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Things had been going so well. They were alive, Vanya was making great strides in learning control, and they were together again- and with no fated apocalypse to force it upon them any longer. Things weren't perfect by any means, but they were happier than they'd ever been. But of course it couldn't last. Not for them. He was only meant to be the lookout. - He can see the fear in Klaus's eyes and it makes his chest ache. Ben holds his hand at Klaus's shoulder, he knows Klaus is too weak to make him tangible now: he would go right though. But he pretends. Pretends that he can comfort Klaus with his touch because he cannot bear to think about how alone Klaus must feel. How alone he himself felt those twelve years ago. The others were still fighting, they didn't see the blood; they had yet to discover just how much they were about to lose. Ben was all Klaus has right now. So.. he pretends it's okay. Maybe it can be. “Hey,” Ben's voice is gentle, comforting. He tries to be what he had wanted- needed - when it had been his time. “it’s gonna be okay.” “I'm.. scared” it comes out almost like a laugh. It always does when Klaus is nervous. And Klaus has always been scared of death, in more ways than anyone else could know. “I know. I- I know.” He knows. “But hey! At least we know what comes after, right? That's more than most people have. We can be together!” He tries to be positive. And he wants. He wants so badly for them to really be together again, more than anything. To touch... But it hurts to see Klaus like this; young and scared in a way he knew intimately well. Klaus smiles and It's beautiful and tragic all at once. He can't look away. “Together.” He looks down to Ben's hand on his shoulder, not truly touching, “together.” “Yeah,” he breathes. “I promise. We can be together, you won't have to be alone, and we can touch then. For real. I can, I can hold you and it won't drain you anymore- it won't hurt. We'll have forever.” Klaus breathes out a shaky breath, looking back up into Ben's eyes, “Forever..” His eyes close, “Promise?” “Of course! Of course, I promise .” His eyes are still shut, but the corner of his mouth lifts. He doesn't look quite so scared any more, “good… Good.” He sighs, then winces. “I love you.” “I love you, too.” There are tears on Ben's cheeks, he hadn't known he could still do that. “Forever, I promise, okay?” Klaus doesn't answer. He hears a shout from behind him and turns to see Diego rushing towards them. The fight must be over now. “Klaus!?” Diego crouches beside Klaus's prone form, going straight through Ben. Klaus is still quiet. There's voices yelling before suddenly-- nothing. He can't hear them. Ben's vision flickers as the others rush towards them. Suddenly it's dark. Ben looks back towards Klaus, but he's not there. He can't see him. Can't see anyone. Everything was gone; his family, the very building they were in, all gone. He's alone. He was supposed to be with Klaus. He wasn't supposed to be alone. But he can't be because there's sound- all around him. He knows the sound. That moving, shifting, whipping, slithering sound had haunted him since he was a child, but he hoped. He hoped he was mistaken. He prayed that he was wrong and that it was something- anything- else. It's so dark. To dark to see. It hadn't been dark before. His breathing quickens and his eyes dart around as they adjust to the darkness. He can make out shapes now. He can see them. The beings that he's tried so hard to control, the ones that he was so scared he would lose control of. He doesn't know what happened. He doesn't understand. He was with his family- they were fighting together, Klaus had been hurt , he'd promised..- but suddenly They're all that's there. No more klaus. No more family. Only darkness and the beasts that had made him terrified of himself. The reason people always stood a little too far from him. The reason he was called The Horror . He can no longer feel them shifting inside him as they always had. They surrounded him now, as he once did them. It makes him feel empty in a way he never has before, even in death. His heart is racing. “Klaus? KLAUS?!” He was supposed to be with him . “... F-five? Vanya?! Please!” He doesn't know how he got here. He's shaking, tears in his eyes. He's scared. He doesn't know what to do. He wants to go back. A familiar tentacle wraps around his ankle. “Don't!” he sobs, moving away. It's easier to shake off than he expected. He runs. Besides the beasts he can only see darkness, but he runs anyways. Away from the beasts. Only to find others. They're everywhere. Run runs until he can't any longer, then he walks- tentacles reaching and grabbing- until he can do that no longer either. He can't escape them. There's nowhere to go where they can't see him. He's tired. He wants to go home. “Please! I'm sorry! Please, Klaus! I promised, I'm sorry, I promised! Please! Klaus!” He was supposed to be with Klaus. He wished for Klaus to summon him back like he did any time Ben strayed away for too long. But… he's dead now. He can't summon him anymore, he's… stuck. They were supposed to be together. He doesn't know how long it's been since he disappeared- hours at least. He only knows that he left Klaus alone. They're both alone now. But he's not alone. He looks up dead into the eyes of the beast. The beast looks back.
He's too tired to be scared.