"Oh we've gotten along quite alright, no [Whumpee]?" The spell that held them aloft barely let them twitch, and [Caretaker] could see the strain it took them to try and break free. "I've peeked into their brain—is a mess, really. I believed getting physical would be necessary, nothing like torture to bring unwanted images to their mind, but it wasn't even necessary."
[Whumpee]'s trashing became frantic. They weren't close to breaking the ethereal bonds, but that didn't matter. It was raw, untamed, fear. It was exactly what [Whumper] wanted.
"Ah, I see." [Whumper] circled them, "we are quite feisty, aren't we?"
"You made your point, [Whumper], what do you want?" [Leader] tried diverting his attention. It didn't work.
"Well, then, if you are in a negotiating mood. I can't let the merchandize hurt themselves, can I?" [Whumper] smiled. Too late, [Leader] realized his mistake. Too late, [Caretaker] understood what was behind [Whumpee]'s pleading. Desperate eyes. It was shame.
"Were you aware they wish for death?"
And that was it. Like a punch to the gut, [Whumpee] stopped struggling. Eyes closing in defeat. [Caretaker] tried—and failed—to hide his reaction, [Leader] tensed. [Teammate] cursed under his breath. He knew [Whumpee] had been struggling, it was no secret. They joked about it, were vocal about their meds, they had even asked for help with cleaning now and then so why? Why would they not say anything? Why would they shut their own team out like that? Their own friends—
[Whumper] smiled, lifting their chin in a mockery of affection. "Ah. I thought so. I would simply be doing them a favor, you see. If it wasn't I needed them alive to talk to you, I would have happily finished it. But then again, if it wasn't for them, I would have never gotten the chance to talk to you like this. So I must thank them, really."
[Whumpee] flinched, visible to [Caretaker] even through the spell. The bastard was turning guilt into a weapon and torturing [Whumpee] in front of everyone to see. [Leader] was the first to recover.
[Whumpee] twitched again, trying to struggle. To signal her to no. To stop. [Whumper] tsked and with a snap of their fingers the bonds tightened to an uncomfortable stillness that forbid any movement. Tears streamed down their face and their desperation was so palpable [Caretaker] was almost glad they couldn't move, or else they would hurt themselves.
When the spell dropped, [Whumpee] dropped unceremoniously, like a puppet with their strings cut. [Teammate] was the first to reach them, trying to keep them from injuring themselves further as [Whumpee] clutched at his shirt with desperate, frantic eyes.
"I should be dead—I should have died when he grabbed me. I should be—[Leader] wouldn't be—" they tried to force themselves past [Teammate] to go towards where [Whumper] had disappeared with [Leader].
"[Whumpee]—fuck. Stay down—please. Is alright, [Leader] will be alright. We need to check you over —"
"You should kill me—I shouldn't be alive, I can still fix it—Don't you see? I can still let [Whumper] kill me. I can—"
"[Caretaker]!" He shouted back, manhandling a now hyperventilating [Whumpee] to stay down. [Teammate] wasn't gentle —he couldn't afford to be gentle. "Don't. Don't you dare to say it. He wanted to get into your head, don't you see? This isn't you—"
"[Teammate] let me see them." [Caretaker]'s voice cut through the struggling. He had been the last to see [Leader] and managed to slip a tracker on her.
"They are not in control of themselves—"
"That's what I feared. Hold them down, towards me, please." [Caretaker] put two hands on their frantic friend, whose cries were breaking his heart, and started to weave a spell.
"Ngh—No—Please," [Whumpee] sobbed, their trashing slowing down. [Caretaker] exchanged a look with [Teamate], his red rimmed eyes mirroring his own fears. Finally, [Whumpee]'s eyes rolled back and they slumped forward, and with utmost care, [Teammate] lowered them down. Stroking their forehead for a moment before sniffing his own tears away.
"How did we—How did we let it get this bad?"
[Caretaker] had one thing clear in his mind, as they both caught their breath.
He was going to kill [Whumper].