Chapter Text
LONDON, ENGLAND
“Opening the office now mate.”
“Good, I think it’s time we got back on track.”
“The last time we were all in the office like this, Emma came.”
Charles returned to his spot on Edwin’s desk, with Edwin sitting behind it. Crystal took up the space to the side of him, leaning against the wall. As Charles said, the last time they stood in the main office together looking for a case, they were then dragged to Port Townsend and never to return until months later. While Crystal took the time to reconvene with her past life, he and Charles were taking hold of the office in the meantime. It wasn’t until recently that Crystal felt she was ready to come back. The three of them remained in mourning for the loss of Niko Sasaki. Perhaps, him most of all, though he would never say that out loud. However, they have reason to believe that she still lurks somewhere out there, and the only way to move forward to gain more information, is to continue their work as an agency. Perhaps then, they might stumble across some sort of clue. As for now, they stay in wait.
NEW YORK
It took an embarrassingly long time for them to discover and understand all of the ghost rules. For the longest time, Ben and Klaus had only known three things.
1. Ghosts have various levels of corporeality. They can phase through walls and press against them. They can phase through chairs, yet they can sit on them. They can choose whether to add a presence to matter, but they can’t change it. Their ability to phase through people, while cold for humans, does not create a sense of feeling in a ghost. They cannot touch what is not theirs.
Before, Klaus used to burn random junk in order to start a fire for himself. (Fires that Ben begged for him to start) Other times, Klaus would just burn something for fun. As a kid, Klaus used to burn curtains and random stuff for a “seance.” When in reality, it was just Klaus wanting to chip away as much as he could from Reginald’s stone-faced mask. It took a few fires and seances from Klaus to realize that the ghost of matter can exist. Nothing is truly gone, the energy has to go somewhere. Sometimes the fire is too strong, or the ashes left behind absorb the energy leaving nothing behind in the afterlife. However, because of this information, many books have been donated to Ben via Klaus’ pyro-tendencies.
2. Ghosts can change the way they present themselves. Ghosts often forget what they look like, because of this, not many ghosts care to change their appearance. Especially when most ghosts can’t be seen by anyone anyways. Ghosts are seen as what they present themselves, how they see themselves. If one were to stretch their mind far enough, they could change the way they see themselves, therefore; changing the way they present themselves to the world.
When Ben and Klaus noticed that not all ghosts bore injuries, or that some ghosts' images changed, they knew something could be done. Ben had worn a gaping hole in his stomach for three weeks after being summoned. It wasn’t until Klaus couldn’t recognize him in a crowd of corpses that it started to weigh on him. So Ben thought hard about himself, about how he used to be. It was only for a split second, but the change was noticeable enough to draw Klaus’ attention. After that, they practiced daily, and soon enough, Ben stopped seeing himself as a corpse and more as a brother.
3. Ghosts go insane. When a ghost is bound to the living plane, whether on purpose or not, they lose their humanity over time. However, if the trauma is visceral enough, the human body dies and retains that trauma infinitely. The ghost doesn’t attain peace until the ghost is ready to move on. For that to happen though, the ghost needs to be aware that they can move on. Once a ghost is trapped, it’s almost impossible to leave on their own.
Ben knew this rule before he died, and he will never stop remembering this rule for as long as he is dead. There was nothing subtle about the way Klaus shook whenever something non-visible to the naked eye would scream in his ears. There was nothing subtle about the way Klaus would beg for anyone, anything, to stop the incoming voices. It wasn’t subtle when Ben died, and he watched as Klaus stared at him in fear, hoping that his brother wasn’t one of them. It wasn’t subtle when Ben followed Klaus around, and it wasn’t subtle when Ben watched as ghosts mumble and scream things from a different perspective Ben hopes he’ll never see.
It wasn’t until Klaus was sober enough to harness his powers that Ben and him discovered new rules. After the now-defeated-apocalypse, Klaus had managed to learn how to change a ghost's tangibility. After that, he practiced everyday to ensure Ben had a semblance of life. Now, it was as easy as breathing for Klaus to use his ability. It was as though every exhale of breath was a slow line of power feeding into Ben's existence.
Then, months later, a miracle happened. The world went quiet. There was no intake of drugs, no sudden life ending situation. Klaus had managed to open a gate between the living plane and the after life in order to remove a ghost from their torment. It was the first time Klaus had wished for something to stop and the universe listened to him. This information changed something for him. It wasn’t just “removing the problem” for Klaus anymore, he was using his powers to be useful to somebody. All those pleas for help were finally acted upon.
After this, the world was clearer for Klaus. He saw the ghosts walking down the street. The line between natural and supernatural finally stopped blurring and learned to focus. There was a connection to both worlds that Klaus had never felt before. It was still scary, he felt as though he had become dead himself, and sometimes, when he touched hands with Ben, he couldn’t tell.
However, because of this newfound clearness in his vision, both he and Ben noticed things that were not there before. When walking past an antique shop, a man in a top hat walked through the reflection of the glass and disappeared. Klaus had thought nothing of it, assuming the man had walked through. Ben however, stared past the window reflection in confusion. Klaus was two shops now and Ben was still staring. “Bennnnnn! C’mon! We have food to consume and syrup to pour!” But the boy stayed still, “Klaus, where did that ghost go?” He leaned in but his head only went through the glass, no random teleportation to another place. The area remained an antique shop. Then, just as Klaus turned back around, he saw it. The same ghost walked through the reflection again. Startled, they both jumped back.
“Oh! My apologies, did I give you a fright?” The older ghost tipped his hat. Both Ben and Klaus stared for awhile, it wasn’t often they made conversation with ghosts.
“Um, no it’s okay, really!” As per usual, Klaus was the first to speak. Now, the ghost's attention was on him, and Klaus braced himself. “Oh! I didn’t realize you were human.” A part of Klaus was both relieved at the normal conversation but also hurt that even the dead couldn’t see the difference in him anymore. Klaus was at a loss for words, so Ben stepped in, “Where did you come from?” Now, the ghost turned around to regard the other ghost. “Ah, I forget you newer ghosts don’t know all the tricks in the book yet.” Ignoring Ben's mouthing of “Newer ghost?” He continued on, “Well this is gonna be a long one, so let’s settle down somewhere before people start catching you lookin’ crazy.”
“Right, never had that happen before…”
They moved to a nearby park, it was evening so most people were gone by then. By the edge of a grassy field stood two benches sitting side by side. The tall hatted old man took the one on the left, and the curious followers took the right. “Now,” the old ghost started, “we’ll start with number one and two, these are based on your corporeality.” Klaus leaned back with a yawn, “Already know these..!”
“Listen either way!” It was no use as Klaus was already half asleep, but the ghost continued either way. “I’m guessing you already know the different levels of corporeality, but listen, because rule number two; you can touch humans but you can’t feel them.” This got their attention, “So… what you’re saying is that ghosts can interact with the living?”
“No, not exactly. It takes a lot of focus and a sane ghost to interact, and even then it comes with risks.”
“What risks..?” Ben thought back to the time he was able to hug his family for the first time in thirteen years. There wasn’t anything he could’ve thought of as a con, he would choose that over and over again.
“I’ll get to that by rule seven. Now, let me continue…
Rule number three; Ghost objects, as I’m sure you’re aware judging by the book in your pocket, you can create your own ghost objects. However, it doesn’t always go well, especially without a human on your side. It is incredibly rare to find objects like these in our world.”
Ben nodded, he was lucky that he had Klaus, and he would forever be grateful towards him.
“So, this begs the question; Where do ghosts get their items from?”
Ben thought about this, he did consider it odd that throughout the thirteen years as a ghost, Ben had only found the occasional pieces here and there. Yet, those sane enough around him seem to be getting them from nowhere.
He assumed that because they were older ghosts, that perhaps they had more time and therefore; more time to gather their collection of items. However, it seems that wasn’t the case.
“Well, I’ll tell you! There are certain shops in our world that can only be accessed by the supernatural… These shops are run by other older supernatural beings that have collected their supply of items over the years.”
Klaus and Ben stared in silence. In theory, it makes sense that the supernatural plane would make their own way of living, but things like a “secret ghost market” were not in their field of possibilities.
“Ex-cuse-a moi?!”
He laughed, “I know, it probably sounds crazy to you folk! But rest assured, this old man isn’t lying to ya.” It felt as though Ben's world was flipped upside down, and yet the only thing he could think of was, “We have to tell Five about this.” Now Klaus was laughing too, “he’d lose his shit! No way would he believe us!” Ben laughed with him.
“Alright alright, settle down folks. We still have four more to go.” The old ghost bated his hand, as though he could chase away the laughter. They settled down nonetheless.
“Okay, before that, could you tell us of one?”
“Just one?” He raised an eyebrow at them, but just as Ben went to correct himself the ghost just laughed, “teasing teasing! I’ll tell you a couple shops!” Ben settled back with a smile.
“Now let’s see… we have Ms. what’s-her-name… ah yes, Ms. Marlyn! She’s quite the doll, her shops set up in that old alleyway by that farmers market downtown.” Klaus and Ben nodded, about now they knew about every alleyway that could exist in New York. “Yes yes, or if you really want some good stuffs, you’d have to travel further. I’d say Port Townsend, Washington has a good shop in there. The guy's name is Tragic Mick, you’ll know it when you see it. Guy has tons of fliers lying about.”
“Washington..?” Klaus mumbled under his breath.
“Err right, next rule then. Number four!” The older man ignored Klaus’ giggle.
“Ghosts can travel through reflections.” Ben supposed that made sense, it did happen in front of his eyes after all, but it was still insane to think about. The whole world could be explored by him.
“It’ll take some practice of course, you might end up in a different spot a couple of times but it’s worth learning! Don’t give up a lifetime of opportunities because of a little fear.” He let that sink in before moving on, or trying to that is. “Ha, lifetime of opportunities.” Klaus’ giggling was cut off by a sharp stab in his ribs. “Ow! I was just saying!” Ben rolled his eyes but motioned for the old ghost to continue on. The ghost didn’t seem bothered by any of this, instead he looked like a proud father, which was a bit uncomfortable for them. “Well then, you’ll need to focus on the place you want to go, remember it as though you were there. It’s a bit like changing your appearance. Start with mirrors, they’re the easiest.”
Ben nodded again, he was writing everything down in his memory and storing it for later. “Sqwooshing is also a form of traveling, but as you know, it can get sickening the longer the distance you choose. This is why most ghosts cling to mirrors and sqwoosh only if necessary.” Ben had “sqwooshed” a couple of times before, he never had a word out to the feeling, but if he had to think about it, “sqwoosh” seemed pretty accurate.
“Then, rule number five; Ghosts can also travel via the ghost road.” Klaus giggled a bit at the word “five” but was ignored again.
“I wouldn’t recommend this until you’ve got everything else well acquainted with, the road is even easier to get lost in and is made of ghosts that have lost their sanity long before I had died.” They both shivered at this, thinking of the ghosts that surrounded the mansion. Those ghosts were bad enough, but ghosts who have long since went insane? Longer than the ones at the mansion? That was a firm no from Ben. “Yeah, I think I’m okay with learning the basics for now.” Or forever, because he was never taking that road.
“Then I guess I better hurry it up now. This next one has to do with who can see you. I know your buddy here seems to have a special case, but he isn’t the only one.” Klaus looked up immediately, his eyes blown wide.
“Yes yes, number six; those affected by the supernatural can see ghosts.” He let them think about what that meant before moving on, “For example, psychics, mediums, supernatural beings—those that are not ghosts included— and special cases where a living has been messed with by a supernatural being. These can mean; a living has been possessed, cursed, or even harmed by something not in their plane.”
The knowledge that a living could get possessed almost flew over their heads. It was an unspoken agreement that Ben would never attempt nor actually succeed in possessing Klaus if given the opportunity. Still, there was something else to be focussed on.
“Psychics?!”
“Other types of supernaturals..?”
Both Klaus and Ben spoke at the same time. “Bahh, who cares about other supernaturals when- psychics could be real!?” Klaus’ arms flew about, though Ben just rolled his eyes. “So you’re telling me, you don’t want to know what else could be out there?”
A huff, “No, not really.”
“Unbelieveable.”
“Boys boys! Now listen here, because this last rule is the most important!” They all leaned in with anticipation. “Now, number seven; ghosts can live forever, that is, until Death catches them.” Ben and Klaus blinked, they were a bit disappointed to be honest. “Don’t look so disappointed! Death is kind, She often waits until you are ready.” He smiled brightly, as though it was God he was speaking of.
“The little girl on the bike?”
To Klaus, that was the only thing that made sense to him. However, the old ghost just looked confused, as though Klaus was the one not making sense.
“Goodness no, Death stays on the mortal plane most of the time. For the last century or so, She’s worn long hair and dark skin. Although, even if She were to change features, She still bears a silver cross down Her neck.” Even with the descriptions, Ben could still name at least 10 people on the top of his head that could look like “Death”. “Trust me, you’ll know when you see Her. She has a sort of presence about Her.”
“Oh… um right.” Klaus awkwardly fidgeted in his spot, “and how would Death let’s say… “collect” a ghost?”
Ah. Now Ben understood what Klaus was getting at, but it also would be a missed opportunity to not make fun of Klaus for such an egotistical conclusion. Even if Ben himself shared the same concerns.
“She holds the door to both planes. Like a warm hug, She sends you home.”
A pause.
“Oh right, haha… opening a door to both planes… ha ha…” Klaus giggled awkwardly.
“Nothing to be afraid of, boy. Now, get a move on.” The ghost waved the two away. Klaus jumped up from his seat and waved his goodbyes.
“Thank you old ghost!”
“Who are you calling an “old ghost”?! That’s Mike to you!”
DEATHS DOOR
“Team meeting at ten. We’ve found something.”
After their number one left the room, and shut the door, Klaus rolled over in his bed, looked up at the ceiling, and closed his eyes.
Bang bang bang
Klaus opened his eyes again. He ended up sprawled on the right side of his bed facing the wall. He still refused to sit up, but it was difficult when you had a ghost in your peripheral vision. Unfortunately (and very fortunately) it was his favorite ghost, so he couldn’t whisk him away.
“You were supposed to be downstairs 20 minutes ago.” Ben tells him while leaning against the headboard. He sat crisscrossed behind Klaus with a book in one hand. Klaus simply groaned, flicking an arm out from behind him, Ben was turned corporal. “Really?” At Klaus’ attempt at a nod, Ben stood up to open the door. (Ben only complied to hopefully tell who was behind the door that Klaus couldn’t come downstairs. This was a rare moment of sleep for Klaus, and Ben didn’t want that ruined for a team meeting.)
Ben opened the door to, “Finally Klaus—oh, hi Ben. Actually, we need both of you for this. Supposedly it’s “actually important” this time.” Diego rolled his eyes and stormed away, before walking straight back. “Klaus?”
“Hm?”
“Get your ass up.”
“Ehh..”
…
“Now that everyone is here, we can begin.” Luther stood in front of the crowd, it was strangely parallel to the week of the apocalypse. However, this time Five stood adjacent to him. Two of the biggest planners were side by side, nothing said, “This is important” than having numbers One and Five on the same page. (Unless if that included Two, but that situation hasn’t occurred yet. Ben still thinks if that were to occur it’d be the end of the world. They were close with Luther and Diego on the day of the apocalypse, but Five came in and quickly shut that plan down. Klaus argues that if all three of them agreed on something, it’d be something hilarious.) The three of them took their seat across the couch, joining Victor on the far right side. Allison sat beside Victor in an armchair.
“Yeah yeah.” The three of them rolled their eyes in almost synchronized timing.
Both Five and Luther sighed, which only caused a disgusted look on Five's face to appear, and continued on. “Whatever. While me and Luther were going through the old man’s shit, we came across a couple documents pertaining to Ben's death and the Horror’s body.” Five looked like he was going to continue but was cut off by Allison’s sharp intake, Diego’s grunt, Victor's and Klaus’ gasp. (One an almost sad gasp and the other an overly shocked sound.)
Ben remained silent. He had assumed that the Horror’s body was burned or rid of after it ripped a hole through him. At first, Ben assumed that if the host dies, the parasite dies with it.
A few months after his death he gained the confidence to finally ask Klaus what happened to the Horror after his death. It was a rare moment where Klaus was sober enough to think. He had said, “I think Luther swung it around a lot and Diego went on a stabbing spree. Either way, the thing looked dead.” Then he paused to look at him, “if it’s bothering you in death, maybe we can get Allison to rumor it away.” They shared a smile, and Ben left it at that.
Now he wishes he had asked more.
Five and Luther went on to describe their findings, “The creature was found over a thousand years ago. Supposedly summoned from the ”Depths of Hell.” Both Klaus and Ben looked at each other and swallowed. Hell wasn’t too far of a possibility. Five noticed this and only regarded them with a raise of the brow. “Whether or not it’s the same Horror we’re—and he clenched his teeth as he said this—not sure. However, the old man probably did his research sometime after discovering Ben’s power and held onto these files here.” He gestured to the stacks of folders and loose papers in front of him. Somebody let out a low whistle (probably Diego.) It was silent as Five picked up a loose paper, “We believe Reginald kept the body of the Horror and used it to get this.”
Finally, he pointed firmly to an image of a huge non-human but definitely organ looking thing. It was bleeding orange and seemed to be glowing even through the photo, its veins loose on the ground surrounding the organ. “Subject 06.109, the hearticule still remains intact. After many attempts I believe this one will not fail me. This demon's attachment to its host allows it to remain on the living plane.” Five let Luther read to the class.
“So apparently Reginald believed that Ben had been attached with a demon and therefore; sought to experiment with said demon after Ben died. Again, not telling anybody.” Luther sounded angry, and honestly the rest of the house was as well. However, it seemed that Ben and Klaus had not shared whatever form of hatred they were having. They felt angry, yes, that their dad had kept the very thing that murdered Ben. However, they felt more shocked than anything.
They turned towards each other again, “Klaus how did Reginald know of the term ‘plane’?!” Ben quickly whispered—aka not actually whispering—yelled. “Oh my gosh!” Klaus covered his mouth with both palms. “It makes so much sense now! You were attached to a different supernatural being! It’s like that old man knew this conversation was coming!” They were basically shaking one another now. “Do you think the Horror had access to my soul? Or something…” Klaus’ eyes widened significantly, “Are you even dead?”
“Idiot.”
That one, Ben had to shut down quickly. The numb feeling in his entirety made that clear.
“Mind sharing with the rest of the class what’s going on?” Diego raised his brow at them, albeit sounding more amused than annoyed. The rest of the Umbrella Academy was staring in anticipation as well.
Both Ben and Klaus slowly turned towards their new audience, already resigning themselves to the next hour of explanation.
The Class Trip
Ben stepped through the mirror tentatively. This was the first time in a long while he truly felt nervous, which was a feat in itself considering who he hung around with. Now, he was faced with the fact that he could end up on the other side of the world with no way to come back.
After a long time of discussing with Klaus, they came to the conclusion that this supernatural problem deserved some supernatural solutions. Which is how they found themselves staring at photos of Port Townsend no less. Ben still remembers the long discussion of everything that could go wrong with their plan. Imagine if you lose your arm! Can ghosts lose arms? Would it hurt? Honestly, Ben regrets indulging in those thoughts because now it was stressing him out to no end. Ben seriously hopes that the old man was right with his little description of how mirror traveling worked.
The many images of Port Townsend cleared his vision when Ben saw where he ended up at. It was a busy street, people filled the sidewalks- sometimes stepping onto the street itself -and many stores lined the other side. Ben looked around in confusion, he realized after turning around that he had stepped out of an antique shop. The reflection of the glass rippled before stopping quickly. He had ended up in the same place he and Klaus found the old man. Groaning, he turned quickly and tried again. This time, he placed his palm on the surface and focused.
Stepping through again, he was fairly certain that he had left New York. The streets were noticeably thinner than before, and the difference in weather was noticeable. Walking a bit further, he noticed many small shops but not many people. At some point he stopped by a particular wall full of advertisements and old news. Return of Becky Asprins a Miracle. After a bit of scanning Ben eventually found what he was looking for. Tragic Micks, Magic tricks and Items (Port Townsends Hidden Gem).
After a bit of navigation, Ben found himself close to the waters. A lighthouse was seen not too far from where he stood. After a bit of debating, Ben welcomed himself inside. There, he found many shelves lined up full of trinkets and bits. Ben would be lying if he didn’t say he was memorized.
“Ayup.”
The voice was old, but not on the verge-of-dying old. The voice had come from Ben's left behind a shelf that separated them. “What can I do for you today?” His red cap and blue gear came into view first. Then, were the bits of barnacles that lined the man’s outfit.
“Oh um…” and it occurred to him then, this was a living being capable of seeing him. “I’m looking for something that could help me find this demon…type… sea monster's body..?” Real smooth.
The old guy, Mick Ben assumed, raised a single brow in question but didn’t push. “Right.”
“Could you help me?”
There was only a sigh in response. “I’m afraid not, bodies are a lot harder to find than you think. Finding a living person? Sure! Those folk leave traces everywhere, even the dead ones. A body dead for who knows how long? Seemingly hidden with no traces of matter attached to it? Got nothin’ like that here, sorry son.” Ben was about to turn away when he heard a hum. “Although, I know some boys that’d help you.” He reached below, searching through what sounded like many papers. “These boys helped me a long time ago, including some girls. You see, I used to be a mighty walrus!” Ben’s eyebrows raised to the roof. This can't get any stranger. Then again, his siblings were strange enough. “One of those girls helped me see that I was looking for something I hadn’t truly wanted.”
Ben thought about that for a moment. If he found this creature, what else would it reveal? “Even though I missed my life in the sea, I couldn't simply leave all that I’d created here you see?” Could he take any more terrible news from his old man? Before he could think it through, Mick had slapped a business card down. “This’ll be for free, since it ain’t me helping you.”
Ben took it and left.