บท 26: Chapter 26: Relief
[Third Person's PoV]
"Nathan, I understand you and our father never got along, but you're being too harsh. He was still our father," Vanya said as they exited the theater.
"You seriously can't expect me to mourn his passing. I'm surprised you're even affected, considering how much pain he caused you when we were younger," Nathan scoffed.
"Like I said, despite everything, he was still our father," Vanya said, shaking her head.
"Damn, maybe Klaus was right—we've got some serious daddy issues," Nathan muttered.
Vanya, sensitive to sound, heard him clearly. "I mean, our dad was an alien, our mom a robot, and we had a chimpanzee as a butler. I'm surprised most of us turned out functional."
"What part of Klaus is functional?" Nathan asked, smirking at Vanya.
She returned the smirk. "That's why I said 'most.'"
Nathan chuckled, surrounding them both in flames before they disappeared and reappeared back at the mansion.
Vanya almost tripped but caught herself. "Please warn me next time. Jeez…" she muttered, looking at the mansion in front of them.
"Well, this is bringing back memories. The last time I was here, we were all going our separate ways. Wow, I can't believe how long it's been…" Vanya said, staring at the entrance.
"The last time I was here, it was to save Luther after one of his failed missions... which was also a while ago," Nathan replied. Just as they were about to enter, the front door opened, revealing Pogo, who now had graying fur.
"I thought I heard some familiar voices…" Pogo said with a saddened smile.
"Pogo!" Vanya called out, rushing to hug their chimpanzee butler.
"How have you been, Ms. Vanya?" Pogo asked, holding her hands.
"I've been good… Pogo, I'm sorry for your loss. I know our father meant a lot to you," Vanya said sympathetically.
Pogo patted her hand before turning to Nathan. "Master Nathan."
"Pogo," Nathan nodded, giving him a fist bump.
"Some of the others have already arrived. While we wait for everyone else, please come in," Pogo said, leading them inside.
They found Luther, Diego, and Allison sitting on a couch. Luther leaned forward with his hands clasped together, Allison sat with one leg crossed over the other, arms folded as she leaned back, and Diego rested his head on his hand with his legs spread.
"Hello, my brothers and sisters!" Nathan said, walking in with his arms spread wide.
"Someone sounds cheery," Allison said sarcastically.
"But of course! This is a moment to celebrate," Nathan said, summoning orbs of energy that transformed into champagne glasses in one hand, while a large champagne bottle appeared in the other.
Luther's expression turned irritated. "This isn't the time, Nathan. Please be mindful; our father just died."
*Pop*
The cap of the champagne bottle flew off as Nathan began to fill the glasses, handing them around. Allison and Diego took theirs eagerly.
When Nathan offered Luther a glass, Luther smacked it away, but Nathan caught both the glass and the liquid mid-air, bringing them back toward him.
"A simple 'no' would have sufficed," Nathan muttered, taking a sip from the glass.
"This is serious! Damn it, Nathan! Our father just died—have some respect!"
"If he doesn't want it, can I have it?"
Nathan looked up to see Klaus floating in the air, arms on his hips, striking a wide stance.
Nathan immediately cringed. "God damn it, Klaus! Put on some underwear if you're going to be flying around with your balls hanging out."
"Oopsies," Klaus said, putting a hand over his mouth as he floated down, landing next to Nathan and snatching the glass and bottle from his hands.
"Klaus, is that one of my skirts?" Allison asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Yeah, it gives my confined goods some fresh air," Klaus said, waving his hand around his crotch. "They need to breeeathe, if you know what I mean."
"First of all, yuck. Second of all, you better burn that skirt when you're done. Don't even think about returning it to me," Allison said, disgusted.
"You got anything stronger?" Diego asked, holding up his glass to Nathan.
"We literally have an entire bar right there in the corner. Get up, you lazy bum," Nathan scoffed, pointing to the small bar stocked with various drinks.
"Yeah, but you've got all the exotic stuff from different planets. I want some of that," Diego smirked.
"So, where's Ben?" Klaus asked, tossing the cup aside and drinking straight from the bottle.
Nathan closed his eyes for a moment before answering, "He's on his way with Jennifer…" He sat down between Allison and Diego.
"Why are you all treating this like some big family reunion? None of you seem to care that our father is dead," Luther said, his fists tightening.
"News flash, Luther—none of us do," Diego scoffed.
Klaus, now sprawled on the floor, raised the champagne bottle. "Need I remind you, my obnoxiously large brother, that not all of us were Daddy's little favorite astronauts?"
"I get that our father was far from perfect, but like I said, he's still our father. He took care of us, put clothes on our backs, fed us, trained us—"
"I'm with Luther on this…" Vanya chimed in awkwardly. "He wasn't a good father, but he did raise us."
Diego, Allison, Klaus, and Nathan all looked at Vanya like she had just grown a second head. Klaus flipped onto his stomach, still clutching the bottle, and pointed a finger at her. "You, little Number Seven, are strange. Dear old Dad locked you in a soundproof vault for days, and you call that raising us?"
"I'm with Klaus on this, Vanya. And that should be telling you something," Allison said, glancing down at Klaus in disgust as he swung his feet, a hand resting under his chin while he gulped from the bottle.
"Just because he raised us doesn't mean we owe him anything. Much less a 'thank you' or a single tear from me," Diego scoffed.
Luther looked at all of them in disgust. "You're all so ungrateful—"
*Smash!*
Everyone jumped as a bottle flew through the air, smashing against the side of Luther's head and shattering into pieces.
They all turned to see Klaus standing, an irritated expression on his face. "Ungrateful!? He locked me in a cemetery, Luther, and you expect me to be grateful? You want to hear something, Luther—something we're all thinking but too scared to say?"
"We're all glad he's gone! It might not be what you want to hear, but it's the truth! You want to know what I felt when I heard he died? It wasn't sadness, or anger, or even joy. It was relief! That should tell you all you need to know about him!"
Klaus huffed, standing up straight. "I need a stronger drink."
A stunned silence fell over the room as they stared at Klaus, Luther brushing broken glass from his shoulder, his hair wet. Just then, the door creaked open, and in walked Ben and Jennifer, looking at everyone in confusion as they took in the scene.
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