𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 ~ 𝗞𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀

~ Chapter Eleven ~

"God! Why is Luther such an asshole? Ever since we were kids, he's treated us like shit!" Dusk fumed as she and Klaus made their way back to the academy. "I know, right? All I did was crack a joke, and he acts like I shit in his cereal," Klaus sighed. Dusk was trying her hardest to conceal her anger as she and Klaus walked through a large crowd, but Klaus could see the flames in her eyes grow larger. "You may want to calm down," he whispered. "Calm down?! I'm tired of him treating us like this!"

The moment she shouted those words, one of the lamppost lights blew out, causing sparks to fall to the ground, capturing everyone's attention. Some started screaming and ran away while others just continued walking. During the chaos, Klaus quickly grabbed Dusk's hand, and they ran back to The Academy. Once inside, they collapsed onto the sofas, letting out heavy pants. "Did I cause that?" Dusk asked, looking over at Klaus. 

"I don't know. It couldn't have been a coincidence though," He shrugged. The two stared up at the ceiling as they waited for Luther and hopefully Five to come back. About half an hour later, the front doors opened, revealing Luther. But to their surprise, Five wasn't with him. "Where's Five?" Dusk asked as she sat up. "He's not coming, stubborn bastard," Luther sighed.

"Well, I guess we should get the others. We'll have to do this meeting without him," The rest of the Hargreeves gathered in the living room as Luther showed them the tape. Dusk's eyes widened when she saw Grace walk away as their father lay on his bed, struggling and moving like a fish out of water. "Do you really think Mom would hurt Dad?" Vanya asked. "You haven't been home in a long time, Vanya. Maybe you don't know Grace anymore," Luther answered. "If he was poisoned, it would have shown in the coroner's report," Diego commented.

"Diego, I don't need a report to tell me what I can see with my own eyes," Luther said, looking at him with frustration. Number Two pointed towards the monitor, Grace had taken the monocle off of their father a moment before he started thrashing on the bed. "She wasn't poisoning him. She was taking it to clean it," he explained. "I've searched the house, including her things. She doesn't have it,"  Luther shook his head. Diego looked at the ground for a moment before looking up again.

"That's because I took it from her after the funeral," Everyone in the room was shocked by his words. "Wait, you've had the monocle this whole time? What the hell Diego?!" Allison asked. Luther extended his hand to take the stolen monocle, but Diego had revealed that he got rid of it. "Look, I knew if you found it on Mom, you'd lose your shit. Just like you're doing right now," Diego said, pointing one of his knives at Luther. Luther stomped towards Diego, looking like he was about to hit him, but Dusk and Vanya swooped in to calm the situation.

"Everybody calm down," Vanya said in a shrill tone. "Look, Dad wasn't an open book. But I do remember one thing he said. Mom was designed to be a caretaker, but also as a protector," Dusk explained to the others. "What does that mean?" Allison asked, confusion spreading across her face. "She was programmed to intervene if someone's life was in jeopardy," Vanya elaborated. The look on Luther's face said it all. If her hardware was degrading, there was only one option. "We need to turn her off for good,"

"Hey! She's not just a vacuum cleaner you can throw in a closet. She feels things. I've seen it!" Diego protested. "I'm with Luther on this one," Allison spoke up. Diego glanced over at his sister and scoffed, knowing that she would take his side. Everyone looked over at Vanya, who stuttered before Diego cut her off. "She shouldn't get a vote," "Diego, I was going to say that I agree with you," she said, feeling offended. The others looked over at Klaus and Dusk, wondering what their thoughts about this were.

"What? You need our help now? Oh, 'Get out of the van, Dusk and Klaus!" 'Well, welcome back to the van," Dusk rolled her eyes. The two of them looked at each other for a moment before meeting Luther's gaze. "We're going with Diego because screw you, Luther. And if Ben were here, he'd agree with us," Klaus answered. Ben's ghost rested against the coffee table and looked over at him. "No, I don't," he said. "Wait, Five's not here. The whole family has to vote. We owe each other that," Allison spoke up, noticing Five wasn't with them.

The others let out collective sighs as they realized they had to wait for him to get back. "If he doesn't show up soon, I don't know what we're gonna do!" Klaus sighed as he walked out of the room. Deep down, Luther didn't want to deactivate Grace, but if she was responsible for their Dad's death, it left them no choice. In Klaus's room, He and Dusk sat on his bed as he smoked one of his blunts. "I don't like the thought of having to shut off Mom, Klaus. It would be like watching a dog get put down," Dusk sighed, coughing as she inhaled the strong smell.

"Hopefully, Luther lets it go. But I have a feeling he won't,"