Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Why does it always have to be an abandoned house?” Tango grumbled under his breath as he pulled up to the house in question. The only light in the area was from the sliver of a crescent moon and the car’s headlights, painting the wooden building in ominous shadows. Still, it wasn’t the creepiest or worst place Tango had ever hunted. At least this one hadn’t been reclaimed by nature and it wasn’t swelteringly hot or humid out. 

Tango stayed in the driver seat for another moment before sighing and getting out. No sense in wasting time if he wanted to get any sleep tonight. The trunk popped open easily and Tango pulled up the false bottom to reveal all his equipment; a flashlight first and foremost that clipped onto a shoulder holster alongside an emergency flare. A salt shotgun and crowbar slid onto his back. A holy stake and a wrought iron dagger hung from either hip. There was one unusual addition to his arsenal, at least for a hunter, and that was a spirit box.

That would be good enough for an initial encounter so he could make certain this was actually a ghost and not some other supernatural masquerading as one. Then he could come back for salt, paint, light fluid, and a lighter after locating the body.

“You know you don’t really need any of that stuff.”

“Yeah, you’ve got us!” 

Tango closed the trunk and pushed down a competing smile and sigh at the two people leaning on either side of his car, watching him. The taller was blond with a wide smile while the shorter had dark brown hair and green eyes. Both were wearing black and at a glance Tango could easily understand someone mistaking both for the opposite of what they were.

But it was the innocent looking tee-shirt wearing Impulse that was a demon, marked by the usually hidden black sclera and glowing yellow pupils on display now. Skizz on the other hand wore a suit but generally seemed otherwise unremarkable, though Tango had seen the angel’s blinding heavenly form in glances and it was utterly otherworldly. 

“Hey, been a while. You two didn’t get up to any trouble, did you?” Tango asked, eyeing them both one at a time. 

“Of course not.” Skizz answered immediately and that smile was too big to be trustworthy. 

“Who, us? Never.” Impulse said at almost the exact same time and Tango could feel the insincerity in his tone too. He pulled a small hand sanitizer sized spray bottle from around his waist and pointed it at Impulse as his free hand reached for the pouch of demonic ashes on his belt. Both Skizz and Impulse immediately held up their hands and took a half step back.

“I’ve been good! Well, good for a demon. No need for the holy water.” Impulse insisted. Tango made him squirm for a moment more as Skizz rapidly nodded his agreement before he put the holy water spray bottle back and both of them relaxed.

“I have a ghost to hunt anyway.” Tango said as he started walking towards the abandoned home he’d come here for. The two supernaturals followed leisurely behind, Impulse with his hands behind his head and Skizz looking around with interest. 

“So… another abandoned house. What's the deal with this place?” Impulse asked.

Tango stopped at the door and double checked that he had what he would need to defend himself. Not that Impulse or Skizz would let a ghost kill him if it came down to it, but Tango had his own pride as a hunter too. At least the front door wasn’t locked so there was no breaking and entering today. Even the hinges seemed relatively smooth for how long this place had supposedly been abandoned, though the inside was dusty enough to make him cough.

Tango pulled out his wrought iron dagger and stepped over the threshold. Nothing popped out in his face right away so he continued inside. “Someone died, spirit is still here. Last homeowner left about 20 years ago due to the haunting. Some big renovator recently took an interest in the place which is how I noticed it. Figured I should take care of the ghostie before anyone tries to update it and paves over the dang body again.” Tango explained.

“Ah, I see." Skizz answered.

"What makes you think the body is here? That's pretty unusual." Impulse asked as Tango glanced into the kitchen. Thankfully the place must have been cleared out because there wasn’t any smell hinting at leftover food. In fact it had been thoroughly cleaned out because there weren’t any appliances either. 

“I hope it’s here because there wasn’t any record of him being buried in a cemetery so finding it sounds like a nightmare.” Tango grumbled. Impulse hummed and Tango stopped walking to look at the demon. There was a little smirk on Impulse’s face. “You feel something, don’t you. What?”

“Mm, it’s nothing.” Impulse was still smiling and Tango huffed. 

“I could just ask Skizz, you know.” Tango warned.

“Hm? Ask me what?” Skizz finally tuned in to the conversation from where the angel had been looking at the dust on a windowsill. 

“Impy knows something about this place and won’t tell me.” Tango explained as he started walking again. There was an upstairs and a basement and he was betting on the body being in the basement, but he was going to check upstairs first. Something clattered from nearby and Tango tightened his grip on the knife. “Here we go.” He muttered before he pulled out the spirit box.

It came to life with the sound of static and he saw both Impulse and Skizz wince at the sound. “I hate that thing.” Impulse declared and Tango shrugged. 

“I know, but it’s really quite useful.” Tango answered before he said “Is anyone there?” The only sound was the static coming from the box. “Where are you?” Again there was no response and Tango shut it off for the moment.

Then a face appeared in front of him calling “Boo!”

Tango shrieked and scrambled backwards and only avoided hitting the… ghost? With his wrought iron dagger by the narrowest of margins. The ghost was laughing hysterically, even doubled over. Which looked particularly strange given the ghost was floating at eye level and laying in the air with their back towards the ground and their knees towards the ceiling. 

“Oh, that was amazing! You should have seen your face!” The ghost was hysterically laughing still and Tango shared a glance with Impulse and Skizz before he held out his knife.

“You aren’t a ghost. What are you?” Tango ordered and the ghost finally stopped laughing with a deep satisfied sigh. They straightened up, still hovering a foot off the ground but it seemed much less obvious now. 

“Sorry, sorry. I know. Mean of me. But it’s been soooo long since I saw anyone else. And you’re half right. I am a ghost, just not your run of the mill kind of ghost.” They were smiling warmly now and Tango didn’t feel threatened by them at all. “I know what you are, though, eh, Hunter?” The ghost floated into Tango’s face, making him flinch, before they started weaving around him. Pulling at his jacket, touching the Spirit Box and the tools on his back.

At least until Tango’s brain finally kicked back into gear and he swatted them away. “Hold on, just, hold up. How do you know I’m a Hunter?” Tango demanded. The ghost raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly at Impulse and Skizz. 

“Because I’m a Hunter. And only a Hunter would go to a supposedly haunted abandoned house with salt and iron. With an angel and a demon for companions, no less.” The ghost said and Tango glared at Impulse. 

“That’s what you noticed. There are sigils around, aren’t there?” Tango muttered and Impulse smiled at him. 

“Were is probably more accurate. Still strong enough to tingle, but too decayed to do anything more.” Impulse explained and Tango sighed. 

“Okay. Then can you explain how you’re… this? A ghost that isn’t like any kind of ghost I’ve ever seen? There wasn’t any record of you being cremated or buried.” Tango turned his attention back to the much more obvious concern and the ghost hummed. 

“Of course not. My dead body didn’t exist to be burned or buried.” The ghost said, a statement that even intrigued Skizz and made Tango nervous. 

"How? Spirits need a body to stay anchored to this world." Tango said.

The ghost hummed and sort of nodded before they met Tango's eyes and said "unless your soul becomes the anchor." 

"Is that even possible?" Impulse sounded as stunned as Tango felt, but at least the demon was able to speak. Skizz's hand brushed his and Tango felt warm as the angel silently expressed his concern. Tango laced their fingers together long enough to give Skizz’s hand a squeeze before he let go, but at least the angel’s concern seemed to have been settled.

The ghost shrugged. "Must be, but I couldn't tell you how. All I know is I royally angered a deity, they cursed me, and I became this. Honestly it's not that bad? I don't age. No worries about getting sick or injured or dying. No hunger or thirst. I can walk through walls or go invisible. Only thing I can't do is leave!" The ghost, which had been pacing in the air during their rant, paused and then whirled to look at them. "Actually, you're also a Hunter. You might be able to help me with that. Do you think you could try and get me free from this place?"

Tango glanced at Impulse and Skizz, both of whom shrugged oh so helpfully before he faced the ghost again. "Well, since someone plans to renovate I suppose we should try. Any clues would be wiped out in the remodel so it's now or never. Do you have anything we can go off?" Tango asked and the ghost beamed. 

"I sure do. Right this way." The ghost sank down, vanishing right through the floor. A moment later both Skizz and Impulse vanished in puffs of smoke, white and black respectively, and Tango groaned loudly.

"I can't do that guys!" He shouted into the air before he sighed and started looking for stairs. It took him several minutes before he managed to join the other three in the basement.

They were all examining a sigil on the ground. He hadn’t seen anything like it before; the basic shape was a septoil and the inner marks were a combination of glyphs, letters, and pictures. In the center was a hand, inhumanly clawed fingers stretching upwards with some kind of orb or ball resting in the palm. The whole thing was very faintly shimmering with gold. Tango immediately pulled out his journal to copy it down.

“Okay, what else can you tell me about this deity?” Tango asked from where he’d taken a seat on the steps. He was already cringing at the thought of all the dust on his clothes but for the sake of accuracy he needed a steady hand. For good measure he pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the sigil. He’d print out a copy and add it to his journal later.

“Hmm, not much. Truthfully I’m not certain they are a proper deity. At least not a named one. There was a string of odd deaths I was chasing, young otherwise healthy people dying out of nowhere. Similar symptoms to exposure to a heavenly presence; bleeding eyes and ears, all that. But I couldn’t find any traces or presence of angels. Plus there were a bunch of inconsistent symptoms that didn’t line up. Like one victim was up in North Dakota in winter. It was utterly freezing, the body had been there for a couple of days because of the weather, and there was no sign of fire anywhere. It’s temperature was 150. I found a body with half grown feathers coming from their ears. One was walking around just fine for several days without a heartbeat before they just stopped moving.

“Anyway, I managed to track down and catch up to this thing. I think it let me, truthfully. It said I intrigued it, but then I said something that must have made it angry. It… flipped me around? Made my soul my anchor to this world instead of my body and… shoved my body inside my soul? I don’t know how else to explain it. I woke up in this house, my house, like this and despite the fact I can interact with everything I couldn’t get out. I’ve been here ever since.” The ghost seemed a lot less energetic by the end of their speech and Tango’s heart went out to them. They’d been alone here for at least 20 years, and basically a ghost for who knew how many before that.

“Okay. So this sigil doesn’t have anything to do with you becoming a spirit. It’s what’s keeping you here.” Tango guessed and the ghost nodded. “Either of you picking up anything?” Tango asked Impulse and Skizz.

“No. Though this sigil does unsettle me and I can’t seem to cross the threshold.” Skizz said.

“Same. It’s certainly not demonic. It almost feels like a warning. I think it’s kept other supernaturals away from this place.” Impulse added.

Tango hummed and stood, drawing his dagger as he stepped up to the edge of the circle. He hesitated just slightly, taken aback by the sudden overwhelming desire to be as far away from this place as possible. But after a deep breath he was able to recognize it as a foreign influence and push it aside and nothing happened as he reached through the barrier. He knelt, tracing the inner lines of the sigil with light fingertips.

He could feel the power in it. It sent an uncomfortable mix of electric and burning sensations through his limbs. The sigil was actually grooved into the ground, which meant he couldn’t just scrape it away. He had a plan but it was a bit risky. Impulse would love it while Skizz would be ordering him to not. Tango brought his knife down and slashed through one of the lines.

The backlash was instant. A whoosh of gold that sent him backwards into the wall, his whole body crackling and burning as the gold lingered over his skin for a few moments. It felt like it took an age for it to dissipate and it took the painful crackling and burning with it. He slumped in relief and slowly became aware of several presences nearby, which led him to force his eyes open. Impulse and Skizz were kneeling next to each of his legs, both of them clearly concerned. 

“Took a page out of your book, Impulse.” Tango said with a weak smile and both of them relaxed. 

Impulse reached out and grabbed his face with both hands, leaning in close to look in his eyes. “Never. Do. That. Again.” Impulse ordered with stilted words and Tango felt his stomach drop in guilt. Nobody would ever believe him if he tried to explain the concern he could see in a demon’s black and yellow eyes, but it was there and it was strong.

“Sorry.” He murmured and Impulse sighed softly before a small smile came on to his face. 

“At least you’re okay. Though not completely unscathed.” Impulse sat back and picked up his hand, showing Tango a very important detail he had missed. Some of that gold had settled into his skin, giving him gold veins through his hand and arm. 

“Huh. How's our ghost?" Tango glanced around and finally saw the ghost lingering in the air near  them. 

Even the ghost looked concerned but smiled when Tango met their eyes. "Hi. It worked! Though maybe not in the way you intended."

"What do you mean?" Skizz sounded oddly frazzled and Tango couldn't believe he never realized how much these guys cared before. It was really nice.

"Well I'm no longer bound to the house. I think I'm bound to… you?" The ghost pointed at Tango, who held up his left hand with the new shimmering gold veins. The ghost nodded and Tango slumped against the wall with a deep sigh. 

"Well, at least you aren't trapped here anymore." He offered before he slowly stood. Impulse and Skizz stood with him and he was immediately grateful when a wave of dizziness nearly sent him back to the floor and Impulse caught him.

"Wow, take it easy. Here. Sit." Impulse pulled him back to the stairs and helped him to sit and Tango's eyes went wide as he took in the sigil on the ground. It had changed. It almost looked like someone had tried to scratch it out with rapid frantic slashes and it had lost the golden glow. Impulse followed his gaze and hummed and a moment later his notebook was in his lap. "You copy that because I know you want to. Skizz, the ghost, and I will collect any research material here. Okay?"

Tango nodded, still unable to look away from the sigil as he started copying it down. 

In the background he could hear the ghost saying "hey, I'm not 'a ghost'! I have a name."

"What is it?" Skizz asked.

"Well, okay, I maybe don't remember because nobody's used it in like 50 years, but I do have one!" The ghost declared and there was a pause before they added "well, maybe you shouldn't call me by that name anyway. Might be suspicious if people hear you talking to a dead guy."

"Hm, well we need to call you something." There was the sound of rustling papers from Impulse's direction.

"Oh! Joker!" Skizz announced suddenly and even Tango paused his sketch to snicker as he looked up at the angel. Skizz looked at him slightly confused. "I'm not mistaken, am I? A joker is someone who likes to play pranks, like when he scared you before, Tango." 

"Ah, no, that's right, but it could also be considered rude, Skizz." Tango explained and Skizz's expression fell slightly. 

"Nah, I like it! Call me Joker then. Lovely to meet you all. I expect we'll be spending a lot of time together." Joker beamed at them and Tango smiled back.

"Welcome to the team then, Joker."

Chapter Text

It was as Tango pulled up to a parking spot at the hotel he was currently staying at that he realized something very important. There was effectively a ghost sitting in his back seat and he had no idea if anyone else could see him. A ghost that was talking to an angel while a demon rode in his passenger seat playing DJ. Tango's brain was going to hurt if he thought too hard about that so he quickly moved on.

 "Joker, can anyone else see you?" Tango asked, interrupting his conversation with Skizz which made him feel a little bit bad.

"If I want them to. Why?" Joker asked.

"Just wanted to know if the hotel staff was going to have questions about you if they happened to see you tonight or tomorrow. Come on. It's late and I still have to make a phone call before I can go to sleep." Tango got out of the car and took a moment to stretch before he grabbed his backpack and walked up to his hotel room door. This hotel was pretty good for how small and old it was. The design was a simple U shape with a parking lot in the middle, two stories tall with tan stucco walls and almost old western style wooden framing and shutters.

His room was small with a double bed, a square TV taking up part of a desk, a closet, and a small bathroom. But it had good water pressure and plenty of hot water, not to mention a comfortable bed and soft sheets so Tango was pretty pleased. He immediately claimed the seat at the desk and took out his laptop from his backpack. His printer had been left here and once the pictures of the sigil were uploaded he printed a copy of each image. 

While they were printing Tango disconnected his phone from the laptop and called one of the few saved numbers on his phone. It rang a couple of times before it was answered. 

"Goodness, Tango! It's so good to hear from you. It's been so long I was starting to worry you'd died."

Tango winced even as he smiled. "Sorry, X. I'll try to be better about calling in the future."

Xisuma sighed. "I'm going to assume this isn't a casual call then either?"

"Unfortunately. I've got a weird one, could use some help." Tango explained.

"What's going on?" Xisuma didn't hesitate despite the late hour (though maybe it wasn't so bad for Xisuma given they were in very different timezones).

"Okay. Abandoned house that's gotten renewed attention lately, rumors of an old haunting, yada yada. Seemed legit so I decided to take care of the ghost before they started renovations." Tango summarized.

"That seems fairly normal." There was a question in Xisuma's voice.

"Yep, I thought so too. Got to the house and things turned weird very fast. Impy knew something was off but wouldn't tell me. And then the ghost showed himself. Except this isn't like any ghost you've ever seen, Xisuma." Tango paused to take a breath.

"Nonviolent?" Xisuma offered and Tango's laugh sounded slightly more manic than even he expected. 

"Nonviolent is the least weird thing about this ghost. He can talk, float, turn invisible, go through walls. Has pretty much all his memories. Apparently, he's a Hunter that got cursed by a deity so his soul, rather than his body, became his anchor to this world and his physical body just doesn't exist anymore." Tango summarized. Joker had taken to laying on the bed, still quietly chatting with Skizz seated next to him, while Impulse was leaning against the desk right next to Tango's elbow listening in on the conversation.

"Goodness me, Tango. You certainly delivered on 'weird'. I've never heard of anything like it. Did you find anything at the house?" Tango could hear Xisuma typing in the background and quickly pulled up his email.

"Sending you the sigil I found in the basement. It was keeping Joker, that's what we're calling the ghost by the way, trapped in the house and can apparently repel things. Impy and Skizz felt it much stronger, but even I felt it when I got close. I slashed through one of the lines, it blasted me back, and then turned into the blackened image. Oh, and now I have gold veins running through my left hand and forearm and apparently Joker is now bound to stay near me." Tango added.

Xisuma was quiet for a while before there was a soft sigh. "I don't know what to tell you, Tango. I'm completely unfamiliar with this sigil. Give me a few days to study it closer and ask if anyone else has heard or knows anything. Okay?" Xisuma said and Tango hummed.

"Yeah, I ought to be going to sleep anyway. It's like 3am. I'm going to see if I can find any info myself too so I'll let you know what I learn along the way." Tango promised.

"Please do. And don't be a stranger." Xisuma answered before hanging up. 

Tango dropped his phone on the desk and sat back with a deep sigh as he rubbed his face. A hand came to rest on his shoulder and he offered Impulse a small smile. "I'm okay. Just sleepy." He promised. 

"Go to bed, then." Impulse nodded at said bed. 

"Are you guys going to stay?" Tango asked through a yawn as he got up and started changing into more comfortable clothes than his jeans. 

"Do you want us to?" Skizz asked and after a moment of hesitation Tango nodded. Both the angel and demon smiled fondly at him and Skizz shifted to give him more room on the bed. Tango dropped onto it hard enough it knocked his breath away for a moment and immediately his eyes didn't want to reopen. 

He felt two bodies settle on either side of him and smiled to himself. “Thanks, guys.” He mumbled and Skizz chuckled. Tango nearly groaned out loud when he felt a hand run through his hair and melted further into the bed. He was pretty sure it was Impulse, given that the demon had sharper fingernails that felt really nice right now massaging his scalp.

“Get some sleep, Top.” Skizz murmured and Tango let himself fall asleep. One wouldn't think this would feel safe given all the supernaturals around, but Tango never felt more at ease than he did like this.

The hotel room was peacefully quiet as Tango fell asleep, leaving the three of them in silence. Impulse was content to stay just like this with his favorite human sleeping in his lap, safe between him and Skizz. Tango nestled closer to his thigh as Impulse pressed a little harder with his nails, being so very careful not to cut him. Skizz’s hand was resting on Tango’s back, the slightest glow in his fingers that made Impulse's skin itch and was only tolerable because he knew it was keeping Tango’s dreams pleasant.

It was a moment Impulse had gotten to experience plenty of times before, but he was greedy. He could never have enough of Tango. Never would. Skizz was a pleasant addition, but unlike normal there was another, potentially unwelcome, presence. Tango glanced at Joker and the ghost crossed his arms with a serious expression unlike what he’d shown them so far.

“So how did this happen?” Joker’s voice was entirely different from the lightheartedness that had earned him his nickname. It was sharp and cold, his gaze calculating and intense.

“How did what happen?” Skizz asked and Impulse had a feeling the angel didn’t quite understand what was happening yet. 

“How does a hunter end up friends with an angel and a demon?” Joker spat the word like it was poison and Impulse just smiled tensely as he turned his attention back to Tango. It had been a while since he’d come face to face with such an antagonistic perspective; he’d gotten used to Tango’s nonchalance or pleasant teasing. 

“He asked for help.” Skizz answered warmly. “He was hurt and took sanctuary in a church. I heard him call and decided to answer, despite Tango not being a worshiper. And he let me stay when I asked because earth is so much more interesting than Heaven.”

Joker studied the angel for a moment before he nodded his acceptable and turned his gaze to Impulse. “And you? What’s a demon doing with a hunter? What are you trying to get from him?”

Impulse took a moment, not because he was considering the answer but because he didn’t want to look away from Tango. “The only thing I want from him is to stay by his side. It might surprise you, Joker, but not all demons like being in Hell. It’s an awful place. I’m not going to pretend I’m anything good. I've done horrible awful things and don't regret it. But I will not hurt Tango. That's all I'll say." Impulse answered.

Joker clearly wasn't happy with that answer, but whatever he was going to say faded away as Impulse stopped stroking Tango's head for a moment and the hunter immediately grumbled and shifted closer. Impulse just chuckled and went back to the massage, watching Joker from the corner of his eye. The ghost's tense posture slowly eased as time passed until he huffed, and it was a little strange to hear a ghost breathe.

"Fine. But if you're lying to me: just don't forget I was a Hunter too. A good one. I know how to take out a demon, even a prince of hell like you." Joker warned. 

Impulse chuckled, a darker sound that he usually let out, and he let just a hint of his power burn in his eyes for a moment. Even that was enough to make Joker flinch. "You can try, but I won't just let you. I'm only tame because of Tango."

Chapter Text

There was a strange tension between Tango's three companions as he packed up everything in his hotel room one handed since breakfast occupied his other. Specifically, there seemed to be tension between Impulse and Joker. He picked up quickly that Skizz was siding with Impulse in whatever had happened, but not in an outright way and the angel still treated Joker pleasantly so Tango wasn't inclined to think the ghost had done something bad. 

Once the room was packed and his food was gone Tango took a moment to stretch before he focused on Joker. "Okay. I have a few questions." 

"Yes?" Joker smiled at him, hovering off the ground. He looked a lot less human with the daylight revealing a slight shimmery transparency to him that Tango hadn't noticed last night. 

"Firstly, do we know how far away from me you can get?" Tango asked and Joker shook his head. 

"No, but I think it's pretty close. Maybe as much as 20 or 30 feet." Joker said. 

"Okay, so you'll basically be traveling with me until we figure this out. Second question, do you have any leads as to where, who, or what this deity is?" Tango asked.

"Nothing that's probably relevant any longer." Joker answered and Tango sighed.

"Alright. Well, I had another ghost to take care of about a day or so away so we'll head there to do that and I'll study your research materials in the meantime, see if there are any leads worth following." Tango decided. "Impy, Skizz, are you coming along or heading out?" 

The angel and demon shared a silent conversation with their eyes before they both came to an agreement with a nod. "I'll come with you, but Skizz has something he wanted to do." Impulse announced. 

Tango stepped closer to Skizz and took his hand. "Everything okay?" Tango asked, just a bit concerned, and Skizz nodded with a smile.

"Yes, of course. I've just been feeling a pull to go Home for a couple of days and I can't ignore it for any longer without getting into trouble with the archangels. I'll be back in a few days, promise." Skizz explained and Tango squeezed his hand before letting go. Skizz vanished in a flash of white and Tango winced at the momentary exposure to Grace.

Shaking off the otherworldly feeling he scanned the room again to make sure nothing had been forgotten before he looked at Joker. “You might want to keep yourself invisible during the day. You're slightly see through” Tango warned and Joker shrugged.

“Yeah, alright.” A moment later the ghost vanished from his sight and it was slightly disconcerting to hear Joker giggling from seemingly nowhere. “Ooh, I can prank people so good like this now! Imagine what I could do at a store.” Joker trailed off into more intense giggling that had Tango mentally working on how he could get groceries without going to the actual store.

Tango started picking up his stuff but Impulse beat him to the printer. “I can carry that.” Tango insisted and Impulse gave him a look.

“I mean, I’ve got super strength and you’ve got a suitcase and other things to carry.” Impulse countered and promptly walked past him to leave the hotel room. Tango huffed but scooped up his backpack and suitcase. He did a quick sweep of the room and jumped when something tapped his shoulder. 

“Hey, since he’s gone, I have a question.” Joker murmured into Tango’s ear, still invisible. He was about to ask why Impulse needed to be gone but Joker kept speaking. “Why is that demon around you?”

It took Tango a moment to understand what Joker was actually asking. He almost never hunted demons and Impulse was nothing but a sweetheart, but once it clicked it made him angry. “Joker, I understand where you’re coming from, but don’t insult Impulse like that. He has been nothing but good to me and he’d rather die than see me come to harm. I trust him and Skizz.”

“Skizz is an angel so that’s fine but Impulse is a demon. They lie, cheat, manipulate…” Joker argued and Tango turned towards the sound to glare at the invisible ghost.

“I’ve met plenty of angels who are far worse than any demon and you haven’t been here long enough to speak to Impulse’s character. I know you’re saying this because you’re concerned and that we’re stuck together for the time being but I won’t tolerate you being rude to them.” Tango warned.

Joker fizzled into reality for a moment seemingly unintentionally, with a shocked expression, before he disappeared again. “I… Has something changed in Hunting since I was alive? Because demons used to be our biggest antagonist.”

Tango huffed with a small smile. “Come on Joker, you can’t tell me you never encountered a supernatural that didn’t deserve to die. Sometimes bad things happen to good people and they want to keep on being good, regardless of what their new instincts or the older members of their species say. I’m not going to pretend that Impulse is a saint, but he and Skizz are my best friends and they’ve done more for me than any human ever has.”

There was a moment of silence before he heard Joker sigh. “Fine. I’ll admit that humans have done plenty more nightmarish stuff than demons so I guess there are demons that could be alright too. Besides, even if you keep blindly trusting him I’m stuck with ya and I’ll be able to keep an eye on him.” Joker finally said.

“Hm, interesting strategy, Joker. First you confront me and when you fail you bring it to Tango instead. But fine. Keep an eye on me. I don’t care. You won’t find any justification to Hunt me.” Impulse was standing in the doorway to their room and Tango jumped when he suddenly spoke. 

“How long have you been there?” Tango asked and Impulse stepped forward to take his suitcase from him. 

“Long enough. Must say I never expected to see a day where someone would defend me like that. It’s kinda nice; I’m glad it’s you.” Impulse nudged him as he walked past and Tango couldn’t help smiling at the demon, who winked before he left the room. It took Tango a half second too long to realize that the demon had taken his suitcase leaving him with only his backpack to bring to the car.

Tango pouted as he followed, closing up the hotel room door behind them and there was a hair-raising awareness in his body that he couldn’t explain but that he knew meant Joker was following too. Impulse was already in his usually spot and Tango jumped into the drivers seat, tossing his backpack into the back.

“Thanks for bringing all my stuff to the car, Impy, you really didn't need to.” Tango insisted and it didn't surprise him when impulse waved his apology off.

“You're my friend.” The demon answered and Tango knew that really was all there was to it. Because that's just what being Impulse's friend meant. 

Rather than getting emotional over it Tango decided to toss his phone to the demon instead. “Alright, DJ, let's go. It's a long drive.” Tango declared as he started the car. Impulse was chuckling but by the time Tango had pulled out of the parking lot music was playing. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Impulse drumming on air to the music and Tango couldn't help but smile. They were missing Skizz, and boy was the karaoke real when the two of them were in the car together, but for the moment Tango was content.

Chapter Text

This hotel was a lot sketchier than the last, but it was probably better than sleeping in his car and it was the only hotel in over an hour so Tango pulled into the parking lot with just a little trepidation. Despite how sketchy it seemed the front desk person was polite and when he got up to the room, demon and ghost in tow, it seemed clean enough. There were even prepackaged toiletries in the bathroom.

“Well, it's far from the worst place we've ever stayed.” Tango declared as he flopped into the bed. The mattress was a bit hard for his taste but a bed was a bed and he'd enjoy it while he had it. 

“No good TV, I'm guessing.” Impulse was eyeing the small boxy TV skeptically and Tango couldn't help snickering. 

“Who would have thought a demon would be so obsessed with hockey?” Tango teased and Impulse blushed even as he glared. 

Joker popped into view right next to the TV laughing so hard he was gasping, but it sounded a lot more like genuine delight than anything malicious. “I don't… know why… that's so funny… but it suits you.” Joker finally managed to say and Impulse rolled his eyes but Tango could see the small smile playing on his lips.

A deep yawn had Tango glancing at the clock and he quietly hummed. “I think I'll take a nap since I don't imagine I'll be getting much sleep tonight.” He announced.

“Alright. Get some rest, Tango. We can wake you if we need you.” Impulse promised and Tango hummed again. Despite his declaration, it was still too early, too light out, for him to get any real sleep but even just dozing for a while would keep him more awake tonight.

He heard the TV turn on, the volume low, as a weight settled next to him on the bed and he nuzzled into Impulse's hip. A hand came to rest on his head, sharp nails gently massaging his scalp and quickly making him sleepier. “Rest, Tango.” Impulse's low encouragement was enough for him to nod off completely.

It hurt. He hurt. The scent of blood was strong in his nose. He wasn't the only one here being hurt, the screams seemed to always echo from somewhere when they weren't coming from him, but his body was sticky with his own blood. At least they'd finally taken his arms down so he was no longer hanging with his arms spread on the walls. Instead they just left him laying on the floor, probably because standing felt utterly impossible.

Footsteps started down the stone hall, a slow steady click-clack of expensive shoes that had become terrifyingly familiar. The entire dungeon went quiet at the sound aside from the slower metallic tap-tap-tap of a cane hitting the bars to their cages. Some people whimpered or gasped but no one dared make more noise for fear it would draw attention. Not that it mattered: the owner of that cane delighted in their fearful noises and only ever came here for him. 

The vampire’s face was blurry, forgotten in a haze of pain and time. Even it's voice, it's words, were muddled. But Tango definitely felt it when the vampire grabbed him and yanked him up from the floor, drawing a loud cry from his mouth as his body screamed. He whimpered with every exhale, tried to breathe deeper than the shallow rapid panting he was currently doing, as the vampire leaned in and lapped at the nearly dried blood on his neck and shoulder. 

“Little Hunter, you don't look so well.” The vampire cooed the words, but it was one step removed from tender or compassionate. Just enough it was cruel. “Nothing to say? Have you lost so much strength? What happened to that fire you had?” 

Tango's whole body was trembling and he was doing nothing to hold himself up so the vampire knew the answer. It just liked to mock him. And Tango realized if he didn't take action now he was going to die here. Everything seemed to slow around him as the vampire leaned in towards his neck and Tango's gaze landed on it's cane. It was made of wood. 

With a strength he didn't know he had Tango yanked free and lunged for the cane. His fingers missed by a hair's breadth and as he crumpled to the ground, unable to hold up his own weight, he thought ‘oh, this nightmare again’. It was fleeting at best as a hand grabbed his ankle and Tango screamed as it snapped whilst he was dragged back. A heavy weight landed on his back. 

“Oh Little Hunter, that was a good try. But you'll never be free of me.” The vampire’s weight kept him pinned and was making it hard to breathe. And then there were fangs digging into his throat and he screamed again. Fingers laced into his hair, yanking his head roughly to the side to expose even more of his neck and his body twitched and spasmed as the vampire drank. 

He was going to die here. The vampire was going to kill him. He'd never meet Skizz. Never meet Impulse. He would become another of Xisuma's ‘missing’. Tears fell from his eyes as the vampire released him, allowing his head to fall to the floor with a crack but it's fingers remained in his hair. The touch had turned almost gentle, familiar claws lightly massaging his scalp that just made him cry harder. 

“You're mine, Tango.” The vampire hissed in his ear but that was something just in his dream. The vampire didn't know his name, had never called it sounding soft and concerned. It was shaking him, not a lot but enough to jostle his wounds and make him whimper.

“Tango, wake up.” He wanted to. He didn't like being here. But what if he couldn't? What if this wasn't a nightmare and he really was back in that awful place? He should sleep, then. If Impulse and Skizz were made up in his dreams, then he should just close his eyes and sleep and see them again. So Tango let his eyes close.

And opened them with a gasp as he shot upright in bed. He was shaking hard, panting and clammy with sweat. Someone brushed his shoulder and he nearly jolted off the bed, would have if they hadn't caught him by the arm. His eyes met concerned yellow and black and Tango slumped against Impulse's chest like a puppet with cut strings, adrenaline gone and no strength to hold himself up. 

“Shh, you're okay, Tango. It was just a nightmare.” Impulse wrapped his arms around him and Tango continued to shiver even as warmth slowly sank in through those strong gentle arms. 

“Sorry, sorry…” Tango gasped but a hand landed in his hair, gentle claws scratching his scalp slowly erasing his nightmare.

“You don't need to be sorry for anything. I'm here. You're safe.” Impulse promised quietly and Tango whimpered. Impulse held him for several long minutes, until his breathing was steady and he stopped shaking. Quietly, more to himself than to Tango since the demon was speaking from over his head, Impulse whispered “I really wish you would tell me who did this to you.”

Tango shook his head. “Doesn't matter. He's dead.” Tango answered and Impulse hummed unhappily.

“Doesn't matter. I can just make his afterlife much, much worse.” Impulse countered and Tango couldn't help giving a weak chuckle.  Impulse gave him a squeeze before pulling back. “Are you really doing okay?” The demon asked softly and Tango nodded. 

“Just a nightmare, Impy. Not my first and certainly not my last.” Tango answered.

“Skizz and I might have something to say about that.” Impulse commented to the ceiling again and Tango hit him lightly in the chest, even as he chuckled. It was a slightly wet sound, his cheeks still damp with tears, but at least there was a little smile on his face. “Hey, violence! We just want to help!” Impulse playfully protested and Tango huffed as he pulled back, wiping away his tears. 

He glanced at the clock, now reading 11:20, and sighed. “Guess it's late enough for a ghost hunt.” He declared as he stood. There was no way he was getting back to sleep tonight. Tango would admit he had completely forgotten about Joker until he noticed the ghost hovering near the foot of the bed, looking more concerned than Tango had ever seen him. “Doing okay, Jokes?” Tango asked and the ghost startled.

“I.. yeah I'm…” Joker ran his fingers through his hair before he finally met Tango's eyes. “Are you ?”

Tango shrugged, a fake and helpless feeling smile on his face. “We've all had nightmare-inducing Hunts.” He answered, but Joker didn't seem convinced and neither did Impulse. But Tango was determined not to get into it so he just got to work putting his gear together for the hunt tonight. 

He was just shouldering his backpack when Impulse shuddered, eyes momentarily overtaken with black. “Everything okay?” Tango asked and the demon nodded.

“Yes, but I don't think I'll be able to accompany you. A contractor is calling me.” Impulse said and Tango couldn't help shrinking a little even as he nodded. He was a Hunter, a dang good one, but the idea of being without Impulse after his nightmare made him feel like the scared teen he'd been on his first Hunt.

“No, yeah, of course. You've got to take care of that. No worries.” He rambled until Impulse took hold of his hand. 

“Just call my name if you need me. Ever. For anything.” Impulse insisted and Tango nodded. After studying him for a moment longer Impulse released him and stepped back. He gave a military salute that had Tango giggling before the demon vanished into smoke.

“Huh, that's…” Tango's attention was pulled back to Joker, who was staring at where Impulse had vanished. 

“What?” He asked and after a moment the ghost shook his head.

“It's probably nothing. Just reminded me of something from when I was alive, I think. Maybe I'll borrow your laptop and look it up after the Hunt.” Joker answered and Tango shrugged.

“Sure. Let's get going, then.” Tango made sure to close up behind him, and that he wasn't forgetting his car keys or hotel room key. Joker faded out of sight, but just like before Tango had a tingling awareness that the ghost was nearby. It was already starting to feel comforting and Tango couldn't help wondering how weird it would be to not feel it once they got rid of the gold in his arm.

Chapter Text

The Hunt was going flawlessly. And by flawlessly Tango meant he'd already lost his flashlight, run out of ammo in the salt gun, was lost in the literal maze of a basement, and was being hunted by a ghost with a nasty habit of screaming so loud Tango was shocked his ears weren't bleeding. It was definitely a banshee, but of course he'd figured that out immediately upon entering the house and hearing it singing from down the halls. 

It was also abnormally frustratingly aggressive. Joker was being very helpful, warning him when it started getting close while trying to help him navigate the confusing hallways. Like, really: who outside of a serial killer makes a basement like this? But Tango had a bigger problem in the form of a very angry ghost currently trying to break his neck. Or at least burst his ears as another scream sent him to his knees, hands clasped over his ears.

Just as he felt like he could think again over the noise Joker appeared in front of him. He was saying something, Tango could see him mouthing words, but he couldn't hear a thing. Tango felt himself say “what?” At least, he was pretty sure he said ‘what’ because he couldn't hear himself either. Joker waved at him to follow so Tango forced himself to his feet and stumbled after the ghost. 

Apparently he'd been right next to the stairs because it only took about three sharp turns to get there and Tango scrambled up them. The front door was right next to him too and he bolted outside. The car ended up being the thing to catch his weight and he let his forehead rest on the metal as he caught his breath. His ears were still ringing but at least they had stopped hurting and he was pretty sure he could hear something. Was it the wind maybe?

Tango turned his head and realized it was Joker, who was likely yelling given how animatedly he was moving. Huh. He probably should be hearing more than a wispy breeze. After a moment Joker seemed to realize Tango couldn't hear him and slumped. His mouth was moving again and then he paused as he seemed to remember that Tango wasn’t hearing him. His face dropped for a moment before his expression lit up. 

Joker floated down to the ground where it was just a little bit muddy and slowly wrote the word ‘okay?’ with his finger. 

Tango shrugged. “Can't hear anything.” He hopefully said. It felt like that was what he said. 

Joker looked contemplative as he floated near the ground. After a minute he wrote ‘Hunt ghost still?’

“I can't exactly leave it there, Joker.” Tango answered with a chuckle but Joker huffed. He must be speaking clearly enough for Joker to understand so that was good. 

‘what if permanent?’

This one took Tango a moment longer to parse. “You mean, the damage to my ears? I think I'm okay right now. It is coming back, just slowly. But can you imagine if someone unprepared goes in there? Actually though… maybe we should come back with earplugs…” The more Tango thought about it the more it seemed like a wise decision. There wasn't a burning need to get rid of the ghost tonight. Nobody should be in any danger and unless he wanted permanent hearing damage it would be better to go get some earplugs or noise canceling headphones. And he could check the local obituaries during the day tomorrow to make sure the body was really in the house like he suspected.

Joker was nodding in agreement and so Tango gave the house one last glance. It was a shame to leave some of his gear behind but he could always get it when he came back tomorrow. Joker tugged on his sleeve, reminding Tango he still needed to drive to the hotel and shouldn't just take a nap in the car. With a groan he pushed himself off the car hood and moved to the driver's seat. 

Everything still felt a little wobbly but thankfully the roads to and from the house were practically abandoned and he didn’t encounter any other cars that could see him swaying out of his lane. The hotel wasn’t too far, only about half an hour, and it was just after 2am that he pulled into a parking place. Joker was still sitting next to him and he could see the ghost mouthing words again but he could only shrug as he still couldn’t hear anything. 

Joker slumped again before fading out of view and Tango took that as his que to head into the room. Joker reappeared the moment the door was shut and Tango stretched for a moment. “I’m going to shower. That basement was gross.” It was still incredibly disconcerting that he couldn’t hear his own voice. 

Joker nodded and Tango slipped into the bathroom. He locked the door, not that it would actually keep out any of his friends given their teleporting abilities, but they usually respected it. Quickly he stripped out of his clothes, only glancing at the mirror out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t like looking at the scars on his neck and shoulder. They had barely faded over the years and went up his throat far enough it was hard to hide, but neither Skizz nor even Impulse had ever seen the full extent of them. Tango shook himself off: he was normally better about ignoring the scars, but his nightmare must have brought the memories back to the forefront.

So he quickly got into the shower and nearly jumped back out because the water was freezing. He stood next to the shower stall shivering as he waited for it to warm up and mentally grumbled ‘so that’s why this place is so cheap’ at the water pressure. It was still only luke-warm when he got in and decided to make this a quick wash instead of the longer shower he’d hoped for. 

He still couldn’t really hear, and running water in his ear even a little hurt way more than he expected. Even more concerning was when he rubbed at his ear and his hand came away bloody. That… was really bad. But he’d have to take care of it after the shower. He barely scrubbed down before he was getting out and dried off almost roughly before getting dressed. He glanced at the mirror out of habit, just to be certain his scars were covered, before he left the bathroom.

And immediately he brightened because standing in the hotel room was “Skizz!” Tango called and the angel beamed at him, holding his arms open for a hug. It was only because of how long he’d known the angel that he knew the other was saying ‘Hey buddy!’ as Tango threw himself into the angel’s arms.

He was pretty sure Skizz was saying something, his chin was moving, but Tango didn’t have a clue what it was. After a moment Skizz stopped speaking and pulled back, studying his face closely. After a moment the angel turned to Joker, who was hovering over one of the bedside tables, and the two conversed for a minute.

Then Skizz turned back to him and took hold of his face with both hands, turning his head so Skizz could look into his ear. He said something to Joker before quickly turning Tango’s head the other way to look at his other ear. Skizz then placed his hands over Tango’s ears and Tango shivered at the brush of Grace. It felt like it sank into his head and for a moment he was weightless, in a void, only being grounded by Skizz’s hands.

And then abruptly he could hear again and the sudden onslaught of sounds nearly made him fall over. Instead he found himself leaning against Skizz, who was stroking his back, as he had to take a minute to adjust. “Thanks.” Tango murmured and Skizz hummed. 

“What happened?” Skizz asked. 

“Got a bit lost in a house with a Banshee. It did a lot more damage than I thought. Thanks.” Tango explained before he pulled back from Skizz and stretched. His balance still felt a little wobbly and things were a bit too loud, but it was much better than the utter silence he’d been experiencing for the last hour. “I’m going to grab some ear plugs and check the obituaries before going back tomorrow night.”

Skizz took his hand suddenly and looked at his face for a moment. “You had another nightmare, didn’t you?” Skizz murmured and despite how gentle the words where Tango felt a chill run down his spine at the angel’s uncanny ability to read him.

“You’re basically the only reason I don’t, Skizz.” Tango reminded with a laugh, though not even Joker seemed to buy his lightheartedness. Skizz just studied him for a second before pulling him over to the bed. They laid down next to each other and the angel tugged him so close he could hear the angel’s heartbeat. It wasn’t super common for them to cuddle like this but right now it made him feel safe and there was a buzzing warmth of Grace spreading through his limbs that promised his dreams would be pleasant.

“Sleep, Tango.” Skizz insisted quietly and Tango hummed softly. 

“Oh, right, what did the archangels want?” Tango mumbled sleepily and for a moment Skizz’s breath paused as the angel froze in place. Just long enough for Tango to notice and get concerned. “Skizz? What happened?”

The angel held him too tightly for him to turn around to look at Skizz’s face. “You don’t need to worry about it, Top. Just get some sleep, okay?” Skizz insisted quietly. 

“Telling me not to worry is like, the opposite of calming, I hope you know.” Tango complained and Skizz chuckled behind him, but even he could hear that it wasn’t a proper laugh. He took a moment to squeeze one of Skizz’s hands that was wrapped around him. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you, okay?” Tango whispered and Skizz squeezed him.

“Of course, Top, of course.” Tango didn’t believe Skizz’s promise in the slightest, but the business of angels was something he usually didn’t get involved in so he didn’t have any idea what was wrong, let alone how he could help. 

“And Joker, are you doing okay?” Tango asked.

“Of course I’m fine. Now go to sleep.” Joker insisted and Tango huffed at their determination even as his eyes closed.