unspoken [five hargreeves]

:3.2:

"Look, I know Dad wasn't exactly an open book. But I do remember one thing he said." She looked at each of them as she spoke, including Klaus, who was trodding around behind her with a fresh drink in hand. "Mom was, well, designed to be a caretaker, but... also as a protector."

"What does that mean?" Allison chimed in, arms crossed in front of her chest.

"She was programmed to intervene if someone's life was in jeopardy."

"Well, if her hardware is degrading, then..." Luther licked his lips, looking around precariously. "We need to turn her off."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait." Diego's knife went back up as he rushed to defend their mother figure. "She's not just a vacuum cleaner you can throw in a closet. She feels things, I've seen it!"

"She just stood there, Diego, and watched our father die." Luther gritted his teeth. He didn't like it any more than they did, but they had to do something.

"I'm with Luther." Drink in hand once again, Allison did what everyone expected her to do.

"Surprise, surprise." Diego muttered sarcastically.

"Shut up."

Luther and Diego both turned to look at Vanya, who was at a loss for words.

"I- I don't-"

"Yeah, she shouldn't get a vote." Diego interrupted, and Jade resisted the urge to spitball him right in the forehead.

"I was gonna say that I agree with you." Vanya argued, frustrated by the constant dismissal she received.

"Okay, she should get a vote." Diego moved on to Klaus, who was leaning on one of the pillars. "What about you, stoner boy? What do you got."

"Oh, so, what? You need my help now?" Klaus sputtered, frowning as he spoke. "Oh, 'get out of the van, Klaus!' 'Well, welcome back to the van.'"

"What van?" Allison interjected, and Jade shook her head as if to say 'don't worry about it'.

"What's it gonna be, Klaus?"

"I'm with Diego, because screw you!" He pointed at Luther, mostly because of the entire van incident earlier. "And if Ben were here, he'd agree with me."

Jade watched carefully as Klaus hissed seemingly at the table by the bookshelf.

"Jade, what about you?" It was her turn to have the knife pointed at her, and she sighed.

"I think we should ask Pogo to do a check on Mom's hardware so we can be sure before we make a decision like this." She signed, but halfway through her sentence the boys were already back at each other.

"Jade agrees that Mom should stay on."

"She acknowledged that there might be something wrong with her hardware! She's with us."

Jade rolled her eyes, going back over to stand next to Klaus.

"Jade's undecided, whatever." Diego waved his hand dismissively. "As it stands, that's three to two."

"Wait," Luther insisted.

"Vote's not final yet." Allison spoke up, stepping closer to the rest of them.

"What?"

"Five's not here." She continued, and it was like they all suddenly remembered that he existed again. "The whole family has to vote. We owe each other that."

Everyone started murmuring agreements, slowly leaving the room as Diego stood, at a loss.

Jade noticed Mom standing in one of the archways as she made her way up the stairs and felt a pang in her chest. She wasn't sure what to believe anymore.