𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 ~ 𝗞𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀

~ Chapter Nine ~

Pogo's words continued to echo in Klaus's mind as he tried to sleep. He couldn't help but start to feel guilty for taking that box, but he needed an escape from all the ghosts that would haunt him constantly. His eyes slowly fluttered open, and he met the eyes of Ben, who was creepily watching him. "Jesus, Ben!" He gasped. "The guilt's getting to you, isn't it?" Number Six asked, knowing full well what the answer was. "No!" Klaus denied. Ben gave him a glare that silently told him he knew he was lying.

Letting out a sigh, Klaus quickly caved into the truth. "Pogo said there was important stuff in that box. Hopefully that stuff might still be in the trash," Klaus said, standing up and slipping on his black leather pants that exposed the sides of his legs. "You better hope no one took that stuff. Otherwise, you're in deep shit," Ben sighed. Klaus quickly climbed down the side of The Academy via the fire escape and landed in the garbage container below. He searched for about an hour with no luck, and with that passing hour, he was becoming more and more frustrated and anxious.

"Damn it! Where is dad's stuff?" He asked himself. Ben's ghost sat on the small balcony as he watched his brother continue the search. "Could we go see a movie? Or the ocean?" He asked. "Shut up! I'm trying to find whatever priceless crap was in that priceless box so that Pogo will get off my ass!" Klaus groaned in frustration. Unknown to him, Five was climbing down the ladder with a large duffel bag over his shoulders. "I'd ask what you're up to, Klaus. But then it occurred to me, I don't care," Five smirked as he jumped onto the ground.

"You know there are easier ways out of the house, buddy?" Klaus asked, moving to the edge of the large plastic container to better talk to his brother. "This way involved the least amount of talking, or so I thought," Five said in his classic smart-aleck tone. "You need any more company today? I could clear my schedule," Klaus offered, taking a small sip of alcohol from his silver flask. "Looks like you've got your hands full," Five declined.

"Oh, I can do this whenever. I just misplaced something," Klaus looked down into the garbage, and picked up a leftover piece of a glazed donut and took a bite out of it. Ben held back the urge to gag as he watched Klaus's disgusting actions. "Mmm, delicious!" He said as he took another bite of the piece. "I'm done funding your drug habit Klaus," Five said before walking towards a large truck, his bag still in hand. "I love you! Even if you can't love yourself!" Klaus called out as Five started the truck and drove off. 

~~~~~~~

Dusk walked down the stairs towards the kitchen, where Allison and Luther were sitting at the dining table, watching Grace make them breakfast. "Morning," she groaned, rubbing the tired out of her eyes. "Good morning, Dusky," Allison said, staring down at her empty plate. "Is everything okay?" the raven asked, taking notice of Allison's blank expression. A second later, Grace turned and walked over to Dusk, sliding a plate with eggs and bacon in front of her.

Once Grace's back was turned, Allison grabbed Dusk's arm, getting her attention before she could take a bite. "There's something going on we need to talk to you about. It's about mom," Allison whispered. "What do you mean? She's right there, nothing's wrong with her," Dusk softly whispered, looking over to make sure that Grace wasn't looking. "We'll tell you later. Meet us in the living room after you're done," Luther whispered before he and Allison walked out of the dining room.

"Does it taste good?" Grace asked, slightly peering over her shoulder. Dusk picked up her fork and took a small bite of her food and swallowed it, feeling the rubbery eggs slide down her throat. "It's delicious, Mom. Thank you," She answered. After she finished eating, she met up with Allison and Luther in the living room.

"So, what's going on with Mom?" She asked, taking a seat on the couch. "She's hiding something. We saw security footage of Dad's death. Mom was there, and she didn't even help him," Luther explained. Dusk's eyes grew wide. She never imagined Grace hurting their father. but it also wasn't like her to walk away when someone was injured. "That's impossible, Luther," She shook her head in denial. "Grace knew what she was doing," Luther said, looking down at the ground before meeting Dusk's eyes again.

"This morning, she was Mom," Allison piped up. "She's a machine, Allison," Luther sighed. "Luther, she read to us and cleaned up after us and put us to bed. And then we left her here, alone in this house for 13 years. I wouldn't blame her if she lost her mind. To be away from your kids?" Dusk protested. Allison's face fell whenever she mentioned being away from kids. "Did I say something?" the raven asked, quickly growing worried by her words. "No, it's not you. Something happened with Patrick and Claire, and I don't want to talk about it," Allison explained. Dusk nodded understandingly before getting up and walking out of the room, feeling a giant weight come onto her shoulders.

Back in the living room, Allison took a seat on the couch. Luther looked over at her with a concerned look. "What happened with Claire and Patrick? You never told me," Luther asked. "I said,  I don't want to talk about it," Allison sighed, placing her head in her hands. "It's just when we were kids, we used to sit in here and tell each other everything," The Rumor looked up at him, feeling a sense of comfort with talking to him about it. She explained to him how she had to take mandated therapy before she would be allowed to visit her daughter after her ex-husband discovered that she was using her powers on her.

"From the time I was little, I used it to get everything I wanted. With Dad, with my career. But now, I know nothing in my life was real. So I'm starting over. I just didn't think it would be so hard," She finished. "Some things just take time," Luther said comfortingly. A small smile spread across her face and she held hope that things would in fact get better for her. But even then, she felt uneasy about the fate of their remaining caretaker, now that they had seen the security footage from that fateful night.