The house was filled with guests and the children from the orphanage, running around and admiring the decor of the home, and critics were complaining about the home secretly but were playing nice in front of the siblings. "Welcome to the Hargreeves Gala!" Luther introduced to two of the critics. "Oh, Luther Hargreeves! Good evening, we were just talking about how splendid the Gala looks this year!" The male critic said with fake happiness. "I'm glad you think so. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to mingle." Luther replied, turning his back. "But Luther, aren't you going to greet the other guests?" The female critic pointed out. "Oh, they know the drill." Luther grunted. "Besides, I'm not gonna spend the entire party shaking hands." He then walked off into the party. Klaus was on-stage, singing the Hokey-Pokey and yes, he was drunk. He stopped singing when seeing a certain figure step into the room.

"DIEGO HARGREEVES!" He screamed in excitement. "What the-?" Diego questioned. "Diego, Diego, Diego, Diego!" Klaus repeated as he ran to his brother and hugging the living daylights out of him. "I missed you so much!" Diego gasped for breath and smelt Klaus's alcoholic breath and scrunched his nose in disgust. "Klaus...I..." Diego was still chocking for air. "I missed...you too..." He spat out. "I'm so glad you're here! You didn't forget me, right?" Klaus smiled. Diego chuckled and struggled out of Klaus's grasp. "Yeah, of course, I remember you, Klaus. You're not that hard to forget." He replied with a smirk on his lips. "Diego!" Vanya said, walking up the duo. "You made it!" Luther added. "Hey, even if I wasn't helping the public from danger, I wouldn't miss an opportunity to see you guys for the world." Diego said. He then looked around for his two other sisters but saw they were no-where to be found. "Hey, where are Allison and Victoria?" He questioned.

"Victoria's practising her song and Allison's picking up Claire from the station." Vanya answered and Diego's eyes widened. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Whoa! Back up!" He paused for a moment of silence as Vanya, Luther and Klaus watched him with concern. "Victoria's practising what now?" Diego asked and squinted his eyes a little. "She's singing a song tonight." Luther explained. "Victoria, onstage...you're kidding, right?" Number Two scoffed. "We thought it would be a good confidence boost for her." Luther replied with reason. "And what was that about Claire?" Diego added to his complaint. 

"Space Boy!" A little voice called out. It was Claire, Allison's child to Patrick but she got to have some time with her at the gala. "Hey, Claire!" Luther chuckled, bringing the small child into a hug. "Wow, you've grown a bit." Vanya said. "Thanks, Auntie Vanya." Claire smiled. "You look beautiful, Claire." Diego smirked, causing the little child to blush. "Mommy, I wanna see the gardens!" Claire then asked, jumping up and down. Allison smiled and picked up the girl, letting her wrap her legs around her hip. "Alright. We'll be back soon, guys." She said and Allison and Claire left the room. "Oh yeah, have any of you seen Victoria? It's almost time for her to go on." Luther asked the three. "She wasn't in her room?" Vanya replied. "I already looked there."

"She's probably in the garden." She suggested. "You know how comfortable she feels around the critters at times." Luther nodded in response to show understatement. "I'll go get her." Diego said and walked out the room. "Don't try to drag her!" Luther yelled over the crowd.

~~~~~~~

Victoria sat on the grass, embracing her knees and singing her chosen song to herself. "Can...anybody find me....s-somebody to...?" She then let a sigh of frustration. "What am I doing? I can't sing! Not with everybody watching me!" Victoria muttered. "Why not? We all know you're great!" Diego said, leaning on a nearby tree. "Diego, I'm so happy to see you!" Victoria replied with a slight smile. Diego raised an eyebrow in concern and put an arm around his red-head sister. "Are you sure? Cause' the others have told me that you've been down in the dumps lately...is it those nightmares?" He questioned. Victoria looked down to her feet in worry and shifted them a little before looking back up. "Yes...I can't help it, Diego. They just won't go away and I have a bad feeling that...that he's going to come back!" Victoria cried. "I...I'm so scared!" She whimpered, letting a small sob out.

Diego pulled her closer and rubbed Victoria's shoulder. "Hey, hey, it was just a dream. You've gotta hang loose, this is a party after all! Oh and also, it's time to sing your song." He said as Victoria wiped her tears. "Oh, I don't really feel like singing..." She sighed. "Aw, don't tell me you still got stage fright. Come on, don't you remember when you helped us all with that assassin attack?" Diego grunted and rolled his eyes. "Singing is different from fighting." Victoria stated. "You were able to sing that song with Vanya and Allison." Diego said. "That was when it was just them and the rest of us but now there are hundreds of people in there, watching me!" Victoria explained, rubbing her arms from the cold. "Don't worry! I'll be right there to support you, the others too! We all will!" Diego reassured as Victoria's expression began to change from scared to nervous. "Of course, I could always drag you."

Victoria didn't like the sound of being dragged in the ballroom in front of everyone so she took in a quick sigh and looked Diego in the eyes. "Okay, let's do this." She said. "Yeah, come on!" The two turned and made their way back inside, meeting up with Allison and Claire on the way.

~~~~~~~

It seemed Diego's reassurance was working on Victoria to calm her from her fright but what he said was wrong. For in the ballroom was a certain figure in disguise with a suit. "Ugh, this party's so boring!" Five moaned in boredom. "It's not as dull as last years, I'll give em' that." He added to his complaint. He rubbed his ankle from the socks he wore because of blending in. "Oh, I hate this disguise! Even the uniform I wear is more comfortable than this ridiculous suit!" Five grunted before blocking his ears from the sound of the orphans laughing and screaming. "And who invited those brats here?" He spat. "So you just have to stack it over there and you put it over there and then see, ta-da! It makes a castle!" An orphan boy to another. "Ugh, if there's anything I hate more than people, it's younger people!" Five exclaimed as his fist clenched in annoyance. "Sooo bored!" He then moaned again. Five then had to block his ears again as Klaus was back on stage, singing loudly into the microphone. "Ow! My ears!" Luther had to run on stage to stop Klaus and take the microphone off him. "Thank you, Klaus!" He said with a nervous smile. "You're welcome, big guy!" 

"Phew! That ape finally does something right!" Five sighed. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the annual Hargreeves Gala. You all having a good time?" Luther said into the microphone and received cheers and claps. "Good, because there's more to come. We have an exciting programme planned for you tonight, but first, we're going to hear a song from a very close friend of mine. Ladies and gentlemen, Number Eight of the Umbrella Academy, Victoria!" Five scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Oh goodie, the whimpy little ginger is going to sing! This ought to be hilarious!" He chuckled. Five could heard men and women saying stuff like, "Whoa, look at her..." or "She's beautiful." He rolled his eyes with a grunt. "Oh, what are they all staring aaaaa...." Five dropped the glass in his hand as it shattered once he saw Victoria on stage. He looked from her hair to her gala dress to her eyes shimmering in the spotlight. "Heavens above, she...she's so....so...." He thought but stopped himself. "No! No, you're not going through that again! Momentary lapse, just a momentary lapse!" Five grunted to himself.

Victoria looked out to the people chatting among themselves and she sighed. "You can do this, Victoria. Just breathe..." She said to herself. 

https://youtu.be/A5ry5huWncQ

V: Can anybody... 

Victoria paused with a small gulp of nerves.

V: ...find me

"Vanya, Mommy!" Claire said. "What?" Allison questioned. "Let's help her!" Claire suggested. Allison and Vanya nodded and the three ran up to the stage.

V: Somebody to...

Va, A, C: Love!~

Victoria smiled at her sisters and niece with heart. "We got you, sis. Go on." Allison whispered, gesturing to the crowd. Victoria nodded and giggled.

V: Each morning I get up, I die a little

V: Can barely stand on my feet...

Va, A, C: Take a look at yourself in the mirror

V: Take a look in the mirror and cry...

V: Lord, what you doing to me? (Va, A, C: And cry...yeah, yeah)

V: I've spent all my years in believing you but I just can't get no relief, Lord!

V: Somebody...

Va, A, C: Somebody...

V: Somebody...

Va, A, C: Somebody...

V, Va, A, C: Can anybody find me...

V: Somebody to love...

"Beautiful..." Five said with a slight awe in his voice. "You're doing great, reddie! Now sing louder and with more feeling." Vanya whispered.

V: Got no feel, I got no rhythm...

V: I just keep losing my beat...

Va, A, C: She just keeps losing her beat!~

V: I'm okay, I'm alright...

Va, A, C: She's alright, she's alright! Yeah!

V: Ain't gonna face no defeat!

V: I just gotta get out this prison cell...

V: One day, I'm gonna be free, Lord!

V: Somebody...

Va, A, C: Somebody...

V: Somebody...

Va, A, C: Somebody...

V, Va, A, C: Can anybody find me...

V: Somebody to love...

Va, A C: She works hard!

V: Every day...

Va, A, C: Every day!

V: I try and I try and I try!

V: But everybody wants to put me down...

V: They say I'm going crazy...

V: They say I got a lot of water in my brain...

V: Got no common sense...

V: I've got no body left to believe!

V, Va, A, C: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

Klaus, Luther and Diego were cheering them on louder than anyone else and so did Allison, Vanya and Claire. "That voice..." Five said. "So sweet, so clear so perfect!" It sounded like he was in a dream but then he gave a disgusted face. "So sickening! I have to put a stop to this!"