Mashed potatoes are a weird food. They're like… mushy… mush. Moosh-Mush. Isn't it like space food? Does Luther like mashed potatoes more after going to space, or less?

Speaking of, maybe he should be paying attention to Luther like the rest of his siblings. They were gathered around the dinner table, listening to Number One's rundown of the worsening Venus situation.

Klaus still wasn't himself though. He knew that. Ever since Dave left, the life had been sucked out of him. He wasn't trying to be brooding- That was more of a Number One or Number Two thing… He couldn't help that pit in his stomach though.

"We're like tigers circling each other, waiting for the first to strike," Diego commented, spinning his knife in a pinwheel fashion on the dinner table. Allison shot a hand forward with a stab of her fork, stopping the motion and giving Diego a disapproving look.

Diego's analogy wasn't too far off. If the Academy wasn't staking out by the warehouse or digging up info on Mason, then the Venus Six were lurking outside the house or trailing anyone who so far as stepped off the grounds. It was getting so bad that they had to employ the "buddy system". It was too dangerous for anyone to go out alone. They didn't want another Klaus situation.

"If we don't hit them with something soon, they'll hit us first. They already tried." Five pointed out.

This evening, it was particularly poignant; Earlier that morning, Five had gone out at the break of dawn to meet with a potential "informant". The little genius had found someone that used to work under Mason right before he was sent to prison back in the day. In Five's stubborn ways, he thought he could go out and meet this individual by himself and not tell any of his siblings.

Turns out, this "individual" was still working for Mason. He was ready for Five. Before he knew it, Five had a tiny needle shoved into his neck. It was the strangest contraption- like a black button that latched into his skin and stuck into his vein.

Whatever the little parasite was, it did something to Five. It took away his power to spatial-jump and without that, he was just a small, angry 13-year-old boy with unusually sharp instincts and maneuvers, but still... It wasn't enough. The informant managed chucked him into the back of a van and took off.

Luckily, Diego had followed him, suspicious of Five per usual. After what was described as a "harrowing car chase", Diego retrieved Five and booked it back to the house. Unfortunately, that wasn't before Five ripped the device from his neck in frustration, spewing blood everywhere and nearly dying just from blood loss.

Now here he sat next to Klaus, a bandage over his punctured skin and a scowl on his face. They hadn't been able to figure out what the hell this Mason employee had stuck him with, but Pogo was analyzing it the best he could. It was terrifying though, that they had that kind of technology to stunt their powers in such an effective way.

"Well, we need a plan. We can't just go in like last time. We've tried that." Luther pointed out, then carrying on into a long list of possible approaches and outcomes. Klaus zoned out, drawing lines in his potatoes with his fork.

He hadn't been getting much sleep lately. Every time he closed his eyes, he'd just be hit with Dave's smile or his eyes or the way he raised his eyebrow at Klaus when he did something questionable.

He missed him. He missed him so much.

"We just have to be wary of their powers more than anything." Luther was saying as Klaus swirled the mushy white food onto his utensil. He took his finger to the edge of the fork and flicked potato back onto his plate.

Ooh… That was fun. Let's do that again.

Klaus took more mashed potato and went to flick it onto his plate, but he overcompensated just a bit.

The mashed potato glob went flying across the length of the table, straight by Luther's ear, missing it by inches. With a splat, the decorative column behind Number One was slammed with a forkful of food.

The room went silent. Every pair of eyes were snapped to the mush that slowly slid down the column. It seemed like an eternity went by until it finally made it to the floor. The eyes then turned to Klaus.

Whoopsie.

"Sorry." Four said in a small voice, returning to playing with his food but containing himself to his plate this time. He was aware of everyone's gazes still on him, but Klaus didn't have anything else to say. Maybe if he wasn't in such a funk, he'd have some humorous remark, but against every fiber of his character, Klaus really didn't feel like talking.

"Uh… So out of 43 kids, subtract 7 for us, subtract 19 for the parents that didn't want to give up their babies and had their records privatized for some hope of a normal life, subtract 9 that went suddenly missing from their homes which we can assume was Mason, and that leaves 8 completely unaccounted for." Five spoke up, forcing things back on track and ignoring Klaus's interruption. Number Four was grateful for that.

Usually, he'd chuckle at the visual of Luther and Diego trying to follow along with Five's math, but he wasn't even feeling that.

"So, if the 9 who went missing were in fact Mason… What happened to the other 3? And what if he got ahold of any of the unaccounted 8? Why is it the Venus Six?" Vanya tried to reason, bringing up the questions everyone had. Five knit his eyebrows together and was about to say something, but Klaus couldn't help but blurt out his own experience with this one.

"They're dead."

The siblings gave him suspiciously curious frowns.

"Why do you say that?"

"In that bunker where they were keeping me- There was an incinerator-type of room… A real fucked kind of set up, but… yeah. It was where they disposed of anyone who got in their way. Their "practice dummies", employees who resisted…" His mind flashed to Sadie. He swallowed thickly but moved on. "So, I don't doubt that they wouldn't waste a second to kill any of Mason's little "slaves" that resisted either." He managed to get out of the words, but they were so tired and lacked any enthusiasm. Of course, it wasn't quite the brightest topic, but even then, Klaus was unusually lethargic.

"You sure?" Luther asked, not accusingly but simply in need of some kind of extra affirmation.

"I heard a lot of things that week. There were at least a hundred spirits in that cellar alone, but there were some things I didn't really understand at first. They kept saying 'I was one of them' and I assumed it was just another ghost ploy to guilt me into helping them somehow… I don't know, whatever. But now I understand that they didn't mean 'one of the dead', they meant-"

"That they had powers too…" Ben realized. He leaned forward across the table to lock eyes with Klaus in the same way he did when he needed to get his point across loud and clearly. "Klaus, do you know how many?"

"No. Have no idea. They were just fleeting comments that I hardly paid attention to. In fact, I tried to block them out if anything."

Conversation was erupting from all around the table with this new realization. It allowed Klaus to sink back into the background and bury his attention in his untouched plate of food. He rolled around some peas underneath his fork tongs.

"-if we got them to come here-"

"-set up a ploy to-"

"-wait 'til tomorrow and-"

"-if we strike tonight-"

All kinds of ideas flew around. Arguments ensued, plans were birthed and trashed then birthed again…

"Hey," Five's voice demanded Klaus's attention among everything else. He was aware of the boy staring at him from his left. "We could really use your input, kid."

Klaus rose an eyebrow at his brother. It was funny being called kid by a little shrimp such as himself. Regularly energetic-Klaus would've even told him that to his face.

Right now though, Four was just surprised by the sympathy so clear in the bite-sized assassin's voice. He seemed… genuine- Genuinely worried about Klaus. Genuinely seeking his insight. How nice it was to have that change. It actually shocked Klaus into considering taking Five up on his offer.

He looked up at the dinner table that was thrown into turmoil. Allison was in a heated conversation with Vanya and Ben, Diego was arguing Luther like normal, and Five continued to cock his head at Klaus expectantly. Klaus did have something to say, in fact. He was just anxious to jump in and he couldn't quite place why. He felt shy. He never felt shy.

Klaus gripped his dog tags.

"Go on. Get a move on." Five coaxed affirmatively. Klaus sighed. He promised that if he'd be a part of this family, he'd fully be a part of this family.

"I think we should go back," Klaus spoke up. The buzz of voice died out. They looked at him. "...to the warehouse. I think we should go back. Hit them at home."

Luther opened his mouth, unsure of what to say. He looked around the table for backup but no one wanted to comment as if they'd break Klaus. Ugh. He hated the pity train.

"Klaus, we tried that, remember? It didn't exactly…. Go well."

"Yeah, I know. That was before I knew about all this other hullabaloo though. This stuff I can do. With all those dead, angry souls… especially the ones of the other potential Numbers… It'd be like an unlimited source of power and resources."

The table seemed to think about this, but still, no one jumped on board readily right away. Klaus was expecting that. His siblings promised they'd listen to him more but that didn't mean they had to actually consider anything he said.

"Klaus," Luther reluctantly tried again. "I know you've been practicing… That's great, but do you really think you're ready to take something on at such a big-"

"Yes." Klaus interrupted, unwavering. Luther closed his mouth and drilled into him with an unreadable gaze. Everyone else around the room exchanged glances. Klaus didn't move a muscle from where he locked eyes with Number One. He got ready for everyone's denial of his input.

You tried. Oh well.

"Okay." Luther stated plainly…

I'm sorry- WHAT?

The room looked at Luther. No one argued.

"Yeah. Okay. We'll go with Klaus's plan. Suit up and we'll put together some type of strategy before we head out. Everyone got it?"

Murmurs of agreement sprouted up at all sides. Klaus was too stunned to add a reply to the garble. He felt Five's hand squeeze his shoulder (Possibly proudly? Klaus couldn't tell) before he spatial-jumped up to his room.

Number Four didn't have time to remain in shock at his siblings' sudden belief in him. Well, it wasn't sudden per se. They did have a long-ass talk about this at Gigi's, but he didn't expect it to actually come to fruition to this degree.

Don't get him wrong, it felt nice. There was pressure on him now though. He had to deliver the performance he promised. Klaus wasn't used to expectations, unless they were low ones. He operated in the sense that he couldn't disappoint anyone if he was already at peak disappointment- less pressure that way. This was new though. He didn't know if he really liked the feeling.

He guessed this was what it felt like to be a responsible, functioning member of a team. Huh. Weird.

Up in his room, pulling on his black mission shirt, Klaus found that his movements were snail-slow compared to usual. That was normal for the past couple days since Dave left. It was gradually getting easier day by day, but like he told Allison, he didn't really want it to get easier. He didn't want to move on.

Klaus considered going to Ben's room to get ready in there like he usually did as a kid. Or maybe, he'd go bug Allison again. He couldn't bring himself to be his normal chipper character though, and he didn't want them to pity him. They'd be great the past few days, don't get him wrong, but no one knew quite how to deal with somber-Klaus.

"Can you help me?" A voice came out of absolutely nowhere, making Klaus jump. He whipped around to see Five standing in the middle of his room while looking down at his jacket, unpassed by Klaus's jumpy reaction.

"Christ," Klaus whispered under his breath, slowing his wildly beating heart and moving towards Five who was toying with a jammed zipper. "Sure, bud."

Klaus kneeled at Five's level, slapping his brother's fumbling hands away and gripping the zipper tightly, trying to pull it past the cloth that was jammed in the mouth of the zipper-head. He scrunched up his face with effort until the zipper broke free from its obstacle, zooming upwards to close Five's jacket. Satisfied, Klaus slapped a hand on Five's shoulder before getting up and returning to his dresser where he searched for his jacket.

"Thanks." Five plainly said from behind. It went quiet for a beat and Klaus assumed his brother jumped away, back to his own room. Five wasn't one for small talk.

But then, he cleared his throat from behind Klaus again, making his remaining presence known. Klaus couldn't help but smirk. Obviously, the kid had something to say but was waiting for Klaus to urge it out of him.

"…Yes?" Klaus played along, amused. He moved to his closet, not giving Five a second glance. His jacket had to be around here somewhere.

"I'm sorry." Five said, his tone truly heavy with condolences. "About Dave."

It was a simple enough sentence, but it sent all kinds of feelings ripping through Klaus's chest- most of which were a deep pang of loss but also a sense of gratitude at the fact that the hardest-shelled member of his family was coming to offer sympathy. Klaus gave him a small, sad smile.

"I'll live." He admitted, turning back to rifle through his closet. "Funny enough that's the reason we won't work. Hah." He chuckled at the end, a product of his dark humor. There was an obvious pain in there.

"I think I know what you're going through… at least to some degree."

"Ah, yes. The dear Ms. Dolores. You know, come to think of it, I haven't seen her around lately."

Five cleared his throat again, but this time it was in discomfort rather than an attempt for attention.

"Yeah, I- I figured I'd never be able to move on. From her, from the future, from the Apocalypse… I wouldn't be able to move on, so I let go."

Klaus froze, his arm deep in his closet. His breath caught for a second. He could tell it was difficult for Five to say out loud even now. Honestly, it was difficult for Klaus to hear too. Maybe Five did know what he was going through.

"I fully realize that I probably looked crazy to all of you, but-"

"Hey." Klaus stopped him, jumping into brotherly mode at the drop of a hat. It was like an instinct when he could tell a sibling was hurting. It was kind of nice to focus on someone else's burden, as much as he'd never wish it on Five. "She made you happy. That made us happy, dude." Klaus said in all sincerity. Five smiled. He candidly, sweetly but sadly smiled. Aw. What a truly rare phenomenon.

Klaus moved back to his dresser. Where was this damn thing?

"The powers- what you're doing." Five continued the conversation even as Klaus frustratingly tore through everything he owned. "It's really cool."

Wow. What a shocking night this was.

"And the sobriety thing." Five paused in a search for words. "I'm sorry if I haven't been handling it in a way that is as supportive as- I just- Maybe I was trying so hard to deny that I kinda knew how it felt. The thing you said about me being addicted to the apocalypse… I know it's not the same, but it was a type of obsession for my whole life and I didn't want to accept that so I was extra hard on you about your own obsessions and that wasn't fair."

Klaus had no idea how to respond to that. Five literally just puked a slew of information and feelings at him all at once. Klaus just blinked. His brother sighed and walked around the room slowly, looking at some of Klaus's wall hangings and decorations as a distraction from the hard topics he was hitting.

"You were right. I don't know how to live day-to-day now. Living in a home. Living with other humans. Live with you guys more specifically- the very people who I dreamed of returning to for so long. It's just… strange. I don't know how to switch my life around so fast and I'm guessing it's similar without your…" Five waved his hand in the air, looking for the right term. "…vices. We are alike in more respects than I gave credit for and it's- it's certainly not a bad thing… Ya know?"

Five finally looked to Klaus, awaiting some approval. Klaus wanted to give it of course, but this was just a lot to take in and all so unexpected.

"I… Thanks, Five.", was all Klaus could answer with. It seemed to satisfy Five enough. His brother gave a curt, affirmative nod. He looked like he might have something more on his mind, but he didn't proceed. Klaus raised a suspicious eyebrow at him and hesitantly returned to his search. If really wanted to say it, he'd say it.

"Klaus…" Here it comes. "I know it probably doesn't seem like it at times, but I feel like I need to- At least, once, after everything that's happened in the past couple of… you know… I need to express that I- that I- You know, you're my brother and I'm- I'll always-"

Klaus smiled away from Five, his chest warming. This guy. At least he was trying.

"Five." Klaus cut in, saving his brother from his intense struggle. "You nearly jumped yourself to death just to find me." He pointed out in a low voice. "…I know."

Five stared into Klaus's eyes as if to say, 'thank you for saving me there', but also with a deeper appreciation that Klaus rarely saw in him. He gave Klaus a sheepish, half-smirk.

"I love you too, Pip-Squeak." Klaus finished, walking past Five towards his door and giving him a vigorous hair-ruffle on the way. Five nearly fell over, not expecting the sudden contact. He scoffed and tried to shove Klaus away, still all-smiles.

"Asshole." Five smirked, smoothing out his hair. "I'll see you downstairs."

With a flash, he was gone.

As soon as they touched down via spatial-jump, everything erupted into the expected chaos. Allison was the first to scream out, rambling on about something regarding Claire.

"They have her! They have her! Can't you hear it?"

"No, Allison!" Luther ran after Number Three who had bolted towards the warehouse. No one could hear anything but the creak of the shifting trees in the wind. "It's not real, okay? She's in your head. Remember? All in your head."

But as soon as Luther caught Allison around the waist and prevented potential disaster, everything started warping.

He didn't know how the atmosphere shifted for everyone else, but for Klaus, the pines became palm trees. Soil turned to sand. Buildings formed but in ruins. The skies filled with smoke, gunfire, and beating helicopters.

It shook him to his core.

"Guys!" Klaus called out for his siblings, panic rising in his chest. It's not real. It's not real.

He heard shouting, and the worst part was, he recognized the voices. They were the guys he fought with side by side in Vietnam. The guys that all died. Everyone died. Everyone but him.

Shadows flashed over Klaus like a strobe. He looked overhead at the giant chopper sailing over his head. Gunfire followed. He stumbled backward until his back hit the trunk of a tree. His knees gave out and he slid down to the ground.

"Shit, shit, shit…" He covered his ears and ducked down, trying to fight off the pseudo images before him.

"Klaus!" A chillingly familiar voice called. It sounded anguished- in need of his help. "Klaus!"

…Dave.

But he wasn't real, right? The illusionist and the ventriloquist were just working together to fuck with his mind… right? The thing that bothered Klaus the most was that it very well was possible that Dave's ghost was around. Even though he supposedly "moved on" to whatever ghosts "move on" to, the smallest of likelihoods still worried Number Four.

"Klaus!"

That one wasn't Dave, however. Before Klaus knew it, Ben's face was right in front of his. His brother gripped Klaus's shoulders tightly, shaking him gently.

"Hey! Hey, look at me."

Thank God. Ben to the rescue as always. Unfortunately, he was drowned out as another helicopter flew right overhead, making Klaus flinch back. His eyes squeezed shut and suddenly Ben faded away. He was back in the heat of the war.

"HEY!" Ben forced his way back into Klaus's attention. He opened his eyes to see Number Six against the background of Vietnam. It was strange to see his modern brother in such an atmosphere, even if it wasn't real. "Eyes on me." Ben continued to press. Klaus did his best to follow through. "Where are you?"

He couldn't find the words. Soldiers ran by, directly behind Ben who crouched low in front of him, still gripping his shoulders.

"The mausoleum?"

Klaus shook his head, no.

"Shau Valley?"

He nodded.

"Alright. C'mon. Stand up."

Klaus did as he was told, grabbing Ben's offered hand and shakily standing. He knew this wasn't real deep down, but it was a whole different feeling when the place this bitch transported him to was somewhere he so vividly remembered.

"Your power, Klaus. You-"

"It won't help unless I get to the bunker." Klaus interrupted, still looking around at the very realistic war zone around him instead of directly addressing his brother.

"No. I mean it'll ground you. Help you feel out the true atmosphere. Not this bullshit one."

Klaus thought about that. The energy that he pulled from the dead world did base itself around his current and tangible environment. When he got that buzz, it was like he could sense every single molecule around him, even with eyes closed. He could use that. Ben might be onto something.

Closing his eyes and balling up his hands, Klaus focused. He let the sounds of Vietnam fade away and cleared his mind of everything- His war friends, the fighting, the death, Dave… Everything.

He envisioned his invisible force rising from the nether world and wrapping around the physical, living one. He started to feel that floating feeling and his body tingled with little sensors that gave off indicators of every tiny-to-monumental morsel around him.

When his eyes opened again, there was the strangest mix before his eyes; The fake-Vietnam world mixed with the real one in a mesh of pines, palms, sand, soil, forest, and beach. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than before. The best part was that he saw it. He saw the hatch to the bunker across the way. He just needed to get there.

"Okay." Klaus took a deep breath, slapping a hand on Ben's arm. "This way."

The two of them ran towards the gleaming metal door in the middle of the woods. Klaus had to make sure he kept focusing on emitting that invisible force around him- he didn't want to seep back into the illusion. A thought came to mind as they ran.

"What do you see?" He asked, glancing at Ben. His brother gave him a quick look before turning away.

"Midtown Station."

Oh… That's where Ben died. Ouch... His heart.

"Backup! We need backup!" Luther's voice called over the low garble of Vietnam sounds. Klaus and Ben both stopped in their tracks, glancing back to where Klaus could see his siblings struggling. They were mixed in with the Shau Valley backdrop, but that didn't change the fact that they were very clearly fighting off a couple of the numbers that made themselves known.

Diego was attempting to shower the Electrical Freak with knives, but as Mason had told Klaus, the kid conducts his powers through metal which, well, knives were metal. Sparks would combust the weapons into to nothing before Diego even got them in the air.

Allison was sobbing, covering her ears and backing away from the fighting. Klaus could only imagine what kind of things the ventriloquist was making out of Claire's voice to mess with her emotions.

Vanya looked confused- like she didn't know which way was up or down. She'd jerk her head to the side as if she saw something and send a sonic wave that way, but alas- nothing was there but a poor tree or two that'd topple under the immense pressure of her power. Occasionally she'd cover her ears and scream. For someone whose powers relied on sound, Klaus was sure that Vanya was being extremely thrown off by the ventriloquist's ability to throw fake voices and sound effects into your head.

Luther was currently throwing Number Whatever… The one who could breathe underwater… across the forest and into a tree. As soon as he did though, three of the girls attacked from all sides. They held him in place long enough for the pain dude to step out of the shadows and do his thing. Luther screamed in a way Klaus had never heard him scream before.

Five was jumping around, trying to help where he could, but it was clear that the illusions were messing with him. He'd run towards Luther, intent to jump towards him, but would end up way across the way more towards Allison.

To say the least, everything was falling apart.

"I need to help them. You got this." Ben said, patting Klaus's chest. Wait… No… Alone? The plan they came up with was that Ben and Klaus take on the bunker stuff together. Ben was like his powers coach. Ben was like his life coach, honestly. He couldn't do it without him.

"Wait-"

"You got it, Klaus!" He yelled, already taking off towards the hot mess of their five other siblings.

"BEN!"

But Ben was already too far gone.

"Okay, okay, okay..." Klaus turned towards the bunker door, painfully noting the nostalgic voice that was seeping back into his mind.

"Klaus!" Dave's voice yelled off into the forest. "Klaaaaus!"

"Stop." Klaus scolded the air. He closed the gap between him and the cellar door. He tried the handle.

Oh yeah… It locked from the outside typically. He remembered that from the first time he had found the damned place.

Klaus closed his eyes and went through the motions.

Clear the mind. Ball his fists. Relax the muscles. Feel his environment. Let the voices in. Channel the dead.

Focus.

Klaus opened his eyes. The door banged open so forcefully that it made him jump.

Alright… Here we go…

He climbed down the ladder and hopped down to the cement floor. The air was 20 degrees colder in here- the walls blocking out every and all sound. The illusions and pseudo-noises faded and Klaus was left in stark, harsh reality.

He hated how it made him freeze up. He hated how just the simple, cold atmosphere made him feel. He hated that smell. He hated the fluorescent lights. He hated everything about this place- the memories it brought back, most of all.

His siblings needed him though. This had been his plan. He pushed them to come here. He couldn't let them down- not after the long talks they've had about trusting Klaus and giving him credit. Not after everything that's happened.

Klaus was about to push forward towards the incinerator room when an apparition appeared in the threshold of the hallway. He instantly smiled.

This made him feel better.

"Well, shoot. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're happy to see me!" Klaus greeted, wiggling his finger at the familiar little girl in ways of hello. She hit him with the unwavering, stoic glare. Not a muscle in that dainty little ghost body moved. She didn't answer. The fact that she appeared there before him was enough though.

She cared about him- He knew it.

"Okay…" He chuckled, walking towards and eventually through her to go down the hallway. Seeing his old confidant was just the burst of energy he needed.

He'd find the spirits of the dead Numbers. He'd ask for their help.

He could make this happen. He could do this.

Ben didn't like it. He didn't ask for this power. He didn't ask to be a destructive, deadly freak of nature, half-human, half-beast… thing. But life sucks and it's unfair and this is where he was right now- sprouting monsters out of his stomach to kill other people in order to save his family…

…but what was new?

The only person he was targeting was the electric-guy, really. The man had knocked Diego out cold and was taking on Vanya. If Ben hadn't stepped in, his sister would've been dead right now. That was the only thing driving him forward.

With a few more thrashes of the long, slimy necks of the nether beast, the electrician's neck snapped and he went limp. Ben's heart sunk as it always did after killing his victims. It never truly got better.

Six took a deep breath, ready to channel the writhing arms back inside of him for later use, but something else happened unexpectedly… and it happened so fast.

BANG.

His mind really only processed the sound- not the pain in his chest. Not the impact of the bullet. Not the sight of the flash of the gun before him. Not the horrified screams of his siblings...

Just the bang. Ben only heard the bang.

And suddenly, the ground rushed up. For the first time since he got there, imaginary visions and sounds weren't floating around him. Every "trick" they had up their sleeve dropped out and left him collapsing into the grass in the reality of the forest that he felt like he's become much too familiar with.

Ben sucked in a painful breath of air as his other sensing started settling in, but blood was rising in his throat. All he could do was cough up the red liquid, wetting the ground right in front of his face. He gripped the grass in anguish. His chest was in excruciating agony.

He processed what happened.

He was shot. Ben was shot right in the chest. It was on the opposite side of where his heart sat, but he wasn't quite sure that would matter in the scheme of things. He was bleeding, and he was bleeding a lot. Wet heat soaked his shirt.

A shoe stepped into his vision. It was polished and obviously expensive. It reminded him of…

"Number Six. I apologize for the… harsh introduction."

Ben looked up through a face scrunched in pain. There was no denying it: Mason. He resembled Dad all too much. He almost didn't believe it. Even more shocking, or maybe not, the gun in his hand, still slightly smoking at the barrel.

"STOP!" Luther yelled, shoving at the girls that still tried to hold him down and running forward. He was much too far though… Much too far to help Ben, now.

Five sprinted forwards and flashed right next to Mason, taking a hidden knife from his sock and going to stab him with fervor. It seemed that the British behemoth had expected this though. He caught Five's wrist and pressed an aggressive thumb to his neck.

When he drew back his hand, the same "button" that was stuck to Five earlier that day was left embedded into his skin. Five grunted and tried to take a swing at Mason, but the much bigger man held him away at arm's length. With a simple twist of his arm, Five was forced to his knee, his limb held painfully behind him.

"I believe you're familiar with this particular contraption, Number Five. I call it an Inhibitor, see? It took me a while to perfect it, but it is quite effective."

Almost to prove his point, Five tried to ball up his fist and flash out, but nothing happened. He was held down to the ground, rendered useless. He turned a guilty gaze to Ben. They locked eyes.

We're screwed. They both seemed to say.

"DON'T even consider it," Mason shouted out, his voice echoing into the landscape. Ben gripped his leaking wound and looked up to see Allison running forward towards them. Her mouth was half-open as if she was about to say something- about to rumor him, no doubt. Mason held the gun towards Ben's head though, showing that he still had the upper hand. Allison didn't dare to move a muscle. No one did.

And it was because of this that the remaining Venus members… The Venus "Five" now that Ben killed the electrician- were able to step towards the Academy members and reach forward with the tiny black dots at the tip of their fingers. The Academy had no choice but to let their counterparts stick them with the damned "Inhibitors".

Ben closed his eyes and sighed. He couldn't help but feel like this was his fault that his siblings were incapacitated with these Inhibitor things. Without their powers, they could fight hand-to-hand, sure. Not against other highly trained super-beings though.

It was all over. They were done. In order to save Ben's life, they were all going to hand over their own into a life of slavery. If they thought their Dad was bad, just wait…

"Technically I'm Number 11, but once they killed me, Sparky became 11."

"Yeah. Technically I'm 8."

"Well, I've always been 14."

"15, here!"

"OKAY. Okay, okay… Just… I'm gonna have to give you names, alright? I can't keep this all straight." Klaus put a halt to the ghosts' yammering. He wasn't expecting them to be so… casual. He found them pretty easily actually- All four of them. Four Numbers that have been trying to contact him for a while now. Four Numbers that were killed brutally by Mason after acting out against him. Four Numbers that were all too willing to help the Academy take down the Venus Six.

Klaus had to admit; as far as powers went, he felt pretty good with what he had to work with.

One could summon earthquakes.

One could control hordes of creepy crawlies.

One could manipulate nature.

And the other could alter the molecular composition of anything he pleased. Solid. Liquid. Gas. He could seamlessly transfer anything into a different state at any given moment.

He just needed to get them to settle down and focus on a plan. It was like herding an excited group of puppies. He guessed being dead and alone with such a grudge for so long would make the arrival of the awaited opportunity extremely enticing. He just needed to think though. There was only room for one hysterical diva here, and that was him.

"Alright… You're Timmy, Tommy, Teddy, and Tina." Klaus announced, pointing to each as he said it. Tommy narrowed his eyes.

"Isn't that just as confusing?"

"I don't want to be Timmy!"

"Fine! Fine! You're Eugene then! Okay. So. Eugene-" Klaus tried to barter and move on. Everybody's a critic.

"Nooooo, not Eugene…"

"CHRIST on a mother flipping cracker."

They had a loose plan, but it all went to shit when Klaus emerged from the bunker. The first thing he saw sent his whole center off whack. Panic ripped through him at the speed of light.

"Ben!" He couldn't help shouting out at the sight of his brother, broken and bleeding at gunpoint via Uncle-Fucking-Mason. He ran forward without a second thought, not even taking the time to see the state of his other siblings- still as statues, rendered nearly useless with the black button things in their necks, and afraid to proceed.

Klaus still rushed forward. The first thing that almost hindered him was his atmosphere warping before him, but Klaus could see the illusionist. She stood near Luther with a cocky grin on her face.

It wasn't so cocky when Klaus clenched his fist and sent a giant branch flying to her head though. It hit her unexpectedly from behind, sending her to the ground, unconscious.

Points for Klaus.

...Until Mason cocked his gun. Klaus stopped dead in his tracks, holding his hands out in front of him.

"Wait! Wait, okay! Please, just-" He looked into Ben's eyes, his muscles frozen stiff. Klaus was afraid that if he moved an inch, Mason would get trigger happy and kill his brother- his brother that just got his life back not all too long ago. His favorite brother (don't tell the others, but he thought it was pretty obvious).

"I see you've learned some of your own little tricks, Number Four." Mason said, gripping the gun stiffly but turning to look at Klaus.

"Some." Klaus agreed, relishing in the visuals of him using said "tricks" to rip Mason apart limb from limb. "Probably shouldn't have let them take me back, you sick, British fuck."

"I will admit, your insufferable comrades breaking through here and stealing you back against their word was a bit of a shake-up. The "inhibitors" weren't ready yet though. They needed time to reach perfection." Mason dug into his pocket and held up a tiny black dot- the same dots that were punctured into his siblings' skin. "This one's got your name on it, Four. It's up to you. You can preserve your family's lives and the chance to become your best selves under my guidance, or you can choose a life of having to conjure your future family reunions."

Klaus clenched his jaw.

This. Little. Bitch.

Mason must've moved ever so slighty- Klaus's instincts picked up on something at least because a pang of alarm flashed through his chest and suddenly he was afraid that he might pull the trigger. Without a second thought, Number Four shot a hand forward and focused his energy on the gun, forcing it up and away from poor Benji with that invisible force he was starting to like more and more nowadays.

Mason snapped his attention back to the resistant weapon in his hand, forcing it back down against Klaus's energy. This was a problem. Klaus had been able to levitate things pretty easily over the past few days but never had he tried to fight against manual, human strength.

The two men fought for dominance of the gun, Mason with his hand and Klaus with his power. The pistol shook from the strain of opposing forces, but the most important part- it was tilted back just enough to where if it was shot, it'd narrowly miss Ben. If Klaus could maintain this until he figured something else out…

He was aware of all of his siblings' eyes on him, but it wasn't helping the building pressure and the heavy weight on his shoulders. He couldn't focus on them either. Not when all of his willpower had to constantly be zeroed in on holding the gun away from his brother.

Four kept his steely composure the best he could on the outside, but on the inside, he was a frantic mess. Klaus didn't know what to do. He wasn't the decision maker. He wasn't supposed to have the answers, be the hero. That was a Luther thing… A Diego thing… A Five thing…

It wasn't a Klaus thing.

All he knew was that it was becoming increasingly hard to fight against Mason for control and direction of the gun. He could hear his heart beating in his head and feel a shaking intensity brewing inside of him. He just hoped he'd be strong enough to keep this going. Ben's life depended on it.

"You're wasting your time, Uncle Mason. We won't be part of your dumb "Venus" club shit." Klaus called out, trying to at least stall. His eyes kept flickering to his bleeding brother when he got the chance, hoping that the next time he glanced back wouldn't yield unwanted results. If Ben died right there, he'd never forgive himself for not being able to do anything.

"Yes, yes. I know. You all think you have some undeniable right to free will. To a "family life". I know my brother has put ridiculous musings in your head, but you're not a family. You've been trained to pretend you care about one another- it's a farce. A falsehood." Mason grunted, also having trouble fighting against Klaus's invisible resistance. He tried to force the gun down towards Ben's head again in a swift shove, but Klaus wouldn't waver in his efforts.

Every word that left the egomaniac's mouth rose Klaus's blood to a new boiling point. Anyone who held a gun to Ben was already going to push him towards the edge. To threaten his whole family on top of it though… Let's just say that Klaus's thoughts were not the nicest right now. This was apparent by the way the wind picked up around the forest. Maybe Mason didn't notice, but it looked like just about everyone else did. Klaus felt a buildup of power surge within him.

"You're not going to do it this time," Klaus said, shaking his head.

"Do what?"

"Get in my head."

"Oh, please, Number Four. You, of all people, really think you're one of them? That they want to feel obligated to pick up the pieces of the constant wreckage you leave behind? There isn't even a 'them' to begin with! You're kidding yourselves if you ever thought you had any sort of license over your own lives. From the moment you were born, you've been part of something bigger. You're not like other humans. You're not meant for this… individuality."

Klaus felt his nails stinging the palm of his free hand and intense pain under the brace of the broken one. His skin felt wet. He knew he was drawing blood. He felt the ground vibrating ever so slightly. Was that him?

Just keep that gun up. Keep that gun up.

"All of your powers if properly trained together- you'd be an unstoppable force. That's what makes you all "special" since you seem in such dire need to feel so. Not this absurd, apocryphal "sibling" nonsense. These blasphemous ties to each other hold you back, but I'm here to free you."

Klaus was seething. It was an emotion that was extremely unlike him. He was flamboyant. He was depressed. He was wild. He was probably slightly deranged. He was fucked up. At any given moment, Klaus was any of these things and more, but hardly ever was he this pissed.

"You mean break us?"

"If that's what it takes."

And that was it. Klaus could feel it. That sentence right there was the catalyst for everything else that followed.

It hit Klaus hard. It hit his siblings hard. Most importantly, it hit the spirits of the four dead Numbers hard. Within him, he could feel anger for five people: Eugene, Tommy, Teddy, Tina, and himself. As it turns out, that was the extra push he needed to let the rest come to fruition.

CRACKS filled the air, followed by a deep crumbling. The ground was breaking- just like in the graveyard earlier. Blue rose up from the floor and emanated from the four, transparent figures that stepped forward with malicious grins on their faces.

They had been waiting for this and Klaus knew it.

The best part?

Mason looked terrified at the sight of his previously discarded "experiments".

"Now, listen to me!" He shouted, obviously panicked but trying to maintain control. The gun was forgotten at this point. Klaus flicked his hand and it went flying against a tree. Number Four wasn't stopping there though. He wasn't sure if he could even if he tried.

Using his power to give strength to the four beings around him, Klaus urged them to unleash everything they had.

And boy, did they.

The ground shook so violently that a few Academy members had to grip onto nearby trees to stay on unsteady feet. Vanya wasn't so lucky, falling to the ground but otherwise okay. The same was said for the Venus Six- Some kept upright, but most went down hard.

Roots started swimming out of the earth, curling over and through the soil like a serpent monster slithering through water. The earthy tendrils wrapped themselves around Mason's ankles, rendering him stuck in place. The same for Venus.

An army of little clicking noises spread through the ambiance. In a dark, disturbing display, a sea of bugs and insects crashed out from the soil and cast a writhing shadow that traveled up over Mason's legs. It seeped up his body as he screamed, trying to wipe off the invading pests to no avail.

And finally, with a chorus of pops and sizzles, Mason's skin transformed before their very eyes. In horror, every single person watched as steam rose from his flesh and a terrible odor suffused the air. It was as if he was… melting. A human being was melting before their very eyes.

It wasn't like a slow wax burn like the wicked witch of the west though- The liquid turned to a steaming evaporation of gas before they knew it. This process took over their uncle's flesh and bones as he screamed in a way that not even the most crazed animalistic creature could scream.

Solid... Liquid... Gas...

Klaus wasn't expecting Eugene's powers to be so gruesome, but it worked.

Soon enough, there wasn't much left of Mason Hargreeves and the trembling, glowing, wind-blown, scuttling, earth-shattering world turned silent once again- an absence of sound that Klaus felt he may never hear again in the midst of such extraordinary chaos.

Stock-still, too. The world was still…

…Until Klaus collapsed and broke the motionless atmosphere. In a severe wave of vertigo, his consciousness slipped and his body went with it. He wasn't sure if it was in his dreams or nightmares or whatever, but Klaus did hear people calling out for him. He even thought he felt people gripping his shoulders and arms, trying to break him from the darkness. They were just so far away though, and a little sleep would do him some good.

He felt high, but in a different way than drugs made him feel. It was like his mind was detached and floating differently from his body. Don't get him wrong, he could feel the acute pain in his hand just fine, but there was a surreal about everything that was making Klaus feel awful trippy.

But then a thought hit. An awful thought. A thought that he prayed was just a dream… a nightmare.

Ben. Ben who had been bleeding out. Ben who had been losing consciousness and life with every passing moment.

My God, was he dead?

Klaus shot out of… wherever he was, gripping the sheets over his body anxiously.

Room. My room. My house. I'm home.

No one else was there though- He was alone. The only thing on his mind- find Ben.

"Shit…" He muttered, throwing himself into a stumbling stance. His hands shook violently like he was hopped up on gallons of caffeine. His heart jumped from a slow, relaxed beat to hypersonic speed. "Shit, shit, shit…"

Klaus went to bound out of his room but there was a person standing in the doorway. No… Not just a person.

Ben.

Ben.

Ben! Ben! Ben! Ben! Ben! Ben!

"Benny!" Klaus exclaimed, panic dropping from his chest and being replaced with rising excitement. "You-"

…scared the bejeezus out of me. That's what Klaus was going to say, but another horrifying thought crossed his mind as he took in the sight of his brother.

He was standing, seemingly fine. He was dressed in his normal, black, Ben clothes: The hoodie, the coat, the jeans, the shoes. His hair was all groomed as Ben liked it. His stance was relaxed but at the same time just a little bit sarcastic… if a stance could be sarcastic.

He looked like normal Ben. He looked healthy. He looked… too healthy for just being shot.

Klaus felt his stomach drop. Oh no… Oh God, no…

"No…" Klaus breathed, wanting himself to be wrong but knowing it made sense. "No, no, no, no…"

He moved forwards towards a frowning Six- a frowning ghost Six.

Klaus felt sick. He felt grief-stricken. He felt angry in himself- disappointed that he wasn't enough to save the person that had saved him oh-so-many times. In that moment, he hated himself. He loathed himself for not being able to save Ben.

"Benny…" Klaus covered his mouth with one hand, reaching forward with the other. He willed himself to allow the power of touch with the dead world. It worked enough for him to touch Ben's coat and then feel the firmness of his brother's shoulder.

He didn't want to touch ghost-Ben though. He wanted to feel real Ben. Alive Ben.

What has he done?

"Klaus…" Ben said, worriedly, putting his hand on his brother's arm and trying to lock eyes. Klaus didn't want to hear it though.

It's not your fault. There was nothing you could do. Ben would say.

"I'm so sorry." Klaus choked out, his voice breaking. He rushed forward and embraced his poor ghostie as if it would somehow make up for a beautiful life lost…

"Klaus!" Ben wheezed between Four's ridiculously tight hold. "What are you-"

"I knew it. You're dead. I knew it." Klaus mumbled miserably into the fabric of Ben's coat.

"Klaus-for-fuck's-sake-I'm-not-dead-but-I-am-still-in-some-serious-pain-and-HOLYSHIT-you're-going-to-make-me-pass-the-fuck-out-" Ben spat out so rapidly that it all might as well have been one word. Number Four immediately let up, still keeping his arms around his (…dead? ...alive? ...to be determined.) brother. He leaned back about a foot away from Ben's face to shoot him a stunned look.

"Say what?"

Ben was taking big, long breaths through this apparent pain he mentioned. Klaus gave him a moment. Number Six came back calmly, gripping each of Klaus's shoulders for emphasis. He drilled his gaze into Klaus's, telling him that what he was about to say next was important.

"I'm not dead. I'm fine, but healing. You've just been knocked out for almost two days." He tried to explain in the simplest way possible. Klaus pondered this. Ben patiently waited, staring at Klaus and standing by until he processed the information. Four looked away, trying to compute everything in his still-woozy head.

"Oh…"

He thought some more. He guessed it was possible. Ben still lingered in Klaus's loosely looped arms. He raised his eyebrows expectantly. Klaus finally turned to look at his brother. Four's eyebrows knit together.

"…Do we have spaghetti, ya think?"

He released alive-Ben and brushed past him, making his way to the stairs. He heard Benny snort behind him.

"Attention span of a goldfish," Ben muttered, amused. Klaus heard his brother follow him downstairs. Thank God, he wasn't a ghost. He generally preferred his Number Sixes alive.

Klaus could make a whole dramatic scene about the whole thing- Getting Ben back, succeeding in a truly stunning display of his powers, defeating Mason…

He was just plain hungry though.

"Hey, kiddo." Five's voice was the first to greet him when Klaus passed by the dining hall. The rest of the Academy was in there, digging into plastic bags full of take-out food. Everyone turned to look at him, ceasing all movement, but only for a second.

Thank the Lawd. He didn't want to make a big deal out of everything. He just wanted to relax with his living, breathing family.

Yes, Mason, you fucked douchekazoo. My family, asshat.

Then Klaus remembered that his uncle was dead and could possibly haunt him forever and ever.

Just kidding. I didn't mean it. He thought again, just in case. He looked around the room. No Mason.

Phew.

"How're you feeling?" Diego asked, throwing Klaus a carton of rice. He caught it and moved to the table to swipe a fork.

"Like someone chewed up my brain and regurgitated it into my skull. Otherwise, okay." He yawned, falling tiredly into a seat and pulling up another one right next to him. He looked back at Ben and patted the empty chair.

Four may not make a big theatrical production about Ben's survival like he usually would, but you better believe that Klaus was going to glue himself to Ben even more than usual for the next couple of days, fueled by the slightly irrational fear of even coming close losing him again. Klaus said all of that in his look to Six, and Ben seemed to understand. He sat down next to his subtly doting brother, grabbing a carton of chicken.

"We really had to hold Luther back from locking you up, man." Deigo said, shaking his head disapprovingly. Klaus's face dropped. He looked from Luther to Diego.

"Really?"

"Yeah, dude! After that whole spectacle-"

"Oh- Shut it, Diego! He's totally lying." Luther dismissed, rolling his eyes. He leaned forward and looked intently at Klaus.

"I did no such thing. I promise."

Diego smirked at his favorite hobby- bugging Luther. Klaus felt the knots in his chest unravel. He was terrified that he was going to be looked at as the next Apocalypse inducer.

"It's okay." Four played along. "I'd understand if you were all jealous that I'm suddenly the cool one now."

"Woahhhh!"

"Now, hold on a sec-"

"An exaggeration if I've ever heard one-"

Everyone jumped in, making Klaus smile. Ah, yes. His favorite hobby. Bugging all of his siblings.

"Listen- It was a little badass, 'kay?" Diego humored. By his tone, Klaus knew he was impressed though. "Don't go blowing your head out of proportion there, pal."

"What did happen though? To the other numbers?"

"Ah, yeah. We tried to talk to them, but it was clear that we'd never develop the trust we needed. They're undying Mason-ites." Five informed between bites of food.

"We were able to remove our Inhibitors and tag them instead. They were taken to some high-profile facility… Who knows. Not our problem anymore- it's the government's." Allison added as she walked behind Klaus to reach for napkins. On her way back to her seat, she put a hand on his head and quickly kissed his mess of hair. "Glad you're okay, by the way."

Klaus smiled up at her before returning to his glorious, wonderful, beautiful sustenance.

"So, we going driving tonight?" Deigo asked, raising his eyebrows at Klaus and Ben. "Gotta get you test-ready."

"Test?"

"Yeah. For your license."

"Pfft. License? I don't need a license. I just want to basics, then I'm set."

"Jesus." Diego chuckled and shook his head.

And that was it. No more talk of Mason. No more talk of Klaus's slightly terrifying and very awesome powers. No more talk of Ben almost dying.

They moved on. They kept living. They talked about driving out to the beach next weekend, taking Ben and Five to their first amusement park… And when they did mix in some business, they loosely talked about the future of the Academy.

There were other Numbers still unaccounted for. Then there were numbers that were leading seemingly normal lives… until something bad happened. Until there were accidents. Five proposed they at least work to put together a database about their potential friends and foes- just so they weren't blindsided like last time.

They had fun. They made plans. They looked forward.

"The team at its best. It's just like old times."

It wasn't though. It wasn't like old times at all. It was better.

And it was about fucking time.

Thought of the day: Klaus comes back from fighting a war, killing people, seeing people around him killed, and losing the love of his life. Then he runs into Luther who is brooding about his moon expedition- Klaus drops EVERYTHING to try and make his brother feel better and gets what? Accusations and dismissals.

So unfair. You've got some explaining to do, Steve Blackman and Jeremy Slater.

So, I feel like I aged ten years writing this chapter. Not that it wasn't fun, but it was just a lot to fit in. I'm so sad to see this story end, however, I'm not TOO sad because I have a list of about 10 other stories I want to do! I've already started outlining for a few so I promise, if you stick around, they should come out very soon- All Klaus centric.

Thank you SO much to every reader, favoriter, follower, reviewer... You guys make this worth it and fuel my passion to continue the story. It's been a blast and I look forward to giving you some more content!

Just to give you an idea of some stories to possibly look forward to if you're interested (not necessarily in any order):

- Dave and Klaus's 10 months together in Vietnam

- What Klaus was doing BETWEEN the scenes shown in Season 1

- Klaus gets fed up and tries to leave the family for good

- In an unexpected turn of events, Klaus has to watch over Claire

- Klaus lets Vanya out (alternative to the show)

- Dave becomes a consistent ghost-boyfriend

- Ben's past death

- Klaus disappears and is found in a state so bad that Ben forces him into an institution

And there are a few more that are too complicated to simply give a one-sentence preview to at the moment. Can't wait to potentially hear from you all again!

KlausNeedsLove: I know... Bless his soul. Thank you SO much for being someone I can consistently rely on for feedback!

XxKlausxX: Thank you- I've really enjoyed putting in some bad-ass power moments for Klaus. I feel sad for him too... I'd love to do a story where Dave sticks around. Thank for your continuous support- I always look forward to your input!

sarahlucylu: It's truly MY pleasure to be able to share my work with such wonderful, passionate people such as yourself! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you as always!

SiredtoBen: Thank you so much for saying so! I want Klaus to be happy too... They don't let him be in the show so at least he can be in fanfiction, haha.

asms2: It's been a true pleasure! Thank you for your unwavering support. In response to last chapter- I felt like Allison is the type to dub people "bean". I'm glad you appreciated the homage to the bath chapter with the milkshake! I was pondering the "Schnell" comment for the longest time. I just had to share, haha. Thank you again for everything!