Ewan's hands wouldn't stay still.
He felt like lunging for Ben the second he was tugged out of his grip, but he just held his breath, watching the mortal walk into death.
It was horrendous. It took everything in him to keep his feet planted.
There was a plan, though, he just had to remember that. Ben was just going to grab the Enchantment and Chester was going to go back to Hell and never come back and-
There was no necklace.
Ewan's skin crept with chills and his blood ran cold. He sucked in a shaky breath, eyes going wide. He couldn't look to Ben fast enough, but all he found was an equally suspicious boy who saw the same thing.
Ewan didn't need to know Ben's nervous habits to know he was scared. He didn't need to watch Ben's jaw clench or see his feet dig into the dirt and he didn't even need to watch Ben look to Ewan with a look of pure, undeniable panic to know he was terrified.
Because now the situation was completely out of both of their hands.
But where could the Enchantment be? Not in his pockets, they were clearly empty...
It dawned on both of them at the same time.
"Gula," breathed Ben, "Gluttony - he ate it."
Chester roared in laughter as a reply, gripping Ben's arm so tightly that Ewan heard bones crunch again. The boy groaned in pain, squeezing his eyes shut, and Ewan couldn't stop himself.
He ran forward. He didn't know what he was doing or what he could do, but he lifted a hand and pushed.
His telekinetic energy sent Chester stumbling back. But he was strong and heavy and mainly just stayed planted. Though Ben had collapsed back, falling a good ten feet away from the demon. Blood seeped through his white sweater.
Ben scrambled to his feet and stared at Chester with wide eyes, panting nervously.
"What's wrong?" Chester asked. He squinted his eyes in confusion in Ewan's direction, red curls practically falling off, face coated in dried blood and white paint.
It made Ewan's heart hurt. Chester wasn't a bad guy - at least, not in terms of Hell. He was someone everyone loved, everyone loved to joke around with. In fact, he was the one that had taught Ewan how to use his telekinesis. He was practically a mentor.
That in mind, he didn't know how to reply. His hands were still outstretched - there was no denying he'd done it. So he had to think fast.
His eyes darted to Ben and their gazes met in a flurry of panic.
They were both asking the same question. How did they get the Enchantment out of Chester if it was in him?
"Ewan," said Chester firmly. A laugh erupted from him and he spread his arms out. "Why'd you do that?"
And Ewan couldn't think of a response. He didn't want to lie again and dig his grave deeper, tell Chester that Ben 'wasn't ready' or something. He didn't want to tell Chester not to eat Ben because that would result in a hungry monster coming for both of them. Relentlessly. And it would result in both of them dying.
"I understand!" proclaimed Chester, smiling broadly. "You wanted this to be a game of cat and mouse, didn't you? Yes!" he roared. "That sounds fun!"
Unsure of what to say, Ewan slowly brought himself to nod. Ben's eyes went wide and he gave Ewan a look that said 'are you serious?'
Chester turned to Ben, and Ewan took the opportunity to look at the other and shrug.
It was obvious Ben wouldn't stand a chance the second Chester caught him. Not when Chester had the strength of... well, something incredibly strong, probably an elephant or a blue whale if they had arms. So Ewan just had to think of a plan until then. Thankfully, 'then' might take a while because Chester wasn't the fastest demon in Hell.
Especially not in size 30 shoes that were probably twice the size of the clown's own feet.
The sound of sneakers scraping against the pavement snagged Ewan's attention. Ben was running like all Hell, cradling his broken arm, leaving the bigger demon int the dust. Ewan bit his lip as Chester began to stomp after him. Giggling like a child.
"Shit, shit, shit..." Ewan mumbled.
He ran a hand through his hair. There was nothing either of them could do - not when it came to getting something out of the demon's stomach. Ewan could try to phase through the clown's skin, but even then, he'd have to be solid again to grab the Enchantment. That would be like stabbing the man in the stomach.
And he wasn't even sure if he could phase.
But could he recover from that? Could he heal?
What if they got him to vomit it up?
Ewan's gaze darted to the sound of footsteps getting closer. He whirled and found Ben sliding over a kettle corn booth's counter. Despite his broken arm, he seemed very agile.
The ominous sound of Chester calling for him resounded. Chills raced down Ewan's spine.
Turning invisible, Ewan raced towards the booth, hopping over the counter as well. Ben didn't notice him and rather kept glancing over the counter to see if he could find Chester.
He was sitting behind the counter, sweat coating the neck of his white shirt.
"Ben," hissed Ewan, turning visible. He crouched in front of the other.
The boy gasped, looking at Ewan with wide eyes. Between heavy breaths, he said, "You've got a plan, right?"
"Mm, sort of," said Ewan, shifting nervously. He cleared his throat. "What if we got him to vomit it up?"
Ben scoffed, looking at Ewan with a look that clearly said 'are you that dumb?' He licked his lips. "And... how are we going to do that?"
"You'll... well, you'll need to get close to him. And then you can... shove-"
"I'm not shoving any of my appendages down his throat," hissed Ben.
Ewan raised an eyebrow. A dirty joke came to mind but he decided now was most certainly not the time. So he shook his head. "I was going to say shove a stick down his throat. Like a, uh..." He looked around before finding the big stirring spoon that was in the bowl of the kettle corn. He drew it out, examining it proudly. "Like this."
"I'm going to shove that into his throat," Ben said slowly, "and hope he, what, pukes out the Enchantment?"
It sounded dumb. But Ewan nodded. "Yes. Unless you'd like to shove your arm down his throat?"
"Unless there's any other plan that doesn't involve vomit and shoving things down people's throats," Ben seethed.
"There isn't," Ewan said. Sweat was trickling down his forehead and he didn't even know how that was possible. "There isn't. There's this or... people dying. Which I figure you care about, hm?"
Reluctantly, Ben snagged the spoon out of his hand. He examined it before clenching his jaw and glancing up at Ewan. "What if I don't get it in his throat?" breathed Ben. "What if he doesn't... th-throw up?"
"Well, that's the downside, isn't it," said Ewan. He took in a deep breath. "You'll have to kill him. Or he'll eat you."
"He'll-" Ben stopped himself, shaking his head. "Of course. Of course he will." He took in a deep breath. "But this way, no one else will die."
The demon hesitated before leaning forward and placing a gentle yet hurried kiss on Ben's forehead. "I believe in you."
Ewan wanted more time to appreciate the lovely little grin on Ben's lips.
"Oh, Ben," Ewan continued, "don't look down his throat. He's an Overseer, so he's got an ability to control people's minds."
"Oh," Ben replied. He clicked his tongue. "Cool."
Ewan sat back as Ben shoved himself to his feet with his good arm and pushed himself over the counter. Blood lingered on the ground where the mortal had been, staining the dirt.
Peeking over the counter, Ewan watched the scene unfold.
Ben stood out in the open, still panting, but now out of anxiety. He held the spoon loosely in his good arm's hand, and his bright blue eyes glanced around nervously. Yet somehow he held himself like a warrior. The world was big enough for him now. He was big enough for it, rather. He could handle it.
Chester came barreling around the corner just as soon as Ewan's shoulders relaxed, and they were both on the ground before he could breathe.
The boy landed on his stomach, and Ewan heard the gross sound of his head colliding with the dirt. When Chester grabbed Ben by the shoulder and turned him around so he was on his back, Ewan could see blood begin to dribble from a wound in his head.
Chester's jaw seemed to unhinge as he leaned over the mortal, ready to devour him. Ben looked absolutely terrified and his eyes locked with the Overseer's throat... down to the pit of his stomach.
They'd lost. Ben was now under the control of Chester and this whole plan had gone to shit and when Ewan got back to Hell, everything would be awful because now he had to step in and-
There was some sort of hollow clunk.
Ewan's gaze focused to find Ben had lodged the spoon deep into Chester's mouth, the other end propped against the ground beside his neck.
The Overseer's eyes were wide, staring down at Ben with an absent gaze. But Ben wasn't looking into his eyes. He was looking into Chester's mouth. His face had gone deathly pale and he was panting heavily, unsure of how to comprehend what he was seeing. Perhaps being lulled by the sight.
And then the demon's stomach contents began to spill out. But it wasn't... well, normal vomit. It was blood and bones and guts and everything in between. Ben had lifted his hand in time to create a shield over his face to block that, but his shirt wasn't so lucky.
With all the contents, an Enchantment clinked against the ground, landing face-up, coated in blood.
Carelessly and still trembling, Ben shoved his hand into the mess on the pavement and grabbed the Enchantment.
Chester roared in anger. He threw his head back, the spoon clattering to the ground, and a black mist escaped his mouth, pouring out, endlessly. The mist swirled in the air like a tornado before plummeting into the Enchantment. Until there was nothing left but the ringing in Ewan's ears.
The host collapsed in a lifeless fashion to the side. Ben shoved himself into a sitting position, looking at the man on the ground. Heart thundering, Ewan threw himself over the counter and collapsed to his knees in front of both of them.
With a bloody hand, Ben checked the man's pulse.
Everything fell deathly still. The sound of his thrumming heart was heard loudly in Ewan's own ears and he held his breath, vision blurring, already considering how this could damage Ben's conscious-
Gradually, Ben brought his gaze to Ewan. They shared a look before Ben breathed out a chuckle, slinging out his good arm to get some blood off.
"He's alive," he whispered. They both let out some tired, exasperated snickers and once the humor died down, Ben shook his head. Bones clattered off of the mortal as he stood up. Then a devilish grin swept over his lips. "And I didn't lose my head. Physically or mentally."
Ewan nodded. "That is weird. You should be... brain-dead right now." Their eyes shifted to the people who'd been used as target practice. They looked like zombies. "But you're not."
"Sorry?" Ben asked.
The only thing Ewan did was shrug. "No, it's... it's nice that you're not brain-dead. But it's also weird."
Once they got to the house, Ben simply got off and headed inside at the same time a car pulled up.
There was Gabrielle, getting out of the car and racing towards them. It was Elizabeth who's firm voice ripped from Gabrielle's throat.
"Gluttony left He-!" she began, but abruptly cut herself off.
It took her a moment to take into account the blood on Ben. Her eyes scanned him, and she went quiet for a second. Elizabeth licked her lips and directed her gaze back up to Ben's eyes. After a gross minute of silence, she mumbled, "But you knew that."
Ben lifted the Enchantment to show her before grimacing. His arm was still broken... right. Ewan sighed through his nose.
"Yeah," said the demon, "we know. And we - well, Ben... Ben basically exorcized him."
Elizabeth hesitated before adding, "I guess it's even worse news, then, that Wrath also escaped. And while I did manage to get Charlie's soul back-"
"That's awesome!" said Ewan. Finally, some good news. Of course, not killing the man Chester possessed had been good news, too, but this was just the cherry on top. This one wasn't molded.
"- Wrath said something before I left." She paused for some dumb dramatic effect that Ewan only found irritating. "He said he'd possess Charlie."