Chapter 2

The first thing to always come back after he imbibed were the voices. Screaming, crying, clawing. One might ask how a voice could claw, but Klaus most assuredly had experience in that department and was sticking with the adjective. Every time he got high or drunk it was like hitting the reset button on his control once he reached sober again. He had to build back up to being the one in charge. Rolling off the couch, Klaus glanced around the living room. Frank was back, and so were a swarm of unfamiliar spirits progressively gaining clarity.

"Shit," he groaned, taking stock of his condition. He was mostly naked, his clothes strewn about the room. Luckily, despite a lingering headache and some dehydration, he wasn't suffering much of a hangover.

"You know you talk in your sleep?" Ben stated, seeming preoccupied. He always tried to act so cool and collected when he wasn't busy being an annoyingly preachy gnat, but Klaus saw right through him.

"Yeah, thanks, Ben," Klaus rolled his eyes. Like he didn't hear that every time it happened. Not that Ben or Frank would tell him what he'd been saying after the fact. Let them be mysterious, he didn't care. (Okay, he was curious, but he would never give them the satisfaction of knowing that! So long as he wasn't spilling things that could get him in trouble, he didn't really care. And one of them would probably tell him if that was the case. Maybe.)

Klaus sat back on the couch and leaned into the cushions, looking at the mess of ghosts around the room. He knew by now that he acted as a beacon to all the dead in a particular area, but this was absolutely ridiculous. There were ghosts in every inch of open space, enough that he couldn't always distinguish individual figures. Each was screaming their individual problems or issues in a variety of languages, and it was really just a miasma of noise. He closed his eyes, blocking out all the gore and carnage in front of him, and focused on pushing away all the unfamiliar spirits. He didn't care enough to actually help them move on to the next plane of existence, but he didn't want them around him, so he created a barrier they couldn't pass through (they didn't have to go home, but they couldn't stay here!). Isolating the whole building (an entire city block) would have been a bit excessive, so Klaus just made the barrier far enough that he couldn't see or hear any of them (out of sight, out of mind). As always, he made a specific exception for Frank, and Ben seemed as unphased as ever by modifications to his power. (Even when he specifically tried to force Ben away, his brother didn't budge. Jerk.)

A throat clearing startled Klaus from his focus and he quickly ensured there were no physical manifestations of his powers lingering in the room. Sometimes he floated or glowed while performing this ritual, and others he left behind a distinctive scent. It wasn't strong this time, and he supposed it was odd enough that whoever disturbed him might mistake it for drugs if they didn't care enough.

"Christ on a cracker! Pogo?" The chimpanzee butler did not seem to have noticed anything out of the ordinary, or at the very least didn't feel the need to comment if he had.

"My apologies, Master Klaus. I have a query for you."

"Oh?" Klaus questioned, standing and moving behind the couch where Ben was sitting. He'd found the book as he'd been meant to and was pretending to be engrossed in it. (Klaus could tell he was fake reading because he hadn't turned a page the entire time Klaus had been awake, and Ben was many things, but a slow reader wasn't one of them.)

"Items from your father's office have gone missing. In particular, an ornate box with pearl inlay."

"Really? You don't say?" Pogo absolutely knew what was in the box. It's the only reason he'd be concerned about the thing.

"Any idea where it went?"

"No, no, no. No idea. Sorry," Klaus shrugged.

"Liar," Ben looked up from his book, turning around to look at him.

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Drop dead."

"Low blow," Ben pursed his lips, but Klaus was unaffected. This was a regular back and forth between them.

"Would you shut up?"

"Excuse me?" Pogo glared at him.

"Pogo, I didn't mean you," Klaus waved a hand in Pogo's direction, moving away from where Ben was. It was just like his brother to try and trip him up, distract him. "I just, you know, there's been a lot of stuff I've been dealing with. Just a lot of memories coming up. All those good times. Well, not so much good times as really awful, terrible, depressing times…"

"The contents of that box are priceless," Pogo interjected. Yeah, he definitely knew Dad's notebook was in there. Speaking of the notebook… once he got rid of Pogo it'd be a pretty good time to go through it again. "Were they to find their way back to the office, whoever took it would be absolved of any blame or consequences," Pogo had continued droning on in that superior tone of his. It sounded like the statement hurt him, but he said it anyway due to how badly he wanted that book back. It made Klaus even more curious as to what else was written in the thing. Must be some pretty good shit in there.

"Oh, well, lucky bastard," he responded. There was no way Pogo would be getting his primate paws back on Dad's stuff.

"Indeed," Pogo clicked his tongue at him, before finally exiting the room.

Klaus rolled his eyes again, and then gathered up his clothes from the floor (a little telekinesis easing the way, once he was sure no one else was around to see) and went back to his room.

Of course, he didn't get much farther than pulling his pants back on before he was intruded on again. Five popped into his room like he owned the place (and Klaus was lucky he hadn't waited another five or so minutes and gotten to see him either using his telekinesis or reading through Dad's book.)

Five treated him like an addict, offering twenty bucks to go along with his scheme. Something to do with an eyeball and getting answers, and an adult needing to be present. Klaus wasn't all that interested, but Frank gave him an encouraging nod, so he agreed, pretending he was in it for the money instead of the curiosity. He'd have plenty of time to go through the book later.

Five told him to put on something professional, but nothing he had would match Five's standards anyways, so he just threw on a random shirt and had only just entered Five's room when he was shoved into the closet, Vanya's voice entering soon after. Of course Five had gone to Vanya first. He wasn't insulted or surprised - she was always the one he had been closest to as a child. Well, her and Ben, and Five had no way to talk to Ben as far as he knew. He still mocked Five for it afterwards, and continued getting on Five's nerves even through the process of rifling through Dad's (extraordinarily boring) closet and heading to the company Five wanted answers from.

When they pulled up in front of Meritech, Klaus had to stifle his giggles. Of course Five was trying to manipulate answers out of a company Klaus already owned. Hilarious. And to think his brother asked the one person who could get him the answers he wanted, even if his initial plan failed… Well, now Klaus felt almost obligated to help him.

Five managed to talk their way into a meeting with the Doctor he had apparently already had contact with once before, Grant or something like that. Obviously, Five didn't get a different answer than he did before, but that wasn't surprising. For all that Five claimed to be an old man who was now all-knowing, he didn't really know people all that well. He also didn't seem inclined to learn, so Klaus supposed there was truth to the saying you couldn't teach an old dog new tricks.

"Now, there's nothing more I can do, so-"

"Grant, I can call you Grant, right?" Klaus finally interjected now that Five had crashed and burned.

"It's Lance," the guy sounded hesitant.

"Will you do me a favor and look up the name," Klaus started.

"I already told you, I can't give you client information!" the guy looked annoyed now.

"Oh, no, I wasn't talking about the client's name! I mean the name of the owner of this company."

Five glanced at him, obviously confused. He definitely didn't know where Klaus was going with this, so he wasn't as smart as he thought he was. His little brother missed out on quite a lot while he was off living in the future. You'd think at some point Klaus would have messed up somewhere and his scheming would have come to light, but this was actually quite encouraging, knowing that he was going to continue getting away with it for decades into the future. As a reward for that certainty, and for the compliment (however slight) the night of Five's return, he figured he could do this much for Five, since it was clearly so important to him.

"I don't know the name of the owner," Grant stated.

"That's why I suggested you look it up. Come on, then. Who signs your paycheck?"

Grant opened a drawer in his desk, and pulled out a file, looking at the information within. He looked between the file and Klaus a few times, while Five continued to sit in silent observation. He was clearly dubious of this line of questioning, but was letting things play out. He would be rewarded for his trust in just a few moments.

"Go on, then, read it for the room," Klaus smiled.

"Klaus Hargreeves," Grant looked slightly afraid.

"What?" Five demanded.

"That's right. Now, can you go fetch us that file on the eye, Grant? Otherwise you might need to start clearing out your desk. I don't tolerate idiots in my company. Schnell!" He wasn't sure Grant understood German, but he definitely understood the tone of his voice.

"Right away, sir!" Grant rushed out of the office, practically running in his efforts to follow orders. Good. Klaus just smiled, and leaned back in his chair, propping his hands behind his head.

"What the hell was that?" Five demanded rising to his feet. He looked a bit tightly wound. He really should learn to relax more. Didn't they have massage parlors in the future? Sure, Five had claimed it was shit, but Klaus really couldn't imagine a future absent of massages. He'd summon and materialize a ghost for it, if he had to.

"That was me getting the eye's information for you, as requested. You're welcome," Klaus gave a mock yawn.

"How are you listed as the owner of the company?" Five stood, placing himself directly in front of Klaus' line of sight.

"It's been that way ever since I gained the controlling share," Klaus smiled charmingly at him. "Aren't you glad you asked for my help?"

Any further questions were postponed by Grant's re-entrance. He sat back at his desk and opened the file, and Five moved to read over his shoulder instead. Grant trembled a little as he looked at Klaus again, and he gave the man an encouraging smile. "Oh, that's strange."

"What?" Five demanded.

"Uh, the eye. It hasn't been purchased by a client yet."

"What? What do you mean?" Klaus questioned, standing from his own chair and moving behind Grant, leaning against and over his shoulder. The man was visibly uncomfortable with Klaus' closeness, which really just made the situation that much more amusing for him.

"Well, uh, our logs say the eye with that serial number - this can't be right. It hasn't even been manufactured yet. Where did you get that eye?"

Five grimaced, shaking his head, obviously already accepting some form of defeat.

"Now wait just a moment there, Grant," Klaus pulled back, moving across from him again.
"Lance," he interjected again.

Klaus waved a hand in his direction. "Your name isn't what's important here, your side business is."

"What?" both Lance and Five questioned.

"Does the name Margaret mean anything to you? Since you're so fond of names, and all." (Okay, so Klaus wasn't great with names. But really, who could blame him? He met and interacted with so many more people than the typical person. He couldn't be expected to memorize every name that was ever given to him, could he? He only remembered the important ones.)

"I-I don't know any Margarets," the doctor still looked confused.

"How about Michael? Florence? Sarah? What, you don't know any of them?" Klaus shook his head in disappointment. "Well they certainly found out who you were, Mr. Big. After all, it isn't every day that someone makes a fraudulent charge to an insurance company using your patient information which drives you so deep into debt you just die. Well, their actual deaths had various causes, not important, but they all led right back to you and your black market side business."

"How do you know about that?" Lance looked terrified. Five also looked like he really wanted to know the answer to that. The answer, naturally, was from the ghosts who had been crowding the room and whining at him since they first arrived at the building. Why neither of them went for that clear answer was beyond him. Lance here was small potatoes, so normally he wouldn't even bother acknowledging these ghosts. The things he did for his siblings.

"Oh Grant, Grant, Grant. Don't you recognize my name? Anything? The dead speak to me, and they have quite a lot to say about you. Now why don't you open up that hidden safe of yours, and check your records again."

"Are you going to report me?" Lance asked, shaking in his seat. Klaus noted that he didn't correct him about his name again.

"Oh, please. You're not worth my time, even if they think haunting you is worth theirs. Just get us our information, Grant. One chance, that's all you've got."

The safe was unlocked within seconds, and a list was shoved into his hands, which Five quickly snatched. It only took a few moments for him to shove it away with disgust. "It isn't here, either." He then stormed out of the office, and Lance and Klaus both watched him go for a moment.

"Well, that will conclude our business for today. Thanks for your cooperation. Don't even think about telling anyone about this, and don't forget, Lance, I have eyes everywhere. I'll be in touch." With those parting words, Klaus followed after Five, catching up to him out front of the company. It'd be kind of hypocritical of him to fire Lance for his less-than-legal side business when Klaus himself had obtained Meritech through less-than-legal means. He was almost done with the company, although if he could make more of a profit off black market sales before running it into the ground… well, now he knew that was an option, and he even had an easy contact for it. Anything that was less work on his part with more profit was good in his books (and his accountant and lawyers agreed with him).

"Well, this is not good," Five grouched.

"I was pretty good, though, right? You wouldn't have gotten this far without me!" Klaus preened. It wasn't often he genuinely helped someone, especially not family.

"Klaus, it doesn't matter!"

Doesn't matter? It's not like Klaus showed more of himself to his little - well, older - brother than any of their other siblings! It's not like he revealed at least some of his power! Even Ben had actually approved of this venture - Klaus doing something to help one of his siblings, ungrateful little brat that he is.

"What? What's the big deal with this eye, anyway?" he demanded, plopping himself down onto the concrete. Not the most comfortable seat he's ever had, but also far from the least.

"There is someone out there who's going to lose an eye in the next seven days. They're going to bring about the end of life on this Earth as we know it."

Wait, what?

"Wait, what? Life as we know it as in, like, a revolution or something? A dictator? Taking over, changing laws?"

"The apocalypse is coming," Five responded, turning his back.

And okay, what? Five had said the future was shit, but he didn't say there had been a literal apocalypse, and Klaus kind of felt like that was something really big to leave out. There was a massive difference between Five not discovering his money making machinations because Klaus was doing an awesome job at keeping it secret, and Five not finding out because literally all records of everything had been destroyed.

"The apocalypse? You're going to have to be a little more specific!"

Five let out a derisive snort. "You're useless. You're all useless!"

Hurtful. He hadn't even shared the whole story yet, how were any of them supposed to be helping? Five apparently 'knew everything' (except the identity of the owner of his stupid eyeball), but didn't know that you can't really help someone unless you have all the facts? Klaus had just proved to his brother that he was more than what meets the eye (he internally laughed at the secret pun), but he dismissed that in favor of throwing a tantrum. He really was at risk of moving down a level on his list of favorite siblings. (Hah, just kidding. The others all sucked enough that Five was in the lead just for not existing to bug him for over a decade).

"Oh, come on. You need to lighten up, old man. Hey, you know, I've just now realized why you're so uptight. You must be horny as hell!" he cackled, just imagining his apparently 58-year-old brother, alone in the apocalypse. He must be very familiar with his right hand. "All those years by yourself. It's gotta screw with your head, being alone."

Five sighed, then sat on the pavement next to him.

"Well, I wasn't alone."

Finally! Five had to have found Klaus eventually, right? Klaus knew well enough that whatever broke the world couldn't have killed him. Nothing could kill him. (Or at the very least, make him stay dead.) He wasn't sure Five had known about his apparent-immortality (or really just his special ability to piss God off), but this must be where he shares, right?

"Oh, pray tell?"

"Her name was Delores," Five gazed off into the distance, unaware or uncaring of the shift in Klaus' expression.

WHAT.

"We were together for over thirty years."

Thirty years, and he never once ran into Klaus? Impossible. "Thirty years? Oh, wow! The longest I've been with someone is three weeks. Although it was really just because of his cooking. He made the most fantastic osso bucco… It was-" Without another word, Five used his power to disappear. Right. Guess brotherly bonding was over. Asshole. He shook his head in disappointment. He needed more information, and Five obviously wasn't going to give it to him.

"Don't you think it's time to summon Dad?" Ben asked, moving into his field of vision.

"It's suspicious that his death falls so close to Five's return and tidings of doom," Frank agreed.

The two looked at each other in disgust, even as Klaus cackled. "You two are agreeing with each other for once? I guess miracles really can happen! I ought to tell God next time I see Them." They gave him mirror scowls, and he laughed again. "Alright. Let's go somewhere a bit more comfortable for this."

Five had been his transportation to the lab in the first place and he'd already disappeared, so Klaus wandered for a bit before managing to catch a cab. He wasn't putting this off at all, no way. Of course not. It just took some time to find a taxi in this part of the city! And, you know, he didn't correct the cab driver when he started taking the long way to the Academy, because it's not like he needed to be thrifty!

He tipped the driver more than was necessary for being so polite about ignoring his conversation with Frank and Ben, and finally let himself into the mansion.

He hovered in the entryway for a moment, ignoring both questions shot his way, and then strode into the kitchen instead. "Look, I can't summon on an empty stomach, now can I? It just wouldn't be right. And it might be difficult. I'll need my energy. I better eat something first. I haven't eaten in ages!"

He ignored how much that sounded like an excuse, even to his ears. Upon finding the kitchen empty, he then had to hunt around for Mom - it wouldn't do to enter her domain, after all. It was literally her job to cook and provide for them. He couldn't take that from her.

It took time to find her, and time to eat, and by the time he finished, he was feeling kind of sleepy.

"I'll just do it tomorrow. What's the rush? I need a nap."

Frank shot him the equivalent of a knowing smirk, even as Ben yammered on about irresponsibility and yadda yadda yadda, right up until Klaus finally reached his room and put his headphones on to drown out the noise.

Right. A nap. That's exactly what he needed. And yes, he did need it, he absolutely was not delaying the inevitable! No siree, no delaying here! Just a sleepy medium!

He ignored the fact that it took him a long time to fall asleep, and instead surrendered to it once he was finally able.

Klaus managed to sleep through the whole night before his chosen procrastination method failed him. In the light of morning, he could no longer continue putting this off. He needed to summon Dad. He didn't want to do this in his own room, because that would be gross (his father in his private space - no thank you!), and he didn't want to do it near where any of the others would walk in… but as Five had said only, what, two days ago? This house had forty-two bedrooms, even if less than ten of them had ever been used. He walked to the room farthest from the main hub of the Academy and sat down on the bed, on top of the dust cover.

"Right. Summoning Dad. Because surprise of all surprises, I actually want to talk to the bastard for once," he muttered out loud. He shoved himself into the center of the bed, then crossed his legs and closed his eyes. Sometimes it was really easy to call a specific spirit forth, and it barely took a nudge of his power to bring them in front of him. Other times it was like nails on a chalkboard, like walking a tightrope, like ripping out his own fingernails (and he had a personal experience to support that last one). Of course his father could never do things by the halves, and he really was a fingernails kind of guy. He strained against the barrier between life and death (because yes, the bastard really had moved on instead of lingering). He was forced to use the same facet of power that usually had him forcing spirits past the barrier to rip his father through it in the opposite direction. It wasn't something he had needed to do before, and by the time he succeeded, the abandoned room smelled strongly of that otherworldly ozone scent.

Klaus pushed past the fatigue and opened his eyes, meeting those of his father.

A/N: So there was Chapter 2! Still setting the scene slightly, and 3 will also be building up. Chapter 4 is the one I'm most excited to post. You'll find out why soon enough!

(As a hint - it was part of the original idea I had when starting this series...everything else has kind of been building up to a big scene in 4).

Thanks for reading!