Ewan's hand trembled as he gripped the towels, fumbling in the cabinet for the medicine kit. He remembered Ben had used it on him when he'd first come to the Surface but his eyes were so blurred with tears that he couldn't seem to find anything. And as he aimlessly felt around the cabinet, his trembling hand knocked something to the ground and he swore loudly, slamming his hand against the sink. 

It cracked under his fist and he grunted, slowly taking his hand out of it.

His eyes soon landed, instead, on the thing that had dropped. A pack of cigarettes. The same pack of cigarettes that Ben had offered him when he'd first gotten there. The same pack of cigarettes that Ewan couldn't light himself because he was vulnerable to himself.

He breathed out a shaky breath, blinking back the tears and just gazing at it. What was he doing? He needed to be helping, not... remembering all the dumb shit they'd been through.

"Alright," he whispered to himself, centering himself. He quickly grabbed the medical kit and went back to the three of them. Ben was practically laying on his father, absolutely still. He had an absent gaze directed to the ground and he blinked slowly. His body was pale and sweaty.

"Give me the towels," Elizabeth said.

Ewan quickly handed them to her, then swallowed nervously and approached Ben. There was blood absolutely everywhere - black and red and oozing. It wouldn't stop spilling from his body like oil, and Ewan didn't understand why.

There was also a shard in his neck. Two inches deep, maybe, just barely missing anything important. Ewan swore again, lip trembling.

"Is he going to be okay?" he breathed.

"I'm... not sure," admitted Elizabeth. Ewan's heart sunk, but she continued, "We need to find Gregory and get the Enchantment from him. Then he can heal himself."

She knelt down in front of him and began to stitch him up. Her hands were shaking, too, and Ewan wanted to hold them and tell her Ben just wasn't capable of dying.

"No," croaked Ben.

"Ben," snapped all three of them.

"Please listen," Ben continued.

"Stop talking," Elizabeth hissed. But she had a hint of a French accent that sounded worried. "You'll hurt yourself."

"K-Keep Ezra alive," he sputtered. Blood spilled out of his mouth, running down his chin and neck. "Please... please..."

And then he was asleep. Ewan took a step forward to make sure he was alive but a pointed look from Ben's father made him step back, holding his breath.

"That's nice," growled Elizabeth. "Really, really nice."

A moment of silence passed as they watched Ben's chest continue to heave up and down. 

He wasn't dead. He wasn't dead. He wasn't dead. 

Ewan felt a brick lift off his shoulders, but he began to think and soon he could only shake his head.

"This won't end well for one of them," Ewan decided. He shook his head, swallowing nervously. the mere idea hurt. 

"Ben doesn't deserve this," said Elizabeth.

"Neither of them do," snapped Ewan. "Ezra doesn't deserve any of this shit."

The shards of glass on the ground rattled and he glanced around, feeling the ground surge beneath them, and he and Elizabeth made eye contact only for her to shake her head.

"We need to get the Enchantment."

"Ben can't die," Ewan said. He shrugged, tears still blurring his vision. But it was true. "Ben just can- he can't."

"Just because he's Satan's pet or whatever doesn't make him immortal. He's going to die without the Enchantment."

Ewan ran a trembling hand through his hair. He couldn't speak for a second, too clouded by the lump in his throat. Then he managed, "Gregory won't just hand it over. W-We'd have to take his Enchantment first, but..."

"Ezra would die," finished Elizabeth. "He's got a bullet in his heart, remember? He'd die-"

"I know!" yelled Ewan. He took in a deep, slow breath and shook his head. "I know. I heard you the first time."

Talking continued in the background like white noise but Ewan could only think of one thing.

Die.

The word hung in the air like acid rain. It infected him and made it difficult to breathe. 

Until now, he'd known - he'd known deep in his soul that there was no way he could ever care for mortals. Not after his death, not after what they'd put him through in his life, not after what he'd put them through. He knew there was no way he could have an inkling of care for them. 

But then there was Ben. And then there was Ezra's blind smile that shined brighter than anything. And then Ewan had faith again. He had faith that they didn't suck quite as much as he'd seen when he lived.

After everything he'd been through, after the life his father had put him through, Ben was still a half-decent person who just wanted people to tell the truth.

Ewan glanced over to Ben's dad, narrowing his eyes. "You've been a very shitty father."

The man, now covered in blood and looking completely bemused, sighed. "Daniel Sawyer... nice to meet you." He nodded to Elizabeth. "Finish stitching him up and then get the Enchantment."

"It'll kill Ez-"

"Do it," hissed Daniel.

"I don't take orders from mortals," snapped Elizabeth, tearing her gaze away from Ben's back and the needle in her hand. "And I don't kill them, either. We'll come up with a plan. Just... be quiet."

This silenced Ben's father, making Ewan shudder a little. Then he put his hands in his pockets and watched as Elizabeth finished the final stitch.

"How long does he have?" breathed Ewan. His gaze was attached to Ben's back. Since she'd cleaned it, more blood had leaked. Now his back was bloody and outrageously pale where it wasn't. It made him sick and angry and useless.

"Maybe two hours? He's... tough," whispered Elizabeth. She looked to Ewan. "But we do need to go. Now."

"We need a plan first," Ewan said, voice breaking. Rage was seeping through his skin and all he wanted to do was scream and cry because this wasn't how Ben should be feeling. He should be happy. 

"There is no plan," Elizabeth said sorrowfully. "It's Ezra or Ben."

"Those can't be our only options," Ewan pleaded.

Elizabeth stood up, blood on her shirt and coating her hands. "We could try to bring Ezra to Ben once he's... once we get the Enchantment out of him." She let out a slow breath. "All we have to do is get Gregory's Enchantment from Ezra and bring him here, then. That's our plan. But Ewan-"

He stopped, having already turned to leave.

"Ewan," she continued, "Ben might not be a -" Her voice cut off and she whispered, "Ben might not be alive when we get back."

All he could do was scoff and act like the words didn't feel like a punch to the gut. He shook his head, looking her over. "You're an angel," he seethed. "I'm a demon. I'm not the one that's supposed to be hopeful - I'm not the one that's supposed to be putting all my faith into believing that these two mortals will get out of this shit storm alive. Do you hear me? That isn't my bloody job - it's yours. Why am I the one doing all the believing? Why can't you just think for one goddamn second that both of these damn mortals will get out of it alive?"

"Because you're-" Elizabeth sighed through her nose, shrugging weakly. "Maybe you're better than me. Maybe because you're just that one good egg in a dead nest, but I... I don't think this will work, Ewan."

"Not if you two keep bickering like children," snapped Daniel. "My son is bleeding out and you're giving a speech about hope?"

"If you knew what was happening, old man, you'd realize we need it," Ewan growled.

At the same time, Gabrielle, with her French accent, said, "Like you've done anything better for him?"

She then shook her head and Elizabeth spoke. "Keep him safe... We'll be back as soon as possible."

He only nodded, and Elizabeth turned to Ewan. The two shared a glance before heading out. Ewan couldn't help but feel outrageously guilty for leaving Ben in the hands of his father. By the sound of things, they weren't even remotely close. Ben hated his father, even - blamed him for the death of his mother. And he'd left him bleeding in the arms of that man.

He sighed quietly, following Elizabeth to Gabrielle's car. The two got in but Elizabeth only stared at the steering wheel.

"We need a plan," she admitted after a long moment of silence. "Or we at least need to know where Gregory might want to go."

"I don't... I don't know." Ewan clenched his jaw, looking out the window. His anger was festering again. "Maybe... maybe to kill Ben. Again. Maybe he..."

Maybe he'd just teleported in through the window and killed Ben.

"Ewan," Elizabeth snapped again. "You're shaking the car."

He narrowed his eyes, glancing over at her. "I'm wh-"

A glance around told him he was, in fact, somehow shaking the car. It didn't make sense but he knew that he was tied to the effortless rattling of the vehicle and somehow, by thinking about it, he stopped it.

What the Hell was happening? 

"We need to focus, alright? Just listen-"

"I am focused," Ewan snapped.

"You're focusing on Ben. We need to focus on Gregory. He's literally just out there with... people and we don't know what he's going to do. Or, I don't." She sighed through her nose, speaking more calmly now. "You've been in Hell long enough to know about him, so tell me, where would he go after basically killing Ben?"

Ewan huffed, looking out the window. But she was right. He was too busy thinking about Ben and what a horrible condition they'd left him in. In the hands of his father.

"I just can't believe we left Ben with that man," said Ewan, shaking his head. "We left him to die in there. With a man he practically doesn't even know but hates."

"Ewan!" snapped Elizabeth, and he received a smack across the cheek. "Moping about the fact that Ben is in a bad position won't help us get him out of it. We need to figure out where Gregory is now, do you hear me?"

Ewan went quiet, simply looking her over. It was almost funny seeing the tiny Gabrielle look so infuriated. A contradiction entirely to the way she looked at Ben.

Gradually, he nodded.

"Alright," Elizabeth said slowly. "Where would Gregory be right now?"

Licking his lips, he looked out the window. And he thought about the Overseer of Greed. "Somewhere... safe for him. Somewhere he's strong and can get what he wants."

"And what does he want?" Elizabeth asked cautiously.

"Not money," Ewan mumbled, "and not... items. Those things are pointless to demons. He wants power. Status. And if isn't greedy for items, he's greedy for-"

"Life," Elizabeth breathed. She shook her head, sighing. "He just wants to hurt a lot of innocent people, doesn't he?"

"He's a demon, Elizabeth, that is our trademark."

Elizabeth's jaw clenched and she hesitated before nodding. "Right. So what can he... what can he do? What are his powers?"

"Teleportation, glass, like you saw. Um... plants, he can manipulate th-"

"Why would he need to do that?"

"What?"

"He's... He's in Hell, why would he need to manipulate plants? That's... isn't there just fire down there?"

"And... And some plants, too... Special plants, usually made of, like... dead... dead bodies, but - but that isn't important, so-"

"Right."

"So, he can also... um... grant immortality, he can multiply any object, and... control minds by touching someone."

Elizabeth let out a very slow sigh through her nose, looking out the car window. "That's a lot," she breathed. Then she shook her head. "It's fine, though. Where can we find glass, plants... and people?"

"A greenhouse?" Ewan offered.

Elizabeth scoffed. "It can't be that obvious."

Ewan gave her a pointed look and she scoffed. "Fine, but... I don't know my way around this town..."

Ewan went quiet before he sighed aggressively, setting his head back against the seat. "Damn it!" he hissed. "How bloody inconvenient!"

"What is?" Elizabeth asked.

Ewan shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "I know someone who... knows about Grayville. I'm just pretty sure we agreed to never involve him in stuff like this again."

"Sorry, what?" asked a gentle voice from beneath the car.

Ewan cleared his throat. "A greenhouse," he said more clearly. "Are there any in Grayville?"

"Sure," Jamie said, rolling out from under the car. He lay on his back on one of those tiny little scooter things. 

Ewan could only grit his teeth and hope that he just told them very quickly.

The mortal was covered in oil and his white shirt was practically black. "The Grayville Greenhouse, down off, uh... Print Street, I think. It's a big building with lots of... cool..." He moved his hands in the air as if to emphasize circular things. "Anyway, you can't miss it."

"Where's Print Street?" Elizabeth asked timidly. It was clear she didn't mean to bother the mortal and she was, in fact, even reluctant to get out of the car when they pulled up.

"After Painter Str... Just use your phones," Jamie offered. "GPS?"

Ewan bit his lip, getting out his phone. He only used it to text Ben and even that was rare since Ben never really answered. He'd given up entirely at this point and now even unlocking the phone was a task.

By the looks of it, Elizabeth didn't know how to either.

"I'm sure Gabrielle knows how," Ewan said, grinning nervously. "Thanks, Jami-"

"I don't," Elizabeth cut him off. The two shared a very intense glance and Ewan concluded that the sight of Ben nearly dead for a second time had scared Gabrielle into not coming out.

Jamie was quiet for a second, bearing stares from both Ewan and Elizabeth, before he sighed, setting down the wrench in his hand and getting up. "Sure. Yeah, don't worry. I'll take you."

"Thank you," breathed Ewan and Elizabeth.

Jamie nodded to Gabrielle's car that was parked outside the garage. "We'll take your car. Mine's... under construction."

"What happened?" Elizabeth asked, actually sounding like she cared.

"Uh... the car shut off completely at a stoplight, so I had to push it on the side of the road and.."

Ewan stopped paying attention once they got in the car. He sat in the back, vaguely listening to their conversation, but rather he thought about Ben.

There were so many things to think about - the fact that his father conveniently enough showed up when Ben was dying, the fact that Ben was dying at all, the fact that Ewan was sitting in the back of a car while Ben was dying, the fact that he was listening to an angel flirt with a mortal while Ben was dying. 

The fact that an angel and a demon were even sitting in a car together was beyond him and he rubbed his face, watching the colors spark behind his closed eyes.

"Hey," snapped a voice.

Ewan lifted his head and realized his heart was pounding. He choked out a breath and gazed at Elizabeth, who snapped a few times to gather his attention.

"Calm down."

The car was rattling.

Plus, if he had a panic attack now it would be detrimental for Ben. He took a few deep breaths, rubbing his face before finally just slouching in the seat.

"Stir?" asked Jamie.

Quickly, he raised his head, looking at Jamie. "Yes?" he asked. It startled him how second-nature it was to reply to the name.

"Why..." He sighed through his nose, keeping his eyes on the road. Soon he shook his head. "Never mind."

Ewan and Elizabeth shared a concerned glance before he nodded.

Soon Jamie pulled up to the greenhouse. It was a massive place - he'd been right, it wasn't easy to miss. It looked about the size of a football field, constructed entirely of glass, and yes, there were weird, bulbous... bits on each four corners. It was a beautiful place, though. Inside was purely green - things grew from the ground and from pots hanging from the ceiling, which was crazy considering the roof was probably 20 feet off the ground.

There were plenty of people there, too. Everything about it was perfect for Gregory.

Elizabeth hesitated before smiling anxiously. "I'll get going," she whispered, getting out of the car and shutting the door behind her.

The two watched as she walked towards the greenhouse, holding her bag strap tightly.

"Yeah, I'll-"

Ewan grabbed the door handle, pulling briefly, but stopped when a hand fell on his shoulder. He turned, glancing at Jamie.

"Is this about Ben?" asked Jamie.

"Wh-" The breath was knocked out of Ewan, and he scoffed before clearing his throat. "Why would this be about Ben?"

"I'm not dumb," Jamie said. "And neither is Mom or Dad or even Anna... Look, I don't want to be invasive or... anything like that. I know that whatever you're doing with your life is... whatever you're doing with your life. But you're different. And you've been spending a lot of time with Ben - I just want to know what's going on. If that's okay."

He was an innocent soul. Another one like Ezra, like Gabrielle, even Charlie or Ben. He didn't deserve to be dragged into any of this.

"I can't," Ewan said softly. "I would tell you, but... I can't-"

"Because you're better, Stir," interrupted Jamie. "You're..." He went quiet before chuckling weakly and shrugging. "I think it's Ben."

"You think it's Ben," Ewan said slowly.

"I do. But, Stir, it doesn't matter." Jamie glanced to the side before parking the car and turning it off. "You're my brother. I've known you for all eighteen years of your life and... I've... well, I haven't seen you so confident since - I guess before Charlie. But - look, I don't want to shame you or a... anything. I just mean that... I... if you're happy, I'm happy. Because I'm your brother and those things matter to me." He sighed in content then smiled softly. "Alright?"

Ewan went silent, unable to even feel his tongue. His mouth gaped as he gazed back at the other.

Jamie didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to talk to the corpse of his brother. Not like this. He deserved to know the truth, even if it killed him inside. He had to know. It was his right.

"Jamie... I-I don't know how to tell you. I don't want to. It isn't... you shouldn't have to know, but-"

His attention was drawn to the sight of a particularly scar-faced boy entering the greenhouse.

"Shit..."

"What?" asked Jamie, trying to grab Ewan's attention, but there were more pressing matters.

If Charlie was here, he was in danger. There were already too many people there who could die and knowing Charlie, things wouldn't end well. He rubbed his face, sighing in irritation.

"I'm sorry. I promise we'll talk later," he said. "I-I promise, alright, but right now it'd be lovely if you left. Went home, right? Really... very quickly."

Jamie was quiet, glancing out to find Charlie as well. "You're still hanging out with him?"

"I... I didn't want to." He glanced back to Jamie. "Tomorrow. Or tonight, hopefully - one of them. I'll see you and we can talk and it's okay, but I'd love it if you went home."

The other guy bit his lip and the two shared an intense moment before Jamie nodded. "Sure," he said quietly. "Yeah, sure. You're..." He sighed, tears welling in his eyes as he only gripped the key, not turning it. "You're safe, right, Stir?"

"Of course," Ewan mumbled. "Of course. Don't worry."

"Right," Jamie whispered. "Right."

Ewan hopped out of the car, sighing quietly. 

His gaze found the greenhouse and a stillness fell over him. 

There was no telling what was going to happen in there, but he had to keep everyone alive. That was his goal.

The car pulled away and just as quickly, Ewan made his way towards the building.

The greenhouse was humid but not too awful. He stepped in and found himself inundated by the smell of people. Sweaty, confused, happy people that had no idea what was going on or what was among them. They didn't know what was coming.

He scanned the place before his eyes fell on the familiar boy that was Ezra. The other was casually surveying the crowd. He looked more confident, more proud, and his shoulders were squared as he walked around with a small grin that was only usually seen on a demon. Not in the innocent boy that was Ezra.

"Nice to see you, Ewan," said the demon's voice.

Ewan jumped. In the minimal time it had taken him to disorient himself, Gregory had teleported to his side and watched him through Ezra's now green eyes. It made Ewan's skin crawl.

"Your eyes are working," Ewan choked out. He'd half been expecting things to be easier because the boy was blind, but it seemed like he didn't get the mercy.

"A little demonic magic here, a little demonic magic there... I do have religious followers, you know," Gregory mumbled. He grinned slyly and his eyes danced around the giant greenhouse. "You didn't think I'd face you alone, did you? Satan's pet?"

"I'm not-"

"Ewan," Gregory said softly, smiling in an oddly chilling way. "He sent you up here. What, do you think, he just... wanted to? He's greedy, Ewan. He's worse than all the demons, the Overseers... all of us. He doesn't just give up demons, Ewan, and he surely doesn't show up randomly in their room."

Ewan let out a slow breath. This was very not good. They didn't have enough fire-power as it was to take on Gregory, but more demons?

Shit.

"So I'm gonna tell you what I'm gonna do, Ewan," Gregory continued. "I'm going to show you and your little band not to mess with my plans. I'm going to kill everyone in here - absolutely everyone - and then I'm going to make sure Ben dies a slow... painful death. Just like he should have. And then I'm going to take his Enchantment to Hell and I'm going to be very, very, very powerful. And when you're back in Hell, pleading for mercy, begging me to not destroy your very existence..." Gregory grinned slyly. "I'm going to make sure you live through one thousand years of torture again, Ewan. And again... and again... and again..."

Ewan let out a shaky breath. His vision blurred just slightly and he felt his palms get numb. He didn't know what to do but he knew he couldn't have a panic attack. For Ben's sake.

"Y-You won't win," Ewan said softly. He breathed it out, more like, and he shrugged weakly. "You won't."

"Because of the power of friendship? No." Gregory chuckled heartlessly. "I know you, Ewan. You're a demon, just like all of your little friends in Hell. You're selfish. You're greedy. Your need for power is going to rise up and-"

"No," Ewan snapped, lowering his voice. He looked the other square in the eyes and shook his head. "Nope. You can't do that to me, alright? You can't make me think I'm someone other than... me. And that sounds cheesy as Hell, but listen, I'm sick of your shit. All of you is push demons around, make them think they're greedy or selfish or whatever you want. And because you're the Overseer of Greed, they think you're right. But me?"

He licked his lips, shifting and pointing to himself. Jabbed himself, more like, and he felt it 

"I'm not a puppet."

He knew better than to speak against an Overseer, but it didn't matter now. The ground was shaking, as was the walls. He didn't know why. Maybe his levitation was getting out of hand, maybe his feelings were affecting his powers, but the entire area was shaking and Gregory, for once, looked taken aback.

"Is this how you plan on killing me?" yelled Gregory. 

Screams echoed from the crowd. They probably thought it was an earthquake and Ewan watched in delight as they ran.

Not because he felt powerful.

But because they were getting to safety. Because of him.

However, the second they reached the door in hoards, they stayed there and yelled and pounded on the door. Because it had locked.

His eyes drifted to find someone on the outside, looking giddy as they tossed a key to the side.

Nice, he thought.

Everyone was locked in.

"You know what I've done to this body, right?" Gregory continued.

"We'll fix him," Ewan growled. "Once you're gone, we'll fix him."

"There's no fixing this without me."

Ewan clenched his jaw, the rumbling coming to a halt. He spat, "What the Hell did you do?"

The boy, dressed now in a gentle blue plaid button-up and khakis, unbuttoned his shirt very, very slowly. And when it was down, he pulled apart the fabric to reveal a wound that no longer bled but rather had a crusted, black scab encircling a... necklace.

An Enchantment.

The very thing keeping Ezra alive, the very thing that nearly murdered Ben... pulsed inside of the boy's heart.

And there was no getting rid of it, really...

Unless someone else took on Gregory - someone else used his Enchantment and used his abilities to keep Ezra alive long enough for Ben to heal him.

Nevermind if Ben was alive - he had to be. It was just a matter of timing. Precision. Strength.

He rubbed his face, vaguely aware of a long, monotonous answer from Gregory.

"N-Nice... nice outfit, by the way," said Ewan. He just needed time to think. Time to figure out who could take on Gregory, who could out will him.

"I am not the Superbia," Gregory said, grinning knowingly. "You can't distract me with compliments. Nice try, though. Very clever. What did you think was going to happen? I was going to hand over Ben's Enchantment because I was flattered?"

"What's in it for you?" Ewan asked, raising an eyebrow. Ideas brewed in his head.

Gregory scoffed, surveying the crowd again. "Well, I get to kill these useless mortals only as a start," he began, shrugging casually. "And I get to keep this."

Menacingly, mockingly, he held up Ben's Enchantment. A sly grin stayed on his lips, watching as it dangled in front of him. Before Ewan even tried to grab it, he pocketed it again.

"Why do you want that?" Ewan asked slowly. "What's the point of having it? Demons can't use another demon's Enchantment - that's... that's useless to you."

The demon scoffed. "Maybe to this mortal body. But in Hell..." He clicked his tongue thoughtfully. "It doesn't matter, though. How about we get to the fun part where everyone dies, hm?"

And with a simple snap of his fingers, scattered growls were heard from the crowd.

Quickly coupled by screams.