New Life; Second Chances

Chapter 82

Third POV

Dahlia, Orion, and their children have landed back in Texas, they had settled back in on the property and met with Helga and Hannibal who had explained that everything was going successfully but they hadn't really seen Diego or Vanya lately. Little did they know, they had been with Klaus.

*Flashback*

Klaus had been coming to the town he appeared in and watching, Ben kept questioning it, but Klaus wouldn't give him an answer. Ben had been questioning a lot of things about his brother after now realizing that those herbs and stone the woman gave him don't make him high. He never really understood what Klaus sees until he died and became a companion to Klaus so he had a voice of reason and a familiar face with him as his good for nothing siblings wouldn't do anything. He did see though that Diego did care he just didn't know how to show it, but Vanya really hurt Klaus with that book and when they revealed his drug problem. Ben had been jolted out of his thoughts when Klaus had gotten out of the van, "Diego!" he called. Ben's head snapped over to the alleyway to in fact see Diego had fallen out of the portal.

Diego had looked up, startled to see a sober looking Klaus, "We're in the 60s, Five messed up, come with me," Klaus said in a no nonsense tone, which was very not Klaus like, so Diego, in his shock, listened, "Don't sit in the front seat Ben is sitting there," Diego was again startled and then remembered Klaus made Ben appear before the world ended. Diego was then filled with guilt that he didn't believe Klaus that Ben had been with him. "He came with you?" was all he could get out. Klaus nodded and Diego got in the back of the van and they went off to a property out of town where Klaus had bought himself.

"So how long have been here?" Diego asked.

"A year," Klaus said looking a little depressed. He had already found Dave but Dave was a lot younger and had hit Klaus when he was trying to get him to admit that he was gay. Klaus took off Dave's dog tags but still kept them with him. "Wow, so you were the first to show up that makes you older than us by a year," Diego said.

"Technically Five is the oldest, I'm second oldest by a year and ten months," Klaus revealed. Diego looked at him curious as the dates didn't match up. "I was trying to get sober back in 2019 because I had grabbed one of the suitcases Hazel and Cha-Cha had and was transported to the Vietnam War," Klaus pulled out what looked like a blunt and lit it up, Diego was curious as it didn't smell like drugs, "I had met a man named Dave and we both fought in the Vietnam War as you saw in that picture, I had returned because Dave was killed, I was going to bring him back with me and I didn't care what Five would've thought but that didn't happen. I had gotten back to Academy faced with a worried Ben who hadn't gone with me, I think he did this time because he was touching me, and a Five who wouldn't leave me alone, he couldn't tell I was grieving, he just saw those dog tags," He pointed to Dave's tags, "and proceeded to tease me, to me it almost borderline insulting, and then left. He figured out about Vietnam because of this tattoo, and what I was wearing, but couldn't tell I was grieving and actually sober. That was when I figured out Ben could actually touch me because he sucker punched me," he glared at a blank area that Diego assumed was Ben, "Had siblings that didn't care I had gotten taken by Hazel and Cha-Cha and got tortured by them, until your lady friend who I am sorry got killed had appeared and helped me. Then I was immediately taken to the Vietnam war and came back to nobody checking if I was okay, nobody believed me about Ben, and I get told to be the damn lookout when we go to stop Vanya!" Klaus finally let out. Diego was feeling even more guilt, his brother did want help he just didn't say anything in hopes one of his siblings would show they cared. Diego pulled Klaus to him and held him as he cried, Ben watched on in sympathy realizing even he didn't really help Klaus, he just belittled him.

"So when I had appeared here with Ben, I ran into a woman and her husband, they seemed to have known what I am, and the best part was, the woman could see Ben!" Klaus smiled while Diego's eyes widened, "She had talked to me a little bit but I felt so calm around them like I had some connection to them. I felt like I could finally think clearly like my withdrawal symptoms have disappeared. The bag had a note from her and it had money, so I bought myself a van to live in for a bit and just bought some food and water. She gave me a stone that had pushed away ghosts unless I willed them forward, I had found that after she somehow knew there would be a ghost of a prostitute in my motel room and it worked she was gone, I had willed Ben to be able to pass the barrier. Soon I had gotten another thing of money to get a small property and she sent me a thing of herbs to smoke saying it would give the same effect as the drugs but I wouldn't be addicted, and she was right," Klaus finished. Diego was in shock especially after Klaus' hands glowed blue and Ben appeared next to him, "I didn't believe it either but it seems she is trustworthy," was all he said. Ben wasn't happy that his siblings didn't believe Klaus about him being there either.

Later they had found Vanya who had drunk a potion that was in the alley and regained their memories. They had been filled in on what Klaus experienced and was surprised. Ben had asked Klaus to make him visible and leave the room, because he wanted to say something himself, not possessing Klaus to do it. He knew Klaus does remember what happens when he got possessed. Vanya and Diego looked at Ben and flinched seeing his angry look. "I've been wanting to say this since 2019, I can't believe you two!" they both flinched, "Klaus isn't one to admit things, even to me, but he wanted help, he wanted somebody to care, I will admit I didn't do well with that either, but I have seen things that he's gone through, what he's experienced. To have Diego seem like he didn't care hurt him a bit, he just hid it and continued to get high, and Vanya, it hurt him deeply when you released that book, yes he did read it and I saw him cry," Ben looked teary eyed and so did Diego and Vanya, "He didn't want the world knowing about his drug problem, how low he had gotten, you both don't really know what he sees, I didn't either until I died. As he became more sober or when other ghosts noticed that I would talk to him and he would respond, they would surround him, and overwhelm him with their problems. After what he went through with Dad in the cemetery he's traumatized by it. When he was kidnapped and tortured they taped his mouth, bound his hands and feet and threw him in the closet. It took me an hour to get him to stop screaming, and that was mostly because he had screaming so much and so loudly, he lost his voice," now both Vanya and Diego were crying, realizing Klaus is the one who suffered the most out of them, Diego couldn't stop feeling the guilt, he knew Klaus had been taken but got distracted by his grief for his ex that finding Klaus was replaced with anger towards him as he assumed Klaus had gone for more drugs. He now remembered how heartbroken Klaus looked when he was told to be the look out when they went to stop Vanya.

Klaus had come back in, he did know what happened in the room he just didn't say anything, just enjoyed the hug that Vanya and Diego wrapped him in. That was when he saw a note appear; he knew it was from that couple. "What is it Klaus?"

"It's an address, and it says to bring you two, and it was signed by that couple. I guess we are really seeing them again Ben."

*Flashback Ends*