"𝐴ℎ, 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑠𝑎𝑦, 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑝, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑦."
—𝐷𝑜𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑦 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑟

𝒩.

"𝐊𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐒, 𝐋𝐄𝐓'𝐒 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 focus on the assignment that we're handing in tomorrow," Natalia groaned, resting on her forehead on her desk as she shook her head.

"Sure, we can do that," Klaus drawled, "or we can talk about how Dad is the leader of the Illuminati."

"I promise you, he is not the leader of the Illuminati." She sighed as she straightened back up. "Where'd you even get that idea?"

"Well, how'd he get all this money? From an umbrella store?" Klaus raised his eyebrows before shaking his head and scoffing. "And, also, why does he want us? For power. You know what else likes power? The Illuminati."

Natalia scrunched her nose. "That is the strangest train of thought I've heard."

His eyebrows raised even higher as he leaned forward and nudged her side. "But the most convincing?"

"No!" she exclaimed as she playfully slapped his shoulder.

"Just think about it, Nutella!" he complained. "Why do you think he spends so long in his office?"

She shrugged. "Because he's writing stupid shit in his journal."

"No," Klaus immediately corrected as he wagged a finger. "He's communicating with the other Illuminati people."

Natalia sighed, rubbing her forehead. "He is not."

"Give me proof that he isn't," Klaus insisted.

"Give me proof that he is!" She scoffed. "Klaus, let's just focus on hydrogen iodide."

"No, that's gross," he whined. "Hydrogen iodide? More like hydrogen i-wanna-die-de."

Natalia pulled a disgusted face, her nose wrinkled and her lips pursed tightly, causing Klaus to frown.

"No?"

"No."

"Damn."

"Anyway." Natalia sighed as she turned back to her notebook. "Write this down: Another name for hydrogen iodide is iodine hydride. Aqueous solutions are also called hydroiodic acid or hydriodic acid."

Klaus' face scrunched up, his pencil paused above the paper. "What's the difference with the last two?"

She shrugged as she waved a dismissive hand. "One of them has an extra 'o.'"

"That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"Just write it down!" 

Before he could write it down, however, red light drowned the classroom and an alarm blasted loudly, causing all the students (except for Vanya) to drop their pencils and jump to their feet.

Natalia quickly shuffled all of her books together and grabbed them before following the rest of the students into the home and up to the second floor.

She put her books onto her desk and quickly changed into her suit, and made sure that her mask fit tightly on her face before tying her hair back.

Diego was at her door a moment later, a grin on his face. "Ready to go?"

She nodded. "Ready."

He placed a quick kiss on her cheek before the two of them joined the others in rushing down the stairs.

The Umbrella Academy was quickly brought to a jewelry store, where the lights were dimmed and nearly all the glass cases had been smashed.

The five of them crouched in the back room, peering through the small window on the door to look in. There were about six hostages, tied up and gagged, lined along the side of the room. All of their eyes were wide, and they whimpered as they writhed in their spots. There were four robbers, and, as usual, they wore the same black clothing and ski masks that robbers usually wore.

Two of them were on the left side of the room while the other was on the opposite, though all three of them were doing the same thing: furiously shoving jewellery into the black duffel bags they carried.

The fourth one was guarding the hostages, slowly pacing back and forth in front of them as he shifted the gun's direction from face to face.

"Okay," Luther whispered, keeping his eyes glued to the scene in front of him as he pressed his hands against the door. "Alli, go for the one on the right; Natalia go for the one on the farthest left; I'll go for the near left; Diego and Klaus, you two go for the one with the hostages, and untie them after."

Diego quickly clutched Natalia's wrist, pulling her closer to him and muttering in her ear, "Be careful. If you need help, yell for me."

Natalia gave a nod of understanding and braced herself as the door opened.

As soon as the door had swung open, Natalia sprinted towards the robber on the farthest left, who had paused and dropped his duffle bag.

He pulled a gun out of his holster, and, just as he pulled the trigger, she rolled onto the ground. Fragments of glass lightly pierced her body, though she ignored it as she swept her foot across his ankles, causing him to fall onto the ground with a grunt.

She could hear Luther's groans as he fought the man behind her, though she had no time to look back as she jumped to her feet at the same time as the robber in front of her.

Noticing that he still had the gun clutched in his hand, Natalia did a spinning kick and knocked it out of his hand, hearing the satisfactory clunk of the gun landing on the gun a few feet away.

Immediately, she sprung into action, throwing every punch and kick possible while simultaneously blocking and dodging all the attacks he sent her way.

He threw a punch toward her face, though she quickly lifted an arm and sent a blast that knocked him backwards. 

The man crouched down and grabbed one of the larger shards of glass before launching it in her direction, and, instantly, her hand raised and her blast of energy shattered it even further, and the glass fell to the ground. 

She then used the same hand to form another blast, and sent it his way, causing him to stumble back. 

He quickly recovered and advanced towards her, anger glinting in his green eyes as he clenched his fists.

Natalia ducked to avoid the punch he had sent and swiftly lunged forward before elbowing his side with as much force as possible.

The robber stumbled back with a groan, and, summoning all her strength, Natalia did another spinning kick, her foot, this time, knocking him in the jaw.

He fell onto his back, the crunch of glass sounding as he landed on top of it. Clearly, he was still conscious, as he clutched at his jaw and moaned on the ground.

Using this given time to her advantage, she held her hands out and shaped her energy to form a long staff. 

The magenta construct finalized as the man got up, and before he could attack, she quickly whacked his side with it, causing him to groan and stumble back.

Continuously, she hit him with the leg, spinning and ducking to avoid the weak retaliations he was attempting to make, until he had fallen onto the ground, nearly unconscious based on his fluttering eyes and low moans.

She quickly absorbed the energy and sent one last blast that rendered him limp.

Natalia peered over his face to make sure that he was passed out, and, once that was confirmed, she turned around to see that Luther was finishing up with his guy, while Diego, Allison, and Klaus were untying and reassuring the sobbing hostages.

Wiping the sweat that had formed on her forehead, Natalia jumped over the table that was in front of her and hurried over to the rest of the group.

Once the hostages had been freed, and the robbers were all either unconscious or dead, Diego turned to Natalia and analyzed her.

His eyebrows furrowed as he noticed all the small shards of glass that had stuck onto her suit, and, carefully, he picked them all off.

"Are you okay?" he murmured as he plucked one fragment and tossed it to the side. "Did you get hurt?"

"I'm fine," she reassured him with a small smile. "You?"

"I'm okay," he muttered with a nod.

"Yeah, I'm great, too, thanks for asking," interjected Klaus loudly.

Natalia turned to him, an amused smile growing on her face. "I didn't ask because I already knew; you're best of the best, after all."

𝒩.

As soon as dinner finished, Natalia watched as the other teens got up from their chairs and headed to their rooms, murmuring quiet thanks to their mother as they passed.

Natalia, however, remained in her spot, her fingers a little fidgety as she stared at her empty plate.

"Number Eight?" Reginald called, his eyebrows raising. "Is there something you would like to say?"

"Yeah." Natalia nodded, a little nervous as she looked up at him. "I was wondering . . . I mean, we're turning eighteen, and we're basically done all our high school stuff, and . . . I'd like to go to university. For chemistry."

"Well, according to your grades, it seems as though you would benefit in doing so; chemistry is your most promising subject," Reginald mused as he leaned forward in his spot, his hands clasping together as he rested them in front of him. "Would you prefer to stray to a university elsewhere, or remain here?"

"You mean I could . . . get my degree here?" she questioned, her eyebrows furrowing as she gestured around the room. "Like, the same way as we did high school?"

Reginald nodded. "Yes."

Natalia bit her lip as she leaned back in her chair. She thought for a moment before shaking her head. "I'd rather go to a different university."

He tilted his head, adjusting his monocle as he quirked an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"Well, I mean, I haven't really been in the outside world since I came here." She sighed. "I wanna meet new people, and be taught by . . . well, real people—no offence, Mom—and have real experience."

"All valid points," Reginald admitted. He shifted in his seat, keeping his stare on her before slowly nodding. "I will allow you to go if that is what you desire—however, there is a catch."

Natalia grew a little nervous. "What?"

"You will receive no financial help from me, whatsoever."

"What?" she asked incredulously, leaning forward as she shook her head "Dad, I don't . . . I don't have any money. It's not like we were ever allowed to get jobs or given allowances!"

"Ah, but I thought you wanted to get 'real experience'?" His eyes glimmered with amusement as he raised his eyebrows. "That, Number Eight, is the real world. That is what people have to deal with."

Natalia let out a deep sigh, lowering her head as she shut her eyes. After a moment, she looked back up at him and weakly asked, "And if I stay here?"

"Well, there is a multitude of benefits," he mused. "One: no cost. Two: well, I assume you will be one of few that will be doing this, so, more time to yourself. Three: you can fast-track."

Her eyebrows furrowed, and her interest was once again piqued. "I can?"

Reginald nodded. "You and your peers are already far past the twelfth-grade curriculum; in fact, you are currently delving into the first or second-year university curriculum. If you wish to continue your education here, you are bound to get your undergraduate degree in, perhaps . . . a year?"

"A year?" Natalia repeated with widened eyes. "How? Isn't it supposed to take four?"

"Well, considering the fact that, unlike most universities, you will be studying seven days a week, continuously throughout the entire year, your time shall make up for that."

"I also wanna get my master's degree," she said eagerly as she shifted forward. "And my Ph.D."

"I admire your ambition," he remarked, one corner of his lip tugging upwards. "After receiving your undergraduate, if you wish to pursue further studies, you may do so."

"Here?"

"Here."

Natalia licked her lips before tilting her head. "And then?"

He bowed his head as he gestured outwards. "And then you are free to do as you please."

She slowly nodded, chewing on her lower lip for a few moments as her eyes unconsciously roamed over the bowls of leftover food. "Can I have some time to think about it?"

"Very well," he agreed with a nod. "It is only July, and classes would start in September, so you have a little over a month to decide."

Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked back at him. "But wouldn't I have to apply—"

"If you choose to go to a university," he cut in, "I can arrange for you to do so."

"Okay." She nodded. She made to leave but suddenly paused as a question irked her mind. Slowly, she sat back down and gazed at her father nervously. "Can I ask one more question?"

He nodded. "Go ahead."

Her eyebrows knit together tightly as she questioned, "How are you able to give out university degrees? Ph.D.s, even?"

"The same way I can provide high school diplomas—this Academy satisfies the standards of a private institution. Pogo has acquired multiple Ph.D.s, and that would entitle him to become your professor," he answered. "Now, join the rest of your siblings in study."

"Yeah." She slipped off her chair. "Thanks, Dad."

He only gave a curt nod in reply.

Natalia quietly thanked her mother for the dinner and kissed her on the cheek before following in the others' footsteps and heading up to the second floor.

She walked up the staircase a lot slower than she usually did, her mind buzzing with a million different thoughts. There were just as many pros as there were cons to staying at the Academy, and the same could be said for university.

Should she receive top-notch, intense, experience-filled education, but only earn a lifetime of debt in return? Or should she receive hard-earned, difficult, quick-paced education, and, though it would be a lot faster, she would have to stay at the place she hated so much with a couple of the people she hated so much (namely, Reginald, and she didn't doubt for a moment that Luther would never leave)?

Natalia sighed as she entered her room and laid back on her bed.

In the end, what would benefit her more?

What was best in terms of education? Well, university-wise, it depended on each professor, and that could range from horrible to excellent—it was a gamble. At least here, she had that sense of safety, knowing that the two teachers she had were brilliant and kind.

What was best in terms of money? Easy. The Academy.

What was best in terms of experience? That one was also easy. A university. There, she could visit different labs, work in different places, learn from different people . . . much different than the couple of classrooms she was confined to.

What was best in terms of friends? That depended on whether or not the rest of the teens here stayed for university or not. Hands down, she'd choose them over anyone else in the world, but if she were left alone . . . she wasn't sure. Though she was worried that she'd be recognized for being a part of the Umbrella Academy if she were to attend university, so there was also that.

She added up all the pros and cons. 

Well . . . it was pretty much a tie.

Just her luck.

She shut her eyes. The Academy was not only the cheapest but also the fastest way to get through university. If she took that path, she could get to a high-paying career in no time.

The only things that normal universities could offer her were, well . . . friendship and memories?

Natalia made her decision. And quite quickly, too.

She groaned. Diego was not going to be happy about this. 

She needed to talk to him.

Natalia rubbed her eyes and sat up, sighing as she slipped off the bed. She headed over to Diego's room and quickly knocked a few times, and the door was soon opened barely a moment later.

"Hey," Diego greeted as she stepped inside, and he turned to face her after closing the door. "What happened? Why were you down there for so long? Were you in trouble for something?"

"I was talking to Dad," she told him as she sat down on the edge of his bed. She turned to him as he sat down next to her, and gave a soft smile as he pecked her lips. "Diego . . ."

"Yeah?" he questioned, and his eyebrows quickly furrowed in concern as he noticed her troubled expression. "What's wrong? Did he say something bitchy to you? Should I go punch him? I've been wanting to. . . ."

"No, I just . . ." She squinted her eyes, examining his face for a moment before asking, "Are you still planning on leaving when we turn eighteen?"

He snorted. "I would do it sooner if I could. Why?"

Natalia frowned. "I . . . I think I'm staying here. For university."

His eyebrows furrowed, and he questioned, "Wh . . . what do you mean?"

"Dad told me that if I go to a normal university, I'd have to pay. But if I took university courses here, it'd be free, and I'd be able to fast-track." She took a deep breath, now unable to meet his eyes as she told him, "So I'm staying here."

She heard his breath hitch, and, tentatively, he asked, "For how long?"

"I want to get my Ph.D., so . . . at least . . ." she shut her eyes before continuing, "five years. Maybe more."

Diego began to shake his head profusely, and he swallowed hard. "I can't wait that long, Nat. I want to get out of here as soon as possible, there's no way I can deal with this shit for five more years."

"I know, Diego," she reassured him. "I'm not asking you to stay, I . . . just wanted to tell you. So we can think of what to do."

"What to do?" he repeated in confusion.

"Yeah. You know, to see each other and stuff, after you leave."

Diego chewed on his lower lip for a moment. "When I leave . . . I don't know if it'll be possible to see each other."

"It can be," she rebutted as she raised her eyebrows. "I mean, we've sneaked out to Griddy's a bunch of times."

"In the middle of the night," he pointed out with a scoff. "And only, like, once a week. I don't want to see my girlfriend only four times a month, for an hour."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "So what're you suggesting?"

Diego moved his gaze to meet hers, and he shrugged. "I think you know."

Her eyes widened, and they were quick to moisten. "Diego . . . we have to at least try."

He shook his head, clenching his jaw slightly as he muttered, "I just don't think it'll work. I can't wait much longer."

Her lips pursed together for a moment, and she tried her best to keep her tears in as she swallowed. "Don't you love me?"

"Of course, I do, Nat," he said softly, cupping her cheek. "You know more than well that I love you more than anything."

"So why can't we try?" she sniffled.

"Because I don't want to waste my time!" He sighed, causing her eyebrows to knit together tightly.

"So, what" —she scoffed tearfully— "you think seeing me would be a waste of time?"

Diego's expression softened as he whispered, "Y-You know that's not what I meant, princess."

"Don't call me that," she muttered, and she felt no sorrow in seeing the look of hurt that flashed across his face.

"Nat . . ."

"Everything we've done this past year," she said quietly, her gaze moving to the hands she had clasped tightly over her lap, "does it mean nothing to you?"

"It's n-not about you, Nat," he said gently as he put a hand on her shoulder and lightly caressed it with his thumb. She didn't have to look up at him to tell that his eyes were glimmering with tears, judging from his thickening voice and trembling body. "Th-things will be diff-different."

"No shit, they'll be different," she scoffed, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. "But things change. Things will always be different. We just have to change with it."

"Well," he sighed, sniffling a little, "y-y-you don't get to choose h-how you change. And you mi-might not like it."

"So, what?" she breathed out as she looked up at him, then registering his flushed cheeks and tear-filled eyes. "This is it?"

He gave a firm nod. "This is it."

Natalia gazed at him for a moment and bit her lower lip before getting up. "Fine."

She swallowed back the tears that were fighting to make way onto her face and headed towards the door, her fists clenching a little tighter than usual.

"Natalia, wait," Diego called, causing her to turn towards him with hope. That hope soon diminished as he sighed and asked, "Can I—can I kiss you one last time?"

Natalia stared at him for a moment before turning around.

"No."

𝒟.

Diego stared at the door Natalia had just shut, his cheeks feeling furiously warm and his vision a little blurry from the tears that had built up.

He swallowed.

That was it.

He had just lost her. The girl he had been in love with for the past five years, who he had grown so intimately close to in the past one year, the one who could make him laugh and cry, the one who had caused his heart to flutter and his smile to grow . . .

Slipped out of his grasp.

He couldn't mope too much about it; it was his fault, after all.

He shook his head. It was a lost cause. There was no way in hell they'd be able to keep up a relationship like that for five years. And he didn't want to hope.

Diego rubbed his eyes, wiping away all the tears that had managed to escape.

He got up and looked around his room.

Natalia was mainly the only thing stopping him from getting up and leaving the Academy.

And, now, he had no reason . . .

Diego quickly got to work as he grabbed a suitcase from the back of his closet, coughing slightly as a mountain of dust accompanied it.

He set the suitcase on his bed and packed quickly; toiletries, clothes, some money that he had stolen from his father a long time ago (not a lot, but enough to live on his own for a little while), some unperishable food that he had stashed away under his bed, and, of course, his beautiful collection of knives.

Diego walked over to his desk, checking to see if there was anything important he wanted to bring. His notebooks? No. His textbooks? Hell no. Other books? Nah.

His eyes then caught sight of the top of the polaroid photo that was wedged in between the pages of a random book. Biting his lip, he pulled it out, and gazed at it for a moment, feeling a flicker of pleasure in his chest as his eyes roamed over Natalia kissing his cheek.

With a sigh, he carefully placed that in his suitcase too.

Once everything he needed was packed, Diego zipped up his suitcase and brought it onto the ground.

There was just one more person he needed to say goodbye to.

Diego quietly slipped down the main floor and into Grace's kitchen and found a small smile on his face as he watched her hum and wash the dishes.

"Mom," he greeted as he walked in.

She turned off the tap and turned to him with a big smile. "Diego, darling!" she greeted as she pulled off her rubber gloves and walked toward him. "Is there something you need? Help with homework? Food?"

"No," he reassured her as he shook his head. "I—" He suddenly found a catch in his voice, and he swallowed. "I just wanted to say I love you."

Grace's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you sure everything's okay?"

Diego nodded.

The pleasant smile returned to her face and she kissed his cheek. "Well, then, I love you too. Now, get back to your studies!"

Diego tried to keep his voice steady as he muttered a quick "Yeah" and sent her a small smile before exiting.

Keeping his footsteps light and his breathing shallow, Diego grabbed his suitcase and flicked his light off.

He looked at his room one last time, allowing his eyes to take in every inch of the room he would no longer see every day, and he shut the door behind him.

As he reached the top of the staircase, he looked down to see that no one occupied the main foyer, and he gave a small sigh of relief.

He picked his suitcase up and carefully trodded down the steps before reaching the landing.

He glanced around him to make sure that no one was near and opened the front door with great concentration and bated breath.

He slipped out of the house, unseen and unheard.

And, with one last look, Diego left the Academy.