#Logan changed first- then Roman and Patton. last was Virgil because he didn´t want to do it

[nico-the-overlord]

100% recommend you guys at least try doing this- it was so fun

Sanders Sides trivia questions I came up with that I think are pretty hard to really difficult level in knowledge lol

I am going to be real I don't think anyone could answer all these without getting a couple wrong/having to look them up- BUT I CHALLENGE YOU TO TRY :D!

(Answer key will be posted in the reblogs)

[5-falsehoods-phonated]

Dee Little Snake

Series Summary:  Janus uses age regression as a way to destress but has little control over it whenever he grows upset. Trying to keep a secret like that can be hard when you’re only four years old, and thus family bonding ensues in a way nobody expected, least of all Deceit.

Chapter 4: Safe at Night

Chapter summary: Patton can't sleep and Dee doesn't want to, so Logan offers a solution to fix at least one of their problems.

Warnings: mild angst, if there's more please let me know.

Taglist (ask to be added or removed): @a-different-s1de @emo--nightmare

General taglist (ask to be added or removed): @janus-is-an-adorable-snek-boi @logans-library @im-an-anxious-wreck

WC: 2,358

Pulling just so to settle his sweater sleeves in their usual knot against his collar bones, Patton shut his door quietly and continued down the hall. It was late, almost eleven at night, and Patton knew if anyone caught him awake at this hour they’d call him a hypocrite. He and Logan were constantly nagging the others to get to bed earlier- Patton admittedly less so just because he knew how easy it was to accidentally binge Parks and Rec into the wee hours of the morning. Shaking his head he decided it didn’t matter, as long as he was quiet no one would notice anyway.

He stopped outside Virgil’s room, the darkness beneath it not really telling him whether he was awake or not. Too often had he peeked in to check on him so find him sitting up with a blanket over his shoulders and his headphones on, scaring the daylights out of Patton the first few times seeing nothing but Virgil’s pale, spooked face streaked with leftover eyeshadow shining through the darkness. He hadn’t done it as much lately because of- well everything that was going on. He figured if he looked in and Virgil was asleep he wouldn’t want to ruin what little rest he got with how tense things had been.

With that depressing thought he turned to see Roman’s door a little ways down the hall. He hadn’t been coming out much lately, seeming to prefer the company of whatever magical entities he came up with in his world rather than what he could find in the common room. And that was...fine. It was completely fine, of course it was! They all needed a bit of a break every now and again and he couldn’t expect every member of his family to want to be around him all the time.

Except that it had been a few weeks since he had had his meltdown; a few weeks since he had gone back on everything he had ever known to be right and accepted De- Janus- into their lives completely and agreed to work with him rather than actively against him. And he knew- he knew how Roman must have taken it. How many times had he been confused about something but forged ahead anyway because everyone had seemed to need him to have the answers? He was the dad, of course he had answers! But then- those answers had changed as they had grown and earned experience and knowledge but was too stubborn to change along with it, so too then Roman had been. Roamn had had his world view flipped just as much as Patton had but Roman had trusted Patton’s insistence that he knew all the answers- and even when he began to admit he didn’t he remained resolute that there were things you just knew- and still Roman trusted that. Now that was wrong, so was Patton, and the one person Patton had always said did nothing but deceive he now knew was one to trust. But Roman was past trusting him, and after so many years Patton really couldn’t blame him.

He realized then how unsettling it would look for him to be simply standing in the middle of the hallway, motionless with a deep frown lining his face. Shaking off the melancholy he brought his hands to his face and rubbed up and down a bit more roughly than was necessary, standing his bangs on end but it fit the late hour so he supposed it didn’t matter. He glanced at Logan’s door but the more responsible side would most definitely be asleep by now so he didn’t even bother stopping, determined to make it to the kitchen to get a glass of water and maybe even cocoa before trying to turn in for the night. He could worry about his kiddos when he could string together more than two coherent thoughts that didn’t end with him feeling like he shouldn’t leave his bed for the next ten years at least.

He was going to walk past Janus’ room but paused and cocked his head to listen better. A faint tune could just barely be heard through the door though Patton couldn’t place what it could be. Was Janus playing music? Could he not sleep either? Maybe he’d be willing to join him in the kitchen for a late night snack if he wasn’t too tired; Patton could definitely use the company with the way his thoughts were straying tonight. Stepping closer so his feet were almost right up against the door jam he could see a very faint, warm light shining underneath, He leaned in and held his breath, straining to try and hear whatever it was that was playing. What he heard however only confused him further.

A child’s voice was singing a soft, wordless tune that didn’t seem to have any inspiration behind; just something simple seemingly to keep themselves occupied. Occasionally the tune would stop and they would mumble something he didn’t quite catch but then it would pick back up again just as quietly. Patton leaned away in confusion, sure that he recognized the voice but why-

Dee! Putting the pieces together only made him more confused. If Janus was regressed then why was he alone? And why was he still awake? From what he remembered Dee was only four so it was definitely way past his bedtime and more importantly he didn’t hear Virgil in with him, which definitely meant he was alone considering Virgil was constantly talking to Dee when they were together- much more than when Janus was out of little space but Patton suspected that was just something the’d eventually have to work out. Puffing his cheeks out he debated whether or not he should intrude. Dee was little, up late and alone but Patton had also only found out Janus regressed at all a few days ago and he honestly wouldn’t blame the kiddo if he didn’t fully trust him or want him around just yet, if he ever would at all. Virgil needed his rest, Roman was already mad at both him and Janus, Remus….well anyway- and he was ninety nine percent certain Logan would not be a side Dee would want to know about this.

The door cracked open before he could make up his mind, Dee’s fluffy curls making him smile even though he was internally panicking. Sure he was the more father oriented side but he didn’t know if he was actually good with kids last time he had just seen a crying child and wanted it to stop but this time he was the one almost in tears and he really didn’t want to cry in front of one of his kiddos when they were this small and-

A tiny hand slipping into his brought him out of his thought spiral and he found himself stumbling forward as Dee tugged insistently, leaving the door cracked behind them as he was led to a ring of stuffed animals surrounding a small electric candle. The smaller side let go and patted the space beside him as an offer to Patton, which he took somewhat nervously.

“I can’t do all the voices.” So saying he was handed a floppy stuffed elephant, the poor thing bending in the middle from lack of stuffing but certainly not from lack of hugs it had surely received. Dee picked up a stuffed tiger that was lying prone beside him, no doubt the one he had been playing with before he opened the door. It’s fur was a bit ratty and it was just as floppy as all of them seemed to be- in fact most of these seemed to be copies of Thomas’ old stuffed animals he had had growing up, finding a new purpose in his mind with his smallest side. Patton smiled at the thought of all their past friends finding new adventures with someone who clearly loved them just as much, running his thumbs over the elephants soft ears lovingly as he watched Dee get the tiger into position and begin moving it around in a strange sort of rhythm that looked like an odd sort of dance, picking up his previous humming with the most adorable look of concentration Patton had ever seen. The child looked up at him expectantly, making Patton realize he was probably meant to hum along to whatever performance the tiger was putting on for the rest of them.

Smiling softly he brought the elephant up and began making it dance, clearing his throat before humming quietly along with Dee. He really should be in bed but Patton was loath to ruin this moment. It was so peaceful- the electric candle flickered like a real flame and the lamp in the corner illuminated everything just enough to give the room a soft golden glow to it. The carpet was soft underneath him and the humming, nonsensical as it was, was soothing and just loud enough to remind him what he was doing. He wasn’t exactly sure what game they were playing but he didn;t mind not knowing the rules, happy to let Dee set the pace as he swayed from side to side with a small smile on his face. He wished so badly someone else was here to take a picture so he could keep this image in his head for the rest of his life, he didn’t remember Janus ever looking this content even when they were actually kids, and to see it now was as gut wrenching as it was heart melting.

“I don’t know what you’re listening to but if you could at least shut your door it would much apprecia-” Both of their heads snapped up, Dee immediately leaning back to hide most of his small frame behind Patton while said side clutched the elephant to his chest in panic. Logan stood still in the doorway, confusion clear on his face as he stepped in the room and shut the door behind him. “I didn’t mean to- I'm sorry, I can leave. I wasn’t aware-”

Dee poked his head out from behind Patton and waved, making Logan stop again mid-sentence to hesitantly wave back. Patton watched, still a bit tense, as Logan crouched down on the balls of his feet and smiled softly at the smaller side. “May I ask how old you are, Janus?”

“Dee!”

“I apologize, I’ll remember that from now on. May I ask how old you are, Dee?”

Patton smiled as Dee nodded vigorously, tiger still held tight to his chest as he held out four fingers. “I’m four!”

“A very good age to be, there are many milestones to achieve at four years old.”

“Milestones?”

“An action or event marking a significant change or stage in development.” Logan explained. “Most of those happen with a good night’s rest though. Why are you still awake?”

Dee looked down at the stuffed animals in front of his, rocking a little in place. “I wanted to play.”

“Activities like this are usually reserved for when it's daylight. Was there a reason you can’t play then?”

“Everyone else is awake.”

Patton set the elephant down gently. “You’re afraid someone will see you small if you play in the daytime huh?”

Logan pressed his lips together as Dee nodded, seeming to not want to elaborate. “Alright, that’s understandable. So Patton usually looks after you then?”

“No I just-”

“Vee! But he’s asleep.”

“Well, in the morning it might be a good idea then to talk to Virgil about how to better accommodate you during the day so that you can still play but not have to worry about anyone else walking in on. We might be able to square away a room for you or modify this one so that no one could enter without your permission, provided the door remains shut. How does that sound?”

“You could do that?” Dee’s eyes were enormous as he looked at Logan like he had just confirmed the moon was made of his favorite cheese.

Chuckling softly, the logical side adjusted his glasses. “Theoretically. But we need you well rested if we’re going to figure it out tomorrow.”

Patton smiled as Dee seemed to weigh his options, pouting slightly as he stood and made his way towards the bed. Turning off the candle and moving to set it on the night stand he reached for the blankets but stopped himself before he could do anything. “Do you want tucked in kiddo?”

Nodding shyly Dee laid back and clutched the tiger even tighter while wiggling into a comfortable position. Patton waited until he was done before grabbing up the thick comforter and carefully laying it over him, being sure to tuck it away from his face and loose enough that he could free his arms if he wanted. Smiling he squeezed Dee’s shoulder gently as his eyes drooped tiredly, moving towards the door that Logan was already easing open quietly.

“Goodnight, Dee.”

“Goodnight, Dee. Sleep well.”

“Goodnight. Love you.”

They both paused and looked back but the small side was already asleep, curled around his stuffed animal comfortably. Slipping out of the room Patton smiled at Logan’s small smile, which immediately turned questioning as Patton beamed back at him.

“What?”

“You like kids.”

Taken aback, Logan shook his head. “I just know some basic developmental needs and how to apply them. Liking has nothing to do with it.”

At Patton’s shit-eating grin, Logan rolled his eyes. “They’re pleasant enough to be around when they’re well-behaved.”

“So you-”

“Go to bed Patton.” Logan shook his head as he began to walk back to his room.

“I was gonna make cocoa before I saw Dee was awake. If you were having trouble sleeping I could make enough for both of us-” He let the offer hang as Logan stilled. He knew the other man secretly loved hot cocoa late at night for as much as he preached about proper sleeping schedules.

He smiled wider as Logan walked briskly past him down the stairs. “Just this once, to help us sleep.”

“Sure, Logan.”

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This work is also available on AO3!

If you liked this please consider reblogging. Reblogging helps share a creators work so others can see it too!

As far as this story goes, this is something I wrote as a one shot and didn't think people would be interested in but now I have seventeen chapters planned so thank you for the interest! Note that Roman and Janus will be on better terms at some point and also Remus also comes in later, and knowing that info if anyone has something they want to see happen (side hangouts, specific regression prompts anything like that), as long as it can be story relevant and it isn't plot heavy I'll happily add it!

I'll accept ideas up to Feb. 20 and you can comment them here, or send an ask, anon is always on! Thanks for reading ^-^

[littleteacupdragon]

The couch

Thank you to the great @lrnightingale for being so nice and letting me write something inspired by this art.

It's a mess. I don't even know what to clasify it as, it was meant to be fluff, but now it kind of inches on the hurt/comfort side? I don't even know. It gets worse the further you're in, I'm sorry. I hope it isn't the worst.

Pairings: Logicality, Prinxiety (may be romantic or platonic, I didn't have anything specific in mind)

Warnings: none

Word count: 2 127

@anxie-teaa wanted to be tagged, so here :} (lizard smile) (no, not Deceit)

Enjoy!

-------------

It was not unusual to see Patton sleeping on the couch, sometimes cuddling a pillow, sometimes cuddling Virgil. That’s why they finally decided to get a decent couch so that no one would wake up regretting their decisions, and honestly? It was worth the money, seeing how they were meant to get a new one sooner than later at that point.

It was their safe space, or so to say, comfort space. Sometimes all their rooms got too much for them, being it for the nostalgia or worries or too many ideas all at one. Only one who thought of the couch as, well, a couch, was Logan. He couldn’t understand why everyone steadily made it a “I don’t feel well” place but as long as that didn’t turn to screaming karaoke at 3 in the morning, he just accepted that, as illogical as it was.

“It’s just a piece of furniture”, he would point out here and there if someone looked especially miserable and ventured out to the living room just to fall face first onto the pillows and immediately relaxing. And since Logan was a perceptive little cookie, in addition sitting in his armchair in front of the couch, he was subjected to this sight quite often.

Sometimes he was curious. How lying in this one spot made them all relax? Aren’t their rooms better? He supposed that complete silence wasn’t what they were striking for, it’d be rather the comfort of typical sounds of a living house – Patton sometimes clinking cooking equipment together, Roman’s humming because he usually forgot how to close his door properly it seemed. Huh... intriguing. But how would that help if Virgil liked to close his eyes under his hoodie with headphones hidden beneath it too, that way he would be no different on the couch than in his room, seeing how it wasn’t affecting him as much as the others, even when he was in a worse state of mind.

So, to put it simply, Logan didn’t understand and it irked him just this much.

Until one day.

It wasn’t the best day, but it also wasn’t the worst. It was... unsettling. Nothing actually happened and yet Virgil was on the edge since the very morning, Roman seemed just this one bit more frantic with his speech and of course, Logan. Whatever he tried, he couldn’t focus properly. And yet nothing special was meant to happen that day or the day after, not even that week.

Tap, tap, tap, Virgil’s fingers were drumming a rhythm on the tabletop while the anxious one was looking at his phone on the floor, with his upper half leaned on said table. It was quite regular, Logan had to give him that, bit in no way was it less distracting. It felt like the sound was too loud and that was ridiculous, he could barely hear it. But he could hear it enough. Just like the scratching of the pencil Roman was using to sketch and the rubber he used to erase everything because this day just wasn’t too good for him to focus either. Why were those things so loud? Why was the quiet so loud?

He was distressed and he didn’t know why, so he did the only logical thing he could think of – stand up and go to his room, where he knew the quiet won’t be filled with so much sound. The movement was a bit sudden, he had a routine he usually didn’t break and the armchair was the most comfortable place to read without having to change position every ten minutes. Having that in mind, Virgil lifted his head a bit to see the back of the other, walking normally to the stairs. He didn’t do anything, though he did have a feeling that this weird day is affecting Logan as well.

And where was Patton?

They were all sitting in the living room, but Morality wasn’t there. He was probably visiting some memories to distract himself, he’s done that plenty of times, all of them knew, and if it was bordering on too much, they would all feel it...

Oh no.

Virgil sat up straight and sent a quick text to Logan. He couldn’t risk going into Patton’s room when he was this much on the edge, he wouldn’t be of any help and it could even end up in him needing help as well. He took a deep breath, Logan is going to be fine. He can work it out himself just fine.

Roman startled him out of his thoughts with his groan, pushing his art supplies off his lap and hiding his face in his hands.

“Nothing is working”, he sounded so frustrated with himself, it was hard to listen to that broken tone. He sounded on the verge of tears, almost. Virgil couldn’t stand that, not when it came from Roman of all. Of course, none of them crying was good, none of it felt good, but knowing him, when he sounded so heartbroken... it made Virgil stand up completely and walk those two steps to the couch and put his hand on the other’s shoulder to get his attention. The tears were present in his eyes, not yet escaping, but too close to that. Virgil opened his arms a bit in silent question, to which he got a nod and Roman putting his feet on the ground so that he can hug him properly. There was no hesitation when they were both sat down, Roman finding comfort in how firm yet light the hug was, even Patton couldn’t hug like that, his hugs were different.

“It’s gonna be okay”, Virgil murmured, leaning his head on Roman’s. They stayed like that for a bit before Roman broke the hug, calmer. He smiled and picked up his supplies from the ground, standing up he reached his hand out for Virgil to take. The intention behind the act wasn’t exactly clear, but he took it nevertheless.

“Do you want to spend some time in the Imagination?” Roman asked, already planning on setting up something calming there, maybe a forest? That would work just fine.

The same second those two sunk out to the Imagination, Logan opened his door, having just read the message from Virgil. He did hear it vibrate on his desk, but put off checking what it was just yet. He really tried to focus on the task at hand, but even here, he wasn’t able to fully dive into the words in front of his face. After reading that particular page for the fifth time, he sighed and put the book down, rubbing at his eyes under his glasses. This was tiring. And unproductive, completely irking to say the least.

His eyes fell onto the device on his desk and he remembered that he should probably read that message.

Check up on Patton /Virgil

He burrowed his brows, why would he need to... oh. The puzzles put themselves together in his mind and he was telling himself off, how could he not realise sooner that one quite vital part of the mindscape wasn’t there.

When has he seen Patton last? He wasn’t there during breakfast, even though it was ready just as usual, he must have made it just before Logan or any of the others woke up, but not enough so that it would get cold. It should have picked their concern, all of them, but they were just focused on how they were reacting to the aftermaths of Patton suffering from nostalgia.

Logan knocked on the door made out of light wood, it was so preposterous for every door leading to the bedrooms to be different colours, but that was just how the mindscape worked.

No answer. He tried once again, this time softly calling the other’s name. Still no answer, just how he expected.

He was about to open the door, but they suddenly swung open, and for the first time Logan was grateful they didn’t open outwards because he doubted he could step back in time not to get hit.

“Oh, hi Logan. Can I help you with something, kiddo?”, Patton was smiling, though there was strain in the curve of his lips. He tried so hard to look like his normal cheerful self, even Logan could pick up on the act. His whole posture was just this bit slouched, too, tired as if carrying too much weight. It was a miracle he was keeping himself up, it seemed. A miracle he opened the door himself, even.

“You look unwell and basing on how all of us have been on edge since the very morning, I get that you’re the one who could use some help”. Patton’s smile faltered a bit, there was no point in keeping pretending in front of Logan, he knew that, not when he already knows that something is wrong. He could be... clueless at times, missing subtle hints just because he didn’t put so much attention to expressions and Patton had a bit too much practice in pretending everything is alright, as much as he knew that wasn’t necessary. They understood, but old habits die hard.

Logan saw that change and knew what the other side needed now was to get out of his room, so he proposed the first thing he knew would lure him out. Disney.

“Would you... like to watch some movies?”, Logan reached his hand out to further convince him to agree. It took a few seconds of staying in that position for Patton to gently take his hand, too gently for him. Logan suddenly understood how many small things showed that something was in fact not right and decided he needed to look into it further as to not let a similar situation happen again.

They just sunk out to the empty living room, Logan quietly happy that it was like that. He knew hand holding can be purely platonic and yet he still wouldn’t like the others jumping to conclusions.

Both of them sat on the couch, a small distant apart. Patton was a bit curled into himself at the beginning of “Bambi”, but as for that, Logan didn’t knew what to do to change it. He wasn’t sure he was welcome to initiate physical touch, so he left the decision to Patton. And that decision did he make, asking quietly if he could get a hug. For once, Logan was not at all opposed, though he remained a bit still for some time, until Patton didn’t place himself comfortable on his chest, giggling lightly at how awkward Logan was. It took away some of that awkwardness and even got a chuckle out of him too.

It was no surprise that Patton was soon to fall asleep, breathing deep and regular by the end of the movie. Logan moved him, so that he was laying fully on the couch and went to fetch the blanket to keep him warm before starting to walk away, only to be halted by a small voice calling his name.

“Can you stay with me?”, Patton asked, with just enough hope in his puppy dog eyes that Logan agreed.

He stood there, not knowing what to do with himself until Patton moved a bit and motioned Logan to lie down with him. It was unusual, but the logical side complied, laying on his back and allowing the other to position himself on top of his chest. Soon, Patton was out once again, catching up on some sleep after a night lacking it.

Logan was... comfortable. Warm. The weight of Patton was not unpleasant or too much for him. Even though Patton could be quite often found cuddling with Virgil in a similar way, it was a special experience for Logan. He didn’t do cuddling.

As soon as he started to drift off to sleep himself, he realised that he was feeling better. He could finally focus, has been focused on Patton for quite a while to be fair. From his position he could hear birds chirping outside the window and he must have admitted, the combination of the comfortable cushions, the warmth and those gentle sounds was soothing at last.

Needless to say, when Virgil and Roman came back from their adventure, they found two men sleeping with their glasses still on, cuddled up on the couch and just left them be. From that point on, Logan finally understood why the couch was so comforting to all of the others and Patton was not afraid to ask any of them for a cuddle, aside from those few situations when they had to fetch him out of his room themselves. A new calm was formed in the mindscape and no one was complaining.

[the-elemental-sides]

An Hour Left (Steampunk AU)

As previously stated, @fangirltothefullest’s Steampunk AU shot me through the heart. It’s five in the god dang morning and I just spent several hours writing about Automaton Virgil’s sad, slow winding down. I creeped on some of the worldbuilding given in the asks and tried to make it as accurate as possible to what we know! Warnings: Angst

Taglist + people asking to be tagged in fics: @alix-the-skeleton, @generalfandomfabulousness, @theevelynefurlongposts, @waxydoll, @aphandgflover, @ryuity, @veryvirginvirgil, @starlight-sanders, @gaylotusthatexists

6:00 PM

It’d been three days, now, since the five of them came to the junkyard. It had been so long. He was running out of time.

What started as brief stutters and drooping movements—passed off as aftereffects of the fire—became Virgil stumbling and shutting down completely in the middle of a ballet routine he’d started to cheer up Patton. In a panic, Patton had managed to jumpstart him. His key was gone, and it was undeniable that he couldn’t stay awake much longer. But he was still ticking.

“I have a little time,” Virgil mumbled. They’d hauled him into a big curved piece of metal that formed a comfortable den. His movements were stiff and conservative. But talking, as long as it was in low tones that didn’t rattle his system, didn’t waste as much energy.

“I have a sleep mode. Could save my energy. But no matter what, think I have...one hour left.”

“Just one hour?” Patton said. He and the others kneeled in front of him. Deceit was lopsided. Logan would need help standing up.

“I’ll make it midnight.” Virgil’s mouth curled into a wry smile. It was too much effort to change back, so he left it there. “That’s fun, huh? Devil’s hour or something. Keep you on your toes.”

For the next six hours, Virgil dozed. The evening passed.

12:00

At the stroke of midnight, Virgil’s eyes cracked opened. Logan and Roman were already kneeling over him.

“Virgil, Roman has something to tell you,” Logan said promptly. Roman nodded enthusiastically and opened his mouth.

“I heard...rattle, rattle, scrape?”

“No—Roman, I told you, use the hand signal system I designed for you. You’re only going to corrode your voicebox.”

Roman rolled his eyes, but he switched to fingerspelling his message. Logan patiently translated every letter.

“S-O-R-R-Y—Y-O-U-R-E—B-R-O-K-E-N. A-D-M-I-R-E-D—Y-O-U-R—D-A-N-C-E. S-H-O-U-L-D—H-A-V-E—G-O-N-E—B-A-C-K.”

“No, no,” Virgil said. “You couldn’t have done anything different. Look, Logan went back, and we saw how that turned out.”

“Yes, well,” Logan said, touching his armless stump.

“It could have been a lot worse for you than a couple of cracks and a broken voicebox.”

Roman nodded, but his eyes were sad. He lightly swatted Logan’s shoulder and started signing again. “H-A-D—T-O—B-E—V-O-I-C-E.”

“Yeah, of course it had to be, huh? I miss your singing too.” The Maker never liked it when he sang during parties because it took attention away from himself. Man, if Roman could sing now, they’d really be able to stick it to him.

Roman tried to hum a note—anything—but all Virgil heard was more scraping. A puff of smoke wisped from his mouth. Logan shook his head. “That’s enough. We can’t have two automatons breaking in one night.”

“Wait,” Virgil said after Roman had been shooed off to rest next to Deceit. “Logan?”

“Hm?”

“If it comes up—if there’s a choice—make sure you get fixed before me.”

“Virgil, that’s preposterous. It’s just an arm, I—“

“Logan, I heard it,” Virgil said, cutting him off sharply. “The screaming. I heard it.”

“The screaming,” Logan said, his arm drifting up to touch his stump in a, well, robotic motion. “You mean when….”

“It hurt, didn’t it?”

“...It did.”

“It’s not supposed to be like that.”

“It’s not.” Logan’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Virgil, I wouldn’t be telling you this if you—I—I would not reveal this information under normal circumstances, but it hurt. Truly, a lot. It’s the first time I ever felt anything like that. And...I’m frightened. We’re automatons. We’re not supposed to feel.”

“Then get it fixed,” Virgil said, eyes narrowed on Logan’s face. “...You keep touching your shoulder. Does it still hurt?”

“Yes,” said Logan. “It does.”

12:20

Virgil couldn’t move his head. He almost wasn’t aware of it at first—Patton had a light touch—but the healer was kneeling behind him, screwing around with his back.

“You’re not gonna fix it, Pat,” Virgil said, his eyes flicking to the right. “The key’s melted. Gone.”

“There must be a way,” Patton murmured. “We could rewire the system...find another key…”

“In the junkyard? We’re lucky we found me a cozy spot to die on.”

“Virgil!”

“I’m kidding,” Virgil said quickly, feeling Patton’s fingers grip his shoulders tightly. Patton moved into his field of vision, his eyes wide and scared. “I know I’m not really dying. I promise. I was joking to cope.”

Patton released him. A few seconds too late, he smiled shakily. “That’s our Virge.”

“You just focus on fixing up the others,” Virgil said, his gaze drifting to the star-filled sky. Silver lining: less robots to fix. Logan and Deceit and Roman could get all the attention they needed.

“Virgil?” Patton said after a little while. “Want me to keep looking at your back?”

“You know what? Nah. Could you just stay here for a little while?”

“Of course, kiddo.”

Patton scooted into his little enclave and leaned his head against Virgil’s. With great care, Virgil lifted his arm, inch by inch. Finally he managed to drape it over Patton’s shoulders.

“Now don’t get into too much trouble while I’m asleep,” said Virgil. “I won’t be able to talk you out of your bad ideas.”

Patton chuckled a little. “Like the time Roman wanted us to learn swordfighting and rebel against the Maker.”

“Or the time Logan tried to organize a union for the factory workers behind the Maker’s back.”

“Remember when you broke your foot doing ballet for the first time?” Patton asked. “You were so gloomy. You’d been built for one thing and you thought you failed at it!”

“I should have expected that, trying to make that landing.” Virgil’s eyes dropped to his ballet shoes. They’d somehow survived all the bits of jagged metal junk lying everywhere. They were a bit dirty and singed but unharmed. “Wonder if I could make it now.”

“That’s the first thing you’ll do once we get you a new key,” Patton said. “A big ol’ grand jeté all the way across the junkyard!”

“I’ll plan on it.”

A shadow fell over them, temporarily blocking out the stars. “Hogging Virgil in his last moments, are you?” a voice asked.

“Deceit!” Patton said. “What are you doing up?”

Deceit’s legs were bent at a funny angle where the joint and shin were missing. He shrugged casually—and very carefully, so he didn’t throw off his precarious balance. “Oh, you know. I was feeling better. Wanted to pitch my two cents in to the Virge.”

“Have a seat,” Patton said, patting the ground next to them.

“Actually, Roman needs your help,” Deceit said, gesturing over his shoulder. “Says his voicebox is acting up.”

“Again?” Patton hesitated. “Virgil, I…”

“Patton, go. I’ll just talk to Deceit for a little while.”

“All right.” Patton stood up. Virgil’s arm fell limply to his side. “Now don’t tire him out too much, Dee.”

“Who, me? Never.”

12:45

With great care Deceit lowered himself to the ground. His mobility was completely shot. Even worse off was his face. Half of it was simply missing, revealing the paneling and the glaring yellow pilot light beneath.

“Feeling all right?” asked Deceit.

Virgil took a bit to respond. He focused sluggishly on Deceit. “Oh yeah. Just...Tired.”

“Humans,” Deceit muttered darkly. “And they say we’re the heartless ones.”

“Hey, don’t bum me out now,” Virgil said. “I’ve got what, fifteen minutes?”

“More than that, I hope.”

Deceit leaned against the wall next to Virgil and stretched out his legs. Parts of them had been stripped away entirely, leaving only wiring. His left kneecap was missing some screws and rattled loosely every time he moved.

“The face I don’t mind,” Deceit said. “Maybe it’s even a good thing. No one wants to mess with a demented automaton. But my legs…”

“They’ll find a way to fix you.”

“Oh, I’ll get in line for it, I suppose. There’s too much for Patton to fix all on his own. By the time he sorts out one of us we’ll have all run out of gas. It’s just...frustrating. Because I can’t protect you.”

“That’s about how I feel,” said Virgil.

“Virgil, tell me,” Deceit said, turning his face to him. “How calmly are you taking this really?”

“I’m holding up,” Virgil answered.

“Well, that’s not vague at all.”

“No, it’s just...if I panic now I’ll just shut myself down.”

“You’ve had plenty of time to panic the last three days.”

“I guess I got it all out during the fire. I’m just glad all five of us are here. Together.”

“Together,” agreed Deceit. “Missing an arm, a voice, a face, a life…”

“Don’t put it like that,” Virgil said. “I’ll be asleep.”

“Of course.”

“It’s a standard procedure for windups. I heard it’s even recommended to let us wind down every year to let our systems reset. Of course, not like the Maker paid any attention to that, he just wound me tighter if I was acting funny…” Virgil’s voice trailed off. “Deceit.”

“Yes, Virgil?”

“Don’t tell any of the others this. I don’t know how they’ll handle it. But—I’m kind of scared, okay?”

“You, scared? Color me surprised.”

“I know, just—Deceit, am I ever going to wake up?” Virgil’s eyes met his, a note of panic in his low, slurred voice. “Deceit, will I ever be able to wake up again? Will it still be me?”

Deceit placed a tattered, gloved hand on Virgil’s shoulder. His exposed yellow eye glinted in the dark. “Don’t be silly. Of course you will,” said Deceit. “You have my word, all right?”

12:59

All four of them gathered around Virgil now, whose eyes moved in slow motion, slipping between the faces of his friends. “You all look so sad,” he said, his voice so low it was barely understandable. “Jus’ sleeping.”

“Of course, Virgil,” Logan said softly. All their eyes were so shiny. Automatons didn’t cry, right? They should probably get that checked.

“Take care of...”

Something ticked once and then stopped. Good. That noise had been getting annoying. What was it, anyway?

Oh. That was him, wasn’t it.

It was a little rude to stop in the middle of a sentence but Virgil couldn’t bring himself to care. He was so tired. He’d close his eyes just for a second

1:00