Nuclear // Number Five

0.07 × Family Bonding

Where'd you go? I miss you so. Seems like it's been forever since you've been gone.

Libby had found her way back to the academy on foot after Five had vanished again, and it was a long walk. By the time she got back, it was dark and the only lights on in the vast mansion were on the top floor. She sighed and let herself in, not paying attention to her surroundings in the slightest... That was, until her foot hit a broken piece of chandelier and she nearly fell flat on her face. 

It was then that Libby took in the state of the mansion around her. Broken glass was scattered across the floor and it looked like there had been a struggle. She carefully stepped over the shards on the floor and made her way upstairs. It felt strange and foreign to sleep in her childhood room again, and she struggled to get comfortable. After an hour or two of tossing and turning she gave up and grabbed the lead-lined blanket their father had made her for security, moving over to Five's room. 

In his bed, she actually managed to sleep, if only for a few hours. When she opened her eyes again it was dawn and Luther was towering in the doorway. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, frowning. 

"What do you want?" She grumbled, standing up to face him. He stood a foot or more taller than her, and she had to strain her neck to make eye contact with him. Luther brushed her off and started rifling through drawers. 

"We were attacked last night, by a couple of people in animal masks," Luther explained, shoving books around on the desk. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you? They were looking for Five."

"I don't know," Libby sighed, sitting back down on the bed with her head in her hands. "People like that attacked us a couple nights ago, and we escaped, but he never bothered to tell me who they were. I lost him last night while we were on that stakeout. One minute he was next to me and the next, he was gone." 

Luther scoffed at her and continued rifling through drawers. "The one thing I would think you'd be useful for and you're just as useless as the rest of us."

Libby glared at his back, noticing movement out of the corner of her eye. Pogo entered the room and stood by Libby's side, observing Luther's behavior. He laid a comforting hand on Libby's shoulder before fully turning his attention to her brother.

"Like I said, Master Luther, Number Five hasn't lived in this room since he was a boy," Pogo explained, watching as Luther continued to slide drawers out of Five's desk and shove papers and pens around. 

"Yeah, I know that, but he doesn't even know we were attacked. He doesn't know---" 

"What are you doing here?" Diego interrupted, leaning in the doorway. He was wearing the same black ensemble Libby had seen him in the other day, and she could tell they were at each other's throats again. 

"Uh... Do you know about Mom?" Luther asked, stopping in his frantic search and turning to look at Diego. It took Libby a minute to catch up, and when she finally did, she felt oddly empty and sad. Pogo and their mother were the only two adult figures that had actually treated her fairly when she was growing up. To see one of them go made her feel split in half. 

"Well it looks like you got what you wanted. One way or another, right?" Diego answered, and Libby could hardly believe it. She shared Diego's love for their mother, in every cell of her body, and to think that Luther would have wanted to deactivate her made her seethe with rage. She shoved it down and clutched onto the lead blanket. "Wanna tell me what you're doing here?"

"Looking for Five," Luther answered. "Libby doesn't know where he is either. Let me guess, you're gonna save the day." 

The sarcasm dripped off his voice and Diego turned to walk out, "It's what I do, asshole. Come on, Lib."