"What do you mean, what do we do with her?!" Wilford roared, slamming his fist down on the table, alarmingly close to the pistol Anti had forced him to put in plain sight. "She's seen who we are and where! The little brat's dead meat!"
"She is a clear and obvious threat to the household," Google said, the red in his eyes the only sign that he was angry too. Emotion was something he had recently learned, and expressing emotion was not his strong suit.
Dark folded his hands. "I understand your safety concerns. However, there are other options available to us."
"Oh, and I suppose you're going to say those options are just as safe as her death!" Wilford said, with his usual exaggerated gestures. "How can we be certain they are?"
"Wil, please calm down," Dark said in a tone that can only be described as smoky.
"Calm down?! CALM DOWN?!" Wilford bellowed. "I will NOT calm down about and INTRUDER in our HOUSE!"
"WILFORD!" Anti said in almost a shriek of anger. He glowed brightly, filling the room with neon green, and his eyes and ear gauges seemed to be formed of pure darkness. The scar on his neck, normally the bright red of a recent wound, shone like blood spilled at midnight and began to drip down to his collar.
Wilford looked down and realized he had unconsciously picked up the pistol from the table and pointed it at Dark. He hurriedly threw it down, where it skittered across the table to land on the Host's empty chair at the other end. Anti, who was closest, grabbed it by the muzzle and tore it in half with a screech of metal. A few bullets fell onto the table from the gun's chamber with a high-pitched clinking. Wilford watched, aghast.
Dark put his hand on Anti's arm. Anti stood still for a moment, then his glow faded and he threw the two pieces of the pistol back down and sat. Google produced a handkerchief from a pocket and held it out to Anti, who accepted it and used it to wipe off the blood that had been running down his throat from the reopened gash. "Dark's right, he said finally, his voice unharmed by the injury. "We could wipe her memory, or even..." He hesitated.
Dark realized none of them wanted to say it, so he waved his hand as permission, and Anti reached towards the Host's chair and turned the volume dial on a little radio. The radio crackled and the Host's voice came out, only slightly warbled. "The other option, they knew, was to allow the child to live and retain the memories, simultaneously minimizing the collateral damage of the situation and providing the house's most recent tenant a tactical advantage in the real world."
"While you're talking," Wilford interrupted, looking down at the radio disdainfully, "do you care to explain why you did not raise the alarm? They entered through your window."
"The Host explains calmly that he, as an author in the past, felt a story was brewing, an important one. As such, he thought the breach of the house was a necessary plot catalyst and decided not to interfere with it."
"You traitorous bastard!" Wilford yelled.
"Wil," Dark said in a dangerous voice. Wilford sat back, sulking like a child.
"If we kill it," Dark said, "we shall have to deal with police looking for it, and concerned parents, and no one to take the blame. We made that mistake once, and we had to skip states, remember? No, the risk is too high."
"And a memory wipe wouldn't be much better," Anti chimed in, disgusted with the whole thing. "We would need to come up with an explanation for her not being home, and the gaps would be obvious. Besides, her brain hasn't fully grown yet, and though it may heal fully, and she may recover, we might also case serious damage. And I don't like the idea of being the cause of a girl her age going to the hospital."
"Also, as an emotional support, she could be extraordinarily beneficial to the child's mental health, and could provide additional surveillance in the human world," Google said, the red in his eyes becoming a beautiful shade of lavender in their transition back to blue. "But what happens if she comes in contact with the..."
"Then she becomes one of us," Wilford said, finally calming down. "By right, she would become a member of the house."
The table was quiet for a few moments. The the Host broke the silence. "They all knew what their decision would be. It was risky, yes, but it was the best option available. The girl named Emily would be accepted as part of their community."
A/N: This update is a day early. Before I tried to update on Sunday, but from now on, I'm changing it to Saturday. Well, my Saturday, whatever time or day that is for you. No specific time, might end up early morning or evening or whatever my schedule allows. I don't do schedules too well.