Chapter 23

Just as their lips were about to brush Aura stopped dead as she suddenly found herself overcome with an agonizing pain in her head.

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

She screams at the top of her lungs dropping to her knees whilst holding her head in her hands.

"Aura? Aura! Was it?! What's wrong?!" Lex shouts in alarm as he and Kol (who had returned after hearing the commotion) knelt at her side.

"THE NOISE! MAKE IT STOOOOP!"

Kol eyes widened in realization to what she was referring too. Of course. He should have known this would happen.

"It's him." He said.

Lex hearing this looks over at his 'father'.

"What?"

"It's Zod. He is in her head. He's using a Krypton frequency to draw her in!"

"Well isn't there anything we can do to stop it?!"

"There is. It's risky, but it will buy us some time!"

"Well then just do it! If it saves her, do it!" Lex yells in despair fearing more for his best friend's life with each passing second.

Kol not needing to be told twice takes a deep breath before proceeding to remove Aura's hands from her head to replace them with his own.

"W-what are you d-doing?" Aura gritted at him.

"Forgive me." Kol uttered.

Before Lex could ask the man what he was planning to do, it was already too late. He watched as Kol's hands began to glow a bright green. Which to his concern resulted to Aura making a choking sound as her entire body was suddenly coated in a mass of blue light. Kol then removed one of his hands from her head to grip onto the crystal clear pendant around her neck. To Lex's astonishment the blue mass seemed to then travel directly to the necklace in a whirlwind of swirls that lasted about a moment. Then before you could say 'hey presto', it was over. The entire apartment dropped into silence as Aura's screams died just seconds after she collapsed into Kol's awaiting arms.

"What the hell happened? What was that light? What did you do to her?" Lex asks becoming frantic at seeing his friend pass out like that.

"I did what I thought was best. I used my power to remove Aura's essence from her physical body and placed her in the necklace. For the time being." Kol says moving the girl so her head was resting comfortably against his chest.

"N-no but... That's not what I wanted. Safe and out of harm's way, yeah. But not this. It's not right." Lex argued on Aura's behalf.

"Believe me, I despise myself right now. But this way Zod can't hurt her." Kol explains removing the jewellery piece from around Aura/Isabelle's neck. "We just need to keep Aura and the Codex concealed long enough to stop that certifiable bastard before he starts a war."

Lex gulped

"And... Belle?"

"She'll be fine, don't worry. Once she wakes up your darling Isabelle will be herself again." Kol assured his son with a comforting smile.

Lex sighed in relief at hearing those words. Taking one of Aur...Isabelle's hands in his he pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles. Smiling down at the sleeping girl feeling genuinely happy in that moment that his little dove was with him again and would soon awaken with him by her side when she did.

That's when it suddenly occurred to Lex.

"Wait, does this mean that with Aura trapped in the necklace that Belle's completely human now?"

"I'm afraid so." Kol muttered. "However, it's only temporary. It will not be forever. Once we find a way to rid of Zod for good I'll restore Aura to her physical body once more."

"And what if Belle refuses?"

"Then we'll cross that bridge if it comes to it. Unless Aura and Isabelle can learn to coexist together, then hatred will overcome their lives and the two of them will end up destroying each other." Kol then looks to his son and places a hand on his shoulder. "But that's where you come in Lex. You can save them."

"What do you mean? How can I save them?" Lex asks.

"Think about it Lex. Do you really believe that Aura coming to earth was pure coincidence? That the two of being of the same origin would find each other so easily?"

"You make it sound like it was destiny." Lex scoffs.

"It is my son." Kol says not flinching.

"Auras ship crash landed on earth twelve years ago by accident."

Kol shakes his head

"Not an accident. Aura didn't know it then because she was too young to understand. But our kind has a way of sensing our soulmates through galaxies of time. And in Auras case, her soul sensed yours Lex. Her ship could have landed on any planet throughout the solar system. But it came here because she felt you."

Lex stared wide eyed in absolute disbelief.

"A-are you saying that…" He wandered off.

Kol nods

"Aura and Isabelle are your lifelong mates Lex. And you are theirs."

Stumbling to his feet Lex ran both hands over his head. His mind was all over the place. It didn't seem like yesterday that he'd found out that his best friend was from another planet. Then there was the meeting with Zod. Then finding out he himself was not human. Aura's confession of her undying love for him. And now this! He didn't know how much more he could take. How could so much happen in so little time? He honestly felt like his head was about to explode.

"Lex?"

"T-this… This can't be right. Aura… I mean Belle she's… She's like my sister. I mean we've never been anything like that. Ever." Lex explains pacing back and forth.

"But you've always felt the connection. Am I right?"

"Well yeah. I mean god we've always been close, but not 'that' close. We're just like family."

Getting to his feet Kol then carries Isabelle over to the sofa where he gently lays her down.

"Tell me. The first time you met her. What went through your mind?" He asks Lex whilst removing a strand of hair from Isabelle's face.

At this Lex comes to a stand still recalling that very day.

Flashback 12 years ago

He'd never been in so much pain in his life. One minute he was standing in that cornfield and the next was a blur. He could recall his father calling out his name but that was about it. He didn't know where he was because everything was so dark.

He could feel himself being lifted and moved. But still Lex didn't have enough strength to open his eyes. He could scarcely make out what sounded like a car engine. Or something that sounded like that anyway.

"Can this go any faster?" He heard a voice say.

Was that his father? He couldn't really tell.

"We're doing the best we can." Spoke another voice.

Who was that he wondered?

"What's back there anyway? Its slowing us down."

He was sure that was his father. Only he could sound that arrogant.

As Lex begun to come to the first thing his blurry vision locked onto was an angelic little face smiling ever so brightly at him. It was a little girl. She had long dark brown locks. Chocolate brown eyes. Skin that reminded him of Snow White. A button nose and tiny freckles. It was funny he'd met plenty of children before in school. But non that were as appealing as this little girl in front of him. She was without a doubt the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Just then she reached her tiny hand out to him. The second her fingertips met his cheek Lex felt a sense of clarity. Like everything he'd encountered so far in life suddenly made sense in that one moment. He had heard the saying 'touched by an angel' before. But never in his wildest imagination did he think he'd experience such a thing. The pain he felt was no more. He could not remember being in any sort of anguish. One look in her eyes. One touch of her skin. That was all it took for Lex to become lost to this angel. All around them life was happening. Pain, disaster, and sorrow. But for that one moment nothing else existed but them.

Just she and him

Lex Luthor and his angel

End of flashback

"So, love confounded you." Kol said smiling at his son.

"Even after I passed out I never forgot her face." Lex said as a loving smile graced his face. "I remembered every little detail. At first when I woke up in hospital I thought it had been a dream. But when I saw her again, it was like every constellation had aligned. And that everything was right because she was here."

"Finding one's true soulmate is rare, especially for Krypton's. Mostly because not everyone believed in it. But it does happen. You might not believe it right now Lex. But if I could I have one more day with your mother, I would tell her how much I loved her. How much I will always love her. And our son." Kol says as a tear rolls down his cheek.

He wanted his son to have the life he never got with Lillian. He'd never forgive himself for leaving her and they're son all those years ago. He'd never even got to say a final goodbye to Lillian before she'd perished. He knew Lex would probably never forgive him, and rightly so. But if there was one way he could make it up to him, it was to save him from making the same mistakes. He wanted both Lex and Aura/Isabelle to have a safe and happy life together. He'd felt Auras love for his son the moment Lex had entered the room. Hopefully when all this was over they'd have time to talk about everything. He would love her to be his daughter in law someday.

"Please, don't take it for granted. We never know what we have until its gone."

Lex taking in his 'fathers' words averted his eyes from him to the sleeping beauty on the sofa. How she looked so at peace. He still felt an enormous amount of guilt for Aura. It was not fair she be confined like a prisoner after being locked away all these years. She was a as much part of Isabelle as they were both a part of each other. But again, Kol was right. Until they could stop Zod then it was for the best that Aura and the codex be somewhere safe. For now at least.

Slowly he approached his best friend and knelt at her side. Running his knuckles softly against her cheek just as she had him that day.

"Belle. Please wake up. I need you. I'm so sorry for all the pain this has caused you. How lonely you felt all these years. You and Aura. I wish I'd known. I wish I could have done something, anything to take the hurt away. I can't imagine what it must have been like for you. All those times you saved me. It should have been me saving you. And I'm so sorry. I am so so sorry Belle. Please forgive me. Please." Lex breaks down into sobs gently bringing Isabelle into his arms hugging her to him.

Behind him Kol suddenly notices Isabelle's eyes begin to flutter. He goes to say something when her arms slowly move to wrap around Lex, who just then froze at the movement.

"Belle?" He gasps.

"Lex?" Isabelle whispers like a gentle prayer.

Wanting to believe he wasn't just hearing things Lex then leans back hoping it was no trick. Oh, but there she was. He knew those sweet gentle eyes anywhere.

"Your back. Oh ma petite colombe, your back." He sobs with a joyful smile.

Whilst Isabelle trembled in his hold with eyes as wide as saucers.

"Lex. Y-your alive?" She stutters in shock.

Lex nods.

"I am."

"H-how? I thought that… That you… That I…"

Lex shakes his head.

"I thought I was too. But I woke up Belle. I was saved. I came to find you just like I said I would."

Isabelle not daring to move stares deep into his eyes feeling her own begin to tear up.

"So, you're really here?"

Lex nods

"Yes" He says with a watery smile.

"I'm really here?"

"Yes"

Bursting out with a half laugh half sob Isabelle then launches herself into Lex's arms. Crying into his shoulder as she held on for dear life. Afraid that if she let go he would disappear.

"I thought I'd lost you forever."

"Never. It will take more than some stupid coma to finish me off." Lex jokes planting a kiss in her hair.

At those words it all came rushing back to Isabelle.

"Lex. I'm so so sorry." She sobs.

"What for?" Lex asks wondering what she could possibly be apologizing for.

"For what I did to you. For not fighting harder. If I had none of this would have…"

"Hey! Don't you dare!" Lex states in a firm voice bringing her to arm's length. "It wasn't your fault. It was Zod. He was controlling Aura. He got inside her mind and he manipulated her into doing it. Do you understand? The car crash. Aura losing control. It was him Belle. It was all him. None of this was your fault. You have to believe that. Because I do. You could never hurt anybody. Not my Belle."

"You really believe that?" Isabelle sniffles overwhelmed by his words.

"I do. I love you Belle. I love you so much." Lex says meaning every word. He was still uncomfortable from what Kol had told him earlier. He might not be in love with Isabelle, but he loved her still just like he always had.

"I love you too."

Just then Isabelle took notice of the other gentleman observing them.

"Who are you?" She asks him.

"Forgive me. My name is Kol Van. It's a pleasure to meet you at last Isabelle." Kol smiles reintroduces himself.

"You know my name?"

Kol nods

"I know of you and Aura."

Isabelle's eyes nearly bug out of her skull.

"H-how do you know about…?" She starts but then turns to Lex. "How does he know about Aura?"

"He was a friend of your dad's Belle. Your real dad." Lex explains to her.

Again Isabelle's jaw nearly hits the floor.

"W-what?" She stutters looking up at the man. Asking herself if it was possible.

"I think it would be in our best interests if I explain everything from the beginning. However, I must first insist that we vacate to a safer habitat. With every passing minute Zod draws closer and we need to be prepared." Kol instructs like a soldier.

'He knows about Zod too?' Isabelle asks herself.

"Where can we go? There's nowhere we can hide where he won't find us." Lex tells him.

"Not necessarily." Kol smirks.

He then takes a hand each from Lex and Isabelle and teleports the three of them out the apartment.

Author's Note: Hi guys, I'm so sorry I've been away for so long. Life has just gotten in the way unfortunately. But I'm going to do my best to update my story's, I promise.

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