Real Reality (Yandere!Hero x Reader)

XI

"(Y/n), you know I'm busy right now. Villain attacks have started to become more—"

"It's about the necklace." You stopped Uncle Henry from ranting on further. His face immediately paled when you gently put the piece of jewellery on his wooden desk. His blue eyes softened and nostalgia started swirling in his hues. Slowly raising his eyes, he carefully urged you to go onward. Setting his pen onto the stack of papers next to him, his attention was solely focused on your fragile form.

"What is it, (Y/n)?" he mumbled, worried. "You don't need to be scared, I'll protect you."

"Thank you, uncle." A smile graced your face as you felt safe in his presence — like you always did. Letting your body slump forward in the comfortable chair meant to be used by Uncle Henry's guest, you folded your hands nervously and took a deep breath. "But well, it's not a matter of my safety... rather, I fear for the necklace Mother gave to me."

"That means that she is back," he whispered to himself, his eyes wide once he heard of your worries. With confusion rising up inside of you, you couldn't help but drum your fingers against your lap silently. His face hardened when he decided — after a long moment of silence — to speak again. "That would explain the rise of attacks and such by the villains. She's back to finish what your mother never could, (Y/n)."

"What do you mean by that, Uncle?" You felt frustration rising inside of your veins when your uncle stood up and started pacing back and forth in front of the large windows, mumbling silently to himself.

"Listen, (Y/n). You may know that your mother was a villain, the worst of the worst." He sighed, visibly uncomfortable of the past. "She was cruel, strong and there was nothing she didn't have. But everything changed when she met your father and you came into this world. I could see the void in her heart slowly closing; only when I saw her for the last time, I realised how selfless she had become. You made her change her ways and in the end, she found redemption."

"But I didn't do anything. At least, I don't remember doing anything." You rubbed your eyes, leaning into the cushions as his words became too much for you to understand.

"You may not remember, but she loved you dearly." A fond smile appeared on his lips, his fingers grasping his chin as if in deep thought. "Enough to face the consequences of her past doings — death."

You said nothing, the comforting voice of your uncle calming your senses. A wave of sadness flooded your thoughts, tears pricking in the corners of your eyes. But you let Uncle Henry continue, even though your heart broke with every word he uttered.

"Before you were born, your mother was working on a project that would be able to break the laws of time and space if she succeeded," Uncle Henry explained, unsure if he should tell you more. "The reason why everyone feared her so much was because of her power to stop time, or even travel a few hours or minutes into the past. So, she tried to concentrate her powers in order to go back multiple years — to create a new future."

"You mean she was able to travel in time?" you whispered, your voice hoarse as you couldn't believe what your uncle had just told you. "That's impossible, isn't it?"

"Well, she was really close to finishing her project. But her powers simply weren't enough to allow her to travel years into the past." He sighed as he rubbed his burning eyes. "It was only when you arrived into this world that we all found out that your powers were stronger than anything ever seen before. Yours alone would be able to allow her achieve what she had always dreamt of achieving."

"Then... I was simply a tool for her?"

"No, quite the opposite." Uncle Henry chuckled, pride shimmering in his blue eyes. "She refused to use you to achieve her dream, (Y/n). She kept you away from her lair. Day and night, she was searching for another way, but there simply was no other way. Still, she wasn't willing — with all of her heart — to put you into any danger."

"So she never found out how to time-travel?" Uncle Henry's story sounded like a fairy tale — impossible to believe. Yet, you found yourself longing for an answer after all this time; everything he had just told you was the most he ever did.

"No, she gave up. Moved on to live in peace with her new family, knowing that she wanted you to be a normal girl with an ordinary family. She had already pictured everything and such, but it was already too late when she decided to turn her back to the villain business." Uncle Henry sat down in his chair again, his legs tired from the constant walking. "Her apprentice tried to reason with her. The apprentice knew of the only solution to the question the two had worked so hard on finding. But your mother would hear none of that — never would she ever put you in any unnecessary danger. It drove a gap between them; they split ways."

"Uncle, why are you telling me all of this now?" you mumbled, your eyes lowered to the necklace on his desk. The sun was slowly descending from the high sky, colouring the heavens in a rich orange. Uncle Henry's office was only dimly lit, but the rays of the sun seemed to comfort you with their warmth. "It's just so much to stomach..."

"The time has come for you to find out the truth," he replied as he rubbed his temples in frustration. "Now that she's back to finish what your mother began, I fear for your well-being, my niece. I promised your mother to protect you with everything I have."

"Who's back?"

"Your mother's old apprentice." Uncle Henry's lips turned into a thin line. "She never was one to leave things unfinished. But how far she'll go to achieve that goal? I don't know."

"But why has she come back now?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you more, my dear." Uncle Henry clicked his tongue and shook his head. You couldn't believe that, right now, in this moment when you were about to find out the whole truth to your past, he would keep his lips shut. "Shards of the truth will make their way towards you when they're ready to be revealed, trust me. The time will arrive when knowledge will come to you."

"But Uncle—"

"Listen, (Y/n)," Uncle Henry began firmly, not hearing any of your pleas. He looked at you with such worry in his eyes that it made your heart ache to speak against him. "Knowledge is a dangerous thing to have. Sometimes, not knowing something is much safer for the time being. If I tell you more, I could put you in way more danger than you are right now."

"...I understand, Uncle Henry." Your eyes were unreadable as you raised them to meet his again. Extending your hand, you pushed the necklace towards the older male across from you. With a pained smile, you knew that this was the only way to keep the precious memory of your mother safe from the clutches of those villains. "Please watch out for my necklace, the villains always seem to be really interested in it. I don't want to think of what they'd do if they got their hands on it."

"But (Y/n)... are you sure?" Uncle Henry asked with wide eyes as he picked up the fragile pendant with his slender fingers. "A part of you is in there... your mother stored your powers in it since she knew that they were too strong for you to handle."

"Yes, I'm sure." Your voice cracked at the end, but you kept your head raised high. "As long as it doesn't get into the wrong hands, I'd do anything to keep it safe. Even if it's miles away from me. I'll manage."

"I see, if that's what you ask of me, I'll keep it safe in my vault," Uncle Henry uttered. He raised the little pendant into the air, watching as the light shone onto the slightly cracked glass. "Don't worry, it's the most secure place in Halo City. No one will ever be able to touch it."

"Thank you, Uncle." You smiled tiredly, rising from your seat before you slowly walked through his large office. Turning back one more time, you looked at the only relative you had left in this city — the only one you could trust your whole life with. "Good night, Uncle Henry."

"To you as well, (Y/n)," he exclaimed with a large smile, waving to you before the doors of the elevator closed silently. After the departure of his niece, complete silence consumed his office as he continued to stare at the necklace in his grip. "Stay safe..."

Uncle Henry could feel his older sister's presence, begging him to keep her daughter safe from the devil's clutches. And he swore to himself that he would.

Looking out of the windows, he could see all of Halo City from hundreds of floors above. It was the city he had sworn to protect — even if it had been his dear sister that caused the chaos he mended. But his times as a hero had been long gone and now he hoped that the new ones would keep Halo City safe from the villains once again.

And now the city — as well as his beloved niece — needed their heroes more than ever.