You sucked in a breath, stumbling back - away from Five. He ducked his head as he exited to car, approaching you quickly.

"Listen, Eight... I didn't have a choice, ok? They were going to shoot me!"

"But... they weren't the only ones, were they?" the words came out timid, and you hated how scared you sounded.

He opened his mouth, hesitating before shutting it again. You nodded slowly, looking away.

"Whatever I did, I did it for you. For my family." You could detect a hint of desperation in his voice, like he was begging you to believe him, and you took a deep breath. But there was also self righteousness- he believed what he was saying.

"It's ok. I just..." You closed your eyes, head swimming. "You've changed too, Five. A lot."

You were saved from the conversation by Klaus cheering, running out of a nearby store with bags of food in his arms.

"Hey! Stop!" the man chasing him shouted. "Stop right now!"

"Hey, bitches!" Klaus cheered as he dashed past you, running into a car. "Out of the way, asshole!"

"Now I'm starting to wonder if that was the wisest decision," Five said, watching him scramble off.

"He's an idiot," you agreed, hiding your smile.

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

"You've had the monocle this whole time?" Allison burst, looking from Diego to the rest of the group. "What the hell, Diego?"

You had only just tuned back into the conversation, unable to stop worrying about Five, who had refused to join the family meeting, insisting he had "bigger fish to fry". What if he was in trouble? What if Hazel and Cha-Cha were fighting him right at that moment?

"Give it to me," Luther demanded.

"I threw it away," Diego immediately responded.

You sighed, tuning them out again and burying your face in your hands. The overlapping voices of your siblings slammed into your brain like a sledgehammer, and you desperately tried to block them out.

"You all right?" Klaus asked, sitting down next to you and wrapping an arm around your shoulders. You sucked in a breath, nodding quickly.

"Yeah, I'm just... tired, that's it." Klaus looked at you skeptically, but you forced your attention back to the group as Vanya spoke.

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

"Well, if her hardware is degrading, then..." Luther hesitated, licking his lips. "We need to turn her off."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait," Diego said angrily, his face contorting and his voice growing louder. "She's not just a vacuum cleaner you can throw in a closet. She feels things, I've seen it!" You winced as his voice pummeled your brain, fingers digging into the arm of the couch. "And you, Eight. You can't sit through a single conversation about someone else without trying to turn the attention on yourself!" he roared, and you pressed your back into the couch.

"Diego, stop," Allison said forcefully. "She got hit in the head."

"Oh, what. Did she fall?" Diego said sarcastically, sneering at you as you looked away. "Poor baby."

"She almost got killed," Klaus interrupted, standing up. "She almost got killed defending Five, so can you please get back to the point instead of bullying the only child in the room? I have a date with a dealer waiting for me."

Diego looked at you, a flicker of concern crossing over his features and surprising you. Diego never cared about your safety.

"Mom just stood there, Diego, and watched our father die," Luther said, getting back to the point after a brief pause.

"I'm with Luther," Allison said immediately.

"Surprise, surprise," Diego said, turning to face her.

"Shut up."

Everyone turned to Vanya expectantly.

"I... I don't..."

"Yeah, she shouldn't get a vote," Diego said, looking away.

"I was going to say that I agreed with you!" Vanya said, indignant.

"All right, she should get a vote," Diego amended, and you snorted. "What about you, stoner boy? What do you got?"

"Oh, so, what? You need my help now?" Klaus said, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Oh, 'Get out of the van, Klaus!' Well, welcome back to the van."

"What van?" Allison asked, glancing around in confusion, as though the walls held the answer.

Luther scoffed. 

"What's it gonna be, Klaus?"

"I'm with Diego, because screw you!" he shouted, and you resisted the urge to cover your ears. "And if Ben were here, he would agree with me." He hissed at thin air a moment later, and you made a face at him.

"Eight?" Diego asked, turning to you. Any sign of worry had left his face, and now he just looked determined. "Pick a side."

You shook your head, rolling your eyes.

"I'm not joining either of your weird cults. I'm not about to vote to kill Mom, and I'm not voting to keep a potential robot murderer alive, either. Let Five be the final vote."

Diego raised an eyebrow, pointing at you.

"This is exactly why I hate you. You think you're so smart and such a peacemaker, when really you're just an indecisive wreck."

You grit your teeth, forcing a shrug.

"Bothers you more than me, then."

"Diego, shut up," Allison said, placing a hand on your shoulder from behind the couch. "She doesn't have to vote if she doesn't want to. Five should be the final vote."

The others nodded and began to disperse, but you stayed with Vanya and Diego, needing an extra moment to stop your head from spinning.

"Hey," Diego said gently, approaching someone behind you, and you turned to see Mom. "How long have you been here?"

Grace paused as you and Vanya stepped behind Diego, her gaze eerily sad despite the fact that she wasn't supposed to have actual feelings.

"You all seem upset." Her face brightened. "I'll make cookies."

"Do you ever wonder..." Vanya began after she left, and you and Diego turned to face her. "All those moments with Mom, the things she said. Like, was it her, or was it really Dad?"

"What are you talking about?" Diego asked in a low voice, shifting closer.

"Well, he built her. And he programmed her to be a mom, to be our mom.Sometimes when I look at her, I just see him." She slid her hands into her pockets, and you nodded slowly.

"Maybe that was true at first. But she evolved." His voice was decisive, and you couldn't help but wonder aloud.

"Well, how do you know?" you asked.

When Diego turned to you, there was fury in his gaze - but not toward you.

"Because Dad only loved himself."

Diego strode off, and you followed, heading to your room.

Once there, you slid on a pair of headphones to block out any extra noise, leaning back and closing your eyes as your head rested on your pillow. You stayed like that for a while, just beginning to drift off when...

I know you have a power, Number Eight, and so do you. It will be nobody's fault but yours if the fire reaches you.

You sat up straight, gasping for air. You had almost forgotten that your father had died - his voice was so real.

"No more haunting me from the dead, Dad," you muttered, putting on your favorite song in your headphones and cranking up the volume.

You smiled, letting the music calm you down, and walked into the hall to discover Klaus with a towel wrapped around his body and hair, dancing.

He saw you wearing the headphones, pointing at you and smiling. You laughed, letting him grab your hand and spin you around, each of you dancing to your own music.

"This is why you're my favorite brother," you called, but he pointed to his own pair of headphones, shaking his head.

You both danced down the hallway, laughing your heads off, but you paused when you thought you saw something flash by.

"Did you see that?" He didn't respond, clearly unable to hear you, and distracted you by pulling you into the dance again. At one point Diego went sprinting by, gripping a knife, and the two of you just looked at each other and shrugged.

When both of your songs ended, you collapsed into a fit of giggles, leaning on each other for support as you threw your headphones on the floor.

"Man, that was the best time of my life," Klaus said when you had calmed down.

"Good," somebody said from behind you, and you realized - with a jolt - that you recognized her voice. "Because it's coming to an end."

"What, the good time or my life?" Klaus asked, clearly not concerned about the stranger in your house as you spun around, eyes widening when you saw the club in her hand. "Because really, I'm not sure whether-"

"Shit," you breathed, grabbing Klaus' hand and starting to run, before everything went black.