Klaus' eyes widened as he looked around the room. He was in complete awe, taking in the vibrant paintings and intricate graffiti that adorned every surface.

"Wow," Klaus mumbled, his head turning constantly as each glance revealed something even more impressive than the last.

"Hey, NightShade," a voice called from another room. Karma emerged, walking toward Klaus. "You made it."

Still admiring the artwork, Klaus responded, "Yeah, I did."

"Oh yeah, it's your first time seeing our main base," Karma remarked, noticing Klaus' fascination with the art.

"These works, they're amazing," Klaus said, finally tearing his eyes away from the walls.

"Yeah, we come here to practice, kill time, or when the cops get too heavy in the city," Karma explained.

Klaus nodded, finding the explanation reasonable. "So why was I called here?" he asked after a moment.

"Don't worry about that for now," Karma replied. "Let's wait for the rest of the team."

After a few minutes, Ghost arrived at the building. His expression soured upon noticing Klaus' presence, but he accepted it with a resigned sigh. Shortly after, Aura rushed into the building, dropping her bag by the entrance and hurrying over.

"Sorry I'm late," Aura said, slightly out of breath. "I had a family thing I couldn't get out of."

"It's alright," Karma replied. "As long as everything's fine."

"Yeah, all good," Aura responded, joining the group.

She gave Klaus a friendly smile and whispered, "Hi." Klaus nodded in response.

Once everyone had settled, Karma stepped up to address the group. "First off, I want to thank you all for coming on such short notice. I know we haven't done any work for over a week because I was out of town, but I'll be around more consistently from now on."

"Out of town?" Klaus whispered in surprise, this being the first he’d heard of it.

"Yeah, he mentioned it before he left," Aura explained. "Didn't you get the text?"

"I don't really read my texts," Klaus admitted, quickly scrolling through his phone and finding the message. He looked back up as Karma began to explain further.

"Anyway, the reason I called everyone here today is that we've been working together for a while now. It's been about half a year or so, and well over two months with NightShade. Given all the scenarios we've been through, I see you guys as family now."

Klaus reflected on how long it had been since he joined Wallpaper, realizing it had been much longer than he thought since the whole Higher World situation.

"And with that in mind, I figured it was time for us to finally reveal ourselves to each other."

The announcement took everyone by surprise.

"What?" Ghost exclaimed, eyes wide with shock. Even Klaus was taken aback. Not because the idea was shocking, but because he hadn't realized that none of them had revealed their true identities before he joined.

"Look..." Karma continued. "I realize this may come as a shock. You don't have to do it if it makes you uncomfortable, but I feel ready, so I'm going ahead with it regardless."

A few seconds of silence followed. Karma's determination to reveal himself, even if no one else did, made it hard for them to refuse.

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"I'm okay with it," Aura said, breaking the silence. "I mean, it would've happened sooner or later."

Klaus and Ghost exchanged glances before Ghost spoke up. "It's not like I was against it, I was just surprised."

Everyone then turned to Klaus, who hadn't said anything yet.

"You don't have to, but do you think the request is okay?" Karma asked him.

Klaus scanned the room, seeing everyone looking at him, awaiting his response. He sighed before giving the expected reply.

"I guess."

Karma's face lit up with happiness, seeing they were all on board. Klaus felt there was no point in hiding his identity from them since it didn't seem like a threat. He wasn't sure if he didn't care or if he was just comfortable enough with them to do so at the moment.

"Great, so in what order do we go?" Karma asked the team.

Everyone exchanged hesitant glances, not wanting to be the first. Klaus, noticing the reluctance, suggested, "Since you guys were a team before I joined, it would make more sense if you all went before me."

"Or you just want to go last," Ghost muttered.

"But he's right," Aura said. "We’ve been here longer, so we should start first."

Ghost sighed heavily. "Fine, then I'll go first."

"Then I can go next," Aura added, meaning Karma would go before Klaus.

They all agreed with this plan, deciding not to waste any more time.

"You can start by unmasking and then share a bit about yourself," Karma clarified.

"Fine," Ghost said as he stepped forward.

After a brief pause, Ghost finally revealed himself, removing the mask that covered the lower half of his face and dropping his hood. He had wavy black hair that wasn’t too long—something they already knew since he’d been seen without his hood before. His brown eyes and decent-looking face were now fully visible.

"Hi," Ghost began. "My name is Cody Simmons, also known as Ghost. I'm sixteen. I dislike overcrowded places, and I like art and music."

After Ghost finished, he stepped back, and Aura moved forward, removing her mask and hood.

Initially, Klaus wasn’t fully invested in learning the identities of his teammates. He had spaced out a bit when the unmasking began. However, as Aura stepped up and revealed herself, she inexplicably drew his full attention.

Aura had jet-black hair that reached the back of her neck, held together by a red scrunchie. Her deep blue eyes perfectly matched the T-shirt she wore under her black hoodie. What made Aura truly stand out was her stunning beauty. Klaus found himself staring in disbelief; she was possibly the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, which was surprising considering he had encountered girls with divine genetics. Notably, Aura appeared to be makeup-free, which made sense given the nature of their activities and her use of a mask.

After a moment, Aura began her introduction.

"Hi, my name is Avalon Smith. I actually just turned seventeen a few weeks ago, so there’s that. I don’t really have any dislikes, except for pineapple pizza—it sucks. My likes are painting, reading books, and basic outdoor activities."

When Aura finished, she returned to her place. A few seconds of silence followed before Karma stepped forward to break it.

"I guess it's my turn," he said, moving to the center of the group.

"Wait," a voice muttered, drawing everyone's attention to Klaus. Karma stopped in his tracks and turned to face him, sensing Klaus had something to say.

"Can I go ahead instead?" Klaus asked. Karma was surprised but decided to accommodate Klaus' request.

"Sure, NightShade. Go ahead," Karma said, stepping back.

Klaus walked forward, feeling everyone's eyes on him. It seemed strange that he wanted to go before Karma, but the truth was that he just wanted to get it over with. He was getting bored and wanted to move on to something else.

As Klaus reached the front, he removed his mask and hood, revealing himself to the rest of Wallpaper for the first time. Just as he revealed himself, he heard a whisper.

"Oh my God, you're hot."

Klaus and the rest of the team turned to Aura, who had muttered the words. Realizing everyone had heard her, she turned bright red, laughing nervously and looking away.

"D-Did I say that out loud?" Aura stammered, her embarrassment evident.

Klaus understood her awkwardness and tried to ease the situation, but his attempt only made it more embarrassing for Aura.

"I'd say the same for you," he replied.

Aura's eyes widened as she processed Klaus' comment. Ghost, not enjoying the direction of the conversation, quickly stepped between Aura and Klaus, attempting to end the topic.

"Hey, you didn't introduce yourself yet. Go ahead and do that," Ghost said, turning to Klaus.

Klaus sighed. He had hoped to skip that part of the introduction but knew he had to follow through.

"I'm Klaus Walker. I'm seventeen. I don't have any likes, and I don't have any dislikes."

With that, Klaus moved back to his initial spot. But before he could get there, a statement drew everyone's attention once again.

"Wow, I was actually right."

Everyone turned to Karma, who was walking toward Klaus. "I had a hunch, but I didn't expect it to be true."

Klaus stared at Karma in confusion, trying to piece together what he meant, But Karma's next words left him in shock.

"We met before, in Higher World."

Klaus's eyes widened. He knew what this statement from Karma meant.

"Who are you?" he asked as Karma stepped to the front of the team. Karma raised his hand, placed it on his mask, and slowly took it off.

As Klaus saw Karma's face, recognition hit him hard. He couldn't believe he hadn't realized it sooner.

"It's you."