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thetomorrowshow · 5 years

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Mutually Beneficial Ch. iv

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Tw: Remus Sanders

Recommended listening: Love Never Dies - The Coney Island Waltz

“So this is it,” Roman whispered. “This is as close as I've ever dared come to the Realm of the Dark Sides.”

“That's a scary way to put it,” Patton whispered back, pulling his onesie closer around himself. Logan absentmindedly patted him on the shoulder. Roman was being a bit dramatic. So far, all they'd done was cross the Imagination, which, with Roman, was a short endeavor.

Roman screwed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. Slower than slow, he lifted his foot and set it down cautiously on the other side of some invisible line. When nothing happened, he opened one eye, then the other, looking around, as if he'd been expecting a land mine. “That's that, then,” he muttered.

“Onward!” he declared to the other two, his face shining with vigor. “On to unexplored lands!”

It was a little suffocating. They didn't talk. Everything felt too close. It was almost exhausting to keep moving, as if their shoes were weighted, or they were trudging through sand.

“Well, for being the 'Realm of the Dark Sides', as Roman so eloquently put it,” Logan broke the silence, “it certainly isn't all that dark.”

“It is odd, isn't it?” Roman agreed, almost under his breath. “Although, it's not exactly bright, is it?”

“It's . . . grainy,” whispered Patton. “Like. . . .”

“An old cartoon on VHS,” Roman finished. “The quality is lower, and maybe there's some water damage. Still watchable, just . . . painful to view.”

Logan rolled his eyes at the over-complicated comparison, accurate though it was. Then he frowned and straightened his glasses. The distance was . . . irresolute, he decided. Almost as if it didn't know what it wanted to be. Looking around, though, revealed every direction to mirror that, even though he was certain they'd just been traipsing through a well-lit hallway.

“It's all changing,” Roman said in awe.

“It is redesigning,” Logan corrected. “It's an incredibly versatile environment. I would hypothesize that it looks different depending upon who it needs to represent. As none of us have ever been here before, it has to, well, buffer.”

“It's beautiful,” said Patton softly, “in a . . . bad way.”

Roman nodded agreement, his brow furrowed. “It is. . . .”

Then, gradually but somehow suddenly, a hallway surrounded them. It was dimmer than before, spookier. There weren't any doors or windows or hangings, just the occasional light bulb and peeling wallpaper.

“This is scary,” whispered Patton. Roman nodded again, one hand on the hilt of his sword.

“Don't—” Roman's voice cracked— “Don't fret, Patton,” he covered loudly, “I will protect you!”

“Boo!”

Roman screamed; Logan blinked; Patton threw himself behind the both of them.

Remus. Jazz hands, wide eyes, uncomfortably big smile.

“You!” said Roman.

“Me!”

“What business have you here?”

Remus dropped to the ground. “I should ask you that,” he said, rolling onto his back, staring up at them with too-bright eyes. “After all, you're the ones in the Hallway to Hell!”

“That's definitely over-exaggerated,” Logan commented.

Roman pulled a double take. “Are you joking? I wish I'd come up with that!”

“That doesn't sound very nice,” Patton said nervously. “Does it really go to . . . you know . . . H-E-double C-K?”

“Of course!”

“No,” Logan said firmly. “It's just a name, Patton.”

“I suppooooooose you're looking for Viiirgiiil?” Remus asked, scooting toward them on his back. They watched as he stretched his feet over his forehead, bending in a way Thomas was definitely not capable of. He continued the reverse somersault, staring at them the entire time—even when his head was meant to be looking in the opposite direction. It just swiveled around on his neck, grinning at their obvious disgust. Finally, he completed the display of gymnastics, flat on his back once again.

“I'm sorry—what did you say?” Roman asked, shaking his head as if coming out of a reverie.

Remus grinned and snapped his fingers. Beside him, the wall dipped slightly, creating a small depression. It gradually pushed outward, billowing and rippling and wavering until a doorway, leading to black nothingness, was framed. “Perhaps you'll find him.”

Logan glanced over his shoulder. At all appearances, the hallway was equally long in both directions. When he looked back, Remus was gone. Well, mostly. Two tall fingers remained, floating in the air where he'd been holding them up.

“I hate that guy,” muttered Roman. “Anyhow—into the black! Into the Unknown! No turning back! Onward, now all alone!”

“You aren't alone,” Logan pointed out, confused. Roman ignored him and kept on.

Logan was, with good reason, concerned. Who knew where that pitch-black doorway could lead? Despite his misgivings, though, Logan followed, trying to shake the sensation that they were being watched.

A/N: Thought I should let y’all know that Roman quotes some Starkid there near the end. I didn’t come up with it myself

Taglist (let me know if you want to be added/removed): @emo-adjacent @stop-it-anxiety @bl00scl00s @kai-the-person @shitpost-sides @i-can-get-extra-with-my-ships

#mutually beneficial #thomas sanders #sanders sides #sanders sides fic #ts sides #fanfic #ts #roman sanders #ts roman #remus sanders #ts remus #logan sanders #ts logan #patton sanders #ts patton #i'm proud of the hallway joke #starkid lyrics #cheshirecat!remus

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