Ghosted (Zels Supernatural AU)

Chapter Eleven - Help

"Etho, pass out the necklaces now," Tango instructed the white-haired man. He opened the chest in his hands as Ren pulled himself up from behind Wels and almost robotically joined the line once again.

Necklaces with an eye-shaped charm were handed to each hooded member. They all held them until Tango put his own, to which they all followed.

Zedaph could feel all of their eyes on him and a shiver of anxiety ran down his spine.

Tango's smile widened, his eyes softening. "That's better. It's been so long since I've seen you, Zedpah. Since we've all seen you."

He protectively stood partially in front of Wels, tightly hugging himself. "Zedaph?" He heard Wels whisper from behind him.

"I don't care if it means I'm stuck like this forever but I'm not letting you bring me back," Zed boldly declared, ignoring Wels for the time being.

Tango pouted, tilting his head to the side. "Why do you hate me all of a sudden, Zed?"

"Just- Just let Wels go. Please."

His roommate hummed. "How about, I'll bring you back and I'll let Wels go. Or, I will just kill him."

If his heart could've stopped or his stomach could've dropped, Zedaph was positive both would've happened. "You've killed me and now you're willing to take another life?!" He protested.

"And how can we trust that you won't kill me anyway?" Wels angrily added. Gripping his sleeves ever so tighter, Zed began to weigh his options.

"Well when I bring Zedaph back, then technically I don't have any blood on my hands," Tango pointed out. "And I'd rather keep it that way."

"This is such bullshit," Wels muttered as Zed finally faced him and crouched.

With a sad smile, he cocked his head. He had made his decision. "Thank you so much for helping me as much as you did. But now I'm going to get you out of this," he whispered, leaning forward and letting his lips brush Wels' forehead.

"No, no don't do this," the mortal pleaded. "Zedaph please I- I love you."

Swallowing, Zed nodded. "And I love you," he murmured before floating away and towards Tango. Maybe he could somehow find a way to break free from the hypnosis, find Wels, and start his life over.

"Good," Tango murmured before clearing his throat. He glanced at the book held open by Impulse and held up the two Spirit Quartzes, declaring; "I hereby wish to lift this curse and restore the victim to their former form!"

Zed pursed his lips. He knew he was kidding himself.

The gems began to glow as he brought them down to his other palm and rested them atop the medallion. "Stress, the circle. Joe, fetch the candles and stones," he instructed, keeping his eyes on Zedaph.

The ghost watched as Stress used a piece of white chalk to trace a large circle beneath him. In the center, she drew a big crescent moon and a smaller circle between the two tips. Her face was still and her eyes seemed so... distant. Had she been brainwashed for a while? Or was she recently recruited? Stress had seemed normal back at her shack, so what happened?

Joe returned, placing a smooth, shining black stone in the center circle and four equidistant apart outside the larger circle. In between the outside stones, two plain white candles were placed and lit.

Zedaph willed for Stress to look at him, to show any form of emotion. But like the rest of the members, she stood in the line, a shell of who she once was.

-

Bdubs was also curious as to what happened to her.

Doc had taken him to Beef's stall, who after supplying them with a first aid kit ran to get Scar and contact others for help.

"How come you were the only one not affected? How long has this cult thing existed? Why is Stress suddenly brainwashed? I saw her not that long ago, can it really happen that fast?" He was firing question after question as Doc bandaged his head.

Sighing, the hybrid taped the bandage down and gently retied the red bandana around his forehead. "I was safe for two reasons. One; a part of my brain is robotic, and the organic part wasn't affected because of Stress, actually. When I heard rumors of a cult leader running around and kidnapping and brainwashing night market customers, I wanted to be safe at all costs," he explained. "So Xisuma's sibling Xavion, a good friend of mine, helped me find her shack. I asked her for a way to keep myself safe from hypnosis, and although she didn't have exactly that, she gave me tea to help strengthen my mind."

Shifting on the stool, Bdubs looked up at him. "So, why didn't it help her?"

"It did, actually, just not well enough. The hypnosis on her isn't stable. Sometimes it would wear off, but it came with the side effect of her not remembering the cult at all. I'd help her leave but somehow Tango always found a way to bring her back. I tried to warn her every time but it never worked." He pushed back his hair before shaking his head.

"What uh, what did your tea leaves say? Do you remember?" Bdubs prompted, in hopes to lighten the mood a bit. The somber air was beginning to make him uncomfortable.

Surprisingly, Doc lightly laughed. "Follow your heart." The hybrid met his eyes, his smile widening. "I found it ridiculous then and I honestly still do. But I... I finally get it."

Someone slammed on the stand causing them both to jump.

Bdubs jumped again when he turned around to find a zombie woman with crazy red hair and an even crazier smile. "So, where's Zed and Wels?"

"Nice to see you too, Cleo," Doc greeted.

"Yeah yeah," she waved him off as the two came out from the stall. "You're all so lucky I wanted to visit the market tonight. And you know who else was in the area?"

Bdubs saw Beef and Scar hurrying over and they were accompanied by a person with red eyes, platinum white hair, and a large x-shaped scar across their face. They had a manic smile which made Bdubs only slightly unsettled.

"Perfect! Well, we have no time to lose, so let's go," Doc declared, patting the person's shoulder before looking over the group.

"Um, are we just going to fight them with our fists? I'm not one to complain but let's be realistic here," the white-haired person piped up.

"Disarm the cult members and use those. Will that suffice, Xavion?" Doc asked with a grin.

"Sure, sure, whatever."

It occurred to Bdubs he didn't know how to fight, but maybe he could at least try to help Stress. After all, it was the least he could do.