°you shouldn't have come along°

▪︎part sixty five▪︎

She stared down at her dying brother void of emotion. She didn't feel guilt or remorse. Didn't feel love or worry. She didn't even feel anger like she had initially. She couldn't feel anything but she also couldn't stop. Unlike what Vanya had done to her she was in control of her body, but it still felt like she wasn't doing this. She no longer felt the urge to harm him after she saw him so powerless before her. Her strong and protective Number One. Defenseless against her. But now she didn't care. She just watched as her powers kept going, following her previous desires.

Luther gasped staring at her trying to search her eyes for a mercy he had not had towards she and her sister. There he only saw their impending future, one that insured every single soul on Earth would perish. Luther was scared. His last mission for his father had ended horribly and lead to his rather shocking appearance but before his father had made that decision he was dying. He remembered all of his terrified thoughts and the pain he felt, not only in his chest but also in his heart as he realized he wasted his life.

He was overwhelmed with the same feelings and he realized he would die at the hands on the girl he had loved all his life. The one that always slipped through his fingers. The one he could never have. She was his tomorrow. Something he always looked to but never reached. And that killed him more than what she was doing to him.

Suddenly his words to her from many years ago surfaced in his mind and he suddenly understood why she was angry. Why she wanted him dead. And what he had to do.

"I'll protect you no matter what."

He slowly pushed himself to his feet, despite the fleeting air in his lungs.

"And accept you and care for you. No matter what."

He lied to her.

She watched as he did so, curiosity making her eyebrow raise and an interested curve of her lips appear on her face. Was he really fighting? Surely he knew nothing he could do would stop her. He opened his mouth, gasping more as his struggled to speak. She almost felt sorry for him.

"No...matter...what." He fought to say. But as quiet and pained as it was, it still left Y/n speechless and her heart stung as she remembered his promise. He had lied. But then again so had she. She promised to protect him like he had her for all these years. Like he had been trying to do when he trapped them. Of course he was wrong for that but he was scared, scared that she would hurt herself or that she might hurt others and never forgive herself. As much as she hated to say it, he tried keeping to his promise, even if he did it the wrong way.

Suddenly everything stopped around them before melting away to a bright white light around them. Luther thought maybe he had finally died and this was the after life. It would certainly make sense. Around him was the stereotypical white room but it wasn't exactly a room since the walls and roof seemed endless around him. He looked around before noticing something odd. He was wearing his academy uniform, shorts and all. He looked at his hands, which were unusually small and hairless. He looked down at himself, recognizing the slight puff of his chest, sign of the slowly developing muscle he had been determined to have. His legs were shorter and when he ran his hand over his head he realized his hair was longer and more fluffy like a child's.

Somehow he had become a teen again once he died, or at least that's what he suspected. However when he looked up to see Y/n, in her matching uniform and small stature he remembered just how much he had loved hugging and holding her. Even before his adult years he was bigger than her and he had always had the need to protect her.

Those instincts kicked in as he saw the pained look on her face. She was guilty and looking at Luther, the same Luther who had promised her that day, broke her heart. He stepped forwards, reaching out for her as she began to cry. He tears were black, staining down her cheeks like running mascara but she didn't seem to notice this terrifying change as she sobbed. "I'm so sorry, Luther." She cried. Luther immediately came to her, pulling her tightly to him. "No. No, don't you dare say that. Y/n, what I did was horrible and you have every right to do what you did. I can't believe what I was thinking but I swear to you, I never wanted you to get hurt." Luther told her, holding her as she cried.