#Oh Thomas. Why did it have to be rings ergo hands? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wispandwhispers · 4 years

Text

moonboy

Pairings: Prinxiety, Logicality, qpr dukeceit

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Tw(s): Cursing, torture, blood, slightly unsympathetic remy for a bit, implied unrequited love, crying.

Words: 4412

Notes: This is so late I’m so sorry. I don’t wanna write for the next week. Christ.

The moment Roman pulled away, Virgil slapped him across the face.

"Why did you do that?" Lunapuer's query came out in staggered breaths, the type filled by adrenaline. He backed away from the other slowly. "Why. Did. You. Do. That?"

Shit. Should of asked for consent first.

"I don't know really, I thought that It would be romantic?"

The emo has started to pace around the room, "This doesn't make sense. You hate me. You despise the fact I breathe, you design a personalised ring of Dante's inferno to try and drive me to my tipping point." He whipped his head to face Roman, eyes voids of chaotic madness, of stars and nebulas and galaxies and everything beyond. The couch, coffee table and various other furniture had begun to slowly rise into the air, shaking with the distress that the boy must feel and almost primed to obliterate whatever was causing Virgil distress.

If I touched one of those floaty things, would get the galaxy on me?

"Why the fuck would you kiss me?" The tension wasn't thick, it was more sluggish. Harder to move through, harder to navigate and so much harder to leave. Roman was starting to feel ..disturbed ..by this and maybe he was starting to realise that Lunaper was..not normal.

Wait Lunapuer. Luna Puer. Moon Child. What?

"What..are you?"

A long lingering glare.

"I think it would be time for you to stare into my -"

The sound of a metal knocker hitting wood to the tune of One Jump Ahead interrupted the emo's train of thought.

Virgil eyes died down, putting his planned smiting on hold. He walked over to the source of the knocking and opened the front door to be met with a kid who couldn't be just anything more than a year older than him. And he wasn't being Xia's older brother.

Recognising him, Roman got off the floor and ran up to him, wrapping him in a hug. The boy hugged him back.

"Thomas, you know I love you but why exactly are you here?"

"I'll answer that when you tell me who you brought home. And why the couch is floating. But first the boy?"

Xia gave the emo a shaky grin, trying to mentally concoct a sentence that wouldn't immediately get him killed.

"Umm, Thomas this is Virgil, Virgil this is Thomas."

Despite Virgil only putting his hand out for a hand sake, Xia's cup his face and stare into his eyes.

"How 'bout on the beach...."

"On the beach for what?"

"For the wedd...," He noticed Roman's 'Not now' hand signal "..ling. Yeah for Wedling."

Thomas ignored the emo's confused facial expression.

"Anyway, Dad wants me to babysit you."

"What the fuck, I'm sixteen, I don't need supervision. I'm practically an adult."

(Thomas crouched down slightly so he was on Roman's eye level. "You and me both know that we barely have the cooking skills to cook a cup of ramen.")

("Ha, I'm calling you Ramen now, you don't have a choice.")

Thomas stood back up.

"That's what I said, but Remus' is going to need a fucking good lawyer for him to have a chance to see the light of day again."

"That bad? God.."

While the family was trying to figure out what they were going to do, Virgil put back on his jacket.

"Not to interrupt this lovely familial bonding moment but Remus isn't going to need a lawyer."

Thomas looked over to Virgil in shock.

"Oh yeah, Virgil, meet my elder brother Thomas and Thomas meet my ex- arch nemesis, who recently tried to kill/brainwash me, Virgil."

****

"It's my car, why can't I drive?"

Lunaper opened the clicked it open with his key.

"Without me, you won't be able to find Remy , ergo you won't be able to prove your brother's innocence . Also you've put me in a bad mood, so if you don't want me to finish what I started in the living room, I suggest you shut up."

During the emo's rant, the car had proceeded to float about a foot of the ground and the lifter's eyes seemed to be smoking with cosmos.

("I call shotgun!" Thomas ran to the front seat like a child.)

Roman, you can't get yourself killed, you haven't married him.

Xia climbed into the backseat.

"Fine but be gentle with it."

("I'll be gentle until I have to be rough with it.")

("What?")

(Virgil didn't respond.)

******

(Roman and Thomas talk to each other in the back about men.)

ThomasTheDankEngine: ...you're a bottom..

I'mRoyalty: Wtf, why would you even assume that?

ThomasTheDankEngine: So I didn't walk into a scene in the room? Cause you really seem to like him at least from what I've gathered (aha, you didn't deny liking him though)

I'mRoyalty: (Yes, I am attracted to the most beautiful creation on earth, leave me alone )You were barely in the house for 5 minutes,you couldn't have gathered any 'data'

ThomasTheDankEngine: The 'data' I have collected is the visuals of your eyes undressing him, you horny bastard.

I'mRoyalty: Hey, at least I'm not a Remus level of horny

ThomasTheDankEngine : Fair enough. On a different note, you are aware that your crush isn't even hitting the gas pedal. He's just staring at the road and moving the steering wheel. I'm calling it now, he's an alien

I'mRoyalty: Tbh, I don't think he even knows what he is. And I don't really care, I just want to kiss him. And marry him. And all that other couple stuff.

******

"Um, Virgil, why are we at the Station?"

"I don't know either..."

Unbuckling his seatbelt and stepping outside into the semi cool spring air, the trio made there way over to the police station door.

"Shit, is Pa actually crying?"

"Yeah, he's not doing that well.."

Thomas turned the younger.

"Okay, lets go in before I have an attack over this."

Roman could almost see Lunapuer eyes widen in realisation of something. Roman couldn't put his finger on it.

He isn't moving..

"Hey, Virgil, aren't you coming with us?"

The emo's neck turned.

"To your parents, I'm just some random ass kid with glitchy irises. I'm not immediate family so I don't have a fucking right to be inside."

"You'll be ok though?"

"Is that even a question. I'm never ok, I promise."

*****

The squeaky floors of the centre made Roman feel uncomfortable ,like they had to always clear up...something.

(He would leave the empty gap up to his brother. It was more his forte.)

Walking pass the seemingly pissed officer (who let them move after they were patted down and had stayed their full names, they were met with the face of -

Dad spotted us, time to use those lessons from Jan now.

Their Dad ran up to them and held there faces, almost like they would fade away into nothingness the minute they let go.

"Why the flipping fuck are you here?"

Okay, Dad can curse, my life is a lie.

"Me And Thomas wanted to see Remus." Roman stopped on his elder's foot, code for 'play along'.

The parent stepped back and only know he could see his Dad's dishevelled hair that was rash and messed up that looked like the type you would have after years on end of stress despite the fact when it was neat hours ago.

"Look, I would prefer you here for moral support and all that jazz but your brother and his partner have basically secured their cell, they keep on ranting about how there was a lemon fic -whatever that means- about you and hypnotism and Remington apparently being the reason why they are in this fucking mess- DO YOU ANY IDEA WHAT THIS NONSENSE MEANS!"

I know what it means but I don't need to chucked to Picani's for a session.

Thomas seemed to get the 'we got the information we need, let's roll' signal.

"Oh, shit, I think I left the the oven running, Roman let's roll."

("I new that theatre major would come in handy.")

"Come back when you're done!"

("Anyway, I don't understand what's happening or what you know so you fill him in."

"Okay!"

("I don't really have a choice anyway.")

******

"Get in the fucking car, we are going to cut a bitch."

******

Virgil parked the car at the opposite side of the road.He slammed it so hard that it dented its inside and he had probably broken the door, but Roman wasn't going to comment about that because he feared the earth that was contained in his crush.

He rushed over to Zenith who was laying in the sand of the bay, casually scrolling through his feed with a Starbucks cup in hand and not like the government had just pronounced him dead.

He noticed the angry man in purple charging towards him.

"Virgie, did you see-"

"Cut me none of that 'Virgie' bullshit Remington, you blackmailed someone into silence, you know you aren't allowed to abuse you abilities like that."

Remy pushed down the bridge of sunglasses, revealing his eyes that seemed even more chaotic than Lunapuer's but floating with clouds instead of space.

"This isn't some game anymore, people I care-"

("You care about my brother and Janus")

("While you were being a shit bag to me, I had to find someone who would show me where my classrooms were.")

"back to what I was saying- People I care about are going to suffer serious consequences for crap you should pay the price for-wait, why did Jan and Rem even try to drown you in the first place?"

The glasses are off, what does it mean?

"Cousin, if you think you are big enough to say my full name then you are big enough to deal with the consequences of my coffee break."

("Why the fuck are you having coffee so late?")

("You've seen me off caffeine. I'm not exactly a sane person."

"I don't even want to fight you because I might actually kill you."

Remy looked over his shoulder to see the setting sun glistening over the water he was supposedly dead in.

"(Oh, shit) Look, cuz-"

Where Virgil's eye sockets should be were replaced with a empty caverns of galaxy that was literally choking his cousin. The tendrils of the universe snaked up his neck and grasped onto it.

"C͈̈́Á͖͔͊L̢̖̘̎̄̉̿̓͟͢L̢̢̽̆ ͚͔̩̀̿̒MȆ̡̢̛̖͖̇͞ ̰̠̘̫͑̎̈́̄A ͇̖̙̽̐̓Ñ̜I̡̢͉̝͌̒̌̎C̗͛K̰͊Ň͔̮̘͚͙̎͗̇̄Ȃ̧̱̩͌̓M̰̙̰̿̉͡Ȩ̗̅͛ ̗̒O̡̡̟̜͛̄̃̽NE̗͉͇̿̎͌ ̩̲͛̆̽͟M̹̬͖̔̕̕O̮͖͍̝͑̈̓͆̽͢Ṟ̢̙̊̔̃E ̨̘͆̍T͇͐Ḭ͎̼͛̅̂M̻̠̩̾̆̈́E, ͔̥̭̜̎̽̄͡I͉͎̟̒̅̎͞ͅ ̛̛͉̼̪͇̎͡D̨̩̋̀A̼̒R̺͠E̬͎̓́ ͓̰̭͓͛͋͊͡Ÿ̙̭̱̐̊Ò͖͚̞͑̊̕ͅỦ̙̻̌!"

("So you have a a crush on a homicidal mystery man who is also a magical boy?")

(Roman just glared at his brother.)

"I DID IT TO PROTECT YOU FROM HIM!"

The turn of a necks in synchrony shattered the waves of the river bed they were on. Time was an illusion and two seconds could of passed and no one could tell the difference.

Zenith decided to break the peace.

"LOOK, I CARE ABOUT YOU, I ACTUALLY DO AND I'M NOT GONNA YOU FALL FOR A HEARTBREAKER ON MY WATCH!"

Virgil likes me back. VIRGIL ACTUALLY LIKES ME BACK!?

Lunapuer eyebrow lowered in concentration almost.

"N͙̤̹͚͂͌͐̕O͍͡ M̧͍̲̓̍̇Ą̠̻̤́̈̿́T͔̣̾͐T͓̙͉̈́̀̍Ę̥̠̻͚̏̍̓͊͝R̙̺̠̯̾̑̾̕ ̥̱̋̂Ẅ̨̞̜̉̊HAT̡̥͇͂́̈́̕͜ ̮͖͙̼̻̓̑̕̕͝R̨͓̾̓Ã͔͔̰̻̫͆̃͐̂ME̫͔̻̻͗̑́͡N͈̱̒͑ ̲̗̣̓́̌̆͜Ḋ̠ID ͍̻̣͕̎̍͂͡T̬̙̩̓̀͑O̙̘̻̓̍͂ ͙̺͈͈̀̃̀̑̽͟Y̺̖̖̻̍͛̋͛Ǒ̦͖̀̂͢U̱͊,̤͓͂̉ ̘̳̄̊Í̥̺̕T̠͂ ͔͚͋̑D̲̀̑͢OĚ̝̝̣̏̊S̖̆N̲͕̕͞'̛͙̝̜̎͐T̨̲̲͉͒͆̂̍ ̝̭̬͕̾̈́̌͡Ģ̊I̢̢͍͊͐̊VE̥͕̾͛ ̝͌Ỹ̨̪͕͕̒̋̿OŮ̩͕̯̆̍ ̧̩̗̙̒̑͋̚A̘̜̙͊͝͝Ņ͉̽͆̈́͟Ý̞̣͔̩̂̄͠ ̯̀RI̲͚͔͔̔͆̃́Ģ̲̫̈̔̕HṬ̓ ͙̼͚̫̱͆̒͐͠͡Ţ͈͇͗͑̈O ̹̹̹͂̀͂D̛̠̖̍̅͟O̧͔͗͠ ̛̦W̖͇̹̮͊̌̊͆H͎̉A̩̫͇̽̅͊͜͠T̬̙͔̞̑͛͑̈́͗͢ ̖͖͉͂̆̈Y̯͚͓̜̣̆̈̀͊͊O̡̅Ṳ̜͕̈́̔͆ ̢̤̞͆̕͝D̢̡͈͙̤͗͊̃̽̍I̛͕̱̾D̯̃̓͟!"

The gripping got tighter.

"Plea-se, pleas-e, I am fully aware I am a cunt pile and don't even deserve redemption in the slightest, but let me live and maybe I can make it up to you."

For a single second, it looked like Virgil was genuinely going to finish off the job that Rem and Jan failed to do. But me showed mercy.

His eyes died down.

"Get in the back, use your powers to make today seem like one long ass fever dream, help us break Re and Jay out of prison and maybe you'll see the sunrise."

Remington picked up his shades and went to the back seat.

'Ramen' was shocked.

"Why exactly did you let him go?"

"As long as the moon is out, He will be the one worrying."

******

"Psst, Janus!"

No response.

"La Snits!"

"Remus had spiked my drink and I was high off my ass, wait why are you here?"

Janus turned his head to be met with Roman who was currently picking the lock on his cell.

"I'm getting really sick and tired of people asking that."

The lock mechanisms chimed open.

"Okay, listen: Virgil and Remy have powers that I don't even think they know how to control and are using them to put the whole town asleep. Your hypnotism made me have a 'veil' and made me hate Virgil for about two months. I'm back to normal now. Remy has apologised for blackmailing me and has promised to destroy you-know-what. And- What what happened to your face?"

Xia just noticed Vales face that a scar the look creepily akin to snake scales. It covered about half of it and it was still bleeding, not even looking like it would scab over.

"There is more than one reason why I am Zeneith's body should be at that bottom of the ocean currently."

How strong is Remy exactly?

"Kayyyy, lets get to your-"

"Jan!"

"Rem!"

Remus skidded against the floor, just in his socks to his partner.

"Look, my older brother is stopping me from deforming Starbuck slut's body because that's immoral or some shit and I really , really am sorry that we got caught. How was I supposed to know the fucker could respawn-"

"You're shaking."

And the hypnotist was right, Remus was practically vibrating.

"I'm fine , I just want to have Remy's intestines in my hands, that's it."

"Look, I'm not getting sappy in public but I don't really want a repeat of Canada,"

("Canada?!")

"So can you please calm down for me?"

Remus pouted like a four year old.

"If I do this, I get to kill him later,"

"Of course you can."

Janus may of then talked to Remus about his lack of shoes and maybe given him a piggy back because he was kind of tired, Roman wouldn't know. He was just looking listening to their happiness and feeling happy for his brother.

The hell ,Thomas?

The more mature brother ( his father's words , not his) was floating with the sir, accompanied by the galaxy aura thing that Virgil had.

"So because I stopped Remus from literally murdering Remy Virgil gave me floaty shoes. And Remy kind of apologised to him for something, I don't really understand, but floaty shoes!"

Roman just stared as his elder fanboying in awe of his newly acquired footwear, wondering how the fuck is he older than him.

"Remy won't need to worry, Janus has gotten him to calm down a little. I would say that he has a week left to live though."

"Wow, this day could of gone to shit but it didn't, it's almost like some omnipotent voice is going to say 'And they lived happily after' "

And with every happily ever after ,you get your true love as well.

"The stars are aligning!"

"What?"

Virgil seemed to just materialize out of nowhere, and even in the prison grade lighting, he was still the most beautiful thing Roman had ever left his eyes on. Even in the crappy yellow coming from the ceiling, he still shone like a the stars laced in the sky.

Roman stepped forward and took his hand, holding it loose enough that he could pull back at any time given.

"You know, The boys everyone made up with each other, except me and you and today has almost been perfect I'm just waiting for...you..."

Virgil slipped his hand out of Roman to return it to his side.

"Princey," He took a long pause, trying to find those right words "Life isn't like a Disney movie, it doesn't have a structured plot and it doesn't move at the speed you need it to. Not everything and everyone is going to make you happy because that's just how life is, lots of people getting fucked over. Janus and Remus might of forgiven you and I might of forgiven Remy for what he did but I experienced hell from you and even if that veil made you do dumb shit, I am still recovering from it. And yes I did like you, you are cute and handsome and funny and just a great guy but I can't have a relationship with you after the shit you did to me. But I can agree to try and move pass that."

Lunapuer shook out his hand.

"Deal?"

Roman shook it.

******

"Turn to page 37 on your-"

The bell broker up the music theory teacher's instructions.

"Remember to memorise the sheet for the 18th of .."

Roman didn't get the last of what he said, he rushed out the classroom to meet Virgil at his locker near Homeroom.

"Umm, here you go."

The sound of hard plastic hit the public school quality(shit) metal.

"Why did you buy these for me exactly?"

"Well, you're always listening to Starchild-"

"Starkid, It's Starkid."

How could you mess that up, dumbass.

"Yep, anyway, and I decided to buy you a a latest pair of headphones to try out. I even paid extra for it in purple and black."

The emo picked up the the case and looked at it and eyes widen when he saw the price of it.

"God, Princey, I don't know really what to say-"

"You don't have to say a single thing, this was a gift out of the kindness of my own-"

"But I can I have the receipt?"

"WHAT!"

He picked up the case and gave it back to the giver.

"These are so fucking amazing and just really nice and cool but I can't do these, I use earphones 'cause I like to fiddle with the wires, they ground me when I have my weekly existential crisis/panic attack and slow down the spiralling a little."

Roman just stood there stunned.

"You spent a lot of money on this and I am just putting it to waste but giving it back to you but I just feel more comfortable with wires, I guess."

Taking his artbook out of his locker for the period right after Lunch, he gave Xia a two finger salute and made the journey to the food hall.

A still stunned Roman concocted a solution to the problem of the gift he had bought.

******

Virgil walked into class the next day wearing purple earphones instead of white and hugged Roman.

The class promptly checked Lunaper for a fever.

******

"Kiddo, why are you up so late?"

"You don't really have a right to talk, you're the one whose up as well."

Roman's Dad reaches for the shelf.

"Wanna cookie?"

"Nah, I'm already had my 2am snack."

A little snort filled the still kitchen.

"You know, that reminds me of those weird dreams your father's been having since we were a king."

"What dreams?"

Roman scooted forward on his stool not to miss out of any of the tail.

"He always had these.. lucid dreams of a reality where we all lived together in Thomas' head."

"You're joking!"

"No I'm not, It's actually the reason why we picked Thomas from the orphanage, he had had fantasies of us looking after him and guiding him through life. We all had his face as well, I don't really understand it either."

He promptly shoved a cookie in his mouth.

"Anything else?"

The father figure paused his snacking.

"Look, If you are telling me a fable of us protecting Thomas, you better deliver on it."

"It's not really a fable, it's just Logie's imagination running wild. Anyway in the world we all had jobs, like your Dad was logic and a teacher, I was morality and a dad, you and your brother were a prince and a duke respectively and were both creativity."

Roman snorted the milk he was drinking.

"Oh, God these are so weird. I know me and Remus used to make believe play a lot as a kid but like that's so far fetched!"

His father joined in the cackling.

After a few moments of them calming down, Roman queried his Dad.

"If in some weird fever dream Pa has , I can be a prince, do you think I can get my happily ever after as well?"

The ran had started to splash against the window, making a faint tapping noise in the distance.

"Life won't always give you strict fairy-tale endings, but you can try and sculpt your ending so it makes you happy. "

******

"Princey, !"

"Why are you whispering?"

"Just come here you Disney reject."

"So I can't call you nicknames/insults but you can?"

"Life's not fair, get used to it."

Virgil passed him a note with some numbers on them.

"Can you god to my locker and get the book out of it?"

Roman obeyed said instructions and returned with a copy of Moby Dick.

"You never struck me as the type to read the 'Classics'."

"Yeah, 'cause I'm not." Virgil proceeded to open the book inside to find it was a shell that had-

Are those drugs?

"No they're not, fuuc.."

Lunapuer started to rub his temples akin to how you would if you had a headache or a brain freeze.

Xia knitted his eyebrows together, trying to plan his next step.

Can you hear my thoughts?

"Wow, I wonder why I responded when you said the pills were drugs."

"Woe is me for asking that apparently!"

"Look Ramen, the eclipse is coming in like three hours and I have the worst headache of the century. I use sass and sarcasm as a coping mechanism when I don't know what to say, so bare with me for the time being."

Roman scorched up next to his friend/crush/he didn't even know at this point.

"It would be nice if you enlighten me to how you can suddenly read my mind, but you don't have to."

"I can't really describe it, my brain almost starts cheat coding reality and I can hear voices suddenly that usually I can't. And if I use any of powers, they are so destructive that I could probably shatter the school by just touching the floor."

Xia just listened patiently, taking in his little pupils which were currently flickering from space mode and back to normal.

"So I'm guessing that Remy wears shades all the time because someone is always dreaming or something.."

"Yeah kinda...Ramen can I ask you for another favour?"

It's not even sure I could say no to you. I'm pretty sure the fabric of my being would be ripped apart.

(The emo may or not have looked away with a red tint in his cheeks)

"Yeah, what do you want?"

"I don't even think that I can make it back to class-I'll probably pass out anyway-can you get me to my bag and get me too the office?"

Before Virgil had even finished the sentence, Roman was already carrying him bridal style.

"Hey ,what the fuck?"

"You said you needed to get to the office, the quickest way is for me to get you there."

"What about my bag?"

"You're more important and I'll get it later."

Lunapuer didn't respond.

******

"Why did your dad introduce himself to me by giving a compliment wrapped in a insult?"

"It's just a thing he does, I don't think I've ever seen him introduce himself to anyone normal."

******

"What are you doing here, you should be out there, channeling your inner thespian or whatever.."

Just the muffled calamity of the drama hall could be heard. Also the pitter patter of Roman's tears.

"Shit, you're crying, why the fuck are you crying, did I do something wrong, God I knew I am a piece of shit, should I-

“No, It’s not your fault.”

Even if Roman’s face was currently leaking like a broken faucet, he still managed to have a steady voice by some miracle.

Virgil scooted over to the to the wall where Ramen’s back was on, looking above him to see the poster for the end of year play of Beauty and the Beast.

“You think you flopped it, don’t you?”

“Wow, I must be so easy to read, the queer theatre kid who never was able to make that part in the school play they always wanted. Next thing you know I’ll go insane and sell my soul to for something symbolic like a crown.”

“You’re queer?”

(The splashes of Roman’s tears just got more intense.)

“Yeah, I don’t really want to put a label on myself yet.”

(Some screamed ‘Next’. It was most likely a student trying to fuck with the drama teacher.)

“Well, I’m questioning still, I kind of like almost anyone. It’s confusing.”

Almost on cue with the end of Virgil’s statement, Roman started to ugly cry.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck why are you even here?”

“I was looking for you actually, Princey. I kind of got into a big fight with Remus over something and I came to you so we could vibe together.”

Even though Xia’s tears looked strong enough to break a dam, his mouth seemed to curl upwards.

“Look, that’s really nice but I don’t deserve you here, I fucked up a basic ass song and now I’m going to be casted as grass #4.”

“Ramen, I’m not leaving until you agree to brood with me.”

“I would really prefer if you didn’t refer me as a food stuff.”

“Roman!” And the tears stopped flowing. And the crude acting in the background stopped moving . And the clock stopped moving and life and death themselves had seemed to pause. Roman didn’t care if this was Virgil’s powers at work or someone had spiked his water bottle because the fact that he was so closed to his face and now he could see the condensed universe in his eyes made all the pain just drain away. The atmosphere was tense like almost the way that his ..better dreams with the boy dressed in stars would start.

“Roman I don’t like seeing you sad, but I know emotions don’t work like that.. And I’m pissed at your brother and I don’t know how to deal with that...”

Roman’s face and Virgil were a little bit close for comfort

“You said you wanted us to brood together., let’s do it.”

Virgil was the one to pull Roman’s shirt and claim his lips.

#moonboy au #logicality #qpr dukeceit #prinxiety #i hate this so much #i spent so fucking long on this bitchy chapter #roman sanders #virgil sanders #janus sanders #remus sanders #i

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residentanchor · 6 years

Text

A Lesson in Practicality 23

<<Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Summary: The Final Showdown... Word Count: 4363

He had been right there behind Roman peering around him and looking at his friends in the storage room. He had seen Roman walk in and make demands, eyeing each person carefully while being completely on guard. He had taken a step back for a moment just to calm his heart and gather himself. He was still a mess from his outburst earlier on the stage and his frantic heartbeat hadn't calmed down from Roman's actions. He had seen the creature chasing after Two as the other's panicked faces as they turned to run off wouldn't leave his thoughts.

All this led up to what had happened now and Virgil blamed himself for every second of it. He hadn't noticed the growing noise of static until the last second, turning around to see the creature just a moment too late. He hadn't even had a moment to prepare before he was forced to be frozen in place and unbreathing, completely still as it settled uncomfortably causing the pounding pressure ringing in his skull. The creature had the perfect opportunity and Virgil had basically handed himself over without a fight. Patton had explained the brief experience he had remembered and all he mentioned was a headache and nothing but static but there was so much and it was so loud he couldn't think as it kept growing louder and louder and...

Unknowingly, Virgil's eyes watched those in front of him with a spring in his step and a smirk on his face. There they were, the only people in the city even worth the monster's time it had seemed. Humans were fragile creatures and the monster had learned to be delicate if it wanted to keep what it had. They reached up and ran a hand through his hair, pushing it out of their face so they could properly see. They never understood half the things humans did, like purposefully impairing their visions for no reason.

They walked in slowly, looking up at Roman first who had turned around halfway, hand starting to fall to his side and sparks vanished as realization had begun to set in on his face. Roman's jaw had started to drop in disbelief and had frozen just before the thought had fully set in. He was the most... loud of the group and the creature didn't need to know what he was capable of. The oaf had pretty much announced himself to the whole city about his power, it's what attracted the creature to him in the first place, really.

Though, there were still other options laid out before them. They walked around Roman as their eyes fell on the next person and searched their current host for a name. Logan had seemed panicked as if he had realized what would happen, an arm stretched out beside him and attempting to cover the confused and oblivious man standing behind him. Virgil's memories weren't necessary for that one, they had learned more than enough about Patton from experience and while the man was interesting, he wasn't the one they were really after.

No, that would be the one in the back. The one leaning up against the wall watching carefully and trying to distance himself from the front door as if it would help hide him from the dangers that lurked beyond. Virgil found his feet carefully moving passed Logan and Patton, eyes entirely focused on Thomas. Each one had their own strengths, but the potential this one carried caused the creature to shiver in eagerness, another puff of smoke trailing from his current host's mouth, Virgil's body shivering involuntarily along with it.

They watched the other carefully and frowned a bit at what they saw. Thomas was brave for trying to stand up with the others with next to nothing to defend himself while still obviously afraid, but his initial reaction had been to run away. Not ideal at all, but the potential that lied beyond was incredible, they wouldn't have to choose between any of them if this one could just take everything the others had to offer. They reached out and grabbed the man's face carefully as to not nudge him out of place and break free from time. Inspecting him closely, they smirked at what they had seen and made a decision. They took a breath and the smoke increased as the monster slithered their way out, being careful as they planned to start time just as they had hopped out into their new host. Otherwise, the creature would be stuck frozen in time in their new body, which would serve no good, as Thomas himself was unsure how most of his abilities even worked. Virgil's memories showed that Thomas hadn't really gotten a hang of anything specifically so they wanted to be careful, just in case. They had stopped and blinked as an important thought, a memory Virgil had, quickly flashed through his head as the creature felt his hands warm up on the frozen man's face.

Before they could even react, Thomas fell forward into the other, reaching out and grabbing Virgil's arms to catch himself from falling. Thomas gasped and panted as he evened out his breathing before looking up, watching the confused face grow with anger and sneer down at him, the black wisps of smoke still escaping him. He jumped back in fear and found him against the wall once more, staring as Virgil watched him closely.

Thomas watched as Virgil's face started to smile back at him and slowly reach out to him once more. "So that's how it works, hm?" He muttered to himself. Thomas jumped back and pushed himself into the corner of the room to keep as much distance as possible.

"Stay back! Don't come any closer!"

"Oh?" Virgil's head tilted to the side as he watched him. "What will you do if I don't listen?"

Taking one step closer, Thomas looked past him at the frozen forms of all his friends. He looked over and saw where he had broken free before looking back at the advancing form of Virgil. "Well you, I mean I can-!" The panic seemed to settle as Thomas got an idea, smirking a bit awkwardly at the other. "W-well, that's pretty obvious!" Thomas squeezed his eyes shut and Virgil jumped forward as if it knew what he had been thinking. Time started and everyone stumbled to the side, Virgil falling into the wall and giving Thomas the opportunity to run by and stand by the others.

Everyone turned as Virgil adjusted himself, smoke finally vanishing from his breaths, turning and looking at the others. Patton stood by Logan who stepped up with Thomas, Roman standing right behind them and face uncomfortably indifferent.

"Well, this is a warm welcome." He sneered back, obviously upset by the change of plans.

"Get out." Roman pushed the others out of the way, sparks jumping off from his shoulders and down his arms. "Get out of him now!"

"Oh, you seem upset, Ro." Virgil chuckled and stuck his hands in his hoodie pockets as if nothing was wrong. He hunched over, taking the posture Virgil usually did in normal situations. "Was it something I said?"

Instead of giving him an answer, Roman growled and advanced, reaching out and grabbing Virgil's hoodie, pulling him close. "I chased you away before don't doubt I won't do it again!"

Virgil blinked and suddenly his face changed to one of fear, reaching up and grabbing his hood, being careful of Roman's overcharged hands. "R-ro, wait! It's me, please let me go!" He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Stop, don't hurt me! Please! I promise it's me just please..."

Roman quickly dropped him and took a step back, suddenly fearful of his actions. Virgil stumbled back and caught himself, laughter filling the room. "Oh, is that all it takes? Pathetic!" He dusted himself off before looking up at the others. "You think just because I'm in a corner means I'm trapped, but you forget that I'm not locked in here with you. You're all stuck with me and I'm not letting any of you go without a fight."

Logan took a step forward and put a hand on Roman's shoulder giving it a comforting squeeze. "What is your plan, then? What do you plan on doing once you have what you want?" His eyes almost glowed with his power but he dared not use it, not sure if he could help or harm Virgil if he did.

"Plan?" He held his hands up and motioned around the room. "I want power and here it is! There is no plan, I don't really need one. What I want is power and I'm going to take as much of it as I can!" He looked down and held his hoodie opened, pulling it away from himself as if disgusted by the sight of it. "Virgil here is useless! So much power and he doesn't want it! All I want to do is go home and shower and, oh." He dropped his arms to his side. "Right, I guess can't do that anyway. Oops. Oh well."

Logan watched curiously before speaking up. "Wait. You want what Virgil wants? You physically feel what your host desires? Is that why you don't want Virgil because he doesn't want his power? Why you didn't want Patton?"

"Eh?" Patton squeaked at the mention of his name. "Why didn't he want me?"

"Well, what do you like to do, Patton?" Logan muttered quietly. "You love helping people and it just wants to take. You wouldn't like that, ergo it doesn't want someone as kind-hearted as you."

"Oh, that would be so sweet if I wasn't so absolutely terrified..."

"So now what?" Roman spoke up, standing up taller and glaring down the possessed man in front of them. "If you don't want Virgil, let him go!"

"I'm not an idiot, Roman. I'm not going to give up my hostage without getting anything in return!" Everyone froze at the news. "Oh, what? You must realize the danger isn't passed. You forget that I can just burrow myself in here?" Virgil tapped a finger on his head a few times. "The mind is so powerful and yet so feeble. You're all so weak, it could be so easy and so quick you wouldn't even feel it. Well, he might feel it, I can't always be too kind."

"You wouldn't do that!" Thomas shouted. "That's your only leverage!"

Virgil's shoulders shook with laughter. "Oh, oh no! You have it all wrong!" His grin grew even more. "I didn't just jump around for fun, although that is why I decided to play around with you all. I easily could have taken you out one by one, but where's the fun in that? I'm finally free in a world where I can do whatever I desire! I learned a few things in my short time here. For example, kick the pilot out of the seat and things get a lot cozier for me." He tapped on his head once more for emphasis.

"No!" Roman screamed out in a panic. "No, you can't do that!"

"Oh, I could but why would I want to when there are more comfortable options right here before me?"

"So that's it then." Logan looked down at the ground as he tensed up. "You take one of us and make a break for it?"

"Not my first initial plan but yes." Virgil's eyes landed on Thomas. "I was hoping to run a few tests, see what some of you were truly capable of, but I'll count my losses and go. I'm feeling rather generous, so here's my one and only offer. One of you give in and I let the rest of you go. I'll even leave the city so you'll never see me again." He shrugged a bit. "There were this many of you in one city, I'm sure there are others out there."

Patton took a step back and hugged himself, not comfortable with the idea at all. He rubbed his hands down his arms as he shivered at the thought. Logan and Roman caught each other's glances of panic and Thomas was frozen, shaking his head as he thought to himself. He then looked over at Logan and the other caught his glance.

"Oh, too hard of a choice to make, hmm? Let me see." Virgil tapped a finger on his chin as he looked at the others. "Logan, so curious and smart. I wouldn't mind walking around with the mind to seek out more knowledge. Oh, and Roman! So brave, so driven to be the center of attention. That sounds rather nice, too. What about you, Thomas? Cowardly and yet something keeps bringing you back." They all sat silently, uncomfortably listening to them before Thomas turned back to the others, whispering and unsure of himself. "What if-"

"No!" Patton jumped up, walking up but not daring to take a step past Logan. "No negotiating, no one is agreeing to this!"

"Patton, I could-" Thomas began.

"No! I'm not letting you do this! That's final!" In a flash of light, Two ran out and grabbed Thomas, pulling him into a hug and staring Virgil down. "No one else, no more. Please, I can't..." Two held on a bit tighter at Patton's words.

Thomas didn't fight back but he looked over at Logan once more before sighing. "Fine. I'm sorry, Pat." He reached up and hugged Two back, realizing the only reason Two had come out was that Patton was no doubt afraid of stepping any closer himself.

Two slowly let go and slid off of Thomas before pulling away, looking at Virgil the entire time.

"Well that was simply touching, I think I might cry," Virgil scoffed and watched the others. "If I have to settle for this one then I guess I will." He motioned to himself, staring back down at his current host.

"No, wait." Logan took a step forward and Two turned around, fear across his face. "I'll do it."

"No, you will not!" Patton reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling back as hard as he could muster. Logan turned and stared Patton down, not willing to back off. He tugged his arm free as Patton's face fell. "No, Logan, you can't!"

"I'm sorry, Patton, but I'm not going to stand by and watch Virgil die while I could have done something about it."

"Oh, he thinks he's being noble," Virgil called out. "Is this because you made Virgil promise to go back in time and stop me if things turned south, hm? Trying to save all your friends, huh?" Logan watched on, fists clenching as he grit his teeth. "Oh, didn't think I knew about that? Of course, I have access to all his memories, how do you think I learned about you all in the first place? I only knew how many of you there were because of my time with Patton. Oh, sorry, it was Three, wasn't it?" The uncomfortable energy in the air grew thicker at the words from the creature. "Don't worry, it's not like I can possibly do anything to stop that from happening after I let him go."

"You don't hurt Virgil or any of the others!" Logan called out quickly. "Agree to my terms and we have a deal. You leave them all alone and leave town immediately."

"This is ridiculous, you can't listen to it!" Thomas cried out. "We can't trust it will follow through with its word!"

"Oh, and what are you going to do if I don't?" Virgil turned to Thomas, sending him a challenging glare. "The only thing you've managed to do when I've been around is turn and run away." He took a step closer and watched Thomas scurry away just as fast. "See? Cowardly." He turned his attention back to Logan. "Fine then, I agree to those terms."

"Alright then."

"No!" Two called out, standing in between them. "Enough of this!"

Logan wasted no time as he reached out and grabbed Two by the arm, turning and using the momentum to throw him back into Patton. They stumbled back and in a flash of light, Patton fell back onto a stack of boxes, scattering them about before falling to the floor. Logan turned back and saw Roman racing over to help him up as he faced Virgil once more. "Go ahead then."

Without further prompting, Virgil's head flew back and the creature shot into the air, wasting no time and heading right for Logan. He closed his eyes and braced himself, pulling his arms in close as he hugged himself in a moment of fear. He gasped as a force hit him, causing him to stagger backward and hit the wall behind him before looking back up and blinking at the sight that lay before him.

Thomas stood where he had just been, the smoke swirling around him before vanishing completely, gripping his head and attempting to stand up properly. Thomas shook his head a few times and Logan looked past him at Virgil who lay motionless on the ground where he once stood. His eyes quickly flashed back up to Thomas. "No. No, Thomas, what did you do?!"

Thomas blinked and turned around, watching Logan carefully. "Well, good thing I didn't keep my promise since you couldn't keep yours." He smiled and looked down at Logan as he pushed himself up from the wall. "Sorry about your friend, by the way."

"Virge?" Patton called out, sitting up on the floor with help from Roman. "Virgil!"

Roman shot up and ran across the room, ignoring Thomas who stood there, his eyes never leaving Logan. Roman fell to his knees and placed his head on Virgil's chest, freezing and listening for any sound. He waited impatiently before sitting up and staring down the other. "No, Virgil, no! Damn it!" Roman rubbed his hands together and sparks started to fly out. "You're not dying on me like this!"

Thomas took a step closer to Logan as he looked up and watched the man approach, listening to Roman's attempts to revive their friend in vain. "So what, you're just going to kill us one by one then?" Logan whispered though he felt his words were much louder than they actually were. "What if it doesn't work? You take our abilities but they don't last forever? What will you do then?"

"That's why I have two backup test subjects sitting behind me, Logan. Come on, I thought you were supposed to be the smart one."

"Come on, Virgil!" Roman let out another set of sparks as he blinked away his tears. Patton watched on, hand over his mouth as he shut his eyes and sat there hopelessly. He looked over at Logan and Thomas and tried to get up, but his legs refused to listen. He looked back and forth before turning away, not wanting to see what would happen next. "Virge, please!" Roman's voice broke as he called out, sending one last shot of sparks. The room lit up before they fizzled out and Roman fell forward. "No, no no..." He held his head in his hands as he finally gave up. "Damn it, why...?"

Logan looked up at Thomas as he suddenly stopped his advance, a frown forming on his face. He watched Logan closely, the frown slowly growing as seconds ticked by. Logan watched almost amused as the panic on Thomas' face finally started to set in. "What are-"

"Hey!" Thomas looked over his shoulder to see Roman pushing himself off of the floor. His eyes filled with tears and his teeth bared with rage. "I'm not done with you." He growled out, eyes red and tear tracks down his face. He took a big step over Virgil and marched right over to Thomas, angry sparks shooting off of him and down his arms once more.

Logan pulled himself together in a burst of energy and emotion and stood up, eyes glowing gold with power. "To think we would sit here and just let this happen without a fight would have been foolish of you."

Thomas spun around, eyes wide with shock as he froze up. "No, you wouldn't..." A look of realization as he had found the memory within Thomas. One just a few hours before, when they were alone in the apartment. A plan they had thought of, a promise to one another to follow through if it had come down to it.

"Thomas and I made a promise just in case this very scenario happened and I fully intend on seeing it through." Roman caught on to what was happening and grabbed Thomas around the middle, making sure his arms were covered and no skin contact was made. He had Thomas' arms pinned to the side as he linked his fingers together and held a firm grip on the other. "I was hoping to be the victim but I commend his bravery. Thank you, Thomas."

"What are you going to do?" Patton whimpered from the floor. He wiped his eyes and started to stand shakily, ready to do anything to help now that his legs had once again started to listen to him.

Thomas swallowed in fear and watched on helplessly. "He's going to wipe my memory as far as he can until there's nothing left." Thomas squirmed and fought in Roman's arms but was no match physically for the other. "You'll leave him as good as dead! You realize that, right? You'll leave him an empty husk! I won't be able to control him but you're signing his death certificate!"

"Better than leaving him actually dead." Logan's eyes flashed brighter and started bleeding into a bright blue color as Thomas cried out in pain. "He knew what this meant, and he jumped in with no hesitation. He is far braver than you gave him credit for." Roman closed his eyes and turned his head away, making sure he never let go of the man in his arms. Eventually, Thomas stopped fighting and slumped over as Logan's eyes flashed brighter and brighter, completely shining blue. Suddenly it stopped and he blinked as the light diminished completely back to normal. Roman looked over and let go of the man in his arms, carefully bringing him to the floor before backing off.

Smoke slowly appeared, staggering out and into the open air. Patton gasped and covered his mouth once more as the creature struggled to do much of anything.

"Quick, we need to get rid of it!" Roman looked around the room and picked up a box Patton had knocked over, dumping out its contents onto the floor and turning back to the creature.

"It ate through metal last time you did this, that won't work!" Logan called out as he started to panic.

Roman approached as it ascended into the air, holding the box up to catch it. "It's weak and we just need to hold it long enough to get rid of it!"

"B-but we can't create a portal!" Logan cried out in a panic. "Both Thomas and Virgil are..."

Roman swung down and trapped the creature in the box, closing it quickly and spinning it around. "You ready, Virge?"

No one would notice when time froze, or when Virgil broke free by rolling over and groaning into the floor, reaching up and grabbing his chest with both his hands and head resting against the floor, panting for breath. They would miss when he threw his head back and pushed himself up, eyeing the box in Roman's hands carefully. They wouldn't see when he reached up and grabbed it, shaking as the creature hissed with static as it tried to break free but still too weak to do so. Virgil wasted no time turning and walking over to his portal that lay on the floor before dropping it through as it vanished. They would, however, see him standing there and falling to his knees as time started once more. Roman ran over and grabbed him before he fell forward, pulling Virgil into his arms as the other groaned and winced in pain.

"Virgil!" Patton cried out, this time the tears happily welcomed as he got up and made his way over. "Oh my goodness, he's alive!"

"Yeah, I managed to get his heart starting and no one noticed. He just told me to grab the thing and he'd get rid of it." Roman laughed and pulled Virgil in closer. "It was stupid. You're in terrible shape. You're lucky we were desperate."

"Yeah." Virgil looked up with a grimace. "I know brave but stupid is usually your thing but I wanted to give it a try."

Roman couldn't be mad at his words as he laughed and rocked Virgil back and forth in his arms, turning to Logan.

Thomas was rolled over onto his back and Logan held his head in his hands. His eyes flashed brightly once again turning blue as he focused on his task at hand. "Lo?" Patton called out but the room grew quiet as Logan put all his effort and energy onto Thomas. "Can you change him back? Is he going to be okay?"

The storage room was silent as everyone turned to Logan and watching him carefully. Minutes passed as he worked, his eyes continuing to emit a bright blue glow as they watched the unconscious man on the floor. Suddenly, Thomas grimaced and groaned in pain causing Logan to back off as he watched the man on the floor blink and look up at him. His eyes were glassy and unfocused as he slowly pushed himself off of the floor. Logan reached out, still careful about skin contact at the moment, and helped Thomas off of the floor. They both stood and Thomas leaned on him for support before looking at the others. "What's going on? Where am I?"

"Thomas?" Patton called out, standing up and walking closer. "Thomas, are you okay? What do you remember?"

Thomas looked at them all and slowly shifted his gaze from each slowly before looking back up at Patton. He shook his head and watched Patton closely. "I'm... Who are you?" Chapter 24>> Tag list: @cyberpunkjinx @phlying-squirrel @equipodeleo @ace-anx @tisithelittleelephant @fandomsofrandom

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