via. ‘‘She would let me anywhere near him if that were the case.’’

‘‘Yeah, I really wouldn’t. And things are different here.’’

‘‘Things are, he isn’t.’’

Her opinion was pre-fixed for some reason.

‘‘You don’t know him. Blitzo Buckzo is a psychopath. He doesn’t care about anybody but himself and his people, and even that’s a stretch most the time.’’

That made Loona grit her teeth, but she didn’t say anything.

‘‘My world’s Blitzø was hired by mother to kill my dad. And not only did he take the job, but he could’ve done it with a single bullet, without pain, but he chose to seduce him and break his heart. My dad ended up taking his own life, but it was you who killed him.’’ She screamed at Blitzø.

Okay, so that’s the reason. A good one, too. F*ck. He was screwed, wasn’t he?

‘‘I’ve been travelling realities, getting rid of as many versions him as possible.’’ The alien Via told the native. ‘‘There were some that I couldn’t access, this being one of them, but today, that invisible barrier broke, and I just had to see why and how that was.’’

It must’ve been Iva. Because who else could it be.

‘‘I’m going to assume you won’t stop me now.’’ Tavia told her, before raising her sword again.

Their- NO. Her dad, walked in front of Blitzø.

‘‘This is for your own good.’’ She told him.

‘‘No. I-I’m sorry that happened to you, but you’re not hurting him. I won’t let you.’’

‘‘You don’t know better-’’

‘‘I do.’’ Via also stepped in between her other self and the others. ‘‘You’re blinded by your grief, which I can understand, but endless realities mean endless possibilities. You have to admit the fact that not all versions of him are cruel or evil. And this one certainly isn’t.’’

‘‘There is no world where he could be anything above what I know he is. He had the gall to show up at the funeral and apologize to me to avoid an execution! Spitting lies in my face after what he did. I killed him on the spot, and I haven’t regretted it for a single moment.’’

She pointed her sword at Blitzø.

‘‘THAT MAN IS A MONSTER, AND HE COULD NEVER BE ANYTHING ELSE. NO MATTER WHAT UNIVERSE.’’

‘‘Even if that were true, there’s no reason for you to kill him.’’ Via told her, walking closer.

She hadn’t wanted to reveal this in front of her dad, but it seemed she wasn’t going to listen any other way.

‘‘What?’’ Tavia looked confused for the first time.

‘‘I have him under contract.’’ She made the chains of their agreement come to light in a purple glow.

Her dad looked terrified, but she’d take care of that later.

‘‘He couldn’t hurt dad if he wanted to.’’

‘‘Blitzø?’’ Stolas asked, holding his hands that were bound with magic. ‘‘Wh-what? How? Since when!?’’

‘‘I…’’ He couldn’t tell him, still bound by the terms of the deal.

At least the alien Via seemed to actually consider not killing him now.

‘‘So, you don’t trust him either.’’ She tested Via.

‘‘I didn’t use to.’’ She looked over to the three.

Her dad was confused, Blitzø was worried and Loona looked pissed. Nothing she could do now, y’know, besides saving the assassin’s life.

‘‘But I do now.’’ She flicked her fingers.

It was an impulsive decision, but it felt right.

The chains that held Blitzø broke, the seal disappearing… The imp looked surprized. So did her dad, though Loona seemed neutral.

‘‘I’ve seen what he’s willing to do and how far he’d go to ensure my dad’s happiness. I trust him not only with his safety but also with his heart.’’

She drew her own sword.

‘‘You got a problem with that, you’ll have to take it up with me.’’

Chapter Text

Chapter 1:

‘‘You got a problem with that, you’ll have to take it up with me.’’

Via tried her best to appear confident, but she wasn’t actually sure if this would be enough to deter Tavia in any way. Let alone change her mind.

She seemed to be conflicted now, though. Kept looking over to Blitzø and her dad, then back to her, perhaps not knowing what to do.

But then her dad walked up to her. WHAT WAS HE DOING!?

Blitzø didn’t seem to like it either, trying to hold his arm but he gave him a look that made him let go. Via herself also shot him a look that said: “don’t do it!” but he did anyway.

It was anybody’s guess what would happen now, she thought, but when her dad hugged Tavia, she didn’t move. She didn’t even seem to breathe, as if completely frozen.

Then Via caught a quiet sob. Was she crying?

‘‘It’s okay.’’ Stolas shushed her. ‘‘You’re okay.’’

She hugged him back, crying harder. ‘‘Y-you’re not him.’’

‘‘I know. And I’m sorry that you lost him, but I don’t think he’d want you to do this.’’ He glanced at her and smiled before speaking to Tavia again. ‘‘I wouldn’t.’’

He moved them so they’d be in a sitting position on the ground, still hugging though.

‘‘If, Lucifer forbid, that happened to my Via, I’d want her to heal. It’d be hard, and it’d be slow, but instead of resorting to violence and vengeance, I’d prefer she moved on.’’

‘‘I… How can I? I-I had to take over everything. Grandfather threw all your responsibility onto my lap and left; mom was imprisoned for hiring someone to kill you. I had no one.’’

Via, Loona and Blitzø walked up to them now, too. All sad for the girl who, yes, tried to kill Blitzø, but was in clear pain.

Iva had told Via she was ungrateful, and didn’t appreciate the reality she lived in.

Maybe she hadn’t been lying that time.

‘‘I know it’s hard, and I know it’s not fair in the slightest, but this isn’t going to make you feel any less pain.’’ He told the alien Via.

Her sobs slowly transitioned into sniffles, but she didn’t seem to want to let go of Stolas.

‘‘What about me?’’ Loona, who had been quiet ‘til then spoke up. ‘‘Did you-um… try talking to me?’’

Blitzø, who hadn’t expected her to say anything, now had all of his attention on her. Via noticed her dad was now fixed on her as well.

Did she not talk that much usually?

‘‘I mean, I don’t know what I’m like there, but if what you said really happened, I-I wouldn’t side with Blitzø… I think.’’

Tavia backed up a little and her face, previously smashed against her dad’s chest, now wet with tears was brought to light.

‘‘You wouldn’t?’’

‘‘I wouldn’t. I can’t say for sure if she would, but, unless your reality had me go through some real f*cked up stuff, I wouldn’t stand behind that. I’d try to help you.’’

The intruder from another world looked at Loona with what could only be called sparkling eyes -and not from the tears still present in her eyes- and blinked rapidly, like she wasn’t sure what to say.

‘‘Maybe, you don’t have to be alone?’’ Loona gave her hope. ‘‘I don’t know for sure, though, don’t come for me if she’s a jerk.’’

They all chuckled, including Via. She couldn’t help it.

Tavia let go of her dad -though he still held her hands- got up and wiped her face. She picked up the sword she’d dropped earlier, but didn’t draw it, putting it in its case instead.

‘‘I… should probably go back.’’

Stolas gave her hands a squeeze. ‘‘You’ll do just fine.’’ He said before letting go.

She opened a portal using a spell Via would probably have train for years to master, and waved before crossing through.

Then immediately afterwards Blitzø yelled out: ‘‘I’M SO PROUD OF YOU LOONIE!’’ And climbed up her body to properly hug her, mama-bear style.

‘‘Blit-dad! Let go!’’

Via laughed. So did her dad, but he also went and joined in on their hug. The young owl was also tempted but then she remembered a crucial detail that made her yell out:

‘‘F*CK!’’

Iva had told her explicitly that she had let more than one alternate Octavias into their reality.

So where were the others?

‘‘I HAVE TO FIND THEM!’’

‘‘Find who?’’ Oh, sh*t, right, her dad and the others were still here. ‘‘Via?’’

She wasn’t sure what to say, but thankfully didn’t have to and was saved by his phone ringing.

‘‘It’s your mother.’’ He told Blitzø before answering it.

‘‘Tilla?’’

Had she noticed that Via had left the palace? But no, then she would’ve called her, not her dad.

‘‘Oh… Yeah, okay, I understand, I will be over there in a minute… No, don’t worry, it won’t be a problem… Yes, bye.’’

He then hung up and turned to her. ‘‘Another one of you is at the palace.’’

Triple f*ck.

>>> 

‘‘I told you, lady, I don’t know who you are!’’

Tilla didn’t understand what the f*ck was going on.

‘‘Pringles! I told you to get her away from me! Where’s Blitzø, or Loona? Where are the guards? And where’s my dad!?’’

The butler was just as confused, but sure as Hell wasn’t about to do anything to Tilla. ‘‘Princess, I think you’re confused somehow.’’ Then he whispered to Tilla: ‘‘Did she drink again?’’

‘‘No, this is something else. I called Stolas, though. He should be here any minu-’’

A portal opened and… Via stepped through it? What the f*ck?

The… other Via, who’d been claiming not to know her screamed.

‘‘WHO THE F*CK IS THAT!?’’

‘‘I should be the one asking you that.’’ The native Via walked closer.

Then Stolas, Blitzø and Loona also stepped out of the portal right before it closed and the new Tavia suddenly got out from where she’d been trying to shield herself under the kitchen table and shouted:

‘‘DAD! LOONA! BLITZØ!’’ She ran up to them, trying to hide behind her dad. ‘‘Who’s that!? And where were you guys? I was so scared!’’

‘‘She isn’t aware, is she?’’ Blitzø asked, to which Via nodded.

‘‘Aware of what? Is anyone going to answer me?’’

The new Tavia asked, and Via noticed she needed something new to call her.

‘‘Loona, what’s going on?’’ She then asked her, but Loona wasn’t sure how to answer so she didn’t say anything.

‘‘Yeah, I’d also like to know.’’ Tilla reminded them of her presence.

‘‘I f*cked up a spell.’’ Via made up so they’d stop asking. ‘‘Now alternate versions of me are flooding our timeline and I don’t know how many they are or where they’d spawned.’’

‘‘YOU WERE WORKING WITH MY EQUATIONS!?’’ Stolas suddenly yelled out. ‘‘Where did you even find my notes, I put that stuff in the attic before you were born! Heck, it was before I married your mom.’’

W-wait… Dad was working on that sort spells!? Via began questioning the implications of that new piece of information, but she had to play it cool.

‘‘Uh, yeah, but maybe focus on her for the moment.’’ She pointed to the alternate Via. ‘‘She clearly doesn’t know how to open such portal, I s*ck at it, and you don’t have any magic, how are we gonna return her?’’

‘‘Wh-what are you saying?’’ The foreign version of her asked before turning to Stolas: ‘‘Why would you not have magic? What do you mean return me?’’

‘‘Okay, Sweetie, I’m sorry that this happened to you, but I’m not actually your dad.’’ He tried to explain. ‘‘This isn’t your world, you were pulled here by magic, by mistake, but we’ll find a way to return you, okay?’’

‘‘This… this isn’t my home?’’

Why did she sound like a child? She was the same age as Via.

‘‘Uh, yes, but it’ll be okay-’’ He tried to reassure her but she pushed him away and ran to hide under the table again.

Crying loud enough for the entire palace to hear.

‘‘Oh, my, God.’’ Via hated her life.

But then her phone rang and she learned a lesson about not tempting fate.

‘‘Oh, we’re screwed.’’

‘‘Why?’’

‘‘It’s grandfather calling.’’

Chapter Text

Chapter 3:

‘‘Oh, we’re screwed.’’

‘‘Why?’’

‘‘It’s grandfather calling.’’

Blitzø wasn’t prepared for the way his boyfriend let out sad owl noises. Not to mention the second alien Via started letting out similar noises, too, and louder by the minute.

He held Stolas’s hands and caressed the feathers on his head to comfort him while their own Via answered the call.

‘‘Grandfather! To what do I owe this call at this late hour?’’

‘‘… … … WHAT IN LUCIFER’S HELL IS GOING ON!?’’ Blitzø couldn’t hear the beginning, but decided it probably didn’t matter.

‘‘… … … … …’’

‘‘Uh, huh...’’

‘‘… …’’  Then came some more yelling Blitzø couldn’t decipher.

‘‘And I can explain. I-uh… I was working on some old spells from dad’s old notes that I found, but apparently the calculations were wrong, but I wasn’t aware, so-’’

‘‘… … … …’’

‘‘Will do. Yes. And the council-’’

‘‘… … … … … …’’

‘‘I wasn’t aware of that.’’

‘‘… … …’’

‘‘Oh, that’s perfect.’’ Her voice was filled with relief when she said that. ‘‘Thank you.’’

‘‘… …’’

‘‘I will keep you posted, yes.’’

The call ended finally, and she turned to them: ‘‘We’re fine for now, but we gotta find them all and send them back somehow.’’

‘‘How? You just said you can’t.’’ Loona asked, and Via didn’t know.

Think, think, think… Iva had wanted to teach her a lesson -in the most annoying way possible, but it was supposed to be a lesson still, right?- she’d wanted her to understand that her life was better than she thought, but how did she know each one of those Vias could be returned, she knew Via hadn’t practiced that sort of spells.

Not even once. Then… She must’ve made sure there’s a way for each to return. Via only had to-

‘‘Tell me about yourself.’’ She crouched down to the new other Via’s level.

‘‘What?’’ Blitzø didn’t get it, how was that supposed to help?

‘‘Just let me, I have a theory.’’ She dismissed him before turning back to the source of their problem. ‘‘I can’t explain why but I need to know about you, and I need you to trust me.’’

‘‘A-and that’ll get me home?’’ She asked, her voice still sounded very scared.

‘‘I think so.’’

‘‘Wh-what do you need to know?’’

‘‘I’m not sure, but maybe you can start by telling me why you’re so scared? Sure, we’re not your real family, but we kind of also are? You don’t need to hide under a table.’’

‘‘I-I haven’t left the palace since I was six. I-I guess I’m still in it, but I just…’’

‘‘Wait- you haven’t left the grounds in over a decade, why?’’

‘‘I…’’

Oh, no, she was breathing too fast. She was about to hyperventilate. Do something Octavia!

‘‘You can tell me. Things are different here, but none of us would hurt you. Oh, and if you’re worried about someone you don’t know being here, Miss Tilla’s no stranger. She’s Blitzø’s mom.’’

‘‘You are?’’ She seemed surprized. ‘‘I think you’re dead where I live.’’

‘‘Yeah, I’ve had close calls, but I’m okay now.’’

This new knowledge must’ve gotten her to trust them all now, because she seemed much more relaxed. Even peeked her head out from under the table a bit.

‘‘When I was six my mum took me to see a play. She said I needed some culture and told dad he couldn’t come, because she wanted it to be girl’s night out.’’

Stolas had a bad feeling about this.

‘‘But then my uncle joined us too, and I didn’t understand why, but I didn’t say anything. Then halfway through the play, my grandfather came to pick me up. Mom screamed and said he had no right to do that, he just didn’t care.’’

Had his father done something to-

‘‘He took me to his palace and no one said anything to me for days. I kept asking where my mom and dad was, but nobody would answer me.’’

Poor kid!

‘‘Then when he finally took me back home, my dad was bedbound.’’ She was crying again. ‘‘He didn’t tell me then but I found out later, when I became older, that, someone tried to kill him. A man my mom hired.’’

And the bad feeling was proven correct.

‘‘The assassin sneaked in, took my dad by surprize. He shot him first. In the abdomen, and with an angelic bullet. He didn’t have time to react. Then before he could get over the shock and use magic to protect himself, the guy stabbed him with a syringe that was loaded with poison that left him paralyzed, and he couldn’t use magic.’’

‘‘Please tell me he turned out fine.’’ Via wasn’t sure if she was also supposed to fix the other Vias’ life problems, and she sure as Hell didn’t know how she’d fix that.

‘‘He’s fine now. Grandfather saved him. Apparently, he had something he wanted to talk to with dad, and dad used me and my mom going to the theatre to get that done, and invited him.’’

‘‘The assassin didn’t know because Stella didn’t know.’’ The owl felt genuinely bad for the girl.

Her situation didn’t sound as bad as the previous Octavia they’d met, but it wasn’t better. And these things could’ve just as well happened to them, too.

‘‘He arrived in time to save him, but before he did, the man mocked my dad as he laid there bleeding, talking about how it was my mom that hired him, that his privileged blue-blooded a** had no idea she was planning to kill him. And sometime during that monologue, he mentioned how I’d be living with the people that paid to have him killed.’’

Oh, no…

‘‘From the moment I returned to the palace, my dad wouldn’t leave me. He was so scared something bad would happen again, I think I didn’t sleep in my own room till new years.’’

‘‘And what’s the problem?’’ Blitzø chimed in. ‘‘If someone did that when Loona was six, I’d do that too.’’

‘‘You didn’t have me back then. Also, shut the f*ck up.’’ The hellhound knocked him down with her tail.

‘‘Grandfather killed the assassin right there and then so they couldn’t get him to testify. And my uncle claimed at the trial that my dad hated mom so they shouldn’t trust his word that it was my mom who paid the hitman.’’

‘‘Classic.’’ Stolas hadn’t thought he could hate Andrealphus more, but here we are.

‘‘Most of the council was on dad’s side, but there was no other evidence, so they only gave her house arrest for the rest of her existence, and the warning that if she somehow came near me or dad again, she’d be executed. My dad never let me out of the palace grounds again.’’

F********ck… What was Via supposed to do now?

Chapter Text

Chapter 4:

Stolas made tea. It was the only thing he could think of that’d make the situation even remotely better. Tilla whipped up cookies.

Now they were seated at the table in the dining room, sipping camomile and eating chocolate chip cookies.

‘‘Thank you.’’ The Via that wasn’t his daughter smiled at him.

She seemed much more comfortable with them now, but was still very shy.

‘‘It’s the same as when my dad makes it.’’

‘‘Well, realities and people may change, but the best way to make tea will remain the same.’’

She chuckled. His Starfire, though, seemed deep in thought.

‘‘Okay, so that didn’t work.’’ She said out loud but was clearly talking to herself.

What if there’s more? Via was thinking, unknown to Stolas.

‘‘What about what happened after?’’ She asked, out of options. ‘‘I mean, you recognized Blitzø and Loona, how did your dad meet them if there was no “Not Divorced” party?’’

‘‘… Why would there be a “Not Divorced” party?’’

‘‘Just answer the question.’’

‘‘Well, after dad recovered, he took over grandfather’s investigation. They were trying to tie the man-I think Striker was his name-’’

‘‘Of-f*cking-course it was.’’

‘‘Blitzo, don’t interrupt, it’s rude.’’ Tilla told him.

‘‘Sorry. Go on, Sweetie.’’

‘‘They were trying to get any information on him that they can, and my dad traveled several rings collecting testimonies, but no one would snitch.’’

‘‘As is the protocol. Snitches get stitches.’’

‘‘But then he ran into you.’’

That, Blitzø hadn’t expected.

‘‘He recognized you, and you weren’t too much of a jerk to him, and when he mentioned that he had a daughter, me, you told him what he needed to know.’’

‘‘That… does sounds like me, not gonna lie.’’

‘‘It wasn’t enough to convict mom for a worse punishment, but it was enough that my dad trusted you.’’

‘‘A lot less than that would’ve been enough, Sweetie, trust me.’’ He winked at the owl.

‘‘Blitzø!’’

‘‘What? It ain’t no lie.’’ He teased, but Stolas pushed his hand away.

‘‘You testified at the trial, and after the proceedings were over, you and Loona moved in to the palace. My dad made you the captain of the guards for the palace’s security, and thanks to Loona, I had a friend.’’

Oh, that didn’t sound too bad-

‘‘But now that she’s older she doesn’t really wanna spend time with me anymore.’’

Why!? Via banged her head on the table, spilling a little tea.

‘‘Unlike me, she’s allowed to go out whenever she wants, so she goes to parties and stuff. She sometimes brings me gifts, but we don’t really hang anymore. She probably thinks I’m boring.’’

Oh, God-

‘‘What about Penelope?’’ Miss Tilla asked, and Via froze for a split second.

She’d been trying not to think about that, and had been successful till then. She hadn’t even asked the other Via they’d met if she had Penny to talk to.

‘‘Uncle Vassago’s daughter? I haven’t seen her since I graduated.’’

‘‘Your dad let you go to school?’’ Loona seemed surprized.

‘‘I’m not sure if it counts as leaving the palace. I mean, I technically did, but my dad always opened portals for me to come and go, and I always had a chaperone. Usually Blitzø. I wasn’t allowed to stay over after class for club activities or allowed to participate in any sports. Dad was scared I’d injure myself.’’

‘‘Figures.’’ It was Via who made a snag comment this time.

Hey, Iva, I get it! Her life s*cks and I’m lucky, can you send her back now?

‘‘I can empathize, I-I do feel I’d act similarly.’’ Her dad admitted. ‘‘But what you’re describing sounds very extreme. You were six then, yes, but you’re a lot older now.’’

‘‘Yeah, you should be given at least some amount of independence.’’ Blitzø agreed with his boyfriend. ‘‘Maybe don’t go out alone, but why shouldn’t you go out and hang out your dad or Loona. Just take me with you. I’m your guard for a reason, right?’’

‘‘I guess.’’ It seemed the foreign one’s mood was a little lifted at least. ‘‘I don’t know how I’d even bring it up to my dad. He’s very sensitive and-’’

‘‘OCTAVIA!’’

The name was screamed through a portal that opened on the side of the room.

Then a Stolas that clearly still possessed magic jumped through it.

‘‘VIA! WHERE-’’

He quickly looked around the room and located her, cutting his sentence when he did, running over to where she sat, giving her a tight but fast embrace before letting go, he was still holding an arm over her though.

‘‘Are you okay!?’’

‘‘I’m fine, dad.’’

‘‘Good.’’ He turned to them ‘‘Which one of you did this?’’ He accused them without a shred of shame. ‘‘Was it you?’’ He pointed at the other Stolas.

‘‘Does he look like he still has magic?’’ Via mocked, rolling her eyes. ‘‘It was me. It was an accident. My apologies.’’

The alien Stolas still looked mad. Like he wanted to blame someone, but wasn’t going to blame Octavia, even though she wasn’t the one that was his daughter.

He eventually must’ve decided not to do anything cause sighed and told the other Via: ‘‘We’re leaving.’’

‘‘Okay.’’ She didn’t argue. It didn’t feel like she ever did.

Blitzø and Stolas shared a look.

‘‘Hold on.’’ The imp boss stopped them. ‘‘You’re a d*ck to your kid.’’ He stated, the accused father staring at him dumbfounded.

‘‘And I may not have my magic anymore.’’ The owl backed his boyfriend. ‘‘But I’m not going to let you go back and take her with you to a life confined in a gilded cage. I know what that’s like, and I know you do too.’’

The dumbfounded expression turned into offense and irritation.

‘‘You don’t have the faintest idea-’’

‘‘Oh, cut the cr*p, she told us everything.’’ Blitzø pointed to the girl in the aforementioned gilded cage. ‘‘And I can understand doing what you’re doing when she’s six, but she’s not six anymore. She’s sixteen.’’ He assumed because she looked a little younger than their Via.

‘‘Starfire, my darling, what did you tell these people?’’ He asked the youngest owl in the room that he’d pulled behind him, ready to push her trough the portal at any moment.

‘‘They said it might give a clue so they could return me. I didn’t know you could come here.’’

‘‘That’s the answer for “why?”, dear, not the answer to “what?”.’’

‘‘Just about everything… that I know of.’’

*sigh* ‘‘Great.’’

The Stolas that wasn’t his looked pissed, but then he took a closer look at everyone in the room, and Blitzø noticed how intensely the guy staring at his mother. At her tattoo, too.

He looked over to imp and his eyes widened. ‘‘You’re…’’

‘‘She’s my mom.’’ He explained.

The foreign owl looked puzzled for a moment before bowing to the woman. ‘‘Mrs, Buckzo.’’

‘‘It’s miss now, my husband’s dead.’’ She deadpanned. ‘‘Good riddance.’’

F*ck, Blitzø realized; the other him in that world must’ve told the prince about her, or he wouldn’t have recognized her.

Which must mean that they were close enough that he’d trust him with that information… Oh, that dog.

‘‘I encountered Striker too.’’ Stolas stated, getting up.

He’d probably wanted to get back on topic, and his boyfriend wasn’t about to stop him.

Him saying that also seemed to caught the attention of his counterpart very fast.

‘‘It wasn’t the way you did, but he did take me to a cave and would’ve gouged my eyes out if Blitzø’s friends hadn’t arrived in time.’’

‘‘So, you should get it.’’ The other Stolas argued.

‘‘I do, but the unfortunate events that befell us shouldn’t cloud our judgement. And it certainly shouldn’t dictate anything in Via’s life. It’s her life.’’

‘‘And how else am I supposed to protect her?’’

‘‘You shouldn’t.’’ Blitzø said and suddenly everyone was staring at him with narrowed eyes. ‘‘Okay, I phrased that wrong.’’

‘‘What he meant was,’’ Stolas cut in to save his boyfriend. ‘‘she’s growing up, she won’t stay a child for much longer, you can’t just keep babying her forever.’’

‘‘But that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything. You can still have her be independent and safe. You just need to teach her how.’’

‘‘After I saw the extent Stella would go to be rid of me, I was scared too.’’ The Stolas that wasn’t a prince anymore admitted. ‘‘But I didn’t want to limit the already small amount of independence Via had, so I got her self-defence lessons instead.’’

‘‘That would be my part.’’ Tilla looked very tired, and it was nearing two AM. but she still sat next to Via, being there for her. ‘‘I may be over fifty, but I taught her what I know the best I could.’’

‘‘I’d never wish for another instructor.’’ Via seemed genuine in her claim.

‘‘You can teach her how to use your grimoire, too, and how to turn people into stone.’’ Blitzø suggested. ‘‘Make her go out with Loona or me if you have to, just until you know she can take on anyone, but if you insist on what you’ve been doing till now,’’

‘‘she’ll end up resenting you.’’ The owl sounded sad while finishing the other’s sentence.

Probably because he’d feared that’s what would happen to him.

‘‘I clung to Via because for so long, she was the one good thing, the only light in my life.’’ He smiled at her, she remained silent but didn’t frown. ‘‘But she needs to have her own life, make her own mistakes, and figure out what she wants for herself.’’

‘‘She can’t do that if she’s only ever lived in the palace, in the life you showed her.’’ Blitzø backed him up.

‘‘And,’’ He turned to his boyfriend to hold his hand. ‘‘She doesn’t have to be the only good thing.’’ He let the imp caress his face, then took hold of said hand to kiss it softly.

When they’d turned back to the other Stolas, he seemed surprized, conflicted.

But perhaps that was a good thing.

Perhaps it was just the beginning.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5:

They left a couple minutes later, the foreign Via thanked everyone, and her father kept staring at Tilla, bowing every now and then.

He also stared a lot at Blitzø and Stolas. Like he couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that they were together.

But what Via was left thinking after they left was where the next Via could be.

‘‘So, the chaos is over or what?’’ Blitzø asked, half jokingly, half serious.

‘‘No, it’s not over, I still need to-’’ Her phone rang.

She feared it might be Paimon, but it was her grandmother.

‘‘Via, dear, are you alright?’’

‘‘Uh, yes. Yes, I am. Why?’’

‘‘Because a copy of you is in my office shaking in fear… and cold, surprisingly.’’

‘‘Oh, thank f*ck.’’ She couldn’t help but swear, then was about to apologize, but Astra seemed to be bothered by something else.

‘‘You are… happy about this?’’

‘‘I’m happy that I found her. You just hold tight, please. I’ll be right there.’’

She hung up and turned to the others: ‘‘The next one’s with grandmother. I should go.’’

‘‘Let us help.’’ Stolas near shouted, standing up. ‘‘Please, Starfire. I know I have magic no longer, but I beg of you, let us assist you the best we can.’’

‘‘I… Fine. I guess you’ve been helpful thus far, so it would be wise.’’

‘‘Oh, thank you.’’ He hugged her. She didn’t return it, but didn’t push him away either.

‘‘Well, what are we waiting for, let’s go.’’ Blitzø encouraged them.

But Via stopped them when she saw Tilla get up as well.

‘‘No, Miss Tilla, you stayed up almost all night the other day as well, also because of me. You should go to bed.’’ She insisted.

‘‘Oh, um… I suppose you are going to have your father and grandma with you. I guess I could retire.’’

‘‘You should. You looked exhausted.’’

‘‘I agree, mom.’’ Her son chimed in. ‘‘I was going to say something if Via hadn’t. You aren’t twenty anymore, no offence.’’

‘‘Fine. Fine. I’ll go to bed if it makes you guys happy.’’

‘‘It will.’’ Loona offered her a smile.

‘‘Good night, Tilla.’’ The older owl waved as she exited the room.

‘‘Good night, guys. Be careful.’’ She left, and they went through a portal to Astra’s guild.

Miss Doe greeted them.

‘‘Oh, thank God, you guys are here.’’ She hugged Stolas and then Via. ‘‘That girl appeared in the middle of Pentagram City with no warning, seemingly out of nowhere. We brought her here immediately. It took a lot to convince her though. The poor thing was shivering in the cold.’’

‘‘Why?’’ The Goetia didn’t get cold that easily.

And sure, Hell was generally colder around this time of year but not enough to make a difference to the point a Goetia would suffer from it.

‘‘I’m not sure. She’s with Astra now though.’’

‘‘We’ll head up there.’’

‘‘Thank you, Aunt Jane.’’ Stolas made sure to thank the woman before they all went to the seventh floor. It was right below the top floor that was his mother’s home.

They knocked and entered the overlord’s office, and found her and the newest Via sitting in the two armchairs by the fireplace.

The young owl must’ve been cold just as Miss Doe had said, if the blanket she was hugging was any indicator. She also had a mug of what looked to be herbal tea in her hands.

When the two saw them come in, Astra got up to greet them, walking up to Stolas for an embrace. Meanwhile the princess let go of the blanket, put the mug on the coffee table next to her, and stood up, then curtsied them.

This led to Via noticing what this counterpart of herself was wearing.  

The gown she wore -definitely something Stella made her put on- wasn’t a complete assault on the eyes, to Via’s surprize.

It was in cherry blossom pink, featuring a sweetheart neckline that transitioned into a ruffled, off-the-shoulder sleeve on the arms. The dress cinched at the waist by a pleated sash that flowed into a long skirt. A thigh-high slit broke the sleek line of the fabric, while the hem flared outward into a fluid mermaid train that trailed behind her.

She had same coloured boots up to her knee that completed the outfit.

‘‘Father.’’ She greeted him, bowing.

But then saw this world’s Octavia and stared at her as if she were a ghost.

‘‘You’re in an alternate universe. You were brought here by accident, we’re going to return you as soon as possible.’’ She explained, hoping it’d stop her from panicking at the least.

The girl, though, looked scared nonetheless, and took a couple steps back, then falling back on the armchair where she hugged herself, looking like she was trying to wrap her head around what she’d just been told.

Stolas approached her. He’d been successful getting through to the other counterparts of his daughter, so he thought he’d probably be able to get through to her as well.

He placed the blanket back on over her shoulders. ‘‘There. Now, are you okay? And do you need anything?’’

‘‘I… Please tell me this is a prank. I promise I won’t tell mom.’’ She begged.

‘‘I’m sorry, Sweetie, but what Via said is true. Not to worry though, we’ll get you back.’’

‘‘I-I can’t be away from home.’’ She became a bit frantic. ‘‘Father will worry, and Mother… she’ll be terribly worried.’’

She was concerned that Stella would be worried??? Huh, that was a first.

‘‘Tell us about it.’’ Via tried to get her to talk.

‘‘About what?’’

‘‘About your parents, your life.’’

‘‘We have a working theory that telling us about yourself helps.’’ Loona explained a little further, though the alien Via looked at her weird.

‘‘I’m sorry, do I know you?’’

‘‘You don’t recognize us?’’ Blitzø asked. Both the others had.

‘‘Not… in the faintest.’’ She said but it felt as though she had an inkling about Blitzø.

‘‘Oh, well, Blitzø is my boyfriend. Sorry if that’s odd to you.’’ Stolas introduced them.

That other Via looked very bothered by it.

‘‘Loona is his adopted daughter. I’ve been staying with them for a while.’’

‘‘Is that why you’re wearing commoner clothes?’’

The ex-prince tried to stay calm and not say anything. She clearly acted like a stuck-up prick because Stella had more say in raising her than him, which he’d like to know the reason of.

‘‘Yes, also I was banished.’’

‘‘You were what!?’’

‘‘Not really important right now. We need to focus on getting you back, and it’d help us if you told us about yourself. It worked the last two times.’’

‘‘This has happened before?’’

‘‘Yes, and we really shouldn’t waste any more time.’’ Octavia cut in. ‘‘Maybe you can start with why you’re worried about Stella?’’

‘‘Wh-why would you call mother by her name?’’

‘‘Cause she s*cks. Or at least she does here.’’

‘‘HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT!?’’

She stood up abruptly, a line of magic made up of purple glow radiating off of her. She no longer looked sick, either.

Via had noticed that she’d stopped shivering a short while after they’d revealed to her where she truly was, but now she looked as fine as one could.

Also, sh*t, she was mad, but at least it seemed like she was trying to keep it under control.

‘‘How can you say that? Mother has always been there, even when dad wasn’t.’’

‘‘What do you mean when he wasn’t?’’ The imp boss couldn’t help himself and asked. Why would Stolas ever not be there for her?

She looked sad as she answered: ‘‘Grandfather had him go on this one assignment. He was barely home from when I was fifteen to a couple months ago.’’

Chapter Text

Chapter 6:

‘‘What do you mean when he wasn’t?’’

She looked sad as she answered: ‘‘Grandfather had him go on this one assignment. He was barely home from when I was fifteen to a couple months ago.’’

‘‘What kind of assignment?’’ Stolas couldn’t help but ask.

He’d never leave Via alone with Stella for that long unless he absolutely had to.

‘‘I don’t know. But something related to prophecies, I believe. He was in space all the time, so I couldn’t text or call.’’

‘‘And let me guess, Stella was there for you those two and a half years?’’ Via asked, though her alternate version still seemed pissed that she called their mother by her name.

‘‘Of course, she was. Mother has always looked out for me. Sometimes for selfish reasons, but nonetheless.’’

‘‘Selfish reasons you say?’’

‘‘Can you explain, Sweetie?’’ Astra ushered her to sit back on the armchair and then got seated into the other one. Stolas remained close by.

The girl looked like she wasn’t sure if she could trust them, but a f*cking counterpart of her was standing right there, and an alternate version of her father was next to her.

She eventually must’ve decided, what the Hell. ‘‘I used to get sick often as a child.’’

‘‘I thought Goetia couldn’t get sick?’’ Blitzø asked genuinely.

‘‘It’s rare, not impossible.’’ Via clarified.

‘‘I remember mother was… on edge, yelling at everyone. Kept blaming people, including father for what was going on. Father wasn’t any better. He avoided being in my room, I think because he couldn’t bear to see me ill.’’

The counterpart of the mentioned man felt conflicted about that. Yes, it’d be terrible if something of the sort had happened to his Starfire, but he would’ve wanted to be there for his daughter.

Wouldn’t he?

‘‘He did hire a physician though. They lived in the palace and were on call twenty-four/seven in case I needed medical care. Otherwise, mother didn’t really leave me alone.’’

‘‘That doesn’t sound like her.’’ Via probably shouldn’t have said out loud.

But it really didn’t.

‘‘Actually,’’ Stolas cut in. ‘‘I can imagine why.’’ His daughter stared at him with narrowed eyes.

‘‘Pray tell.’’

‘‘When you were little, especially as a toddler and before that, your mother was worried something would happen to you that’d make the council, but primarily my father, believe that you weren’t suited to be named my heir. They weren’t happy that my firstborn wasn’t a son and that I’d refused to try again for a boy anyway.’’

‘‘She didn’t want to be gravid again.’’ Via figured it out. ‘‘That’s why you said her reasons were selfish.’’ She said to her copy. ‘‘She was worried for us because she was worried for herself.’’

Why was she surprized?

‘‘Well, still.’’ The other Via kept defending the woman. ‘‘Mother sacrificed a lot for me. She always tried her best. It was not her fault her best turned out to be faulty.’’

‘‘…’’

‘‘Could you elaborate?’’ Loona seemed bored and tired. She probably wanted to be included and help, but also to get back to bed.

‘‘After I recovered, mother said the way they’d been raising till then was wrong, and argued that I needed to learn how to be a proper Goetian princess so that no one would question my standing. Dad didn’t really like that idea, but mother didn’t change anything too drastically, so he didn’t fight it.’’

‘‘And those changes turned you into this?’’ Via pointed to her being in a dress. ‘‘No offence.’’

‘‘None taken.’’ Her tone of voice sounded like it was taken.

‘‘Then Stolas’s a**hole of a father sent him to do space work?’’ The owl had forgotten for a moment how much his boyfriend hated his father.

‘‘I didn’t know back then, but father only went on that assignment for my sake. Mother had convinced him not to send me to the academy, and instead have me home-schooled. I had had tutors for many things -dancing, oil painting, the piano- and anything academic that I needed to know -history, politics, magic- my dad taught me.’’

Wasn’t that extreme? Even the version shielded by Stolas like crazy had been allowed to go.

‘‘And mom would take me with her to parties. She wanted to make sure everyone knew the heir to Prince Stolas was perfect in every way. That there was nothing wrong with me. But it backfired.’’

‘‘How?’’

‘‘I’d gathered too much attention. People started sending marriage offers to not just my father but to my grandfather. Dad either rejected or ignored the letters but, some of those people were so high in rank that my grandfather started pressuring my dad to pick someone for me to be engaged.’’

‘‘That ****.’’

‘‘Blitzø! Don’t interrupt.’’

She ignored them and continued. ‘‘I didn’t understand back then, but father had only accepted that assignment so that grandfather would back off. I remember it was the first and only time Mother thanked him. But… I rarely ever saw him anymore. He, uh… always made it to my birthday. And visited couple times a year, but… I missed him.’’

‘‘You said he came back a couple months ago?’’ Loona remembered she’d mentioned.

She suddenly looked… guilty? ‘‘I relapsed a short while after my seventeenth birthday.’’

‘‘Your illness came back?’’ Stolas asked, but then felt stupid for asking, what else could “relapse” mean?

‘‘We couldn’t contact dad so he found out a month later when he visited. Then he and mom talked to grandfather and convinced him that father should be home while I recover, but I haven’t completely healed yet.’’

That all made sense, except…

Iva had pulled versions of her whose lives were worse than hers into Via’s reality. Thus far, this story sounded bad, but not worse than hers. Not better, yes, but not worse.

And she didn’t look sick. She hadn’t since they’d told her where she really was. Oh, oh she’s-

‘‘You’re faking it.’’

The others let out gasps, surprized at the accusation. The accused froze for an undeniable number of seconds before responding.

‘‘How dare you-’’

‘‘I don’t know if you faked the relapse itself, but you’re definitely faking still being sick. You don’t want your dad being sent back, and your illness is a very valid reason to reject marriage offers, no matter who they’re from.’’

‘‘…’’

‘‘Do either of them know?’’

‘‘No.’’

There it is.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7:

There was the problem. Via had been right. Her counterpart had been faking it, and it’d be a problem if her parents, but more importantly, anyone else found out.

How did she fool her doctors though?

‘‘They can’t know. I-I don’t know what mother would do but… Dad would be sad. And disappointed that did such a thing.’’ The girl admitted.

‘‘I don’t think so.’’ The man that looked exactly like her dad but wasn’t told her: ‘‘I’m sure he wouldn’t completely be okay with it, but I doubt he’d be disappointed that you missed him, and wanted him back. I’m sure he missed you too.’’

‘‘He says he did.’’ She looked unsure, though.

‘‘Then what’s the problem?’’ Blitzø asked. ‘‘Christ on a stick, what’s the worst that could happen?’’

The alien Via’s head shot up at the speed of light. Her eyes sparkling with something. She suddenly looked like she’d solved a puzzle, or a mystery or something.

‘‘YOU.’’

‘‘Me?’’ The imp was confused.

‘‘It was you… IT WAS YOU IN MY FATHER’S BEDROOM!’’

‘‘Oh…’’

Via and Loona facepalmed in unison. Like, seriously? Did a single version of him not bang the prince?

‘‘There were rumours that he cheated on mother, but neighter of us believed it of course, he would never. Then one night I walked to his room to show the latest art piece I’d finished and I didn’t see you, but I knew, I knew it the moment you spoke, it was you. The same sound and manner of language as it is right here before me!’’

‘‘Great.’’ It was not.

‘‘I-I’d assumed maybe I misunderstood… How could he?’’ She looked even sadder now.

‘‘Oh, that’s easy.’’ Loona deadpanned: ‘‘He loves you more than anything as his daughter, but he also wanted romantic love and to be appreciated by a romantic partner.’’

‘‘And a sexual one.’’ Blitzø said from under his tongue, but Via stepped on his shoe to shut him up.

He tried not to shout.

‘‘Your dad’s gay, Sweetie, he wanted a man. Simple as dad. But he still loves you.’’ The hellhound continued, then Blitzø hugged her again, she knocked him down lovingly, y’know, the usual.

The clearly younger Via seemed shocked, looking at Stolas for confirmation who did so by avoiding her gaze.

‘‘Why would he not tell me?’’

‘‘Perhaps he felt you weren’t old enough to understand.’’ Astra offered.

‘‘I wish he’d told me.’’

‘‘Well, maybe when you return, you can tell him the truth, and he’ll return the favour.’’ This worlds’ Octavia encouraged. ‘‘Then maybe you two can figure out a better way for you to stay out of marriage talks, one that won’t force you guys apart.’’

‘‘You really think so?’’

‘‘I do.’’

‘‘Then…’’ She finally looked sure of herself. ‘‘I’ll do everything that I can.’’

And as if a spell had been cast just at that moment, a pitch black portal inside its white frame that crackled like electricity appeared on the other side of the room.

Iva.  

The first Via that arrived had been able to leave on her own, and the second’s dad somehow was able to open such portal for her, but this one must now have. And Iva must’ve opened this portal herself because there was no other way this Octavia could return to her home.

‘‘What’s that!?’’ Loona asked. ‘‘Doesn’t look like a normal portal.’’

‘‘No.’’ The foreign one told them: ‘‘It looks just like the one that brought me here.’’

‘‘I think it’s your way back.’’ Via took her hands and got her to her feet.

‘‘Are you sure?’’

‘‘I’m posi-’’ She was about to try and convince her to go through, but then her father’s voice was heard.

‘‘What in Heaven…?’’ He peaked through the portal to see: ‘‘Oh, my, Lucifer!’’

Two Vias… and his mother!?

He fell down and once again could not be seen from this side of the portal.

‘‘Dad!’’

‘‘Stolas…’’ That world’s Blitzø’s sleepy voice was heard from the other side as well. ‘‘The only reason for which you should wake an assassin at three in the f*cking morning is if the building is on fire.’’

‘‘Blitzø! It’s Via.’’

‘‘Okay, so there are two reasons.’’

Then the owl crossed the portal again but this time completely, wearing pijama shorts and a star patterned dark blue shirt that he’d clearly put on in a hurry.

‘‘Octavia! Whatever in Lucifer’s name is going on?’’ He hugged her.

This universe’s Stolas hoped the guy wasn’t smelling too much of sex.

‘‘Alternate universe bullsh*t. Won’t happen again.’’ Blitzø assured. ‘‘Right?’’ He then asked Via.

‘‘No, it won’t.’’

‘‘Oh, my dear. How long have you been here? You were fine at dinner.’’

‘‘I was pulled right before I made it to my room to retire for the night. But I’m alright, father.’’

‘‘That’s good. But are you sure? How’re your chills? Maybe you should see the doctor.’’

‘‘Actually, dad-’’

‘‘STOLAS! WHERE’S MY PHONE?’’

He looked embarrassed beyond what was describable. ‘‘One moment Starfire.’’ He then turned to the portal: ‘‘IT’S ON THE NIGHTSTAND AS ALWAYS, DEAR.’’

‘‘Alright, I’m going away now.’’

‘‘I’ll text you!’’

‘‘Oh, I know.’’

*Sigh* ‘‘I’m terribly sorry for that, my darling.’’ He apologized to his daughter. ‘‘That was, um…’’

‘‘Your boyfriend.’’

It was obvious that he’d thought she was oblivious to his relationship. ‘‘Well, uh…’’

‘‘I get it, dad. I just wish you’d said something.’’

‘‘… I didn’t want to trouble you with my issues, Via. I apologize you had to find out this way.’’

‘‘I’ve actually known for a while, but it’s fine, dad. I just wanna go home.’’

‘‘Yes, of course, darling.’’ He lifted her up, glanced at Astra once again -looking sorrowful as sh*t- and thanked them… probably for keeping her company or something: ‘‘Thank you.’’ And left through the portal with her.

Via hoped she would try like she said she would.

‘‘So, was this the last one?’’ Loona asked.

‘‘I don’t know.’’ But I don’t think so. Via needed to find the next, and quick.

So far another had appeared almost right after she sent the last one home, so maybe she’d also-

Her grandmother’s office phone rang.

There it is!

‘‘Oh, let me get that.’’ The overlord answered. ‘‘Jane? … Oh, you did? … WHAT!?’’

>>> 

Turns out, the next Octavia wasn’t quite like the others.

‘‘DADDY!’’ She screamed and ran to him the minute Aunt Jane got her into the room.

There didn’t seem to be a problem aside from the fact that she was five.

‘‘Oh, dear.’’ Stolas caught her, lifting her up and letting her hug him.

‘‘Daddy! Where are we? I woke up and I wasn’t in my bed.’’

‘‘It’s, uh… It’s alright, Sweetheart. We’re just, um… visiting your grandma.’’

He pointed at his mother.

‘‘Hey there Via.’’ The elderly woman walked up to them and stroked her head feathers. ‘‘I’m Astra. I’m your daddy’s mom.’’

‘‘You are?’’ Her eyes sparkled. ‘‘But then why don’t you live with us? Among the stars!’’

‘‘Among the stars?’’ Stolas asked her, did she mean he took her to see them often, or...

‘‘Yeah! In space!’’

What?

Chapter Text

Chapter 8:

‘‘DADDY!’’ She screamed and ran to him. There didn’t seem to be a problem aside from the fact that she was five.

‘‘Oh, dear.’’ Stolas caught her, lifting her up and letting her hug him.

‘‘Daddy! Where are we? I woke up and I wasn’t in my bed.’’

‘‘It’s, uh… It’s alright, Sweetheart. We’re just, um… visiting your grandma.’’

He pointed at his mother.

‘‘Hey there, Via.’’ The elderly woman walked up to them and stroked her head feathers. ‘‘I’m Astra. I’m your daddy’s mom.’’

‘‘You are?’’ Her eyes sparkled. ‘‘But then why don’t you live with us? Among the stars!’’

‘‘Among the stars?’’ Did she mean he took her to see them often, or...

‘‘Yeah! In space!’’

What? She wasn’t serious, was she?

‘‘That sounds so interesting, Sweetie.’’ Her grandmother didn’t let her expression change in any way and continued: ‘‘I haven’t seen you guys in so long, can you tell me about it?’’

‘‘I saw you before?’’

‘‘You were just born, Honey, you wouldn’t remember.’’ She made up on the spot.

‘‘Oh, okay. Well, we don’t really live in space I guess, but like, we spend time there all the time.’’

Oh, okay, that sounded fine-

‘‘And our house is on a faraway planet. It’s just us there.’’

WHAT!?

‘‘Really? Can I visit?’’

‘‘Of course! She can visit, right Dad?’’ She asked Stolas and he nodded nervously.

‘‘Of course, Starfire. We’re here for a while longer, but why not after?’’

‘‘YAY!’’

‘‘Why don’t I get us all some snacks while you tell us more about it, Dear?’’ Aunt Jane asked and the little girl physically cheered at the mention of snacks.

‘‘Can I have some Daddy? I know I already had ice cream today, but pleaseeee?’’

‘‘I’ll allow it this time, Via Darling.’’ He rubbed their faces together like he’d do to his Via when she was younger. The little girl giggled just the same as they sat down.

Then she continued telling them more about how she lived in space.

‘‘Daddy found us a planet we could live in that was too far away for humans to find, and we built a house together there. I helped paint it!’’

Holy cr*p, why?

‘‘I’m sure it looks lovely, Sweetie, but why leave Hell? Don’t you two get lonely?’’

‘‘Sometimes, but we have each other. And Dad leaves sometimes to get food and other stuff, but he always comes back before dark. He promised.’’

‘‘And why did you move, Via?’’

The girl made a look that made it clear she did not know. Her cute little face crumbled up, thinking what to say.

Then she turned to Stolas. ‘‘Dad, why did we?’’ Except he wasn’t her dad, and he didn’t know either.

Octavia wanted to yell out to Iva that she got the mother*cking point, and that this was enough, but she wasn’t alone.

‘‘Um…’’ Stolas didn’t know what to say, but was saved by Miss Doe who walked in with the snacks.

Tea and cookies for everyone, and warm vanilla milk for baby Via. She seemed to enjoy it, but ended up asleep before she could finish.

Astra didn’t let go of her and even got Jane to bring a blanket. ‘‘She’s so cute.’’

Via was the exact same… literally. The former prince thought.

‘‘Yes, but how are we gonna get her back?’’ Loona asked, the question mostly directed at Octavia.

‘‘Well, she obviously can’t go back on her own, so we have to wait for her Stolas to come find us. Like the others had.’’

‘‘Yes.’’ This world’s Stolas sighed. ‘‘Seems all my other versions have dimensional-travel figured out. I never got the equations just right to even attempt it.’’

‘‘Don’t be so hard on yourself, babe.’’ Blitzø gave his shoulder a soft squeeze. ‘‘You’ll get the hang of it one day.’’

When you get your magic back… eventually.

‘‘Thanks, Blitzø.’’ Silence washed over the room.

‘‘Guess we’ll have to wait.’’ Blitzø said just to break said silence but it didn’t help and everyone either just stared at something random or kept nibbling on the snacks.

Then a portal opened.

‘‘Oh, thank Lucifer, finally.’’ Via said, assuming it was the little girl’s father.

But yet another Via fell flat on her face before it closed.

‘‘Motherf*cking-’’ She sat up and rubbed her head.

Then she looked up and saw them.

‘‘… What manner of fresh Hell is this?’’

‘‘The interdimensional kind.’’ Loona deadpanned. ‘‘Welcome aboard.’’

Then the others kindly explained to their newest arrival what was going on.

‘‘My dad can’t bring me back, he’s banished.’’ She glanced at Stolas. ‘‘You seem to be as well.’’ She then turned to the original Via. ‘‘He lied to you too?’’

‘‘Actually, she backstabbed him.’’ Blitzø chimed in. ‘‘And still hasn’t said why, by the way.’’

‘‘I remember saying it’s none of your business.’’

The newest Via seemed to consider if she should ask further, but must’ve decided not to because she went on saying: ‘‘Well, he can’t take me back, and I can’t go back, I’ve never tried any spells like that. How am I gonna go back?’’

‘‘We’ll find a way.’’ Octavia stated but didn’t defend or back up the statement.

The others seem to notice she wasn’t worried at all but didn’t comment on it. They instead urged the other Via to join them for snacks and the second round of tea.

‘‘So, do we just wait?’’

‘‘You could tell us about yourself.’’ Astra suggested. ‘‘I understand that it helps with the process.’’

‘‘It’d be a short story.’’

She said, unamused.

‘‘Dad cheated on mom with that d*ckhead’’ She pointed at Blitzø. ‘‘lied to me, and abandoned me. Now he’s banished, but living his best life with him, and I’m stuck living in an ice palace with mom and Uncle Andrealphus laughing like maniacs all the time, and I can’t sleep!’’

That didn’t sound so bad.

‘‘Just wait ‘till you’re eighteen and kick them out, then.’’ Via advised. ‘‘You’ll own the place then, won’t you?’’

‘‘Yeah, like Uncle Andre would just let me.’’ The other girl snorted. ‘‘He already told my grandfather and the council that I’m undertrained. That I can’t perform my dad’s duties yet. He’ll just keep everything under his control under the pretext that he’s helping me and training me.’’

‘‘Then snitch on him.’’

‘‘What?’’ She seemed confused. ‘‘What do you mean?’’

She really hadn’t thought of it? ‘‘Tell grandfather exactly what he’s doing.’’

Chapter Text

Chapter 9:

‘‘Then snitch on him.’’

‘‘What?’’ She seemed confused. ‘‘What do you mean?’’

‘‘Tell grandfather exactly what he’s doing.’’

‘‘… Snitches get stitches.’’

‘‘And end up in ditches!’’ Blitzø added, but then realized it hadn’t helped. ‘‘Sorry.’’

‘‘Yeah, well, not if you do it right.’’

Via kept on with her suggestion.

‘‘What he’s doing is an affront to Paimon’s authority. Your uncle isn’t the one hailing from his bloodline, you are. If you can prove he’s not actually helping you, and that he’s just seizing your father’s riches and power for himself like a leech, he’ll make your uncle wish he was dead.’’

‘‘I can confirm. He would do that.’’ The wife of the king in question nodded in agreement.

‘‘I’m sorry, who are you?’’

‘‘Oh, I, uh, don’t know about your world, but here, she’s my mother and Via’s grandmother.’’ Stolas explained.

‘‘… You’re a sinner.’’ The foreign Octavia pointed out.

‘‘There are exceptions to every rule, Dear.’’

‘‘I see.’’ She said eventually, still staring at the elderly woman. ‘‘So, I just need proof to convince grandfather?’’

‘‘Yes. A video or a voice recording would be the easiest.’’

‘‘I don’t have my phone.’’ She revealed. ‘‘Mother took it. Said dad might try to contact me and lie to me again through it.’’

The owl tried not to curse.

‘‘She said she’d get me a new one with a new number but she hasn’t.’’

‘‘You know she’s not going to, right? She’s just stalling you.’’

‘‘Well, she has to. Eventually.’’

She obviously didn’t know about the assassination attempts on her dad’s life, that is, if they happened in her universe. Via debated asking about it but Blitzø beat her to it.

‘‘Did your dad stay in the hospital recently?’’

‘‘Why would you ask that?’’ It wasn’t a no, and her expression was saying “yes”, anyway.

‘‘He did, didn’t he?’’

‘‘Blitzø.’’

‘‘No, Birdie, she should know.’’ He turned back to her, looking at her dead in the eyes: ‘‘He was there because your mom hired a hitman to kill him.’’

She sprung up to her feet, knocking the tea all over the table.

‘‘YOU’RE LYING!’’

‘‘SSSSSHHH!’’ Astra pointed at the five-year-old still sleeping in her lap.

She didn’t seem to care all that much but lowered her tone anyway. ‘‘You dare lie to my face?’’

‘‘I’m not. My employees saved him. I couldn’t go. But I was there the first time. At the Harvest Moon.’’

‘‘…’’ She turned to Stolas who reluctantly nodded.

‘‘I’m sorry.’’

‘‘No… No, I know she hates you, but she wouldn’t. Sh-she wouldn’t hurt me that way. She doesn’t hate me.’’

‘‘She hates your dad more than she loves you.’’ Loona told her, knowing it would sting, but the girl needed to hear it.

She hadn’t meant for her to start crying though.

‘‘But he’s the one who left me.’’

Oh, how (the counterpart of) her father wanted to hug her, to tell he he’d never, but he didn’t know what had transpired there. He didn’t have the right to speak for her actual father.

‘‘He said he would never leave me, but he did. And maybe I shouldn’t be mad, I mean, he never wanted me in the first place. He never loved mom.’’

‘‘You think she ever wanted you?’’ Octavia asked her rather harshly, ignoring the looks her dad was shooting at her direction for her not to.

‘‘VIA!’’

‘‘She should know.’’ She argued. ‘‘Mother never wanted us either. I don’t know the details, but I know that much.’’

‘‘I-but she stuck around!’’

‘‘Yeah, well, maybe you should be asking why she did. I may not be from your world, but if I were you, I wouldn’t think she stayed purely out of motherly love. Or at least just out of motherly love.’’

‘‘I don’t have anyone else left.’’

‘‘Yes, you do.’’ Via tried to help her realize. ‘‘Didn’t you say your mother told you he’d try to contact you? He probably is as we speak. If he truly wished to leave everything, including you, behind, he wouldn’t be.’’

‘‘…’’

‘‘And you said he left you for Blitzø, why would he? He left your mother, so he could pursue a romantic relationship with the man he wanted, but what does that have to do with you?’’

‘‘He loves him, he doesn’t need me anymore.’’

‘‘Oh, dear.’’ She mocked her a bit, letting the annoyance in her tone show: ‘‘Can you really not tell the difference between the two?’’

Her face was enough to confirm, yes.

‘‘He started seeing him because he wanted a real relationship, not a pretend, contract marriage. He wanted to love and be loved, but that’s in a different way than what you two have. The love between you and him is irrelevant there, so why would it change?’’

‘‘But we barely talked once he started seeing him. And he forgot Azatoth’s Tears!’’

‘‘That’s cause he’s a goofy idiot who gets caught up in things, not because he loves you less.’’

*sniff* She wiped her tears off the side of her wrist. ‘‘You think so?’’

‘‘I know so.’’  The girl seemed convinced, but Via couldn’t be too sure.

‘‘But, I was so rude to him, when he came to see me. What if he’s mad?’’

‘‘I doubt it, but you could always apologize. He already took a step to fix things, yeah? Now it’s your turn.’’

‘‘Okay.’’

And as if Iva had been watching (no, actually, she definitely must’ve been) a portal opened at exactly that moment, and a Stolas that seemed to still be a prince stepped through.

‘‘Octavia!’’ He then looked around and like all the others, his eyes shifted from person to person, trying to figure out what he was looking at.

‘‘Via.’’ He started sprinting to the couch after spotting his daughter there. ‘‘…’’ He came to a halt once he noticed who had her.

‘‘Hi.’’ Astra waved before carefully picking the little girl up and handing her to him, still asleep. ‘‘Here you go. She had cookies with milk.’’

‘‘T-thank you. I-um.’’

‘‘Wanna sit and explain why you guys live on a faraway planet and not Hell?’’ Blitzø asked, but the guy didn’t answer.

He shrank in on himself, hugging baby Via even tighter, and avoided meeting any of their eyes.

Stolas recognized something bad must’ve happened. ‘‘What happened?’’ He asked with a soft tone. ‘‘Was it Stella?’’

Silence.

‘‘Andrealphus?’’

‘‘I don’t know what I ever did to him.’’

‘‘If it makes you feel better, I don’t either.’’

‘‘I might.’’ The latest Via said, and both owls stared at her like she was crazy.

‘‘You do?’’ The one that wasn’t a prince anymore asked.

‘‘I have heard some things.’’

‘‘What did you hear?’’ The “prince” Stolas asked.

‘‘He and Prince Vassago were doin’ it when you guys were in the academy.’’

To the others in the room, that info didn’t mean much, but to the two Stolas-es, it seemed to mean a bunch. They stared at one another, their expressions almost identical before they both said annoyedly:

‘‘Oh, for f*ck’s sake.’’

‘‘So, what happened with Elsa that made you hide Via away?’’ Blitzø asked. ‘‘I’m guessing he didn’t harm her physically.’’

‘‘No.’’ The alien Stolas confirmed. ‘‘He’d be dead.’’

‘‘So, what happened?’’

‘‘He exposed us.’’ He said to Blitzø.

Oh, dear, so they’d met again there, too.

‘‘He and Stella said to the council that I was so taken with you, I wasn’t performing my duties properly, and that I was neglecting Via.’’ He looked like he was about to cry, barely holding it together. ‘‘They tried to take her from me.’’

But wasn’t that when she was seventeen? Had they re-met earlier in that universe? Why was she five?