Casper & James & Max & Ben
Location: The Tree
Skills: Mediumship, Summoning, Omega Level Healing, Magick
"So, um, not that I wasn't totally paying complete attention or anything but... I kinda forgot the entire plan, since my brain is freaking out that I now have a kid AND my dead bestie might now become my alive bestie?" Casper blurted, pacing back and forth slightly. Ben was sitting next to his own body with his legs crossed.
"So... What is it you need me to do? I mean Ben is here, I can say hi to Ben, but I feel like you want something more? I've never done this before, you know, and I do not test well under pressure... I mean I never test well but.... Help?"Caspers pacing and anxiety was starting to rub off on Max a little. He had already had some pre-resurrection jitters but now they were beginning to crawl up his skin thanks to Caspers own feelings. He held his hand out, placing it on his shoulder in an attempt to get him to slow down or simply stop pacing.
"Calm down. You're making me anxious and we don't need an anxious spellcaster when we are about to attempt to raise the dead." Max took in a deep breath and held it for a count of five before finally letting it out slowly.
"I'm not asking you to do anything you haven't already done countless times. I need you to find Ben's soul, and bring him forth to us. Manifest his entire soul. We can't have any missing pieces." He tried to sound cool, calm, and collected. Not wanting to show the dangerous undertone of
he'll become evil and potentially murderous if you don't have a complete soul as it might make Casper freak out even more.
"How do I know what an entire soul is?" Casper asked, not calming down much despite Max's best efforts. People never really asked Casper to do anything delicate or thorough before - people never really asked him to do
anything really. He just sorta tagged along, manifesting Ben on occasion when fights happened, but no one ever went up to Casper and gave him specific instructions on what to do. And the pressure was getting to him.
"Can I practice on a rabbit, maybe? Can we bring back a bunny?"James bopped his head in time with the rock in his headphones, Halestorm drowning out Casper and Max's anxious energy. Ben's corpse was an absolute mess, the violent lacerations and bullet wounds suggesting he was in deep shit when he died, and the more he sifted through the remains, the less optimistic he felt about this. There wasn't anything physically blocking the process but between his insides being as shook up as alcohol in a shaker and the degree of decay, it was going to be a hard sell and that wasn't even involving the danger he could potentially be putting himself in here.
James peeled off his gloves once he was satisfied and popped one of his ear buds out,
"Gunna be honest here guys, this is gunna be rough. Ben's insides are a disaster so before we can even start, I need some references for where everything is supposed to be. There is an argument for scooping everything out and growing it from scratch but one, I've never done that much and two, I'd feel more comfortable with a base line. Max, you think you can hunt some down or do you think you can make some that are accurate? And then…" James hesitated, seeing how Casper was already a little nervous. They could cross the details of the danger later.
"A defibulator, just in case.""Like.... Like book references?" Casper asked, uncertain as to what exactly James needed.
"Or... another dead body of a person who has a pocket dimension in their stomach that sprouts tentacles?" Casper then clarified.
"Or just any sort of dead body?" Casper asked. He was feeling more confused and anxious the longer this went on. He didn't want to hurt Ben. He really didn't.
"Casper, calm down - it's going to be fine," Ben said.
"Just breathe and trust James. He knows what he's doing. And I guess Max does too."As Casper continued to panic, Max was already hard at work trying to make something that could aid James with what he wanted. He waved his hand, magic flowing out of them and settling nearby James until it solidified into a game of Operation. Casper still rambling about getting more bodies for James. Without knowing it, Max spoke in unison with Ben though his tone was different, more as if he was trying to convince himself and Casper at the same time.
"Casper calm down. It's going to be fine. Everything is fine. Now…let me concentrate a bit please" He puffed out air from the corner of his mouth. Blowing away a tuft of hair from his face.
His hands trembled slightly as he held them out, trying once more to create a 3D model for James to use as reference. His tongue poked out the side as he concentrated on what he was making. A model being created before him showcasing all of the organs in the order they lay encased inside a plastic body. Max let out an exasperated sigh as he saw they weren't removable as he'd hoped.
"That help?"“Yeah, it will. Think you can pull off that defibrillator too?” James asked as he pulled out his other earbud and tucked them away in his pocket. Casper was an anxious mess and James couldn’t blame him. It wasn’t like they were resurrecting some random person they yanked out of the grave. This was Ben, a person who had been at Casper's side just as long as he’d been in the grave, and even ignoring the ever growing pile of unknowns about this, Casper’s life was going to change one way or another from this. His best friend would be able to leave, have a chance at a whole new life, in a way Casper probably hadn’t ever considered. James stepped away from the body and gently snagged Casper’s arm, reeling them in until their noses touched.
“Hey, handsome.” James spoke softly as he unabashedly admired the color of Casper’s eyes.
“Talk to me, baby. What you thinking right now?”Casper's eyes were watering. He stilled slightly at James touch, his jittering pacing coming to a halt. He breathed in, before looking back in James' eyes.
"What if I kill Ben?" Casper whispered.
"What if I destroy his soul or.... or I don't know, break him or something? And it's all my fault?" There was a part of him that was terrified of the change this would bring, of no longer always having Ben around, but the fear at the front of his mind was that everything would go horribly wrong. People always joked about Max breaking everything he touched, but Casper had a similar sort of problem - his father used to shout at him that he could never do anything right. And here he was, being asked to help with something that had to go
perfectly - and Casper didn't think he was good enough for the job.
"It's my resurrection and you're making it all about you," Ben muttered bitterly under his breath.
Max watched as James and Casper shared a tender moment. He couldn't help but overhear what Casper was saying. His words resonated within him. He knew how Casper was feeling right now, because it was exactly how Max was feeling at this very moment. Even James, who continuously praised Max's powers, viewed Max like a mistake waiting to happen. Everyone did. And he couldn't fault them either, he'd had blowouts before. Spouts of uncontrollable power. For all his confidence, it was mostly bluster and hoped that he could actually achieve what he wanted. Yet here he was, trying to do something only the elite had ever accomplished. A resurrection.
Max wanted to say something to Casper. To lift his spirits and calm his nerves. Something that told him he wasn't a mistake or a fuck up or even just a junkie flatscan with a stretchy brother. But it wasn't his place to speak. James was there for him, just like Harry was there for Veil, and Marrow was for Sunshine. His heart ached for a moment as he felt alone for the first time in a long while. But he pushed the thoughts down, suppressing them as he focused on James' request. He tried to think of where to start, and when he'd finally thought he had it he snapped his fingers in a fit of excitement. His magic sprung to life and created a perfect defibrillator right before him.
“What we are attempting here is nothing short of a miracle. There is an element of risk to all parties involved, not just Ben, but if we want this to succeed, we have to accept that and put our energy into figuring this out. All three of us have fucked up and fucked up bad in the past. A demon took Magik’s soul because I couldn’t keep her alive. I still have nightmares about how death felt, how her soul was taken, how Sunshine grieved afterwards because I failed to save someone important to her. But it doesn’t mean I’ll fail here. If anything, it makes me more determined to succeed because Ben deserves a second chance to live.” James whispered back, barely even breaking eye contact to blink.
“You won’t fuck this up, Casper. It doesn’t matter what anyone else has told you, it doesn’t matter what your bitch ass father told you, because I know you better than all of them. And I know not only are you loving and intelligent as hell but powerful and determined too. If you put your all into this, pour every bit of care for Ben into making this work, then I have no doubt that you’ll do perfectly. I have always believed in you even when you’ve doubted yourself and that isn’t stopping now because you are fucking amazing and no one is stopping my man from getting his best friend back.If Casper hadn't been on the verge of tears before, he
definitely was now. He didn't try to stop the tears from flowing though, letting them fall as he hugged James tightly. Somehow, his amazing soulmate always knew the right thing to say.
"Okay," Casper sniffled.
"You're also, like, really hot right now and should give this speech again later," Casper whispered.
"Alright, let's fucking do this!" he exclaimed, stepping away from James and rubbing his hands together.
"We're gonna bring back Ben! And then we're gonna go get wasted to celebrate!"Max listened in to James' little rallying speech. He had to give him credit, he gave damn good motivational speeches. But as he began to mention Magik and how he'd failed her, a knot formed in his stomach. He hadn't failed Magik, hell Magik hadn't even died. From their perspective she had passed on and been claimed by a demon into the afterlife. In reality she had just been taken across the pond to go fight in some superhero team over there. Now wasn't the time to mention it, he didn't need to ruin the foundations James had already laid down to get Casper where he was now. But he would need to pull James aside later to let him know of just how perfect he actually is.
Max clapped his hands in an attempt to get their attention, shaking off some of the nerves and concerns he had himself.
"Alright. Well if everyone's ready then we have to start with James. Because before we can do anything we need Ben's body in working order. That'll be step one." He had no full idea what he was doing, but he knew this needed to happen. They needed this win.
James snorted at Casper's enthusiasm as he turned his attention to Max. No one was getting wasted after this because no one had any idea how someone resurrected would react and frankly, James was 99.9% sure they were going to need to keep an eye on Ben.
"Let me get the organs in shape first and then we'll get started." He said, pulling on a new set of gloves. James scrunched his nose as he opened bags of organs, checking and double checking with Max's statue as he did. Once he was satisfied with everything's placement, he looked at Max and Casper.
Both were eager to get this started and he could only imagine Ben was as well. Honestly, James wasn't even sure this was possible; this was a fucking corpse, not a living, breathing creature, and James hadn't ever tried to restore something that wasn't alive. And not to mention the little caveat that typically vitals between who he was healing and himself aligned but how would that happen with a God damned cadaver? He's had brushes with death before and each one left him shaking, terrified, and with his heart on the verge of stopping. Hopefully, Max and Casper could figure out how to use the defibrillator if it came to that.
James peeled off his gloves and dropped them in the trash, taking a steadying breath before placing his hands directly on Ben's corpse. It was an unpleasant experience but James shoved that down, closed his eyes, and focused. It was different that a living being. There was normally breath, a pulse, some warmth even if it was fading, but the emptiness started early. The familiar sinking felt distant, syncing up to something still, cold, and quiet, as he pushed and pushed, trying to get something,
anything, to respond but it was like trying to push a mountain. There was no one to heal, no processes to coax along, nothing that suggested this was possible.
He couldn't breath. His lungs burned, screaming for air, even as he felt his heart slow down further and further and further. The familiar roar of blood in his ears dwindled further and further and further until there was nothing, nothing, nothing tethering him to the here and now. The clutch of emptiness reached into his chest, a cold and lonely feeling, and flashes of memories flickered in his eyes: Luna gasping surrounded by glass, Magik still and unmoving on concrete, Casper bleeding out a floor covered in confetti and glitter. He couldn't catch his breath, couldn't feel his heartbeat, couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't…
He sucked in a breath as he felt a familiar connection and he chased it, pushing everything he had into that feeling. He felt flesh and muscle and bone shift and grow, sluggish at first but as he rode the high of living, it came faster and faster and faster. Dulled, pale skin darkened to a healthy hue and gashes and rot closed and healed. When he opened his eyes, the steady thump of Ben's heart under his hand gave the illusion the boy on the table was sleeping.
"Well, fuck. Step 1 complete, I guess. James laughed, breathless and lightheaded after the ordeal.
Casper started to panic, able to tell when his true love was in horrible shape. He had almost screamed for them to stop when James took in a sudden breath, and Ben's corpse started to look not nearly as decayed as when they had begun. He looked more alive than Casper could have even remembered. Ben (the ghost, not the corpse) was tearing up slightly - Casper hadn't even known it was possible for ghosts to cry.
"This is going to work...It's going to work!""Is that me then? That's me then, right?" Casper stammered, feeling hope swelling up in his heart, so much hope it could've broken his chest. Casper didn't know how he was going to do this, and as much as he had been completely terrified less than ten minutes ago, James' speech and James' victory over death had inspired him. Somehow, while Casper didn't
know what needed to be done, he could
feel it - he had always been more emotionally intelligent than intellectually intelligent anyways. He focused on every memory he had with Ben - the good, the bad, and the ugly. He focused on his best friend, on how much he couldn't wait to have Ben back, on how good it would feel to finally make right what had happened all those years ago.
Blue energy started swirling around not only just Casper, whose eyes were like two glowing orbs at this point, but the living corpse of Ben Hargreeves. The corpse began to float ever so slightly off the ground. Ben's ghost was suddenly visible to everyone, as Ben was drawn into his own corpse, merging with it, the blue light growing more and more intense until no one was really sure where Ben ended and the living corpse began.
"Max, you're it!!!!!" Casper shouted. The blue spiritual energy was humming loudly, a vibration they could all feel inside their skulls.
Max stood by, dumbfounded as he watched James not only mend a broken corpse, but as his lover began to radiate a brilliant blue energy that resonated with the body of Ben. He could
feel the immense power humming through him as Caspers words finally sunk in. Ben's body was placed in the center of the space, his head pointed towards an array of candles that were unlit above his head like the canopy of a tree. More candles spread out towards his feet, farther apart and in waving lines acting as the tree's root system while Ben's body made up the trunk. Max stood by Ben's left side, worry filling him as he was afraid he'd mess this all up.
Casper and James had played their parts better than could ever be hoped, and now it all fell to Max to bring it home. A shaky breath escaped him as he summoned his soul staff and began to infuse it with magic. He raised it up high, slamming it down into Ben's center hoe Pixie had instructed him. At first nothing happened. The room was silent save for the humming of Caspers powers and the now raspy inhale of Max as he worried he'd messed it all up. He closed his eyes, letting out a smooth and calmed inhale. Imagining how his powers would flow through him and into Ben, tethering his body to his soul. He thought of the symbolism and why he'd chosen this space, Pixie's space, to perform the ritual. A hollowed tree in complete privacy as if made for this exact thing.
Max thought of Yggdrasil, the sacred tree of the Norse and its other moniker The Tree of Life. A symbol of Life, Death, and Rebirth and whose roots extended through the realms. As he focused on his powers, and how they would meld with the space around him, all the candles began to light in a golden hue before flickering to match the same blue of Caspers powers. It started with one candle, then another, as the canopy of the makeshift World Tree began to come into light, flowing towards Ben's body who now radiated with Casper and Max's powers before the light extended and moved into the roots of the candles below his feet.
Rebirth. Max let out another long and steady breath now laced with cosmic magic as it flowed between two lungs and into Ben's giving him the breath of life.
James had often wondered when he met God, what would he feel? Now in the presence of the love of his life and his best friend, James imagined it would feel much like this. Watching death and life bend at the command of mere mortals was both humbling and exhilarating, both awe inspiring and terrifying. He nearly teared up as, despite all Casper’s hesitations and doubts, the blue of Casper’s power engulfed him and Ben alike, bringing soul and body into one. Confidence looked amazing on his man and not the facade he put on in the morning and wore like armor. Casper looked like he realized he was powerful and James never wanted Casper to doubt it again.
And Max. Honestly, while their daily lives drifted a little further since Genosha, James never stopped thinking of Max as his best friend. They’d gotten into this mess together and they’d get out of it together too. James held firm to that belief even when Max drifted to the Hellfire Club and he was so god damn glad he did. Seeing Max in front of him, slowing down, keeping his panic under control, refocusing and bringing his full range of skill to bear was a goddamn masterpiece, a far cry from the startled boy who thought no one saw him accidentally make a pillow with his crush’s face on it. He almost started crying, pride and love and plain wonder wetting his eyes, but they had a mission. He could cry later.
They’d played their parts: a body to live, a soul to bind, and the magic to do it. James reached out, gently touching Ben’s hand where he still floated in a halo of light.
“Ben?” James called softly, unsure how he’d adjust to a permanent physical form so connecting just in case something went wrong.
"Come on, buddy - open those gorgeous gorgeous eyes for us," Casper asked, the blue fading from around him and around Ben. He could feel it deep inside - that Ben was no longer in the Void, that he had found his way back to the living. A stupid grin spread across Casper's face. Sure, it was a little weird that Ben was more or less a teenager (Casper hadn't questioned it when Ben's ghost seemed to age in the afterlife) - but he was just so happy to have his best friend back. The fears and worries that had been eating away at him were absent, at least for the moment.
Ben coughed and opened his eyes. It had been an intense rush of sensation, like stabbing himself with all the adrenaline a hospital could supply while competing in the Olympics and belting out a song all at once. Every bit of his being felt fried beyond recognition. He had forgotten too the sounds of his own body - the feeling of having blood pumping through his veins, the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, the little tingles going up through his body that began at his toes.
Ben started coughing profusely. He opened his mouth and tried to speak, only to find that he couldn't really. His mouth was as dry as a desert - maybe even drier. Ben held up his left hand, and folded down his pinky and thumb. He tapped his index finger to his chin. He knew Casper didn't know sign language, but maybe either Max or James did? Ben was in desperate need of some water.
It took a moment, mostly due to shock, but Max had recognized the motion Ben was making. He took enough ASL in school to get a few words, nothing that he'd consider himself fluent in. One of the few sentences he even knew how to sign was
The boy is drinking water. The sign brought a smile to his face, a stupid dopey smile.
"What? The McDonald's wasn't enough?" he teased as he twirled his wrist counterclockwise and a large glass of water appeared in his hand.
"It's good to see you buddy. Like, actually see you." Max offered the glass of water towards Ben, giving James a bit of a look as he saw his hand on Ben.
He wished he could know what he was feeling. How his vitals were, or even his mental state. He desperately wished to know the full outcome, but all he would know for now is that to an extent it worked. Ben didn't seem like a homicidal mutant with a missing soul so far. He realized they were starting to crowd around Ben a bit.
"Um, Should we give him some space? Let him drink and breathe before we all tackle him into a group hug he so desperately deserves?"James let out a sigh of relief. They'd actually managed to bring someone back from the fucking dead. When Max first explained it, he could barely wrap his head around the idea but here they fucking did it. He let Max figure out what Ben needed bit shook his head at Max's suggestions.
"I'm going to stay in contact with him until I'm sure he can stand and function fine. I'm still not 100% convinced we succeeded with a perfect success."Ben gulped down the water desperately, only to cough. His throat felt like it was full of sand. His body had been reanimated, but that didn't wash the taste of death out of his mouth. Everything felt stunningly vivid and yet sliding out of focus, like looking through 3D glasses at the movies and then suddenly taking them away. The weight of his head felt weird and unnatural as he turned to look at James, trying to reassure them all that he was fine, that he felt
great - only for Ben to suddenly lurch and begin to vomit up
maggots. Most of the maggots were dead, likely killed by the embalming fluid used. Other gunk was coming up with the maggots, litering the floor of Arbor Magna.
"Oh my god, this is so gross..." Casper murmured, feeling a little queasy himself. He was naturally a bit squeamish, especially when it came to his best friend VOMITING MAGGOTS! Casper closed his eyes, doing all he could to not puke himself.
"How nasty was the water you gave him, Maxie?" Casper then asked. It was unclear whether Casper genuinely believed that it was Max's fault or not.
The vomiting ceased and finally Ben spoke. His voice was soft and broken, sounding like a smoker on their deathbed - but it was
him all the same. "Ugh... McDonalds..."
The room was filled with the dim glow of blue light from the candles. No flames, only mystic light that remained after the ritual had ended. There was a bit of nervousness in the air as everyone seemed to wonder
just how successful it had all actually gone. While Ben seemed to be doing fine, he suddenly lurched forward and began to vomit up dead maggots and other things. Max's stomach dropped immensely and then tried to bounce back up with such force that he himself thought he might vomit. The lights suddenly flickered and ceased, illuminating the blue glow from the room.
"Ben. That. Smells…rancid" Max tried not to look, afraid he may throw up.
"Listen I heard ghosts liked McDonalds ok?"
