Chapter Text
Virgil marched into the apartment with Roman trailing behind before pacing around the kitchen. Roman looked over at Thomas and Roman sitting on the couch before shrugging, not really sure what to say. "I told him and he practically ran here."
Patton arrived a bit late, having troubles getting out of work early. Not due to his boss, he let him go fairly quickly once he mentioned it was an emergency, but people don't care if you're in a rush when they need things. He had to call his boss over just to be able to get out of the library. He watched Virgil pacing and watched on in a bit of a panic himself before pulling him into a hug and getting him to breathe.
They all sat quietly around the table in the living room as Patton passed out cups to everyone. Tea, hot cocoa, coffee, even water if they declined the offer for a drink. Patton kept himself distracted before he sat down, joining Virgil on the floor and holding his hot cocoa close.
Logan's eyes were glowing slightly as he stared at the table. Everyone watched him in silence until it faded and he blinked, looking around. "As far as I can tell, it's not near us and doesn't know where we are." A chorus of relieved sighs ran out and everyone relaxed just a bit more. "I have a bit of unfortunate news to start off first." Logan looked up at Roman before turning to Virgil. "I can't quite tell since I've no idea what I'm looking for. Still, it seems it has been changing hosts at an incredible rate. Each person claims to not remember the experience more than a blackout."
Patton nodded and pulled himself in closer. "Yeah, Three doesn't remember anything at all except for that white noise it makes."
"Yeah, I remember that," Thomas spoke up. "I was trying to figure out where it was coming from before it, uh..." He made a motion towards his mouth much like he did when first explaining it to Logan. He dropped his hand, not really wanting to finish his sentence.
"It seems like it's searching for information. Thomas doesn't recognize the person who appeared at his door but that doesn't mean it didn't inhabit someone he did know who knew where he lived."
Thomas froze at the news, looking at Logan with panic. "I didn't think of that. One of my friends could have been..." He covered his mouth with his hands at the thought.
"What about the people it grabbed before it started hopping around?" Virgil asked with concern.
Logan and Roman exchanged a look before Roman huffed and crossed his arms, looking off. "Unfortunately, it dug a bit too deep and most of the hosts from before have not made it."
"So it just took what it wanted and left behind a string of bodies?" Virgil spat out in anger. "Were you ever planning on telling me this?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, we were. Perhaps in a more delicate way but we did not want to withhold this information." Logan adjusted his glasses, using it as an excuse to shoot Roman another look.
"I thought about it," Roman muttered, still facing away from the group. "At first I didn't want to but Logan had a point. Keeping it from you would have only upset you when you did find out." He looked over at Virgil before quickly looking away. "I will blame myself for it as much as you blame yourself, so don't blame yourself and we won't have a problem!"
Patton reached over and placed his hand on Virgil's shoulder, who was watching Roman rather confused but with an evergrowing smile. He looked over at Patton and jumped, pretending to cough and hiding the smile behind his hand as if it weren't there. "Whatever."
"So, what do we do now?" Patton looked up at the others. "It's already found Thomas and he can't stay here forever."
"There's only one thing I can think of." Logan leaned back in his chair and placing his hands together. "Wait for it to come to us."
"That is a terrible idea!" Roman cried out. "You expect us to sit here like ducks waiting for it to strike us down?" Roman stood up fiercely as he held up a fist. "Nay, I say we stand up and find it first!"
"Who says it hasn't already found us?" Logan looked over at Thomas. "What did it do when it found you?"
Thomas frowned and thought pensively for a moment. "Oh. Uh, it chased me around a table and I bolted out the front door."
"Did you outrun it or did it let you escape?"
His brows knitted together in thought. "I didn't look, I just ran, but I don't think it chased me too far."
Logan waves a hand towards him. "What makes you think it didn't let you escape? You came straight here thinking you were safe, you could have led it to us." Thomas froze and his eyes widened. "I do not believe that is what happened, however."
"Oh yeah?" Virgil leaned in a bit. "What do you think happened?"
"I don't truly believe it found Thomas first when it had a much better chance at finding any of us. We live together, there are more of us, and yet it went after the person that ran away the second it saw it that night? How many people in this city know Roman or Patton due to their jobs?"
Patton gasped loudly. "Oh gosh, I know everyone! I see hundreds of people at work every day!"
"People would know me from my theater work as well," Roman muttered, uncomfortable with the new revelation. "At the very least, it probably knows where the two of us work at this point."
"You're just telling us now?!" Virgil bit out angrily. "I was out there all day and that thing could have been right there watching me?"
Logan held his hands up in defense. "I honestly only started putting together the pieces today and nothing made sense until Thomas showed up."
"So, you're saying what I think you are." Virgil shifted uncomfortably and still angered. "It brought us all to one spot and is probably going to attack soon."
"As soon as tonight, probably. I don't see why it would wait much longer." Logan ran a hand through his hair, the stress finally showing no matter how much he had tried to hide it. "I've tried coming up with a few plans but I won't know for sure until it attacks."
"You can't come up with a plan for everything," Thomas said with concern. "I know you're trying and I know you have a few backup plans but there's just no way to plan for everything."
"I'm going to at least try." Logan shot Virgil a quick look who shook his head and looked away. "We just have to work together."
"Yeah!" Patton raised a fist into the air. "Teamwork makes the dream work!" He cheered.
Patton was determined to bring the overall mood up a bit. The rest of the afternoon was abuzz around the apartment as he gave out ideas. Thomas borrowed Patton's phone and called his friends, apologizing for his sudden disappearance. He told them what was going on and asked them to stay away from his apartment and to keep his phone on them so he could call and give them updates. They were less than thrilled but agreed under the condition they got to meet these super friends of his and finally get some answers. Claiming he had powers and now some monster was after him was a hard pill to swallow, but Thomas' friends would believe him only if he came back safe.
Patton decided to make a few snacks and Logan made dinner while the others set the table and made room for Thomas. Roman let him borrow some clothes for the night as he had the biggest wardrobe and Thomas appreciated his Disney apparel.
Patton and Virgil set up all the blankets and pillows in the living room and made it a big bed for a movie night. Virgil asked if they could watch anything but Disney which earned a few gasps from Thomas and Roman. Deciding he was being clever, Roman simply brought out his Pixar collection for them to choose from.
They had settled down after a heated debate about Pixar movies before setting up a small line-up to watch for the night. Most of them were on edge, half expecting something to happen and jumping when something in the movie got too loud. Despite everyone being on edge, they all started sleeping one by one. Patton made Virgil drink some tea to help him relax and settle down, having bought a few types good for sleep a while back. He mixed a few different kinds, determined to get Virgil to sleep a little bit that night. Roman and Thomas passed out soon after Virgil did and Patton was curled up, half awake facing away from the tv. Logan was watching the movie in a pile of people around him, not paying attention and his eyes glossed over with sleep. He fought the dipping of his head and shook himself awake, watching everyone else sleep as the movie continued to play.
His head shot up once more and he blinked awake, glancing around the apartment. He wasn't sure how long he had nodded off, but his heart raced as soon as his eyes opened and started to tear up. He blinked away the tears and looked around at the living room as it was hazy in his vision.
Logan reached over and shook the nearest person awake carefully. Once noticing it was Thomas, he placed his hands carefully before calling out his name. "Thomas! Everyone, we need to go! Get up!"
Groans called out but as soon as they woke up, the room was in a frenzy. "It set the building on fire? Are you kidding me?" Virgil cried out in panic. "Fucking great!"
"Language!" Patton cried out, not particularly caring all that much as he woke up. He covered his mouth and ducked his head down from the growing smoke.
"Hold on, I got this!" Virgil yelled before closing his eyes.
One by one, he pulled everyone out of time, being careful of Thomas as he did. "Good, thank you, Virgil." Logan adjusted his shirt, having slept in normal clothes. "Everyone, get dressed quickly. Meet up here in two minutes."
Roman ran and pulled Thomas along with him, ignoring the sparks that let out for a minute. Virgil had changed into pajamas due to Patton's insistence and immediately went to go get changed as well. Patton was already walking out of his room, shirt half on over his face as he stumbled out. Once he pulled it down, he looked at Logan and shrugged with a sheepish smile. "I get dressed last minute a lot."
"That was rather impressive."
Once they all had gathered, they made their way down the stairs as the smoke increased before it started to clear out. Patton stopped on the second floor before he was nudged to continue. "Poor Ms. Thompson! It looks like it started in her apartment! She lives directly below us."
"Then that's probably where the creature is, keep going, Patton!" Roman cried out. "I wish that stupid criminal didn't ruin my costume, I would love to have worn it for the showdown!"
"That's what you get for getting stabbed!" Virgil hissed out as they exited the building. Roman reflexively put his hand on his wound, being careful to not injure it further.
They turned back and watched their apartment building alit with a flame on the second floor and accepted their fate. Patton covered his mouth to prevent a cry from escaping, turning and looking away from the blaze. Virgil stared it down as if his intense glare would chase it away as Logan let out a soft sigh and looked away. Roman just seemed to be a mix of furious and distraught.
"My Disney movies, my wardrobe!" Roman cried out. "That monster shall pay!"
"We need to get going, we don't know where it is!" Virgil glanced around in every direction. "A smoke monster around smoke is a bad idea."
"Calm down, we're in frozen time!" Roman let out, turning and walking away. "So, where do we go now?" Roman turned to Logan who stared up at the building, frozen. "Brainiac?"
Logan's eyes blinked as they gave out their golden glow. "It's moving in there, I can feel it, sort of. I can't grab it, though. You were right, it was in Ms. Thompson. I can hear this white noise coming from her," Logan looked at the others. "It doesn't matter if time is frozen or not, soon it will be coming this way."
"Screw that!" Virgil let out, backing away. "We need to go, now!"
"You're right, let's go!" Roman ran forward, leading the way. "As long as time is stopped, at least it can't use anyone else!"
They all ran down the streets as Roman made his way, checking to make sure everyone was still following him. "Where are--we going?" Thomas called out, out of breath.
"The theater, of course! Best place for a heroic showdown!"
"Of course..." Virgil's face scrunched up but he didn't stop running, only able to keep up just barely.
Roman made it to the building and turned the knob, finding it locked. "Ah, well, Logan! Your assistance!"
Logan rolled his eyes and walked forward as he caught his breath. He closed his eyes and reached for the doorknob, turning it slowly until it clicked open. He stood up and Roman nodded, taking the lead once more.
The building was in complete darkness but Roman could just barely make out things in front of him. He glanced back and saw Logan, reaching out and taking his hand. The silent words between then were enough for Logan to reach back until everyone's hands were linked together, Virgil using his sleeve to hold onto Thomas' hand at the end. Roman led to the stage and stopped just before the stairs. "Okay, I think we can start time. We should be alone and the lights won't work unless we do."
"Get ready," Virgil called out before everyone stumbled forward with the movement of time. Roman created a small spark in his hand for light as he ran up the stairs and hit a button The lights slowly turned on as the room lit up, the brightest lights just above the stage. The others walked up and joined him, looking around and taking in their surroundings. They all stood on the stage, Thomas and Roman looking more at ease in the familiar environment while the other three looked around with curiosity.
Suddenly, Patton glowed as Two and Three showed up, popping up on either side of him. Without a word, they nodded and ran off in different directions. "Lookouts," Patton said with a shrug, looking around the stage. "Would rather be sure this time and we know what to expect."
"I'll try and see if I can't feel that thing. I recall feeling a bit uneasy as that one fellow followed us." Roman took a deep breath and looked around. "Of course, I don't feel anything. When I need it to work the most!"
"You may be feeling a bit too negatively for it to work," Logan stated. "Let me check, at least." Logan's eyes flashed a bit and he stood there still before shaking his head. "Nothing I wished I didn't know." His nose scrunched up in distaste. "People do not filter their thoughts. However, I can tell you the lovely couple two buildings over is having a lovely time together."
"Well, I got us here safe," Virgil muttered, looking over at Thomas. "You just got lucky enough to get wrapped up in all of this."
"You all owe me a big pizza after this is done." He joked, obviously nervous as he looked around. "You're never getting rid of me after all of this, no way. Facing off a monster with superpowers? Friends for life material."
"Aww, welcome to our family, kiddo!" Patton declared proudly. "Glad to have ya!"
Logan rolled his eyes but smiled, finding Patton's comment endearing. "Yes, well, remember we must keep on our toes. We don't know where it will come from."
"I'm always on my toes or I wouldn't be able to stand up!" Patton giggled at his own joke.
Roman looked over at Virgil who seemed to be attempting to hide in his hoodie on the side of the stage away from everyone else. He walked over and placed his hand comfortingly on his back. "Hey, how you holding up?"
"Terribly." Virgil scowled, eyes flickering around the theater. "So this is how you live, huh? Up on a stage? Dancing around and singing like a fool?" He looked out at all the seats and felt a shiver go down his back. "That's a lot of people just watching you."
"Mmm, it is, and it's quite intimidating. I always freak out right before a show." Roman looked out at the row of seats before them. "Once I get on stage, however, it all just... goes away. I know I'm not alone but my love for performing just takes over and I don't feel as anxious."
"Wonder what that's like." Virgil scoffed, turning and glancing around elsewhere.
Roman watched him before turning back to the side of the stage. "You'd make a great techie. They make sure the show runs smoothly and you're always worried about the worst case scenario. You'd make the show run perfect, I'm sure!"
Virgil let out a quick laugh and Roman was sure he rolled his eyes at the comment. "Yeah right, putting me in charge of anything is a bad idea."
"I think you could do it." Virgil looked over at Roman, earning him a smile. "We would get to work together."
Virgil quickly looked away. "That's a terrible idea. Your ego barely can fit on this stage."
"Ha! You'd be perfect at getting my head out of the clouds and back on track."
"I don't think that's possible. I can see you getting lost in your thoughts just being near me sometimes." Roman looked at Virgil who smiled back before his eyes widened and he quickly turned away. "We should keep looking." He muttered, walking off quickly and leaving a confused Roman behind. Had Virgil actually blushed at his endearing comments?
"Hey." Roman sped up and cut off Virgil's path of retreat. "This isn't your fault." Virgil shrugged him off without a word and walked around him. Roman reached out and grabbed his shoulder, spinning him back around. "It's not your fault, Virgil."
"The hell it is!" Virgil hissed out quietly, not wanting to gain the other's attention. "I let this thing out! People are dead, or injured, hell! Our apartment is currently burning down because of this damned thing and it's all my fault!"
Virgil marched away in a panic. "Why don't you get it?" He spun around after a few feet and glared at Roman. "I'm no good, how many times will things like this keep happening before I stop letting them happen?"
"Virgil," Roman muttered out softly.
Virgil continued his frantic pacing. "Things never go right whenever I get involved, especially when I try using my powers! This is why I never used them, but then you show up and start putting thoughts into my head like how things will be okay!" Roman stared quietly, watching Virgil pace back and forth. He suddenly stopped and faced Roman. "Now you're going to tell me how everything will be okay but it won't! How is any of this okay?!" Virgil lost control of his volume, not caring if the others heard in his frantic state. Roman stayed silent and made a slow approach across the stage. "No, stay away, I don't want to hear it, okay?" Roman made no sign he had heard, causing Virgil to take a step back. "This is not okay, Roman! I let you all down, I released an evil creature into the world, and now we're all doomed! There's no getting out of this!" Roman took a few more steps and Virgil backed up into the wall behind him. His breathing increased and he was nearly gasping as his eyes welled up. "We're not getting out of this and it's all my fault." Virgil shut his eyes and looked away, feeling a tear race down his face. "I'm sorry." The sound of the footsteps stopped and Virgil didn't open his eyes. "I'm so sorry."
"Virgil." He flinched at the sound of his name and let out a gasp as he felt a hand slide across his cheek. Roman brushed his thumb across Virgil's face, wiping away his tears. He slowly opened his eyes and glanced up at Roman and froze. "There you are," Roman whispered, smiling softly at him. He reached another hand out and cupped Virgil's face. "Now, breathe, Virgil."
At his words, Virgil felt the tears well up into his eyes once more and Roman grabbed his shoulders, pulling him into an embrace. Virgil refused to cry further and shook as he gasped for breath. "I'm sorry." He took a moment to take in a few shaky breaths, his tears stopping and his panic easing off.
Roman held him a bit closer as he felt Virgil stop shaking from hysteria. "Come now, pity doesn't look good on you."
Virgil gave a short laugh and pulled away, looking up at Roman. "I make it work."
Roman hummed in agreement and watched Virgil carefully. "I'm going to have to agree." Virgil looked up confused and Roman smiled a bit brighter. Roman reached down and grabbed Virgil's hand, rubbing his thumb across Virgil's knuckles. "Surely you've noticed by now, or are you really that dense?"
Virgil shook his head. "What are you talking about?" Instead of answering, Roman lifted up Virgil's hand, bringing it to his face. Roman watched Virgil as he gave a gentle kiss to the other's hand, watching Virgil's eyes widen and his face flush red. "W-what are you..."
"Come now, how much more obvious do I have to be, my dark knight?"
"D-don't call me that..." Virgil could barely get his words out and pulled his hand back, trying his best to shoot Roman a glare.
Watching Virgil only made him chuckle at the sight of him. "Virgil." Roman grew serious. "Tell me right now that I don't have a chance and I'll back off. Tell me you will never return my feelings because if you don't tell me right here right now, I will spend the rest of my life winning your affections."
"Now is not really the time, Roman." Virgil turned away, face somehow managing to grow even redder as he walked off.
"Awww!" Roman glanced over at Patton who had his hands pushed into his cheeks. "That is so sweet, guys!"
Roman resisted a smirk and rolled his eyes as he went to go follow Virgil before a shriek rang out. Everyone turned toward the noise, seeing a Patton come running in and up onto the stage.
The copy didn't hesitate before jumping at Patton and disappearing in a flash. Patton let out a loud gasp and put a hand on his chest, looking up. "That was Three, it's here!"
"Get ready, don't let your guard down!" Logan cried out. He turned to Virgil. "Are you ready? We need you to create a portal we can toss it into so it will never come back."
"I can try, but I can't promise anything." Virgil attempted to shake off his nerves to no avail.
"What's the plan?" Thomas called out.
"We wing it and try not to die!"
Thomas looked over at Virgil with horror. "That's a terrible plan!"
Logan nodded. "Hardly practical."
"Two?" Patton cried out, looking around. "Two, come back! It's here!"
"I know!" The sound of thundering footsteps was followed by Two, sprinting as fast as he could with a look of terror on his face. Not a foot behind him was the cloud creature, following his every step and tumble as it raced after him. Patton moved over and waved his hand over and wiggling his fingers, hoping his encouragement would make Two move quicker. Logan grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "You can't just run over there!" Logan tugged a bit more, hoping to get Patton to move.
"Two, come on!" He cried out, reaching towards Two.
"Run!" Thomas cried out as Two made it up the stairs to them all, the creature on his heels. "RUN!"
Roman reached out and grabbed Virgil, pulling him close and burying Virgil's head into his shoulder. He ducked down and watched the others run as the creature chased after them as they ducked behind the stage. He pulled back and Virgil looked over before they looked at one another. "That's not good," Roman muttered.
In an unspoken conversation, they both shot out after the others, following the sounds of panic and feet before a loud crash rang out. A flash of light grabbed their attention and Roman ran over to a small storage room before freezing in the doorway with the door slowly stopping just before it closed. He looked over at Virgil who was behind him and trying not to panic as he took a deep breath. He nodded and Roman turned to the door, slowly pushing it open and turning on the light.
Logan was pushing himself off of the floor with Patton apologizing and getting off of him quickly. Thomas was bracing himself against the wall and turned around, rubbing his head. They all stood up and dusted themselves off before freezing and looking at one another.
Roman took a step into the room carefully before lifting a hand and lighting it up with sparks. "Which one of you is it? Show yourself!"
"Not me, I swear!" Patton jumped back, knocking into Logan. "Oh, sorry!" He took a step to the side and hugged himself close. "Three kind of panicked there, sorry. I wasn't a very good lookout, was I?"
"It's not me," Thomas said, rubbing the back of his head. "I don't think so, I did knock my head there. I don't hear any static or feel any different."
"Well, I seem to be fine." Logan's eyes lit up and he looked at the others. "I don't think it's here, but I don't understand." His eyes flashed and returned to normal. "It has to be one of us, correct? It was right behind us. Two merged back into Patton and tumbled into me and I pushed Thomas." Logan looked around the room carefully. "So where did it go?"
Thomas took in a sharp breath. "It was possessing so many people, do you think it knows how to act normal like it's not really there?"
"So it could be one of us and we wouldn't know?!" Patton panicked. "What do we do?!"
"Calm down." Roman still held up his hand as his eyes watched each carefully. "We're not even sure if that's even possible! We can figure this out together, we just have to figure out which one of us it is first. It's certainly not me and it can't be Virgil, right? We weren't even in the room, right Virge?"
Roman spun around and saw Virgil standing in the doorway, watching each carefully. He took a step closer and slowly pushed the door closed, the click of the lock ringing out. "Yeah, it's in here somewhere."
"Why did you lock the door, Virge?" Patton asked with a smile. "We can't unlock it from the inside! It's a closet."
Virgil's head tilted and he frowned. "But now the creature can't get out."
"Well, yes, but following that logic, we also can't get out," Logan stated.
Virgil looked confused as he watched the others carefully. Slowly, he began to smile and a puff of blackened smoke escaped his mouth. "Who says you need to?"
Logan looked panicked before crying out "Wait, the air vents-!"
Virgil closed his eyes and stumbled forward before taking in the room. Everyone was frozen in time, unable to move. His eyes flitted from person to person before letting out a low chuckle. "Well, now. That was rather easy."