#friends of thomas

[bruhstation]

you’re just like the rest of them

[wolfprincesszola]

Echoes of 50 Chapter 12

As always, check the TWs and CWs in the masterlist. This chapter broke me while writing. I hope it breaks you while reading. Enjoy <3. ——————– Now Playing: In Cold Light by Vanbur

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Logan should’ve known something was off when everyone showed up for the heist with power suppressors on, though Logan was given them last and was surprised to note that his did not take away his telepathic ability.

“Are you sure this works?” Logan raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, Sanders. It does.” Janus rolled his eyes, “I specifically bought you the ones that work similar to Patton’s power where it resists others’ powers against yours, but it does not have an effect on yours. Thought yours might be useful to help predict when people are entering the building and where they all are.”

“I’m impressed.” Logan nodded.

Logan should’ve known something was more off when everyone began to whisper around Patton in hushed tones and pull everyone into a group hug for final goodbyes. He really should’ve known something was off when Patton said that he would go off with Remus just as they had arrived above the room with the DS device, still in the vents. He seemed anxious to say the least to find Phobus.

“You should stay here. At least until we can drop down.” Logan shook his head, “We need Remus to use his powers.”

Remus nodded as everyone awkwardly shuffled around to let Remus see above the vent.

“Ouch! Get your ass out of my face, Wright!” Virgil scowled quietly.

“That’s not very nice of you to say, Virgil!” Patton scolded.

“Ooo, didn’t know you were into that, babe~” Remus sang.

“Do you think I have much of a choice? I’d rather Remus be there right now, but we can’t all be winners!” Janus shot back at Virgil.

“Ew! That’s so gross. Don’t talk about my brother like that!” Roman gagged.

“Can you all shut up for one second?” Logan scowled, “Mind you, they could still hear us.”

“Sorry, Logan.” All five of those talking murmured as they focused on getting out of the vent.

Once he was above the vent, Logan watched as Remus’ eyes began to flicker green until it was glowing a steady color. He listened below to the workers and their thoughts to see that they were going insane. That they had thought someone had called them from outside. Once they were out, everyone dropped down and Roman was quick to help lock the door. Logan turned to Patton who was down with them.

“Will you be alright with that freak?” Logan raised an eyebrow to Patton.

“Yeah. I’ve got to go. If we want the best chance at getting this done, we need to find Phobus as quickly as possible.” Patton murmured, dashing his eyes around the room warily.

“Alright.” Logan nodded as he rubbed his thumb against Patton’s cheek, “Stay safe, okay? I love you.”

“I love you too.” Patton giggled as he was helped back up the vents by Remus.

Logan smiled before he turned towards the device.

“I love you.” Virgil’s voice came in, smugly mocking Logan’s relationship, “God, you two are insufferable.”

“Why don’t you just shut your mouth, Virge, and start unscrewing that panel for me?” Logan scowled as he threw a screwdriver in his pocket towards the man. He turned his attention towards the computer hooked up to the device and began to do his work. Logan was a chemical engineer who managed to mainly do software. He should know how to do everything.

“I knew assigning you to do software was a good idea.” Janus grinned.

Logan raised an eyebrow at Janus as he began to decode the password on the computer. He turned his focus back onto his decoding, but still spoke up, “I will file a complaint with you at work about that, especially since I’m supposed to be employed as the head chemical engineer. Must I remind you of that?”

“On the bright side, we are paying you the salary of both the software engineer and chemical engineer salary.” Janus offered as he watched Logan doing his work. He turned to grab a screwdriver to help Virgil with the device disarmament. Logan had briefed him early on so that the three of them could multitask.

“Satisfactory enough.” Logan remarked as he managed to get into the computer.

There was pounding on the door.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it.” Roman remarked as he pulled out a taser gun. Logan couldn’t necessarily focus on what was going on, but from the chaotic thoughts of all the workers and of the noise Roman was making, Logan could only assume there were a lot of injuries being sustained from anyone that was not Roman. Roman was always someone who knew how to fight, even if he didn’t show it too much.

“Roman, I do hope that you stay intact throughout all of this.” Logan remarked as he began to erase the entire software and the drive that the device could access. “I am about halfway done.”

“Doing just peachy, thank you so much.” Roman let sarcasm drip out of his mouth as Logan could hear the workers.

“Oh shit, he has one of our guns!”

“Fuck, I don’t know how to disarm him. I don’t want to get my power taken away.”

“Well, shit, we’re screwed.”

“Keep it up, Ro!” Virgil yelled out as Logan managed to scramble to erase the entire device before shutting it off and checking in on Virgil and Janus.

“Duck!” Roman yelled. Logan, Virgil, and Janus all ducked, right as a flying object came into view.

“Shoot at the Medeis, Roman!” Logan yelled out, “We believe in you.”

“Jeez, you cannot do anything on your own, can you?” Janus huffed as he stood up, “Logan, take over what I’m doing. I’ll help Roman.”

Logan began to take over what Janus was doing, beginning to cut wires and rip out boards whenever he could in hopes that he could damage the device as much as possible. Considering it was such a big device, there was only so much he could do.

It was quiet, at least in the outside world. There was no more fighting. Logan turned to see Roman and Janus heaving. Janus was carrying one of the ray guns the workers were carrying as Roman had out his taser gun. There was no doubt that Janus worked to disarm each worker while Roman went to tase each one until they were all unconscious.

“Well, that was easier than expected.” Virgil blinked, “Is that it?”

“We should get up to the viewing point.” Janus nodded.

“Yeah, we can meet Patton up there. There’s no doubt he must’ve found Phobus already.”

Janus, Roman, and Virgil shared a look.

“What?” Logan raised an eyebrow.

“Nothing. You’re right.” Virgil stifled a smile as he pointed to the vents, “Let’s go back up now, right? Better to get to Patton faster than slower.”

“No.” Logan stopped Virgil as the man began to walk back towards the vent, “What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” Virgil raised an eyebrow.

“I know you, Grey.” Logan raised an eyebrow, “Being your best friend for this long has allowed me to know your behaviors and mannerisms. You just twitched your ear.”

“What are you talking about?” Virgil scoffed, darting his eyes over to Roman.

“You scoffed and turned your head away from me! You only do that when you’re hiding something.”

“He’s not going to break.” Janus’ voice came in.

Logan turned towards Janus, raising an eyebrow, “What the hell did you do, Wright?”

“It wasn’t my choice.” Janus shook his head, “You should be asking that to someone else.”

Logan’s heart dropped. Now, it made sense. The guns that everyone seemed to be aware of except for Logan. Logan only found out their purpose because of the workers’ thoughts and from context clues. The glances everyone would share with each other. The goodbye hug they shared before the mission. The way Patton kept telling Logan to live without Patton. The way Patton kept telling Logan he loved him. The reason Patton and Remus wanted to leave to do something else. The reason everyone was acting weirdly. The reason everyone was acting power suppressors. Patton had something up his sleeve and no one wanted to let Logan into it because he would automatically decline the offer. No one wanted to tell Logan what was going on.

“This isn’t the only copy of the software, is it?” Logan let his stare harden as he turned around to the DS device.

“We did a lot of damage to DS Enterprise.” Virgil offered first.

“Where’s the software room?” Logan replied coldly as he pulled on the rope they had used to get into the room, “I’m going back up.” “Come on, Logan. Don’t ruin the plan-”

“The plan?” Logan raised an eyebrow, turning to Roman, boiling fury catching the back of his throat. “Are you really concerned about the plan?”

“I-” Roman began before Logan shook his head, efficiently cutting Roman off.

“The plan was to disable the DS device and to get help from Thomas’ team. What the hell is this?” Logan spat, “When were you going to tell me Patton went after Phobus himself and went to delete the entire software of DS Enterprise by himself? That he was going to disarm every single goddamn ray gun until he was caught? Why didn’t any of you stop him? This is reckless and stupid!”

Everyone stayed in silence, each one unable to meet Logan’s eyes in shame.

“I’m going to stop him.” Logan scoffed as he tugged on the rope to make sure it was steady enough to go back through the vents.

“Remus is there.”

“Sorry?” Logan raised an eyebrow, turning his head back to Virgil who spoke up. “You have something to say?”

“Remus was there.” Virgil cleared his throat. He brought his eyes up until they had met Logan’s. His eyes wavered with shame and apologies, though none of those emotions came out as prevalent in his voice. Instead, Virgil gave a response, “Remus is strong and has the power to create hallucinations. He was our best bet at keeping Patton alive.”

“And that makes it any better?” Logan let his words drip like a poison dart an assassin would use for a slow-killing death.

“Logan, it was for your own good. Patton didn’t want you to know for a reason.” Roman pleaded with the man.

Logan huffed. As much as he hated to admit it, they were right. Patton always was smarter than he let on. Patton knew how to delete the entire drive, probably faster than Logan could. Logan could dodge attacks from the others pretty well, but Patton was better. Patton had to grow up dodging them.

“I know you don’t like admitting we’re right, L.” Virgil shook his head as he grabbed the rope from Logan, “But Patton’s not a weak duckling in need of help. If anything, we’d be in his way.”

“It doesn’t mean that I won’t stop fighting to try and keep him alive.” Logan grumbled as he began to climb back up into the vents.

“Of course not. What would we expect from the best loving couple in all of the Mystic Oaks?” Janus mocked as he began to climb back up behind Logan. The other two were behind them.

“Stop grumbling, Janus. Let’s just get to Patton before anyone else comes.” Roman rolled his eyes as he climbed in as the last person.

The four of them began to crawl through the vents before Logan began to hear the thoughts once more. A perk of being in the vents meant that it gave a clearer view as to where the thoughts were coming from and where exactly they were coming from. Logan heard Talyn’s thoughts before it happened.

“Patton must’ve escaped through the vents last time. Maybe I should throw a bomb in there.”

“We need to get down now.” Logan urged as he dropped through the vents upon reaching a grate.

“What? Logan, why?” Janus raised an eyebrow. “Did you even check for-”

“No time. Get out, Wright!” Virgil yelled as he pushed Janus through. Janus fell through, Virgil and Roman getting out after.

“What the hell?” Janus yelled out, glaring at Virgil as he went to compose himself.

Not a moment later, there was a blast and the four looked up to see that the vents had completely exploded.

“That was why.” Logan huffed as he began to take a look at his surroundings. “Though I’m not sure if our current situation is better…”

The four were surrounded in a circle with workers of DS Enterprise all pointing the ray guns at them. In the very front was Phobus grinning at him, wearing a golden ring that he didn’t have before. Logan realized the gold ring must’ve been a power suppressor, as Logan couldn’t hear any of Phobus’ thoughts. Dammit.

“Hello, Logan. It’s nice to see you again.” Phobus grinned. “Mind telling me what the rest of your friends’ names are?”

“Oh sure! It’s ‘go’, ‘fuck’, ‘yourself’!” Virgil replied happily as he flipped Phobus off, “Why are you even here?”

“Oh, you didn’t think you were the only one planning for this visit, were you?” Phobus grinned. “I’ve been waiting for you, Logan. You know that I have.”

Logan stayed quiet, trying to observe Phobus’ habits. It was a little odd. He didn’t remember Phobus shifting to the right when he smiled. He didn’t remember Phobus having such a playful expression on his face.

“Hm, playing hard to get? Why, that won’t do. Let’s play a game, shall we?”

“And why would we do that?” Roman replied in horror, “You’re clearly going to rig it!”

“Now, now, hot shot, I play fair. I always do. Let’s make a deal, shall we?”

Logan raised an eyebrow in intrigue. Phobus never played any games. Even in his thoughts, he was serious. To play along to someone’s games was out-of-character.

“What’s the deal?”

“Logan, you can’t possibly-” Both Roman and Virgil spoke up to yell at Logan. Janus glared at them to shut up, knowing that they could do more damage by talking than by just listening. It seemed to be what Phobus wanted to do anyway.

“A simple game of chess. You win, I give you the exact location of your precious…Patton. I win? You turn yourselves into me and subject yourself to the same fate as your dear boyfriend.”

“Rigged deal.” Logan scowled, “I don’t want the location of Patton. I know where he is.”

Phobus raised an eyebrow, “Do you now? Because last time I remembered, Patton had exited the vents from here to get to the archive room. I intercepted him on the way here.” Him. Not them. Phobus hadn’t caught Patton at all, if he didn’t know that Remus was with Patton.

“Then I guess I do not care as much as I thought for that man. I don’t want his precise location. I want to know where the archive room is.”

“Archive room?” Phobus laughed, “Why? Are you planning to finish the job that Patton couldn’t?”

No. Logan planned to help Patton finish the job that he could do on his own. He planned to protect Patton from Phobus. Maybe stalling him was the best course of business.

“I just want to know what goes on in DS Enterprise.” Logan grit through his teeth, holding his hand out, “Deal?”

“Deal.” Phobus grinned as he shook hands with Logan. A chess board on a table was brought out.

“L, can we have a word before your chess game?” Virgil raised an eyebrow at Logan.

“Oh sure! It’s not like the fate of your entire lives is on the line.” Phobus winked, grinning as he turned away.

“Are you crazy?” Virgil hissed, glaring at Logan. “This could cost us everything. A chess game? With Phobus? Do you know how crazy smart that man is?”

“What’s a little fun in this place?” Logan mustered up a faux smile.

“Oh come on, Logan. I don’t believe you believe that.” Roman scowled, “What’s going on? This is only going to make things harder to find Patton!”

“I agree with Logan.”

Roman and Virgil darted their heads to glare at Janus. “What?”

“If Phobus is here, he can’t be near Patton at all. Patton’s probably still alive, so no doubt, he’s going to try and get the information out of us. Let’s give them a show and stall them, okay?” Janus winked.

The problem to Logan was that Phobus didn’t feel like Phobus. There wasn’t the same energies, the same command, the same anger that bubbled inside of Phobus. Instead, Phobus felt just like a normal man. Just as Logan had known the other workers of DS Enterprise were supposed to be. Most likely someone else posed as Phobus, though it wouldn’t make sense why it looked so accurate.

White pawn to D4. Black pawn to F5. White bishop to G5. Black pawn to H6. White bishop to H4. Black pawn to G5. White pawn to E4. Black pawn eating the white bishop at H4.

Logan stared blankly at the chessboard. There was no way that Phobus was being serious. If Phobus was really playing Logan against a chess match, it made no reason for him to fall for something as simple as the Dutch Defense.

“Scared you’re going to lose?” Phobus grinned as he rested his head on his hands, staring at Logan. Maybe Phobus thought that would bring some pressure onto Logan.

“The opposite, in fact.” Logan replied calmly as he moved his queen up to H5. “Checkmate.”

Phobus gaped at the game.

“Really, I do not know why you thought you could beat me at chess.” Logan tsked as he stood up, brushing off the dust from his clothes, “Now, the location of the archive room now?”

Phobus scoffed as he stood up too, “You’re not getting that.”

“I think I am, in fact.” Logan remarked as he stepped back for Virgil, Roman, and Janus to surround him, each of them holding out a ray gun as well as their taser gun. It wasn’t long before Logan heard zapping around him. Though he couldn’t see much from the way the others were covering him, it was only when they had managed to take down every worker except for Phobus that they let Logan out.

Logan sighed as he grabbed a gun from one of the unconscious workers, “I really am sorry for this, Joan.”

With that, Logan pointed the ray gun towards Joan and zapped them to get rid of their shape shifting power. In an instant, they were back to Joan. Janus was quick to tase Joan until they, too, fell unconscious.

“How’d you know, Logan?”

“Simply, it’s elementary.” Logan shrugged, “Now, onwards. I think I have the map of the entire place memorized, though I didn’t think we’d be going through the building this way.”

They rushed through areas, hiding behind walls and doors whenever any workers came by. They were trying to get through the area without having to tase yet another worker that did nothing to them.

Once they reached the archive room, Logan hesitated.

“What? Why are you hesitating?” Janus raised an eyebrow.

“I can’t hear anyone’s thoughts.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, of course you can’t. Two of them are wearing a power suppressor and the other one is a living power suppressor. We just need to make sure that Phobus knows he’s cornered.” Janus scowled.

“There you are! I was wondering when you’d get here!”

Logan huffed as he turned to see Phobus grinning at him. The real Phobus. He seemed preoccupied as he was in front of two magic bubbles, made from throwing potions that contained Remus and Patton in each one.

“Remus!” Janus yelled out, beginning to run towards the man. Looks like the snake did have a heart, even if he tried to pretend he didn’t most of the time. Especially when it came to his husband.

“Feisty one, I can see. Married, are you? I was wondering what the ring was for.” Phobus grinned as he pushed Janus down. “I’m afraid they’re unreachable. Why don’t you sit down there?”

Phobus kicked Janus until Janus slid back to where Virgil, Roman, and Logan were.

“Janus, are you okay?” Roman raised an eyebrow as he held a hand out. Janus took it as he huffed in embarrassment at what had just happened.

“What are you doing with those two?” Logan spoke up, staring at the magic bubble that was beginning to move towards the computers.

“Well, I saw them trying to hack and decode all that I’ve worked upon for the last 10 years and I just couldn’t have that.” Phobus tsked, “I’m keeping that green one. His power is useful and will make a good power for my second-in-command. Patient 50 on the other hand? I don’t know what I’ll do with him. Especially since you destroyed the only purpose he was made for. It’ll take me forever to rebuild that back up, Logan.”

Logan scowled, “What do you want, Phobus?”

“Wow, Logan. I didn’t know we were on a first-name basis.” Phobus gasped. “Might not want to tell your boyfriend that.”

Logan rolled his eyes as he looked over to Patton. Patton seemed to be wrapped up in cords and connected to some device, though Logan wasn’t sure what. The wires were too long for Logan to tell what it was. “Patton!”

“Just stall. Ten minutes.”

Logan definitely heard that. He stared at Patton. Patton seemed somewhat conscious, but not enough to move or even open his eyes fully. Patton’s glasses were nowhere to be found, probably broken off to the side during a fight with Phobus. Enough to let Logan hear some of Patton’s thoughts. Stall for what? Ten minutes for what? For Patton to regain energy? For everything to be fully deleted? For reinforcements to come in? For karma to kick in? Logan didn’t know.

“What do you have him hooked up to?”

“Ah, you always love getting me into villain monologues, don’t you, Logan?” Phobus grinned, “Unfortunately, I will not be indulging you in them, as it’s clear it didn’t hold you back from defeating Joan. Jeez, you can never get that good of help around here, can you?”

Logan stared at Phobus as he began to take out the ray gun he had.

“Those don’t work on me, remember?” Phobus tsked, shaking his head, “Last time I checked, I was an Impoten. There is nothing of me to take away.”

“Your IQ maybe.” Virgil shrugged as he pulled out the taser gun. Phobus easily dodged the bolts before raising an eyebrow at Virgil.

“Did you really think that would work, emo?”

“Emo! Ha!” Roman burst out laughing before cursing at himself, “Dammit, you’re funny, you wicked villain!”

“It was worth a goddamn try.” Virgil pouted.

“Well, it was a bad one.” Phobus remarked as he sighed, “Well, it’s time to say goodbye to all of you. I am sorry that I never got to learn your names, Logan’s friends. I do wish you well, but there are some things I need to take care of.”

With that, Phobus whistled, allowing for several police officers to come into the room and approach all four of them.

“This has to be my worst nightmare.” Virgil grumbled, “Logan, go save Patton.”

“What?” Logan stared at Virgil with bewilderment. “Have you seen what’s around us?”

“Yes, I know about the enclosing circle of police officers. But you’re faster and for some odd reason, you become crazy scary when something is happening to Patton. So go! Save him or whatever that cheesy stuff is.” Virgil glared at Logan as he pushed the man. Logan took a deep breath as he grabbed the dagger that he still had sheathed inside of his boot. He really had to thank Janus for thinking of everything when he had made the plan. Logan rushed over the police officers, jumping over and under them, with the help of Virgil’s help tasing the others he couldn’t outrun or outfight. With that, he began to follow Phobus, watching and waiting for the right moment to strike. Almost immediately though, his plan was foiled as Phobus had snapped his fingers and a bubble that had Patton trapped in originally popped. Patton fell to the ground with wires still attached to him, while the bubble went to keep Logan in the bubble.

“Get up.” Phobus commanded, slapping Patton in the face. Patton jumped, slowly standing up. It seemed as if his physical activity was hard to control.

“Patton!” Logan screamed towards the man.

“It’s okay. I’m okay, Logan.” Patton smiled weakly, his words slurring together. From the way that Patton had to stumble around to even keep balance, it was clear that the wires that were hooked up to him were making him delusional.

“I’m okay, Lo. Don’t worry. I’m just not able to stand.”

Logan tried to walk closer to Patton and ended up bumping into the wall of the bubble. Logan continued to pound on the wall, trying to find a way out.

“We’re finishing this, no matter if you like it or not. I did not put more than 40 years of my life, just for you to throw it away out of the reasons that you were being hurt. People got hurt all the time. You need to just accept that fate. Get in the machine. It’s time for the Medeis to fall.” Phobus pointed to Patton.

Patton stared blankly at Phobus.

“One more minute.”

Until what? Whatever Patton was planning better have hurried up because Logan knew that Patton didn’t have much longer. He had seen the anger that had burned in Phobus’ eyes. It was the fury of a dragon, one that would burn down an entire kingdom to get even one more gold coin for the greed of itself. Phobus was the dragon, selfish and arrogant in every way imaginable.

“Why aren’t you getting in?” Phobus raised an eyebrow, “You don’t want to disappoint me, do you?”

“I’m not getting in.” Patton remarked, his words still slurring in the slightest. It was better though. Patton had successfully removed half the wires that had been attached to his body and was currently removing more as he continued to speak to Phobus. “You know, I used to be really scared of you, Phobus. I really did. You always knew the right words to push and pull someone in and for the longest time, I always thought that when you threatened me, that you meant it. That you would kill me. That you would kill everyone else. I guess at the time, it didn’t occur to me how much I matter to your experiments.”

“Get in.” Phobus grabbed a nearby knife. Logan’s knife that had dropped when Logan had become trapped in the bubble. “Or I’ll kill you.”

Patton began to step towards the machine, “I pity you, you know? I was wondering how hurt someone would have to be in order to treat someone–let alone a child–like this. I didn’t deserve it, Phobus, but you also didn’t deserve all the grief you had. I’m sorry that you couldn’t grow from your grief enough to not be a shitty person.”

Patton began to step inside the machine. Unfortunately for Patton Morris, he was too kind of a person to even refuse his abuser. But Phobus was angry. Too angry.

Logan widened his eyes as he watched Phobus begin to approach Patton with the knife, intending to kill.

“Patton, watch out!” Logan yelled out.

Patton turned too late.

There was a scream. There was red. Blood everywhere.

“If we go down, then we go down together.” Patton remarked, winking at Phobus.

Logan blinked to see that Patton had successfully managed to dodge the knife that was aiming to pierce straight through his heart. Phobus, however, had a deep cut that ran along his right side that was closest to Patton.

“Freeze, Special Force!” A voice yelled out near the room.

“Fuck!” Phobus spat out as he began to rush out of the room quickly. Phobus might’ve cared for his company, but he cared for his well-being more and Logan knew the man wouldn’t last a day in prison. Phobus was gone.

Logan turned towards Virgil, Janus, and Roman. They were no longer fighting the police officers, as the police officers had run as soon as they heard that the Special Force was there. Instead, they began to tiredly make their way over to Patton, Logan, and Remus. Patton struggled to find the button to let Logan and Remus out of their bubbles, but managed to find it soon enough. Logan and Remus both braced as they dropped to the ground, groaning as they sat up.

“That was not fun.” Logan grumbled as he turned to Patton. The love of his life. The man who was more clever than he put out to be. The man who seemed to defy all the forces of the universe. The man who was missing his glasses from a fight he had just had. The man who saved him.

The man who was bleeding out the side.

“Patton!” Logan screamed as Patton collapsed onto the ground from the loss of blood.

“Hey, Lo.” Patton smiled softly. “I’m sorry.”

“What? What are you sorry for?” Logan asked as he began to take off his shirt to tie a tourniquet around Patton’s side, “We’re going to get you to the hospital. The Special Force is here.”

“I’m not going to make it.” Patton shook his head, “I never was.”

“What-what do you mean?”

“Every child of DS Enterprise born for testing was bound to die at one point to the hands of Phobus Graves.” Patton echoed his words when he had first told Logan about Phobus.

“Patton, no. That’s not true. You can be the only one to survive-”

“No, Logan. I am the last one to die. When I first encountered Phobus again, I knew. I wasn’t supposed to live at all. At least not this long.” Patton shook his head.

“What?”

“I was a freak of nature. I wasn’t supposed to be half-Medeis, half-Impoten. I was supposed to be dead. Just like the other Patients. But for some odd reason, I was saved. By my parents. By the other patients. By Remy and Emilie. I was meant to find you, Logan. That’s what the universe has always wanted from me. I was supposed to be the last child to die because I was supposed to meet you and help you stop Graves from hurting anyone more than they hurt me.”

“No, no. This can’t be. Patton, we can still save you-” Logan’s voice broke. He couldn’t bear to part with Patton. Not when he had just figured out Patton was the love of his life. Not when he had just had a plan for the rest of his life. Not when he could barely breathe when Patton was not near because all he wanted to exist for was to love Patton.

“Stop that.” Patton hummed. His voice was barely a whisper now; he was struggling to even get words out. “I can see you spiraling, Lo.”

“Patton-” Logan cleared his throat, trying to brush hair out of Patton’s face, “Just keep fighting. It’s almost time.”

“Look up.” Patton whispered.

Logan did as Patton requested, staring at the open sky. The part of the building they were at had no upper floor, so when the vents above had blown up, it had blown a hole to see the stars.

“Aren’t the stars beautiful?” Patton pointed to a star, “Sirius A, right?”

“Yeah. You remembered.” Logan swallowed the lump in his throat. No. He couldn’t feel emotional. Patton needed him to stay strong. They would find a way to heal Patton in time.

“Promise me that you’ll make an observatory. Next to the aquarium with jellies. That would be nice.” Patton whispered, “Become an astronomer.”

“Patton, you’ll be okay. You’re going to get out of this safely, okay? Just trust me-”

“Just promise me, Logan. I don’t need you to go into a stellar rant.”

God. Of course even now, Patton was still making puns.

“Funny one, my love.” Logan swallowed the heartache that was trying to force itself out of his system. “I promise, Patton. But I can promise with you in my life-”

“Shhh.” Patton gave a small smile, the coffee eyes that Logan had fell in love with all that time ago glazed over.  “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Logan tried to keep a calm face. It was all that he could do at that moment.

“Listen.” Patton requested Logan, smiling. God, Logan loved that smile. Would that be the last time Logan ever looked at that smile? If it was, Logan would spend every last moment trying to memorize Patton’s smile. To keep it in his memory forever. “Let me tell you a secret.”

“Okay.” Logan nodded, sniffling as he pretended as if he wasn’t gasping for air. As if it wasn’t impossible to breathe knowing that Patton may not be next to him in the morning.

“Thank you, love.” Patton smiled as he pulled Logan’s face closer to him. Patton cupped Logan’s face as he placed their foreheads together. And almost immediately, thoughts flooded Logan’s mind. “I love you.”

Thoughts of the past. Of the present. Of the future.

All of Patton’s memories from the very beginning of his memory until the moment he stood with Logan. From his abuse to his realization that things could get better. From his first memories of his parents to his last. From his first impressions of everyone to the reflections of what brought him here.

“Mom said not to disturb her while working.”

“I wonder if I’ll always feel this way.”

“I want my mom and dad.”

“I hate Mr. Graves.”

“Why can’t I go out like the subjects?”

“That hurts.”

“I want to tear my skin until I am nothing left but a puddle of blood. Maybe then, I’d be useful to the DS workers.”

“How could they lie to me?”

“I don’t think I’m that important to lie about. Why would Emilie and Remy sacrifice themselves for me?”

“He’s really kind. Is it bad to trust him?”

“Thomas said I should also keep an open heart. It’s the best thing I can do.”

“I like him. I really hope I can be friends with him.”

“Is Roman offering me a job? I can’t accept it.”

“I want to be a daycare worker. I like working with kids.”

“I hope this Virgil is sweet to Roman.”

“I think Roman is my best friend.”

“I don’t want to mess up on my first day.”

“Why is studying so hard?” “I need to push through.”

“Oh my god, he’s really hot. And I just spilled coffee on him.”

“I know I’m bad with names, but Logan. Logan. Logan. Logan. I really want to remember.”

“Find a way to repay Logan back.”

“I really like him. Does he feel the same?”

“Is Logan asking me on a date? Oh my god.”

“I wonder what I should wear.”

“Logan looks really enthusiastic talking about this. I like seeing him this way.”

“I will never get tired of this.”

“Please, universe, just let me stay with him.”

“What if Logan learns about Phobus?”

“What if I’m going to hurt him in the end?” “What if Phobus finds me?”

“Maybe I should end things with him because he deserves better.”

“I deserve to be better for him.”

“I know Janus and Remus from Roman.”

“I think Janus scares me.”

“I can’t believe my life changed because of him a year ago.”

“I should make him a present.”

“What if he thinks it’s stupid?”

“I hope Logan likes roses.”

“Oh shit, I’m in love with Logan Sanders. Fuck.”

“I wish I could tell him more.”

“Why did I have to chase him away?”

“I really hope this plan works.”

“I need to protect Logan.”

“I’m not afraid of Phobus Graves anymore.”

“I think I’m dying.”

“I wish I could’ve spent all of eternity with Logan.”

“The stars are so pretty in the night sky.”

“I need him to hear my thoughts and know who I am.”

“I love you, Logan Sanders, more than anyone in my entire damn life. I love you more than the sun loves the stars. More than the sun craves to be them. More than each planet craves to be near the sun that they will orbit endlessly in hopes of one day reaching the sun. And it’s stupid for me to say when I have not experienced love other than you, especially since I have never been outside of the world. But I met you and I just couldn’t help but fall apart in your arms. I never knew what true love was until I saw it run directly into me. It was of spilled coffee and shared smiles and tickle fights and onesie pyjamas and reading books and arguing about the stupid little things that never really mattered. My favorite animal is the jellyfish, not just because I thought they were pretty, but also because I wanted to share a little part of you in me. I wanted to always be there to see you rant about them to me. Maybe I will never find the courage to tell you any of this, but the truth is that I will love you until my dying breath and even after that. No matter what awaits us after death, I will be waiting for you. It’s just terrifying to think that we could never have a finished story awaiting us at the end of life. If I could do life again, I’d do it with you. I love you and I hope that maybe in another lifetime, in another universe, that we got the time to be ourselves and that I got to love you until we were both old and grey.”

Logan blinked as he separated from Patton. The echoes from Patient 50. From the last child haunted by Graves. From the love of his life. From Patton Morris.

Logan knew Patton was no longer breathing from the fact that Logan’s glasses didn’t fog up anymore from being close to his lips. From the speed of which Patton bled out, Logan knew that Patton must’ve been bleeding for a long time. That he just wanted to stay alive to see Logan once more and tell him all that had been unsaid. That he wanted to stay alive to see the justice of all the children haunted by Graves. Logan stayed with Patton for a long time. Even when the Special Force team had come around. They didn’t bother Logan and Patton. Only the others in the group.

Logan laid in the rubble, staring at the intimate face of the man he loved. Memorizing every feature and inch of his face, in hopes that when he found Patton once more in another lifetime, in another universe, in the afterlife, that he would be able to recognize the man right away. He was sure he would. After all, he could feel it in his soul that they had been soulmates.

The ambulance came after an hour of Logan sitting with Patton’s body. They came with a body bag to carry Patton in. Patton was right. The ambulance would’ve never come fast enough for Patton to survive. He had been fated to die since the moment he was born within the haunted halls of the corporation headquarters. Logan let the emergency techs carry Patton away as he stood up. He couldn’t move. His legs and arms were numb. His heart ached of something lost that he would never find again.

“Logan-” Virgil tried to begin. It was the first time his name was called. Or to be more correct, it was the first time he processed his name being called. He knew the group had been calling him since the moment Patton had died, but Logan hadn’t processed it.

Logan blinked as he stood up, his voice hoarse, “Right. It’s time to go home, isn’t it?”

“Logan…” Roman opened his mouth to say something, but the words died in his mouth. Just as Logan had loved Patton, the other five had too, in their own platonic way. It must’ve been hitting them just as hard.

“This is hitting Logan really hard.”

“I wish I could help him.”

“Is Patton really dead?”

“Logan looks broken.”

“Patton was the only one who could make him feel better.”

Logan tried to move his foot. To take a step. To do anything to move forward. To go home. Maybe it’d make him feel better. Maybe the ache in his heart would cease. Maybe he’d forget about Patton there.

But he couldn’t even drag his foot anywhere.

There was something cold on his cheek. Something wet. It ran down his cheek until it dropped onto the rubble below him. Logan had never felt it before, so he looked up. Maybe it was raining. But it was a clear night sky. What could it be then? A water pipe leak? It was possible.

“He’s crying. I’ve never seen him cry before.”

Logan brought his hand to his cheek. As Virgil had commented, they were in fact tears.

“Oh, look at that.” Logan sniffled, giving a small laugh, “Looks as if emotionless robots can cry.”

Logan had never cried before. He had gotten close many times. But never once had he cried. For a long time, he thought it was his curse. The emotionless man. Never to shed a tear. But now here he was. Crying. Over a man, of all things. Ironic, he knew, considering that he thought he would never fall in love.

Now, here he was. Logan Sanders, the man deemed to never have emotions, crying over the love of his life, Patton Morris.

“Logan-”

“Let’s go home, Virgil.” Logan shook his head as he began to take each step forward. With every step, he found it harder and harder to breathe. The grief took up space in his lungs so much so that Logan felt himself shrinking with every moment the grief overwhelmed him.

“No. Logan, look.” Virgil called out.

“It’s Thomas.”

Logan blinked as he looked up to see a man standing a few yards away from him. A man that looked so different from the moment he left their childhood house. A man who Logan only recognized from his eyes and hair color and that stupid smile that he inherited from their mother.

“Thomas.” Logan uttered out.

There was so much to say to him. So much to catch him up on. So much to ask him about. So much to do anything. But all Logan could do was utter out Thomas’ name and run to Thomas.

And all Thomas did was envelop Logan into a big bear hug, squeezing him tightly to no return. On any regular basis, Logan would’ve complained Thomas was holding him too tight. On any regular basis, Logan would’ve forced himself out of the hug within a few seconds. On any regular basis, Logan would’ve demanded to know why Thomas wanted to hug Logan.

But this wasn’t any regular basis.

Logan had just lost the love of his life.

And he really needed his older brother. ——————– And roll credits! Jk, there's still an epilogue for you, but seriously, this chapter was heartbreaking. I really hope you enjoyed it, and genuinely, I hope you caught the title. Echoes of Patient 50, and if you count, there are 50 echoes that are highlighted (something I thought was super clever).

[goaheadandgetinthebog]

Several videos (independently) start circulating on the internet of the Waynes info dumping.

Bruce - the role of railways in westward expansion in the 1890s

Dick - clown eggs

Jason - tb and the New England vampires of the late 19th century, with reference to vampire literature

Cass - Paris sewer system

Tim - comparison of different camera lenses from different manufacturers, with model numbers

Duke - anti homeless architecture and how to remove it

Damian - cat declawing

After all this, a new meme forms.

'You must be this autistic to get adopted by Bruce Wayne.'

[orangetubor]

Polycule except one of them isn't dating anyone they're just there

[thekalpar]

God's will is what it is.

[lacking-rodents]

[deadsetobsessions]

“Oops.”

Danny shrieked.

The bloodied vigilante leaning against his wall was concerning. But even worse…

“My window!! Oh my god! Why?!”

“Your- is that- that’s seriously your first concern? I’m actually offended.”

“Oh, is the dumbass bleeding out on my carpet giving me sass? Watch the attitude, you’re half a quarter pint from death right now.”

“You’re strangely calm… about this.”

Danny gestured to his window, shattered in front of him.

“Do I look calm to you? I literally just replaced that window last week!”

“My bad.” The vigilante slid down the wall, leaving a bloody smear.

“Oh my god,” Danny groaned as he got a first aid kit and began patching the guy up. “I’m never getting my deposit back.”

“You have weird priorities.”

“Listen, bird guy-”

“Red Robin.” Bird guy interjected. He winced as Danny dabbed the alcohol soaked cotton ball harder on his cut.

“But if I had a nickel for every time a vigilante crashed through my window, I’d have two. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happened twice.”

“Who was the first one?”

“Surprisingly? Signal. Dude got a migraine and crashed through like a pigeon versus a glass wall.”

“Damn, he didn’t mention that. You got pics?”

“Pay for my carpet and wall first, and then we talk blackmail negotiations after.”

“Deal- ow!”

“Stay still, dumbass!”

[nartothelar]

guys do you want to see the coolest thing ever

ehehe vintage 2000 thomas and friends mini moving keychain!!!

[breadandblankets]

au where the bats manage to stay urban legends, sure other heroes know of them, but they help largely from the shadows, they aren't put on display and they're hardly known at All outside of the strange circle of gotham's goons

that changes when duke thomas stares batman down and says on no uncertain terms that he's working day shift

the signal is Gotham's first confirmed superhero, and he wears a bat on his chest

social media goes Wild fighting over whether the Batman existed all along or if someone finally got the tech and powers to make the bat (or a bat) Real

suddenly the world of superheros feels a lot more real to the citizens of Gotham who got used to horrible disasters being either ignored or neatly cleaned away from the public eye, now there's a guy getting thrown through windows and helping grannies cross the street and the war between gotham and metropolis gets even more cut throat

[ashoss]

thought i'd post another cowboy duke wip :) might play around with the colours a bit? they look a bit weird on my other monitor but idk if thats just bc of my monitor lol. some details are subject to change :3

its only partway rendered :( forgive me

[undertheredhood]

any dc character: *confessing something about their past they kept hidden out of fear/shame*

their batfam bff who had already known for a while and is now desperately trying to hide that they knew the truth this entire time: “oh, wow! that is so crazy, i am so sorry you had to go through that.”

[rxbin-iii]

[wolfprincesszola]

Echoes of 50 Chapter 8

As always, check the TWs and CWs in the masterlist. As much as I enjoy fluff, there's gotta be a little bit of conflict. Enjoy <3. ——————– Now Playing: Angry by Paravi

<Masterlist>

<Previous Chapter> <Next Chapter> ——————–

There had been an incident. Logan hadn’t been careful. He should have been more careful. Patton and Logan had been on a date together, holding hands with one another. They were going to meet up with Virgil and Roman for a double date–something that both Logan and Virgil had protested to. However, they had managed to pull the two of them in with a simple word: magic. Roman had managed to snag a couple of tickets for the four of them for a convention all about the powers facing the Medeis. Virgil, though an Impoten, had always been interested in seeing what the Medeis could do. In fact, that was one of the biggest reasons Virgil had stuck to Logan’s side whenever he ranted about magic, always interested in seeing how Logan’s powers worked. Logan, of course, was interested in everything related to Medeis, as he was one, though he was mainly drawn into the convention because there was a chance that someone from the government could be there. Maybe he could gain more information about them or if anything, he’d gain more personal knowledge of what the Medeis could do. After all, he only knew as much about telepathy as a 34-year-old could. Roman must’ve known this, for it became the reason he hung over both the men’s heads for this unfortunate double date.

“Are you ready, my love?” Patton hummed as he walked into Logan’s apartment. Logan had long since given Patton the keys to come and go into his house as Patton pleased. “Roman and Virgil are waiting for us outside!”

“Almost. I just need my keys.” Logan darted around to find it on top of the cupboard, just like he always left it. Putting it into his pocket, he finally looked up from his scramble around the house to look at Patton. He blinked, “Woah.”

“Do you like it?” Patton giggled as he gave a spin. Patton was wearing a blue button-up shirt, similar to Patton’s normal polo, but was now also wearing a tan skirt that flowed all the way to his knees. Logan blinked as he grabbed Patton’s hand, bringing him to spin another time as he stared at what Patton’s outfit was. At first glance, Patton’s skirt seemed to be a plain and simple suspender skirt, but Logan pulled his boyfriend in closer to look at the outfit in clearer detail. The suspenders were paws, something that tied the entire outfit together to show it truly was Patton’s style.

“Patton, I-you look spectacular.” Logan managed to stutter out, pointing to the paws, “I like the paws. It really does compliment the ‘Patton’ style.”

“Aw, thank you! I think the suspenders are paw-some too!” Patton grinned, wiggling his eyebrows as soon as he uttered the pun.

Logan’s smitten look immediately shifted into a look of disapproval as he began to fix Patton’s collar. The button-up Patton was wearing allowed for the cover-up of his tattoo and Logan was just fixing it to look a little cleaner than it did at the moment.

“Aw, come on, Lo. Don’t be like that.” Patton pouted as he wrapped his arms around Logan’s shoulder, trying to kiss him, “It was only one pun.”

Logan put a hand on Patton’s lips before he could make contact, “No kisses for the punner.”

“Nooooo.” Patton whined, “Please fur-give me, Logan. I’m fur-real sorry and I hope you will paw-don me.”

“Three puns in one statement is abhorrent to my entire lifestyle, Morris.” Logan rolled his eyes. “You deserve a round of applause for that.”

“A-paws?” Patton grinned.

“No! You know what I mean.” Logan scowled as he looked in the mirror for a final glance. He fixed his hair and adjusted his glasses before he turned to his significant other, “You ready, Patton?”

“My name is Paw-ton Morris, Logan, thank you very much.” Patton grinned, “And I won’t be going anywhere until you give me a kiss.”

Logan stared at Patton in horror, “Absolutely not.”

“At least a smile for a pun then.” Patton grinned, mischief glinting in his eyes. Jeez, he really had it out for Logan today.

“Isn’t it enough that I am forcing myself to spend my time with the insufferable man you call your best friend?” Logan raised an eyebrow, “Roman Prince is not someone I would willingly spend time with otherwise.”

“Oh come on, Logan. You know you love us. All of us. Including Roman.” Patton smiled at his boyfriend. “But please, Logan? Just one kiss.”

Logan sighed, staring at Patton’s puppy dog eyes. Of course he’d never be able to stop himself from saying no to a man who he found he yearned to exist only in the gaze of his.

“Alright, fine, but no more puns until another hour.”

“Oh, Logan, how you wound me.” Patton placed a hand on his forehead dramatically, “But alright, fine. But may I first say how fetching you look?”

With that, Patton tiptoed to press his lips against Logan, causing a smile to grow between both of them.

“There’s the smile I’ve been waiting for.” Patton grinned as he separated from his boyfriend. He adjusted Logan’s tie to be perfect before starting to walk out of the apartment, “Now come on. I did say Virgil and Roman were waiting, didn’t I?”

“Alright, love. I’m coming.” Logan nodded as he went to put on his shoes. It was at that moment that it struck through his head and he groaned as he came out of the apartment. “Fetch-ing? Really? That one was low.”

Patton giggled as he tiptoed to press his lips against Logan’s forehead. “You know you love it.”

Logan huffed, not responding back as he locked the apartment. He turned towards Roman and Virgil, who had been staring at the two men. “Alright, Prince, let’s see what you have planned with this convention.”

“Huh, I was wondering how long it’d take for the Drama Turd to finally recognize that Patton and him are not the only ones in the room.”

God, Logan really missed hanging out with Patton alone. It got rid of having to read between the lines by listening to others’ thoughts. He could just focus on Patton alone.

“Oh, have you guys finally decided to stop acting like newlyweds?” Roman blinked, raising an eyebrow as he mocked them.

Logan raised an eyebrow, motioning to the fact that Roman and Virgil were currently holding hands, “You were saying?”

“That is different.” Virgil glared, “We aren’t like you two.”

“Whatever. Must we continue arguing a pointless battle?” Logan asked, “I would like to hear what is planned in this convention, considering Roman has kept it secret from all of us.”

“Well, I wanted it to be a surprise. Especially for my dear Virgil, who so desperately wants to learn more about the lives of the Medeis, though I wouldn’t imagine why. I, an Impoten at heart, am more than enough for Virgil than any Medeis could be. Patton thought it could be cool to see some magic, and I assumed you would want to talk to other Medeis, considering none of us are like you, Logan.”

“Alright, tone down on the dramatism, Ro.” Virgil rolled his eyes, “Let’s just go, okay? I don’t want to be late.”

“Yes, of course.” Roman blinked as he began to lead the way. “Let’s go!”

Logan sighed as he watched the couple in front of him begin to walk forwards. Logan followed in suit, intertwining his fingers with Patton to make sure Patton wouldn’t leave his side. The man was a wanderer and Logan didn’t need Patton leaving him any time soon. Especially in a place such as a magic convention.

“Hey, Lo?”

“Yes, my love?” Logan asked to acknowledge he was listening.

“What are Medeis and Impotens? I was sort of lost with what Roman was talking about.”

Logan raised an eyebrow at Patton. “Have you never heard of them?” “No? Should I have?”

Right. He remembered Patton mentioning he was homeschooled. That might’ve been one of the reasons he didn’t know anything.

“Ah, what Roman was referring to were the magic users in this world. The universe is filled with magic, every part of it. Every human was born with the capability to handle magic because to walk on this Earth is to be able to handle the capacity of Earth’s magic. When time continued to pass and humans continued to evolve from homo neanderthals to homo sapiens, they evolved into two different forms. Medeis and Impotens. Medeis is Latin for magic and refers to the magic users. They had evolved to have the ability to carry the magic of the Earth within their bloodstreams. In that sense, the magic began to be a part of them and Medeis had the ability to cast magic. The magic ranged from telekinesis to the ability to bend certain elements. Impotens, on the other hand, are those who are born without that special element within their bloodstream and therefore cannot use magic in that sense. Impotens is Latin for powerless, which is often why they are called the powerless and Medeis are called the magics.” Logan explained to Patton, “There was a lot of conflict relating to the two of them beforehand, but most of that seems to have died down. There will always be discrimination towards the other, but we, as a society, have done our best to accept the other with open arms.”

“Oh, so does that mean Medeis and Impotens can’t have babies together?”

“They can. It is not up to genetics that determine whether or not someone is a Medeis, but instead it is fate by Earth itself. Unfortunately, that is the way things are.”

“Okay, last question, sorry-”

“Do not be sorry, Patton. I quite enjoy it when you ask me questions.”

“Great!” Patton smiled, “Because I like asking them to you and listening to you explain the topics to me.”

“Go ahead. What’s your question?”

“Roman said you were a Medeis.”

Logan hadn’t had this conversation with Patton yet, though he supposed it was time.

“I am.”

“What’s your power?”

“Telepathy.” Logan let the word slip out of his mouth, though he tried to catch it within his hesitation at first. The word had flown out quickly, but began to slowly float downwards and sink into Patton’s brain. He watched Patton’s expressions shift from confused to terrified to worry to wonder before it landed on an anxiety-filled one.

“You can hear my thoughts?”

“No.” Logan ensured Patton knew that Logan had no access to Patton’s mind. “I do not have access to your thoughts.”

“But…”

“Roman looks so pretty in the sunlight.”

“I hope Virgil likes this convention.”

“Oh shit, I’m going to be late for my date!”

“I wonder when my daughters are coming back to town.”

“I think I love more than those that love me.”

“I need to turn this in. Please focus, brain.”

“Why isn’t she texting me? I’m worried.”

“Fuck. I think I’m in love with her.”

“No, she can’t be dead. She just can’t. My sister just can’t.”

“How do I tell her I can’t afford that?”

Logan nodded as he let the voices flood his mind until he couldn’t even hear his own thoughts. That was the normal for him before he had met Patton. “Everyone’s.”

“Oh.” Patton’s voice quietened down as he began to process what it must be like for Logan. Before either of them could say anything though, they had arrived at the convention and Roman had pulled the other three into the registration line.

“Isn’t this absolutely wonderful, you three? We get to hang out with our bestest friends!” Roman hummed, spinning around where he was. Virgil was trying to calm the energetic man.

“Jeez, Ro. I know that this is a cool thing, but please. I’m trying not to draw attention to myself.”

“I agree with Virgil, Roman.” Logan remarked as the line continued to inch closer to the front, “As much as I am enthusiastic…I’d rather not draw attention to myself.”

“Especially not here, right, L?”

Logan turned to Virgil, sharing a glance with him. Virgil’s thoughts were right. He, especially, didn’t want to draw attention here. Not when he was still uncertain about when the government would strike. If Logan wasn’t careful with his research, he could be miles wrong about the date and time. For all he knew, if he was wrong, the attack could have been at the exact convention they were at.

“Calm down, Logan. I can see your mind racing. Let’s go into this assuming you’re right about the attack date being later down the line, okay?” Logan forced himself to relax his shoulders as he nodded, turning away from the crowd to focus his attention on Patton.

Patton Morris. His amazing boyfriend. The person that made everything feel okay.

When Logan just leaned his head against the man’s shoulder as they were waiting in line, he felt all worries seep away from his body.

“You okay, Lo?”

“Yeah.” Logan exhaled a breath as he pressed his lips against Patton’s forehead before separating from the man and just intertwining their fingers together. Patton always knew how to make him feel better, even if Patton himself was not aware of it.

“If you say so.” Patton murmured. The four continued to discuss with each other until they were at the front of the line. Roman helped with the tickets and proceeded to drag the four of them around the area. Logan and Patton stayed close to the other couple, not wanting to lose any sight of the other two.

They walked around the different exhibits of powers, Logan and Virgil at the front gazing at all the different powers in awe. Once they had explored the front area, Virgil pointed to a small tucked away area.

“What’s that?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t we go check it out?”

Patton glanced at Logan quickly with an unreadable expression before squeezing onto his hand.

“What’s wrong, my love?” Logan turned towards Patton with worry.

“Nothing, nothing.” Patton shook his head, trying to wipe away his expression with a small smile. Logan studied Patton’s face. He had never seen this face of Patton’s before. Patton was always happy and if he wasn’t, he was sad. Logan had seen Patton angry, upset, disappointed, happy, ecstatic, and disgusted. He had seen Patton go through several emotions, but this one was unfamiliar.

“Are you sure?” Logan lowered his voice, staring at Virgil and Roman who were beginning to head into the tucked away section.

“Yeah.” Patton nodded, his eyes giving away any sign of being fine. Then, an emotion flashed through Patton’s eyes and Logan knew.

Fear. Patton’s face was flooded with fear.

“Virgil, Roman!” Logan called after the couple. When they looked over, Logan yelled back to them, “Patton and I are going to wait outside for you, okay?”

Virgil and Roman walked back over, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, nothing.” Patton shook his head, “Let’s just go in.”

“Pat, we won’t know what’s going on with you unless you tell us.” Roman’s expression softened, “Come on, Padre. We’re all friends and whatever you’re going through, you can tell us. Do you want us to leave?”

Patton shook his head, widening his eyes, “No! That’s far from it. I just need some time to catch my breath. That’s it.”

Lie. Logan had known Patton for enough time and had studied every facial feature, every inch, every quirk of Patton’s to know that Patton tended to bite the inside of his cheek when he was lying.

“Is he lying, Logan?”

Logan met eyes with Roman to give a slight nod, but did nothing else to show that he would suggest to not go along with Patton’s lies.

Patton took a deep breath before turning to Logan, “Come on, Lo. Let’s go see it, okay? I want you to experience everything.”

The fear had washed away from Patton’s eyes. Almost as if it had never happened in the first place. Logan didn’t understand how or why, but all he knew was that Patton was genuinely trying to push away his fear so that he could watch Logan be enthusiastic about the Medeis. It was valliable of him, that was for one thing. Something that he would assume Patton had gotten from spending time with Roman.

“Alright, but the moment you feel as if we should leave, we can.” Logan murmured.

“Okay.” Patton nodded.

Logan walked hand-in-hand with Patton as the four made their way towards the small tucked-in area.

“What could have scared Patton so bad that he wouldn’t want to come into here?”

Logan wondered that too. He stared at Virgil who was glancing back at the two of them before focusing his attention on the exhibit. Unlike all the other exhibits that had someone showing off their powers and how it works for them, this was different. A table was laid out with several different trinkets around, one of which was calling to Logan. There was a device in the middle that Logan was absolutely entranced by. It looked almost like an aura handpan that someone could play. With every step approaching up to the device, Logan could feel a buzzing in his ear. He didn’t remember the last time something like this made him feel like this. Was it wonder? Was it excitement for what was to come? What was it?

“I know the looks of those three.”

Well, there was no doubt he didn’t know that voice, though it didn’t seem as if the stranger's sentiment was shared. Logan was too entranced with the device in front of the table.

“Sanders and Grey. I haven’t seen you two in a bit. You look the exact same as you did in high school. Just with less acne.”

Logan ripped his gaze from the device on the table to finally get a good look at the man at the table. The man was wearing a beige vest over a suit and his glasses fit perfectly on his face. He looked very familiar, that was for sure.

“Do we know him?”

Logan was glad to know that Virgil was on the same wavelength as he was.

“Sorry?” Logan raised an eyebrow. “Do you know us?”

“L! You can’t just say that! I was trying to be subtle!” Virgil internally groaned as he glared at Logan.

“Ah, I bet I look quite different than I did when I was young, don’t I?” The man grinned, “It’s Dr. Somnus, though you may better know me as E.P.”

“Emilie Picani.” Virgil filled in as recognition hit his face.

One of Logan and Virgil’s only other friends. They lost touch after high school graduation, but Logan was glad to know that he was still alive and well.

“Picani.” Virgil gave a small smile, “How have you been?”

“Great. My husband and I are doing amazing.”

“Keep up the act. We need to act upon the first reaction.”

What act? What reaction was Emilie referring to? Logan didn’t even remember Emilie sounding the way he did now in his thoughts. His voice was the same as it was in high school, albeit a little lower pitched, but it was his thoughts that sounded different. Maybe things had truly changed, to the point where Logan couldn’t recognize him. Could thoughts change sound the way voices could?

“Husband?” Logan raised an eyebrow.

“I’m sure you remember him. Remy Somnus?”

Patton squeezed Logan’s hand and Logan glanced over to see fear flash over his face. What was going on with Patton? What was going on with Emilie? What was going on with everyone?

“Ah, yes. I remember him. You two were the best of friends. I’m happy to see that’s where everything turned out at the end of the day.” Logan nodded.

“Mind introducing me?” Emilie smiled at Roman and Patton, “You two must be Logan and Virgil’s significant others.”

“Roman Prince. Pleased to meet you.” Roman bowed chivalrously, “I’m Virgil’s boyfriend.”

“Very pleased to meet you, Roman.”

Had Emilie always accentuated the ‘v’ in ‘very’ before? Had he always emphasized his ‘e’s?

“Patton Morris.” Patton managed to mutter out, his voice barely picked up by anyone’s ears. Logan could practically see the thoughts running through Patton’s head, though he had not a clue about what they could be about.

“Morris, huh? What an interesting last name.”

“Is it?” Patton fidgeted nervously, “I’m not sure. I’ve always had it.”

“Not at all. Morris is one of the most prominent surnames. It was ranked #55 here out of 400,980 surnames in the US in 2014. Morris is of Anglo-Norman origin and is derived from Maurice. It has English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh ori-”

“Does this man ever stop with the droning? Gosh, the memories show he’s always been this way.”

“Thank you, Logan.” Emilie cut him off, looking a little annoyed, “I think we got the message. What I meant by that though was that I knew a boy named Patton Morris when I was younger, though he never liked his surname. Never really liked his real name either. Always went by P.”

Patton shifted uncomfortably as he squeezed onto Logan’s hand. He was beginning to shift himself so that Logan would be in front, almost relying on Logan to keep the distance.

And keep the distance, Logan did.

Logan stepped forward and pointed to the aura handpan that had still been drawing him in like a moth to a flame, “Well now that introductions are done, may I ask what exhibit you have here? Why is it tucked away from the rest?”

“P’s clever, for one. Found a clever man to match his wits.” Emilie’s thoughts were different from how they were before. They had more malice in them than Logan ever thought he could find in Emilie. Emilie was kind at the core of his heart, similar to Patton. Out of all the things he thought, he would’ve never thought Patton wouldn’t immediately get along with the man.

“There will be other exhibits in this area. I’m just a bit early.” Emilie chuckled as he pointed to the instrument. “It’s a handpan. A special one at that.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It acts differently around the Medeis versus the Impotens. Medeis have a special calling to it because it draws the magic within their bloodstream, similar to a magnet.”

Logan raised an eyebrow as he stared at the trinket. There had to be some truth to it, considering how mesmerized Logan had been with the instrument while the others hadn’t even spared a glance.

“Go ahead. Try it out.”

“I wonder what he has in store for us. Maybe P really did finally become useful after all these years.”

Logan knew that voice. That thought. It came from the man in the orange suit. The one that had started all of Logan’s research and theories of rabbit hole evolution. He darted his eyes around, trying to do a quick scan of the area.

Nothing.

No one.

“Logan?” Emilie raised an eyebrow.

Logan cleared his throat, “Apologies. I thought I heard a noise and got distracted.”

“It’s okay. Try it out.”

Logan reached his hand towards the handpan. He knew as soon as he finished entertaining Emilie’s booth, he had to look around for more clues. Just as his fingertips were about to brush onto the pan, Patton stopped Logan, gripping tightly onto Logan’s hand. So tightly Logan was sure it would bruise.

“Pat? What’s wrong?” Logan asked as he turned to Patton in confusion.

“Let’s go home, Logan.” Patton shook his head, an emotion flashing in his eyes that chilled Logan’s spine. Terror.

“And why is that, my dear Patton?” Emilie grinned, “Why would Logan tapping the pan ever matter to you?”

“I don’t think it’s worth finding out.” Patton shook his head, his arms practically shaking.

And because Logan trusted Patton and because Logan loved Patton, he brought his hand away from the handpan and nodded.

“Okay, Patton. I’ll follow your lead. Let’s go home.”

“Thank you.” Patton relaxed.

“Either Logan is smarter than he lets on, or our little bird has flown out of the nest.” Emilie’s thoughts were hostile and invasive. Logan was beginning to think that he wasn’t the boy that Logan had become friends with all those years ago.

“We have enough evidence that it’s him. Let’s get P before he gets away from our grasp once more.”

Logan raised an eyebrow as he turned to squeeze onto Patton’s hand. Patton began to pull Logan out of the convention, and quickly at that. Virgil and Roman called after them, but Logan was trying to keep up with Patton’s pace. Something was happening with Patton and Logan desperately wished that he could hear what Patton was saying. Maybe then, he’d know how to help him.

Then, time stopped in front of them. Everything quietened down as the crowd noise died down, as did most of the thoughts from the crowd. From what Logan could hear, there were a few other people that were also unfrozen as their thoughts were still whirling with ways to try and corner the couple. Logan stared at those around him. Only he and Patton were moving. Everyone else was frozen. Patton stopped in his tracks and Logan took that time to fully look around. Roman and Virgil were behind them, frozen as they were midway calling for Patton and Logan. Logan hadn’t even noticed their calling with how much noise there was around him. The crowd and the thoughts from everyone whirling around him. Logan observed those around him as he held onto Patton. Patton was shaking in place, glancing around. Logan continued to stare in wonder at how the power of this Medeis worked, whoever they were.

“Patton?” Logan turned towards his boyfriend.

“Stay alert, Logan.” Patton murmured, “And whatever happens, follow my lead.”

“Most likely, P will know how to avoid us, but it does not mean that his little boyfriend does. If we can capture Logan, then we can catch P off guard.” The voice was different from anyone Logan had ever heard.

“Let’s try a diplomatic way first. We still don’t really know what Logan is capable of. The memories of E aren’t serving us well either.” Emilie’s thoughts came through and Logan turned towards the source to find Emilie smiling at them.

“Logan, Patton, let’s talk about this.”

The first thing that threw Logan off was the fact that Emilie was here. Emilie was an Impoten. It would make sense if the Medeis who stopped time excluded Emilie from it, but Emilie was far from someone who would be a part of a scheme to capture Logan and Patton. Emilie was kind, similar to Patton. This was nothing like how Emilie was.

“No.” Patton stepped in front of Logan to protect him, despite shaking.

“It is you, isn’t it, P?” Emilie’s eyes softened, “Come on, you know me.”

“No, I don’t.” Patton shook his head, “You are not E.”

E and P. Logan knew it was their first initial, but he still didn’t understand what the correlation was for everything. He was trying to wrap his head. He knew Patton was involved with all of his research. If he was correct, then would Patton be Patient 50? It made sense with all of the hexadecimal jargon Patton was always spouting off. Then, would Emilie be one of the subjects Logan had seen throughout the journals? Would that even be the correlation?

“Maybe P will believe me if I lay it on thick. Or maybe I should just dig it into his skin that it was his fault.”

“Now why would you say that?” Emilie tsked, frowning, “I’m the same E I’ve always been.”

“I know it’s you, Joan.”

“50 was always smarter than 45 or 52.”

“Hm. I never could get anything past you.” Emilie smirked, their entire facade changing as they morphed back into what Logan would assume was their true form. “Congrats, P, you always were more clever than you let on.”

“You morphed into Emilie. Of course I’d know.” Patton scoffed. “And it’s Patton.”

“Hm.” Joan made an unamused scoff, “Come on then, Patton. It’s time to come back to the nest before the ones you love get hurt again.”

“They have already been hurt.” Patton glared at Joan. This was a new side of Patton that Logan was now seeing. It was one filled with anger and hurt, and one that was hostile.

“Now you know that’s not what I meant.” Joan sighed as they snapped their fingers. Almost immediately, an entire group appeared before all of their eyes. Every single one of them held out a gun, a gadget Logan was too similar with. Joan, too, had taken out one from their pockets as well. The guns were banned a few years ago for cruelty as they could temporarily disable a Medeis’ power. Logan began to wonder if Patton was truly an Impoten as he had implied it all of this time.

Logan couldn’t recognize any of them besides the one that stood to the right of Joan’s side. The man in the orange suit.

“I’m sorry for what’s about to happen.” Almost all the people had thought at the same time. All except the man in the orange suit. Logan stared at the man, trying to understand who everyone was and what they all meant.

“Logan, duck!” Patton yelled before anything could happen. Logan did just that right as everyone shot at the two of them. It was clear that no one truly knew what Logan’s power was, but knew just that he was a Medeis. He could hear the man in the orange suit’s thoughts crossing off abilities that Logan could have had as they continued to dodge each other.

“Patton, what-” Logan began as the two of them began to make a dash for the exit. If there was any way Logan was thinking of getting out of this conundrum with Patton by his side, it would be by running out of the convention until they lost the entire group.

“Just trust me, Logan.” Patton shook his head, “And dodge all the attacks as best as you can. Use your power to your advantage.”

“What?” Logan replied incredulously.

“We should take another shot at them. I need to tell Talyn to line everyone up once more. I can get them to teleport everyone at once.” Joan had thought.

Oh. That’s what Patton had meant.

While Patton knew everyone and had the advantage to try and dodge all the attacks, Logan didn’t. Though Logan had assumed his power to always be an inconvenience, he guessed that it was better for spontaneous actions. Everyone always thought about what they were going to do before they did them. That’s what Patton was referring to. Listen to what everyone was going to do and dodge them before they could happen.

Logan ran to the right just as Patton had run to the left, effectively splitting up the group. When Talyn–whoever that was–had teleported half of the group to each person, Logan was able to dodge the attacks from the gun more effectively. Now, all he had to do was figure out who each person was and what they did.

“He’s not making this easy.”

“Maybe I should try to rush them without the others.”

“How is he able to predict our moves?”

Logan didn’t like any of the noise. He barely even liked hanging around in crowds, so it was hard to concentrate on his actions while listening to everyone’s thoughts. He was trying to figure out what to do. It also didn’t help that the man in the orange suit was getting closer to figuring out what Logan’s power was. However, Logan was also getting closer to figuring out what everyone did and who everyone was.

Joan. Shapeshifting. Talyn. Teleportation. Valerie. Stopping time. Terrence. Impoten. Dalton. Impoten. Dahlia. Impoten. Quil. Fire manipulation. There were too many powers and too many Impoten to really count.

“Telepathy.” The man in the orange suit had finally figured out.

Patton and Logan both knew that they couldn’t tire the others out though, and that they’d need to find a new plan soon enough if they wanted to get out. They were trapped as they were right now. Then, Logan remembered something.

“Patton, the handpan!” Logan yelled.

He watched as Patton began to think about what Logan was saying. The gears began turning in Patton’s head until he came to an idea and nodded as he went to retrieve the device. Logan was left unknown to the plan as once again, he wondered what went on in Patton’s head. All Logan knew was that Patton was smarter than he let on, even to Logan. It probably came from a sense of urgency and needing to learn to be smart in order to survive. It was about ten minutes of Logan dodging attack after attack when there was a noise. A note to be specific.

C-sharp.

And then another note. E.

Then another. A.

Then, a melody began to play throughout the halls of the convention. Through the crowd of frozen people. Something that Logan knew all too well.

“Why are there so many songs about rainbows? What’s on the other side?” Patton sang, the harmony traveling throughout the entire place.

There was a buzzing in Logan’s ears. He felt drawn to the device that Patton was playing. He could tell the other Medeis were too.

“Someone needs to get him to stop playing that before we’re all affected.”

“I need to touch the pan.”

“I will die if I don’t play the handpan for myself.”

Logan could relate to those thinking about the pan because it was hard to resist himself. Almost everyone was in a trance except for those that were Impotens. Logan’s feet began to travel towards the sound. Though the Impotens tried to hold onto Logan or to pull their teammates back, the Medeis were stronger. They always had been. Patton was in view now as he continued to sing.

“I can’t keep myself from walking. Is this what Phobus meant by others being impossible to resist?”

Who was Phobus?

“I need to stop before I touch it. No one else knows what it does.”

“Why aren’t any of the Impotens trying to wrestle him away?”

Logan searched around for the Impotens. They weren’t able to keep up with the speed and strength of the Medeis as the Medeis continued to try and go towards the handpan. They seemed to be more concerned with their teammates not touching it over stopping Patton or capturing Logan. In fact, stopping Patton seemed to be something they couldn’t do as they also couldn’t wrestle Patton away from the handpan. The only person that didn’t seem to be doing anything was the man in the orange suit. All he was doing was smirking and watching what was happening.

“Interesting. I can’t wait to see what this holds for us in the future.”

This was part of the man in the orange suit’s plan. That was what terrified Logan. If the man in the orange suit was going along with this, then what truly had he planned for the demise of all Medeis? And why was he having Medeis working for him if he truly hated them?

Logan got to the handpan, staring at it. He could resist it for as long as possible, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to any longer soon enough.

“Logan, I’m sorry for this. Try not to be too alarmed by what will happen next.” Patton’s voice came through. Had Patton moved his mouth? How had he said that as he was singing? Did Logan just imagine Patton’s thoughts? That had to be it.

“I’ll see you soon, Logan. You are an interesting man and an integral part of our plan.” The man in the orange suit spoke in his mind.

Valerie and Talyn got to the handpan next and began to reach towards the pan. Logan felt his hand reaching for it too. The three of them touched the handpan at the same time and immediately, Logan felt a sharp ringing go through his ears. He clutched his ears in pain, trying to silence the ringing. Patton stopped playing as the Medeis all began to touch the pan and grabbed Logan. Logan’s vision began to blur as Patton dragged Logan away from the noise. Logan could still hear noises, but no longer voices. There were no voices, no thoughts. Instead, all he could hear was random notes on the handpan playing with every touch a Medeis gave to them. Then, Logan heard time begin once more as the crowd began to fill his ears.

And then, nothing.

Nothing at all.

It was completely quiet.

Why was it quiet? It didn’t make sense why it could be so quiet. He should’ve heard noises. Anything. Thoughts especially. Why couldn’t he hear anything?

“Logan, breathe. You’re okay.” Patton’s voice broke through.

Logan looked up, trying to see who was next to him. Who was holding onto his arm at the moment? But he couldn’t. There was nothing there. No one.

Breathe. He needed to breathe. Then, he’d be able to see.

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Why couldn’t he just fucking breathe? What was wrong with him? It was a simple task. He had known how to do it since he first came out of the womb. Why wasn’t his breathing techniques working? What was happening to him? Was this how it felt to die? Was he dying? Where was Roman? Where was Virgil? Was that really Patton next to him? What was happening back at the convention? Was he going to die had he been caught? Were they safe? Where was he?

There was something cold on his face.

Logan blinked away the tears that threatened to spill his face as he forced himself to focus his vision. It was Patton. There was an ice pack on his face. They were in his apartment. A weight began to rest on his lap and he looked down to see Luna. She was quiet but she laid on his lap, purring only when Logan began to pet her. With Logan’s free hand, Patton placed it onto Patton’s heart.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

Patton’s heart was slowly becoming more steady, probably from the adrenaline. Logan began to listen to it and realized Patton’s heartbeat was syncing into its resting rate, just like Logan’s.

“Breathe with me, my love.” Patton whispered as he began to take steady breaths. Logan followed suit, questions whirling in his head still. He had so much to ask Patton. Still, he waited, letting Patton help him through the panic attack. When Logan’s breathing had returned to normal, Patton looked at him cautiously, “How are you feeling?”

“What was that?” Logan began, his voice hoarse.

Patton was quiet at that. Logan wished he could hear what was going on in Patton’s head. He just wanted some answers.

“Patton, what was that?” “It was a handpan. One that takes away the Medeis’ powers temporarily.” Patton’s tone was soft while the news he dealt was hard. “It gives it to those that don’t have powers. Impotens.”

“How do you know this, Patton?” Logan wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear the answer. “And how did you not know about the Medeis or Impotens if you know about this?”

“I knew about magic users and non-magic users. I didn’t know the terms or how they worked, not the way that you did.” Patton murmured. Logan swore Patton had this incessant need to not answer the most important questions, especially when it pertained to his past.

“You’re mad at me.” Patton stared at Logan.

“I’m not mad at you.” Logan let the lie sit on his tongue, festering in his frustration. It wasn’t anger that Logan had towards Patton. It was frustration. Frustration that he didn’t know anything about Patton. Frustration that he should’ve been able to protect Patton. Frustration that he should’ve known what could happen at the convention and stopped it. Frustration that everything was turning upside down. Frustration that he had touched the pan, because as much as he hated his telepathic powers, it was a part of him. He had lived with it all his life and to hear complete silence was deafeningly lonely. He had learned to think with noise in the background. He had grown up with noise in the background. It was difficult to accept that even if it was temporary, Logan missed the noise in the background. He missed being able to hear about others’ thoughts because he had learned to live with it as a part of him. It felt as if a hole had grown in his chest when it was gone.

“I know you are.”

“Right.” Logan sighed, “You can hear my thoughts.”

“It’s okay to be mad.”

“I’m not really mad.” Logan groaned. “I really am not. I’m more frustrated.”

“It’ll come back. Your powers.”

“That’s not why I’m frustrated.” Logan sighed. He just yearned to know everything about Patton. What made him tick. And sure, Logan knew how Patton acted the way he did, but he didn’t know why. Was there someone that hurt him in the past to make him as kind as he was? Was it just a character Patton was playing for the government to keep him from that? Logan had continued to research Patient 50, but every time, it brought him back to Patton. He didn’t understand what correlation they had with each other, or if Patton was truly Patient 50, but he did know that whatever he was looking for, it was whatever Patient 50 was thinking. Maybe it was selfish of him, but Logan had accepted that part of him. Logan was selfish in both wanting to know everything about Patton and the way he thought and also in wanting to know everything about what Patient 50 was thinking. After all, he loved Patton dearly and he wanted to find a way to stop the Impotens from hurting the Medeis. If they were to be so interconnected to each other, it would make Logan’s life a lot easier. To protect the Medeis, to protect Patton, to protect the Impotens, to protect everyone from the government that wanted to hurt them. To protect everyone from the man in the orange suit.

“His name is Phobus Graves.”

“Who?”

“The man in the orange suit. He’s the head of this entire operation.”

He was finally getting somewhere in learning about Patton and his past. The way he thought. The reason Patton was the way he was. And yet, Patton wouldn’t talk to him anymore. Logan saw it in the way Patton’s eyes wavered with terror and fear. Fear of losing Logan. Terror for those people that he had seen.

“It’s not worth knowing, Lo.”

“I want to know though.”

Patton shook his head and Logan looked at the man in front of him. The man that had spilled coffee on him all those months ago. The man who was always so cheerful around him. The man who couldn’t help but make Logan laugh despite his need for a serious facade. The man who made Logan’s jaw drop at how gorgeous he could be. The man who got Logan to dance in his apartment with no care about who was watching. The man who got Logan to make puns with him in the private access of their room. The man who had redefined love for Logan.

“Patton, I do not think you understand what it feels like to like someone so much that they infect every part of your mind.”

“I’m sorry, Logan. I’m not sure I understand.”

“I know you can hear what I’m thinking. I know you know what I feel about you. I want you to inconvenience me. I want to be burdened with everything you talk to me about. It feels as if I can’t do that when you don’t talk to me. I want to hear about your past and who those people were. What did they mean to you? What did they do to you? What can I do to protect you from them? But when you shut me out, when you shut everyone out, I can’t help you.”

“I’m trying to protect you from it, Logan. I suffered through hell for 23 years! It took me so long to build up a life with an identity while living in fear every day of my life and it was just starting to get better. Why would I tell you about something that could hurt you?”

“Because, Patton!” Logan huffed, “I don’t know anything about you. Your past, your parents, nothing! All I know is that you hate the government, you were homeschooled, and that you have this tattoo on the back of your neck that you despise. Everything else, I’m not so sure about.”

“You pretty much have seemed to figure out everything though.”

“I want to learn it through you.”

The two began to raise their voice, not with hostility but with frustration that neither one of them really wanted to feel.

“Fine, Logan! You want to hear the truth? My parents are dead, I watched several of my peers die, and I was forced into a sick and twisted experiment from a young age. I am the only survivor of that experiment and now they’re planning to use me as a weapon! What do you want from me?”

“That! I want that!” Logan pointed out, “I want to be able to hear about that from you. I didn’t think I’d need to have us go through a near-death situation where you had to meet those that hurt you again for you to open up about that!”

“Why? Why do you want to learn about it so much?”

“Because.” Logan yelled out before he stopped. He was getting heated over this. He could tell that Patton was heated too, the anger in their eyes more towards the idea that they were not being listened to, rather than the idea that they were angry at each other. Logan swallowed the lump inside of his throat as he admitted the thing he had yet to tell Patton. The thing he had known from day one, but had always been too scared to say. Waiting for the right time to say it. Waiting until the moment when Patton would say it first. Waiting to see if this truly was what Logan thought it was. Because if it wasn’t, it was going to hurt. A lot. Still, Logan could see Patton trying to understand what Logan was thinking. Logan decided that it was time. That it had already been let out for some time.

He softened his voice as he looked at Patton, “Because I love you. I fucking love you, Patton Morris. You know me. You know I was never too much into romance. I thought I would never find the one for me, and if I did, it would come in my own time. I never sought to search for that. But then…I met you and suddenly I have never wanted to exist for more than to simply be in your gaze. I cannot help but fall apart to think there could be anyone in the world that would fit me better than you could because the truth is that there is none. I would sooner die than to be separated from you, for I hadn’t realized just how lonely the world would be without you in my life. You have brought color back into my life because before I met you, I was nothing. You unwound every part of me until I was nothing left but a puddle of thread in front of me. You make me want to change for the better every single day of my life. I don’t ever want to lose you, Patton, so please. Don’t make me lose you by shutting yourself out. I want to love every part of you: the perfect parts, the flaws, the trauma. Everything. I love you.”

Patton stared at Logan, unsure what to think of the confession. Logan was never one to swear and was never one to be more emotion oriented. But in that moment, he was, and Patton was left to be stunned by Logan’s emotions.

“I love you too, Logan Sanders. A little too much.” Patton gave a small smile, “And maybe, if I love myself more, I’d be able to tell you everything, but I love you too much to hold you back, and I love myself too little to beg you to stay despite my flaws.”

“Patton, I-”

“I think you should rethink your decision to hold onto me.” Patton murmured as he dashed out the apartment, not even letting Logan get a chance to grab onto him and make him stay. The slamming of the door rang louder than the voices that began to return into his head.

[downthe-f4ndom-rabbith0le]

As Brave As You Are (Newt x Reader) - A Maze Runner Story

As Brave As You Are (Newt x Reader) Reader Insert: she/her pronouns Word Count: 12,051 Warnings: death, bloody wounds, fighting, mental and physical torture, guns, suicidal thoughts and actions Spoilers: no spoilers because the books and films came out ages ago

After helping Newt recover from his ankle injury, Y/N and Newt formed an unbreakable bond that always had them looking out for each other. When they escaped the Maze, then navigated the Scorch, they always had each other’s back. It isn’t until Y/N is captured alongside Minho by WCKD and Newt contracts the Flare that he realises how he truly feels about Y/N.

Problem is, will he rescue her in time to tell her?

Note: I'm back in my dystopian future era thanks to the new Hunger Games film so of course I had to write for my original YA crush. This piece is based on the movie series mainly. Don't get mad at me, I love the books more, but I can appreciate the storylines that came out of the path they took with the films. And if there is one thing the TMR fandom can agree on, it is that the film cast was the best cast ever for the series. So enjoy - not sorry that it's horrendously long, Newt deserves it xx

‘Medjack! Medjack, now!’

Y/N recognised it was Minho was calling for help. Clint and Jeff ran out of the med hut to see what all the commotion was. It wasn’t long before they were hurrying back inside, carrying Newt of all people between them, Minho and Alby in tow.

‘Clear the table,’ Clint ordered, and Y/N quickly followed through, practically throwing off containers, bowls and medical instruments to get Newt on there as quick as possible. Once Newt was up, Y/N finally noticed the unnatural twist in his ankle and it almost sent Frypan’s sloppy sweet potato soup right back up. 

She was still pretty new to her job as a Medjack, being the greenie and all. She was the only girl in the Glade of the current twelve residents, so she was intimidated at first as to what role she could play in the place. Medjack seemed the most suitable, and she seemed to have a knack for it, having stitched up some eyebrows and cleaned up knee scrapes with ease and precision. 

But even though she’d seen blood, dealt with displaced bones and joints, she still got queasy doing her job. It didn’t help that Newt was hissing through clenched teeth from the intense pain, an occasional sob passing through.

‘What happened?’ Y/N asked.

‘I don’t know,’ Minho said. ‘We split up for only five minutes. I thought we could cover more ground that way. And we’ve run that part of the Maze like a hundred times already. I thought we’d be fine…’

Clint held Newt down as Jeff and Y/N took a look at Newt’s ankle. Jeff only pressed gently with his fingers around the bone, but Newt’s responding howls confirmed the severity of the injury.

‘The bone is completely shattered,’ Jeff said grimly. ‘We’re going to need to reset his foot first though. Y/N?’

‘On it.’ She rushed to a shelf that held bandages, then to a cupboard with flat boards about shin length. She grabbed two of those before heading back to the table.

‘You’re going to have to hold him down,’ Y/N directed at Alby and Minho, gesturing to follow Clint’s efforts. Then she turned to Newt, whose face was slicked with tears and sweat as he continued to writhe in pain. ‘Newt. Newt, can you open your eyes for me? I need you to focus on me.’

To his credit, Newt opened his eyes and he didn’t look away from her. 

‘Good. Good, Newt,’ she said. ‘Now, we have to realign your foot. It’s going to hurt a lot. We’ll go on three, okay?’

In the short time Y/N had known Newt – which arguably was no time at all, as he ran every day and she was in the Medjack hut all day. They didn’t interact unless he or another runner got hurt, or at dinner if only to say hello. Even so, she had come to know he liked it plain and straight, no bullshit. So, despite his pain, he took two deep, calming breaths and gave her a nod to say he was ready for what they had to do.

Y/N nodded back, then looked to the others, who had their hands braced on all Newt’s limbs. ‘Ready?’ she asked, to which they nodded in reply. Y/N gently held Newt’s ankle, eliciting a quiet whimper from the boy. ‘Okay, on three. One, two…’ She cut herself off as she slammed her hands either side the ankle bone, causing a loud cracking sound as the ankle snapped back into place. 

Newt’s wail of pain must’ve been heard from across the whole Glade it was so loud. He writhed and pulled to sit up, but the boys held him down as Y/N and Jeff bandaged the two splints either side of Newt’s ankle. Jeff then dabbed a small dose of chloroform in a cloth and pressed it to Newt’s nose. Soon enough, the boy was unconscious, finally pain-free.

‘You guys go have dinner,’ Y/N said to Clint and Jeff a little while later as they were cleaning up the hut. Alby and Minho had left soon after Newt fell asleep, but it was almost dinner time now. ‘I’ll stay with Newt tonight.’

‘You sure?’ Clint asked. ‘We can do shifts if you’d prefer.’

Y/N shook her head. ‘I insist. You guys rest up. I can do this. Consider this my final test to becoming a fully-fledged Medjack.’

Jeff chuckled. ‘You have much more to learn, Greenie, but suit yourself.’

‘We’ll bring you back some food, Y/N,’ Clint said as he and Jeff left the hut, leaving Y/N to idly clean up.

Newt woke up from a dull throbbing in his ankle, which turned into a harsh pain, causing him to sit up in alarm. 

‘Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay,’ a voice gently said as equally gentle hands pushed him back down.

‘My ankle,’ he said, voice hoarse and dry. ‘It hurts…’

The face of the voice finally came into view: it was the Greenie. Y/N offered him a small smile as he finally recognised her. In one hand, she held a needle with clear serum. Her other she offered to his leg. ‘May I? It’ll help, I promise.’

He hesitated for a moment, but the intense pain in his ankle broke his composure as he eagerly nodded. The painkiller worked immediately, and Newt sighed with relief as the throbbing eased significantly.

’There,’ Y/N said, wiping the needle. ’That should help for a bit. Sadly, we don’t have much left for me to give you more than once a day, but I’m hoping you won’t need it beyond the end of the month.’

Confusion clouded Newt’s mind as he tried to process her words. ‘What… What happened?’ But he answered his own question as images of the Maze flashed through his mind, and he remembered it all. How he bid farewell to Minho. How he climbed as high as he could along the Maze walls. How easy it was to let go. 

Then the pain fully encompassed him, and then it was just a blur. How Minho found him. How Clint and Jeff laid him on the table he realised he was still on. How angry and embarrassed he felt having his friends see him broken and miserable. 

Newt managed to pull himself into a sitting position, propping a pillow behind him to cushion the hut wall. ‘How bad is it?’ he asked glumly, eyes unable to lift from his injury.

He couldn’t be bothered with pleasantries. He was too tired, and, frankly, saw no point in keeping up appearances anymore. 

To her credit, Y/N seemed to pick up on his mood, saying, ‘It will heal to a point you’ll be able to walk again. But it won’t ever heal properly.’

‘You mean I’ll have a limp?’

‘Potentially.’

’So I can’t be a Runner anymore?’ Y/N didn’t reply, finally drawing Newt’s attention away from the source of his pain and to her. 

Newt had only interacted with Y/N on a few occasions. Mainly at mealtimes or the odd occasion he passed her by on the way back from a run, only talking as much as greeting and farewelling one another. As the only girl so far, of course he found her intriguing, but he never had time nor a reason to get to know her.

And while he’d come to think of her as the quiet and gentle Medjack in comparison to Clint and Jeff, he didn’t see an ounce of pity on her face as she looked at him. Only quiet contemplation, as if there could be any other answer but no to his question.

‘I guess that’s up to you and Alby,’ she finally said. ‘I mean, I know what I should say is no. I’m sure Clint and Jeff will say no. But it’ll more so come down to if you want to go back in or not.’ Her eyes flickered to his ankle, sadness glazing her eyes briefly before returning to him. ‘But I think I can take a guess as to what your answer will be.’

Newt’s gut twisted with guilt and shame that she’d figured it out, and his face flushed with embarrassment and anger. ‘So, you going to tell everyone?’ he asked, words thick  with hopelessness. ‘I mean, that’s your job, right? Diagnose me, then tell Alby, then the whole glade how pathetic I am?’

Y/N shook her head. ‘I think you give me too much credit. I’m not an actual doctor, you know,’ she said, coming to stand beside him. She inspected his ankle for a moment, then turned her gaze to him, and it shocked him to see such intensity in her eyes. It was as if suddenly he was the most interesting person in the world.

‘I can say it was a running accident,’ she finally concluded. ‘You can tell your truth when you’re ready. It’s not my place to take away hope when the others are so full of it right now. That includes me.’

He stared, stunned, as she packed up the last of her things by a spare medical cot at the other end of the hut. It wasn’t until she let out a loud yawn that Newt noticed it was dark outside. The silence of the Glade told him everyone else had gone to bed so it was late. Or early, he couldn’t really tell.

Y/N fluffed a sad excuse of a pillow and put it on the cot. ‘Now that I know you’re alive, are you going to be okay if I get a few minutes shut eye? I can stay up if you’d like.’

Now that the initial shock and embarrassment of the day’s events had subsided, Newt realised how exhausted he was still. ‘No, that’s okay,’ he said. ‘I think I should rest a bit more anyway.’

Y/N nodded and swung her legs up to lie down fully. Newt went to slide himself and his pillow back down to do the same when Y/N spoke again.

‘And Newt?’ she said, her voice soft and almost hesitant.

‘Yeah?’ he called back.

She was silent for so long Newt thought she’d gone to sleep. But then she spoke. ‘For the record, I don’t think you’re pathetic. For wanting it all to end, that is. I actually think what you did was really brave. You might be scared and maybe out of hope, but at least you did something about it. The rest of us can only hope to be as brave as you.’

Newt’s breath caught in his chest as it swelled with a mix of emotions. Brave? What he did was the act of a coward. Tears streamed silently down his face, both from a deep shame, but also a warmth he hadn’t felt in a long time.

The rest of us can only hope to be as brave as you…

Newt had lost all hope after a year of searching for a way out and finding nothing. But she didn’t know that, and neither will the next Greenie, or the Greenie after that. Even some of the boys already in the Glade didn’t know that. That’s why they waited every day for the runners – for him – to come back with news, with a shred of hope that they’d get out of there soon. 

Newt twisted himself so he could see Y/N, who was rolled away from him, her body rising and falling with the rhythm of sleep. Even if he thought it would all be hopeless in the end, some truly believed they would get out of here.

And maybe that was something worth fighting for.

~

Two years on and Newt and Y/N had managed to forge something akin to a friendship. 

Y/N had kept her word and said Newt had had a running accident, and he’d agreed with her for the sake of his worried friends. Y/N had also been right about his ankle; it healed to point where he could walk and do a decent jog with a limp. But he would never run again. 

He was transferred to work as a Track-Hoe in the gardens with Zart. But it wasn’t all bad. As more boys arrived – never any girls much to their confusion – Newt developed a knack for leading others, for diffusing hard situations, and for wrangling the boys into line. Because of that, he was promoted to Alby’s second-in-command, which gave him more meaningful work to do than just the gardens – stuff that might actually get him and the other Gladers out of the bloody Maze. 

It also meant he had more time to talk to Y/N. He would make sure to drop by once a day (and not just at mealtimes) to check in on her. For a time, he convinced himself he did that because it was his job as second-in-command to keep up group morale, and he would visit everyone in the Glade. Eventually, however, he realised it was because he genuinely enjoyed her company.

Since that night, Y/N had come out of her shell more. Still a little shy and apprehensive at times, but she would openly joke and play along with the boys’ antics. She was more confident in her work as a Medjack too, not afraid to boss Clint and Jeff around if she needed something from them.

Newt’s visits became longer, as they talked about any and all things. Aside from Alby and Minho, Newt considered Y/N one of his closest friends. And she must’ve felt the same – or at least in a similar fashion – as she entertained his thoughts about life beyond the Maze, and the rants he would go on thanks to whichever stupid shank put the fertiliser in the wrong place.

It was a friendship built on mutual respect and genuine care for one another, something that helped Newt convince Y/N to come with him and the others when they finally decided to leave the Maze. But he couldn’t help but feel a deep dread and guilt as he waited behind Thomas, knowing that Grievers were right around the corner.

While the others caught up, Newt turned to Y/N – who’d been helping him through the Maze with his limp – and offered her a spare spear he’d been carrying.

Her eyes widened at his offering. ‘I can’t take that. I can’t fight.’

‘Well, you can’t just go in there without something to protect yourself,’ he said, this time forcibly handing the spear over. Y/N clutched the spear awkwardly, and Newt saw the uncertainty in her eyes, in her trembling hands.

Newt felt bad for making her hold such a violent weapon. All her hands had ever done were help people, save them at times. Now he was asking her to kill. It was for the greater good they both knew, but to kill, nonetheless.

Newt placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and locked eyes with her. ‘Hey,’ he said softly, ‘you stay with me the whole time, do you understand? I promise you won’t have to use that unless absolute necessary.’

Y/N bit her lip to stop it trembling too, but she nodded, steeling herself in preparation for the fight ahead. Newt reciprocated the action and gave her shoulder a final squeeze before turning to face Thomas as he explained the plan.

They fought the Grievers, taking down a few while some of them took down Gladers. The Gladers were backed against the door that Teresa and Chuck were trying to open with a code. Minho shouted numbers at them as he, Newt, and the others fended off one last Griever.

Before he could finish, Minho was caught by a Griever, and Clint ran out to save him. But the Griever’s tail caught him, sending him over the edge of the walkway they fought on with one flick.

‘Clint!’

Before Newt could stop her, Y/N rushed out from behind him, spear drawn back and flying at the Griever in seconds. Not being a fighter to begin with, let alone a good one, the spear bounced off its metal leg without much effect. It did, however, alert the Griever to her presence, turning all its attention to her. Minho leapt to his feet, finally free, and ran back to the group. ‘Y/N!’ he cried as he ran. ‘Run!’

Y/N seemed to finally realise her situation, looking up at the Griever frozen with fear. The horrible creature raised its claw to end her, but Newt moved faster. 

He ran as fast as he could, limp be damned, past Y/N and threw his spear at the Griever’s head. It landed true, puncturing one of the creature’s bulbous eyes, drawing a painful screech from it. Newt didn’t wait to see what it would do next, as he grabbed one of Y/N’s arms and Minho grabbed the other and ran back to the group, practically throwing her behind the front line and against the door. 

Teresa finally got the door open and the Gladers tumbled in, Thomas throwing one last spear down the Griever’s throat as the doors closed. 

Lights flickered on to show they were in some empty room with a door on the wall behind them leading to a corridor.

Thomas looked at the group, taking heavy breaths. ‘Everyone okay?’

‘What’s left of us, that is,’ Winston said, his tone sad and regretful. 

As Newt eyed the group, he noted how many they’d lost, how little their group seemed all of a sudden. 

Minho stepped ahead with Thomas, pointing towards the door. ‘Well? It’s not going to open itself.’

As Minho and Thomas led the group to the exit, Newt turned to Y/N, whose eyes had a distant look glazed over them. ‘What were you thinking?’ he asked, bringing her attention to him. ‘I told you to stay behind me. You could’ve been killed.’

‘I-I know. I’m sorry,’ she stuttered out, tears teetering in her E/C eyes. ‘I just… Clint… It all happened so fast, and I was just kind of moving before I knew what I was doing.’ She looked down at her hands then, and Newt noticed a slight tremble to them. ‘I thought I could help, but I was too slow. And I put you guys in danger too. I’m just… I’m sorry.’

Newt’s guilt came back full force then. He placed a gentle hand over her trembling one, grasping her fingers to stop their shaking. When she looked up at him confused, he just said, ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pressured you into thinking you had to fight. You won’t ever hold a weapon like that again. I promise.’

Y/N opened her mouth to object no doubt, but Newt cut her off. ‘But you have to promise me something back. Promise me that you’ll let us protect you. You can help by keeping us alive, just like you always have. But you’ve got to listen to me, you got it?’

He used his authoritative voice this time, and it seemed to work as Y/N calmed down, her unshed tears now gone.

‘Okay,’ she said, quiet but strong. ‘I promise.’

Newt nodded. ‘Good that.’ He turned to see the others leaving through the door then turned back to Y/N. ’Do you think we’d be lucky enough not to face anything else beyond those doors.’

‘I think we should consider ourselves lucky for getting this far.’ To her credit, Y/N managed a small smile as she looked up at him. ‘But why should our luck run out now?’

There it was again; the glimmer of hope Newt had felt from her since the night he injured his ankle. Newt couldn’t deny that they’d made it this far – by design or by luck, they’d made it. 

And who was he to deny that things might be on the look up for them now?

Together, Y/N and Newt followed the rest of the Gladers to meet their makers.

~

‘I never thought I’d say this… but I miss the Glade.’

The group around the fire grew silent at the implication Frypan’s words had, the memories they conjured up. Y/N couldn’t help but agree as she looked into the dark sky above her, peaking from behind the crumbling pillars they took refuge under. 

The sky was always so clear back in the Glade, she recalled silently. But, just like their current situation, the sky was now obscured. 

The people who rescued them from the Maze were actually WCKD – the people who’d put them in the Maze in the first place. The past twelve hours had seen herself, Newt, Thomas, Minho, Frypan, Winston, and a boy named Aris find Teresa, break out of the facility, and enter the deadly Scorch. In their search for supplies, they’d been attacked by crazed, infected people, driving the group to hide where they were.

The Maze was dangerous, but it was familiar and the only home Y/N recalled ever having. Out in the Scorch, safety wasn’t guaranteed. 

She looked to Winston, who laid back, his shirt pulled up to expose the bloody bandage she’d wrapped his torso in. Y/N tried not to think about the infected scratch marks underneath, and more specifically what gave them to him. The Grievers were one thing, but the things that attacked them? They used to be people.

Not wanting to sit in her thoughts anymore, Y/N stood up, brushed off her pants, and grabbed knife from their pile of weapons they’d found in the abandoned mall. ‘I’ll take first watch.’ 

She didn’t wait to hear if anyone objected, already walking around the stone that covered them so she was on top. To her relief, the others let her go without argument, putting out the fire and quickly settling down to sleep.

After half an hour, Y/N decided to get up and patrol around the area, knife tightly gripped in her hand and her footsteps quiet despite the sand. 

There was so much of it,  the sand. The lady in white – Doctor Ava Paige – had said in her video that the whole world was just desert now. The thought made Y/N yearn for the Glade even more. For the grass, and the woods, and the bonfires they used to have, and the games they played. The boys – Clint, Jeff, Alby, Gally, Chuck. 

Y/N wasn’t a hateful person, but she clutched the knife tighter at the thought of all the loss they’d all suffered at the hands of WCKD. 

It’s why she didn’t hesitate to follow Newt when he’d found her in her room – for some reason, she hadn’t been allowed to stay with the other girls from the other mazes just yet. It’s why they were now braving the Scorch searching for people that Thomas didn’t know even existed. They wanted a better life out from under WCKD’s thumb.

The crunch of sand had her whirling around, awkwardly poising the knife as if to attack, but she relaxed at the familiar person standing there.

Newt raised his hands in mock surrender. ‘Whoa there,’ he said, the quirk of a smile on his lips telling her he was just joking. ‘You could do some real damage if you’re not careful.’

Y/N blew out in relief, the knife dropping to her side again. ‘Thanks, but we both know that’s not the case, Newt.’

Newt shoved his hands in his jacket pocket, shrugging his shoulders as he did. ‘I don’t know, I’ve seen you with a scalpel. Absolutely terrifyingly precise with that thing.’

Y/N chuckled softly, appreciative of the distraction. But her smile dropped as she looked out into the dark cityscape. The moon hid behind clouds so Y/N couldn’t make out anything. ‘Is it pathetic that I’m scared to see what the world has become?’ she asked, not daring to raise her voice above a soft mumble.

Newt stepped up beside her, his body radiating the last remnants of heat from the fire and it warmed her slightly. ’Someone once told me that I was brave for facing my fear,’ he said after some quiet contemplation. 

Y/N looked up at him confused, but he looked down at her with a knowing, smug smile. Much to her chagrin, she couldn’t help but chuckle and shake her head at him. ‘I don’t recall saying that specifically. But if that’s how you saw it, who am I to tell you that wasn’t what I meant?’

Newt hummed in agreement looking back out at the dark expanse, contemplation scrunching his brows together. ‘I’ll be honest with you, I’m scared too.’

That surprised Y/N. Newt, second-in-command, casual, leader Newt was scared? ‘You are?’

Newt nodded. ‘I’m scared that we’ve made a mistake. That Thomas is wrong and there aren’t any mountain people.’ He turned back to Y/N, the most serious she’d ever seen him. ‘I’m scared we’re going to lose more of us, and then what was our escape for? But… it’s not my place to take away hope when the others are so full of it. Including myself.’ Finally, Newt’s smile returned, and it warmed that cold pit of despair Y/N had been falling into ever since they left the WCKD facility. ‘Or, at least, I think that’s what someone very wise once told me.’

Y/N stared at him, awestruck. Hopeful. Newt was hopeful again. And she didn’t want to read into it, but she thought the knowing smile he was giving her told her that she had something to do with it. The thought alone strengthened her resolve, and she looked down at the knife in her hands, less afraid of it all of a sudden.

Y/N held it out to Newt. ’Teach me.’

He raised an eyebrow in a silent question. ‘What?’

’Teach me. How to fight,’ Y/N explained, eyes unwavering from his. 

Concern flashed across Newt’s face for a brief moment. ‘Y/N, I told you, you don’t have to fight if you don’t want to.’

‘If there is one thing I’ve come to know about WCKD is that it doesn’t actually matter what I want anymore. What any of us want,’ Y/N said, feeling the most certain she’s felt in a long time. ‘The one thing we have on WCKD is that we are defiant. We escaped, and are taking away the one thing they want most of all: a chance to find a cure. So, if we’re going to have any hopes of making it to the mountains alive, I’m going to have to know how to fight. So please – teach me.’

Newt contemplated her for a moment, and Y/N just prayed he wouldn’t say no. Or even worse, laugh. Instead of doing either, he took the knife from Y/N’s hand, his fingers brushing across her palm as he did. 

‘All right,’ he said, moving his feet apart to get into a fighting stance. ‘First of all, you’ve got to have a wide-ish stance, and stay light on your toes so you can control when you back away from your opponent.’ 

He demonstrated the movement by quickly shuffling away, always keeping his feet a certain distance apart and the knife gripped tight by his hip. ‘…and when you go into attack.’ He moved so fast Y/N didn’t see his footwork, her eyes locked on his as they bored into hers, knife poised at her neck as if he’d strike.

He stepped away and gave her the knife back. ‘You think you can do that?’

Y/N nodded and took the knife, and for the next hour Newt taught Y/N basic blocks and manoeuvres that he’d picked up from Thomas and Minho and just from basic instinct. Just like she’d been with her Medjack skills, Y/N was a quick study, performing move after move when Newt asked her to. 

She impressed herself. For a natural pacifist, she wielded the knife quite fluently.

They decided to finish the session on a quick sparring match. Newt took a swipe at Y/N, and she stepped back just like Newt had taught her. She then rushed in for an attack, to which Newt threw up his own knife in time to block. Y/N anticipated the pushback and twisted out of Newt’s way as he stumbled slightly forward. While he was disorientated, Y/N gripped his wrist that controlled his knife and pointed her own into his back. 

‘Looks like I win,’ she said, breathless but proud.

Y/N didn’t like the carefree scoff he gave her, followed by, ‘Are you sure?’

She doubted herself for a moment, loosening her grip enough for him to twist out of her reach, knock her knife away and bend to sweep her legs out from underneath her. Y/N landed hard, groaning at the pain in her butt as Newt looked down at her and laughed. 

‘I’m glad you find my pain amusing, Newt,’ she grumbled, rubbing her sore behind.

Newt laughed for a moment longer then calmed down. But his radiant smile remained on his face, brightening the darkness surrounding them. ‘I’m sorry, love,’ he said between remaining chuckles. To his credit, he held out his hand in an offer to help her up. ’But the surprise on your face was priceless.’

Y/N contemplated his hand for a moment, whether she should just push it away or take it. Instead, an idea came to mind, and she gripped his hand tightly then pulled him to the ground with her. He landed on his stomach beside her, getting a face full of sand.

Y/N let out a loud laugh before quickly covering her mouth to stifle the relentless laughter that wished to burst from her. 

Newt spat and coughed out sand as he made to sit up. ‘Well,’ he started, spitting out more sand as he looked up at Y/N, ‘I should’ve seen that coming.’

That just made Y/N laugh even harder, using now both hands to quieten the giggles. Goodness, when was the last time she’d laughed this freely? When was the last time she’d felt such joy? After everything they’d been through, Y/N was worried she’d forgotten what was like to laugh.

When she’d calmed down, she looked down to see Newt propped up on his arms looking up at her with an odd expression on his face. Like he was in awe, maybe. Whatever it was, it made Y/N acknowledge how handsome Newt had become. His baby features had faded since she’d first met him, being replaced by a lean figure and a toned jawline from working in the gardens every day for two years. And with his big brown eyes, tousled blond hair and funny accent, Y/N wondered how he had changed so much without her realising it. How she hadn’t realised he’d grown up.

The intensity with which he looked at her brought a heated blush to her face, and so she turned away into the cool night breeze, willing the blush to cool down. Newt shuffled to sit up next to her. They didn’t speak for a minute, until Newt suddenly stood up. 

‘Well, um,’ he started, and for the first time since Y/N had known him, he sounded uncertain about what to say. ‘I better let you continue with your shift. At least you know how to defend yourself now.’

Y/N hastily stood up as well, making sure there was at least a step between them. ‘Yes!’ she said. ‘Thank you for that. I’ll be sure to practice.’

‘Good that.’ 

They looked at each other for a moment, and even though Newt said he was leaving, he made no move to leave. Maybe he doesn’t want to, she thought, and the mere possibility of that being true warmed her heart.

But he took a step away, gave her a shy smile and a small wave farewell. ‘Goodnight, Y/N.’

‘Goodnight Newt,’ she said, those two words hanging in the air long after he’d left.

As she finally woke Frypan up for his shift, she clung to the knife and went through all the manoeuvres Newt had taught her until she fell asleep. 

Newt was unable to sleep until Y/N woke Frypan up to take the next watch shift, and laid down to sleep herself. Newt opened his eyes to see Y/N laying across the pit they’d dug out for the fire. She faced him on her side, and Newt noticed with curiosity that she held the knife she’d practiced with close to her chest. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically, and paired with her heavy breathing, Newt figured she was completely asleep. 

An odd sensation fluttered in his chest and stomach as Newt considered Y/N’s sleeping face. It was the same feeling that had fizzled in his chest when he’d looked up at her as she laughed. He couldn’t remember the last time any of them had laughed as freely as she had. 

And he couldn’t help but admire how beautiful she looked doing so – hiding her bright smile behind trembling hands, eyes narrowed but sparkling with joy. 

All because of him.

He rolled onto his back then, not wanting to give the thought anymore weight. There’s no point getting your hopes up, he reminded himself. But like a moth drawn to flame, Newt couldn’t help but tilt his head to gaze upon her peacefully sleeping. An ache carved itself deep in his heart. How had he not realised her growing up, changing? Being the only girl for a long time, of course he and the others found her pretty. But now that he looked at her – really looked at her, and wasn’t concerned with his life for just a split second – he realised just how beautiful she was. 

It was in her features, but also in her determination to be better for the group. It both hurt and impressed him when she asked for his help. He promised her she would never have to fight again, but things have changed drastically since the Maze.

It was in her ability to still find the joy in things, to still be able to laugh despite their situation.

It was how she believed in Thomas, in Aris, in the mountain people, even if she was scared. 

‘The rest of us can only wish to be as brave as you,’ he whispered into the night, a silent promise that he’d tell her that sometime. 

And with the fluttering in his chest finally easing into a calm warmth, he finally fell asleep.

~

Everything exploded with chaos as Y/N, Newt, Thomas, and Minho navigated their way through the Right Arm camp as guns fired and explosions went off. 

Teresa had betrayed them. Y/N couldn’t believe it when it was revealed in front of everyone, and she still couldn’t believe it as Minho pushed her head down, sheltering her from another explosion. Teresa truly believed WCKD could find a cure, but still at the expanse of Y/N and her friends’ pain. And just when Thomas was going to blow them all sky high, Jorge and Brenda had come in like a saving grace, and that’s when all hell broke loose.

‘This way!’ Thomas yelled over the din, beckoning them behind a weapons container.

However, Minho stopped suddenly and picked up a launcher. Keep going!’ Minho called over his shoulder as he shot at WCKD soldiers around him. ‘I’m right behind you!’

Thomas and Newt reached the container, but Y/N stopped and turned at the sound of a painful cry. ‘Minho!’ she cried as her friend fell, his body convulsing from a launcher shot. 

‘Y/N, no!’ Newt called after her, but she was already running back to Minho, grabbing at his jacket to drag him to safety. 

But Y/N was not strong like the boys, and certainly not strong enough to move Minho in any hurry. She looked up just in time to see a launcher fire at her, then her body felt like it was on fire. 

She was sure she was screaming, but she couldn’t hear anything as the electricity struck every nerve with a vicious bite. After what felt like an eternity of pain, she was granted a moment of peace as her vision went white, then in a flash was swamped by darkness.

Newt’s heart stopped when he saw Y/N shot. She convulsed as Minho had, then collapsed beside their friend unconscious. The second Y/N hit the ground, Newt found his voice again, feelings of anger and desperation clawing their way through every vein in him.

‘Y/N, no!’ His cry came out broken as he made to run to her, but a strong hand gripped the back of his jacket and pulled him back. 

‘No, boys,’ Vince shouted over the din, holding both Newt and Thomas back. 

‘Let me go!’ Newt protested, struggling against Vince, eyes darting between him and Y/N. ‘I need to help her! Y/N!’

But WCKD soldiers were already picking up Y/N and Minho’s unconscious bodies, dragging their feet through the red dirt and into a berg.

‘I’m sorry, son,’ Vince said, and Newt thought he sounded genuine. But that didn’t stop icy terror gripping tight on his heart as the doors began to close on Y/N, Minho, and other immunes from the Right Arm.

Thomas called for Minho, and Newt called for Y/N, but neither could do anything to help their friends as they were flown away. Back in WCKD’s clutches once again.

When the sun rose, the remaining survivors came out of hiding and began scrounging up supplies. They were moving on, Vince claiming there was nothing they could do but keep going with who and what they had left.

Newt couldn’t accept that, and neither could Thomas apparently, as he claimed he was going after Minho, Y/N and the others. Without hesitation or any further explanation, Newt was the first to sign up and join him.

And so, they went on a quest to rescuing Minho, Y/N, and as many immunes as possible. The train hijack was a huge success with immune numbers, but no Minho and no Y/N. Even so, Newt refused to accept that he’d never see either of them again. Even when they almost got killed by cranks. Even when he, Thomas, Brenda, Frypan, and Jorge were almost blown up by turret guns.

Even when he found out he was infected with the Flare.

He could feel it, his mind slowly slipping away as the Flare ate away at his sanity. He was usually level-headed and rational – it’s part of the reason he became second-in-command in the first place. Guilt and shame ate away at him as he sat on the rooftop of their hideout in the outskirts of the Last City, explaining to Thomas why he just bit his head off about being in love with Teresa.

Not that I’m one to talk, he thought as he rolled down as his sleeve, silence wrapping around him and Thomas comfortably. Newt could feel Thomas didn’t know what to say, and Newt didn’t like long silences so he broke it.

‘The crazy thing, though is…’ Newt started, a soft but sad scoff escaping him, ‘I’m not scared of dying. I used to be, back in the Maze. Because it felt like my friends were dying for no reason, without purpose. But…’ Newt looked over his shoulder, past Thomas, and to the peaking spires of the Last City. To where Y/N was being held somewhere.

‘I have something to die for now,’ Newt said, eyes never wavering from the spires.

Thomas came to sit beside Newt, a sad realisation drawing his brows and lips down. ‘You’re not just talking about Minho, are you?’ he asked.

It was how gentle and matter-of-fact Thomas spoke that had Newt’s chest tightening with fear and an immense pressure he’d been scared, until now, to acknowledge. His throat threatened to close on him as he spoke, rendering his words tight and uncontrolled. ‘I failed to protect her, Tommy,’ he managed to get out. ‘I promised I’d always protect her, and I didn’t.’ 

It surprised Newt how simultaneously hard and easy it was to speak about his feelings, and now that he had started, the words just flowed. 

’She’s just always been there, so I never saw it coming,’ Newt continued, a melancholic smile adorning his lips as he recalls the day he met you, how you helped him with his ankle. How, since then, you’ve always been by his side, growing with him, changing with him, supporting him and everyone else around you. 

’Saw what?’ Thomas asked.

‘I never saw that I could have a future after the Maze, after all of this,’ Newt explained. ‘That I would want a future… with Y/N.’ And with that, his tears finally spilled over, the pressure in his chest bursting into sobs that wracked his whole body. Newt was vaguely aware that Thomas was now holding him, and so he wrapped his arms tight around his friend, around his brother.

‘I love her, Tommy,’ Newt whispered over Thomas’ shoulder, his words obscured somewhat by his tears and holding back sobs. ‘And I’m scared I’ll never be able to tell her before I go.’

‘Hey,’ Thomas said, pushing Newt to arm’s length. He kept one hand on Newt’s shoulder and used his other to grip Newt’s neck, forcing their eyes to lock. ‘We’re going to find her – and Minho, and the other immunes. We’re going to get you that serum that helps with the Flare – as much of it as possible – and you’re going to tell her. You’re not dying. No one is dying. You hear me?’

No one could replace Alby, but the way Thomas was taking control of the situation reminded Newt of his old friend. How kind yet stern he could be. How hopeful yet pragmatic he was. It was something familiar that Newt was thankful for. He quickly calmed down, wiped away his tears and nodded at Thomas.

‘Good that,’ Thomas said, a small proud smile gracing his lips at his use of Newt’s common phrase. 

Newt couldn’t help a chuckle as well. ‘Good that, indeed,’ he agreed, and followed Thomas back inside the hideout to finalise their plan to get into the WCKD facility.

…and you’re going to tell her. You’re not dying. 

There was a nagging voice in the back of Newt’s head that was telling him not to believe Thomas. That Newt was going to die, or worse, turn into a crank and hurt his loved ones. That voice had followed him from the Maze, to the Scorch, and now the Last City. It was the voice that had driven him over the edge of the Maze walls all those years ago. But not anymore.

Newt had to keep hope, just as Y/N had taught him. He just had to be brave.

~

Y/N sat in the corner of her white-walled cell, hugging her knees to her chest as she rested her head on top. She’d sat there for hours, perhaps days. Y/N lost track of time after her first month in WCKD’s facility. 

There were no windows, and the lights never dimmed. She pressed her eyes into her knees in the hopes of downing out the incessant white light. Her eyes ached with sleep deprivation, but she refused to sleep. The nightmares were much worse to deal with, and they always came whenever she closed her eyes.

Images of her friends dying in the Maze and the Scorch, of Grievers chasing her, of her friends turning into cranks and attacking her. Images fed to her by WCKD. 

She knew they weren’t real, but she could never wake herself up in time to escape them. So, she stayed awake, knowing that she’ll have no choice but to face her nightmares when the doctors and scientists come to test on her again.

Y/N shivered at the thought of seeing another needle, of seeing her blood drained from her while WCKD turned her mind against her. When will it be enough? She might’ve lost track of time, but Y/N knew she’d been in the facility for a while now. If they hadn’t found anything by now, something told Y/N that nothing she gave would ever be enough. That included her life.

She knew Thomas and Newt would be dumb enough to come after her and Minho – that’s just the kind of people they were. Her heart ached at the thought that their efforts would be in vain. 

Y/N hadn’t seen Minho since they arrived, having been separated from each other and the other immunes. Something about how they were the most promising subjects, she overheard from a scientist one time. Y/N didn’t know if Minho was alive, and if he was, what condition he was in. 

But Minho was strong, the strongest of all the Gladers in Y/N’s opinion. If he was being tortured like her, he would be able to hold on. Y/N highly doubted she would last much longer.

The rest of us can only hope to be as brave as you…

Y/N wasn’t sure if Newt knew she was actually awake that first night in the Scorch, but she’d heard him, his words so soft she thought she’d dreamt it at first. But it had been real; Newt thought she was brave.

She was too dehydrated to produce tears, but an ugly sob desperately tried to escape her aching chest. She bit her lips instead, hard enough to draw a little blood, and the sob died out, leaving her body quiet except for her mind.

I’m sorry Newt, but I am not brave.

Even so, Y/N refused to crumble to WCKD anymore. They’d taken everything from her. Her life, her memories, her loved ones, her friends. Even her hope – something she so naively believed no one could take from her. They would not take her dignity.

She raised her head at the sound of her cell door unlocking, blinking a few times as bright light flooded her vision once more. Two WCKD soldiers and two scientists stood by the door, and Y/N spied a gurney just behind them. 

One of the scientists – young male, maybe in his early twenties – stepped forward. ‘Time for more testing, Y/N,’ he said in a cold tone. But he had the sense to look sympathetic as his eyes roamed over Y/N as she stood up, showing how pale her S/C skin had become, how dark the circles beneath her eyes were, how the cargo pants and grey t-shirt hung off her in areas where she used to fill.

Y/N knew it was useless, but still she ran for the door, pushing past the scientists with ease despite her weakened state. However, she hit the soldiers like a brick wall, unable to fight against them as they restrained her arms and pressed her against the wall. The male scientist recovered quickly and injected her with a serum that made her drowsy enough that she wasn’t in control of her body. She was conscious as the soldiers strapped her to the gurney and the four of them wheeled her down corridor after corridor, and all she could do was watch fluorescent lights pass her by as she stared at the ceiling. 

Soon enough, she was in a familiar room: the test lab. 

‘It hasn’t been that long since we last tested her,’ the other scientist – a female, about the same age as her co-worker – said, her words laced with worry. ‘We put her under again, we risk losing her for good this time.’

‘I didn’t make the call,’ the male said as he continued to set up equipment around Y/N. ‘When Janson says he wants a cure, I don’t question him. Do you?’

The female didn’t answer, switching her focus to helping her co-worker. Y/N could slowly feel the serum wearing off – it was obviously only a light dose, the scientists knowing they’d put her under when they began testing. 

But just as they unstrapped her to move her to the nightmare simulator, the room shook, sending Y/N rolling to the ground as glass and steel broke around her. 

Sounds were muffled briefly and her vision blurred in and out of focus. She couldn’t hear what exactly the soldiers were shouting, but she saw them run out of the room alongside other soldiers. That just left her and the scientists. 

Y/N flexed her fingers, the serum completely wearing off. Before she could stand though, two hands roughly grabbed her arms and hauled her to her feet. ‘Come on, Y/N,’ the male scientist said, pushing her towards the machine. ‘Just one more trip under…’

Fear electrified Y/N’s every nerve. No, not again. With a desperate cry, she shoved the male into the utensils table, sending him and the tools scattering across the ground. Before he could get up, Y/N straddled his upper body and slammed his arms into the ground.

‘Get off me!’ he yelled, struggling violently beneath Y/N. He managed to twist them both around until she was the one pinned to the ground. Y/N struggled but to no avail. She was significantly weaker than she was when she was first captured and he knew that.

‘You little brat,’ he spat in her face. ‘Ungrateful, selfish immunes. Your duty is to save us all! You–’

He was cut off when he suddenly went slack, falling unconscious on top of Y/N. She scrambled out from underneath him, then looked up from the floor to find the female scientist with a syringe in her hand. She looked between her unconscious co-worker then Y/N, a scared and disbelieving expression morphing her delicate features. 

‘Go,’ the scientist finally said, her voice shaky, but the resolve in her eyes told Y/N that she wouldn’t chase after her. The room – no, the whole building – shook again, and when Y/N looked out the window, she realised why.

The city outside was on fire. Buildings crumbled, and Y/n could hear the screams and cries of civilians through the broken windows. The scientist wouldn’t chase her because there was no point. 

This was the end.

‘Go!’ The scientist insisted, and Y/N didn’t think twice. She picked herself up, ignoring the cuts and scraps of glass it caused her, and ran out of the room.

She ran into the corridor, ignoring the cries of soldiers and other scientists who recognised her as a subject. She didn’t know where she was going, but this was the most freedom she’d had in forever.

Then a thought came to her – Minho. She had to find him, he surely had to be alive. She would run through every floor if she had to to find him. So she ran, looking into every test lab, every storage closest, every break room on the floor. 

‘Minho!’ she cried, uncaring at this point if someone heard her. She just wanted to find him. She didn’t want to die without a familiar face with her. ‘Minho, where are you?’

She rounded a corner, right into the chest of a WCKD soldier. He was caught by surprise, giving Y/N an opportunity to slam him into the wall. It was like her fear was giving her a boost of strength, as she kneed him in the groin, sending him to the ground. He dropped the pistol he was holding, and she quickly picked it up and smacked the butt over the back of his head. He fell to the floor in one last scuffle and laid unmoving as Y/N sucked in deep breaths.

‘Y/N?’

She whirled around at the familiar call of her name, only to find three other people had entered the corridor. Thomas, Minho, and Newt. Her eyes scanned over them all, heart aching with an intense relief it threatened to crush her chest. ‘Guys?’ Her voice was hoarse with disuse and exhaustion. She was surprised she even had a voice after all her screaming.

Newt stepped forward, a relieved smile gracing his lips. ‘Yeah, love,’ he said, sounding on the verge of tears. ‘It’s us.’

Y/N’s first instinct was to run into his arms, the only place she’d felt since leaving the Maze. But she took a closer look at him. He was paler than when she last saw him, almost sickly with how dark the circles under his eyes were. Crank.

She pointed the pistol at her friends, causing them to raise their hands in shock. ‘Whoa, Y/N, it’s us!’ Thomas exclaimed.

‘No,’ she said, her voice cracking ever so slightly. ‘How do I know I’m not in that simulator again? How do I know this isn’t just another test, another trial?’

‘What are you talking about, Y/N?’ Newt asked, worry crinkling his brow. 

’She doesn’t trust her mind,’ Minho said, as if in explanation. ‘Boy, they really did a number on her…’

‘Shut up!’ Y/N unlocked the safety and pointed the gun at Minho. ‘You’re just trying to trick me. Make me think everything is all right. But it’s just a lie. You’re not here. You’re not here…’

Newt stepped into the firing line. ‘We are here, love. I promise, we’re really here.’

‘Newt…’ Thomas warned, but Newt remained, eyes locked on Y/N’s.

Y/N couldn’t look away from Newt. He sounded so genuine, so much more real than previous simulations. But WCKD couldn’t be trusted, and they were wearing soldier uniforms…

Her hands shook but her voice was strong. ‘Prove it,’ she said. ’Tell me something only the real Newt would know.’

Newt swallowed thickly. ‘Okay, um… You cut yourself when you tried out being a Slicer and had to have Clint and Jeff fix you up. That’s when you thought being a Medjack would be a good idea.’

‘WCKD was watching us the whole time. They would’ve seen that,’ she countered, using both hands to grip the gun. 

‘Okay, okay,’ Newt said, looking away a moment to think of something else. When he finally looked back at her, he was calm once more, eyes genuine and sincere. ‘How about how I jumped off the walls of the Maze in an attempt to kill myself?’

The world around the four of them seemed to freeze, as if the world wasn’t collapsing outside. To Y/N’s knowledge, Newt had never told anyone the truth of what happened that day. It was the shocked and tragic expressions on both Minho and Thomas’ faces respectively that had Y/N loosening her grip on the gun slightly.

Newt took a small step closer, eyes never straying from her. ‘I had lost all hope of getting out of that bloody maze. So I did the one thing I could do to control the situation. But I failed.’ He stepped closer again. ‘I was embarrassed, ashamed. I was just a coward. But you healed me and told me something I will never forget. I have held onto it like a lifeline through the Maze, through the Scorch, and all the time I was looking for you.’

He took one final step towards her, unfazed at how the gun pressed hard against his chest. Now that he was so close, Y/N saw just how sick he was. He looked like the early stage victims of the Flare they’d seen in the decrepit city they’d lost Brenda and Thomas in temporarily. And while Y/N refused to believe Newt – her beloved, sweet Newt – was infected, his eyes were the same as always. Open, honest, and truthful.

‘The rest of us can only hope to be as brave as you.’

It wasn’t the fact that he knew the exact words – again, WCKD had cameras everywhere in that Maze, they would’ve heard it. It was instead the emotion tied to the words. She felt them, felt the lifeline they’d created for him in his darkest moment. He wasn’t lying, and that meant he was real.

Finally, she allowed the sob to break free as she dropped the gun and threw her arms around Newt’s neck. He breathed out in relief, bringing her closer to his chest, face pressed into her H/C hair.

‘It’s really you,’ she whimpered, grasping tighter to the person she’s always been able to rely on. The person who has always protected her and brought out the best in her. Her closest friend, her safety net, her home. 

‘It is, love,’ he said into her hair, breathing her in deeply. ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you before.’

‘It’s okay,’ she said, pulling away to look up at him then to the other two. ‘I can’t believe you came after us.’

‘I know right,’ Minho said, punching Thomas’ arm lightly. ‘Dumb shanks.’

‘You can berate us later,’ Thomas said, rubbing his arm. ‘Right now, we’ve got to get out of here before Lawrence brings down the whole city.’

Y/N went to ask what he meant but gripped onto Newt instead as the building shook again.

‘Come on, let’s go,’ Newt said, grabbing Y/N’s hand with one hand, and holding a launcher in the other. Together, the four of them ran to escape WCKD once and for all.

~

‘Brenda!’

Y/N didn’t care about the rain of bullets and walls of fire around her as she ran for the berg. After hearing Teresa’s broadcast, she needed to get the cure back to Newt fast. Leaving him was one of the hardest things she has had to do. He wasn’t in great condition, but Thomas insisted that he’d take care of Newt. But the medicine Thomas had given Brenda all those months ago didn’t just buy her time, it had cured her completely. It could do the same for Newt.

If she could make it in time.

‘Brenda!’ Y/N cried as she spotted her friend. ‘The cure! I need the cure!’

Brenda understood, immediately retrieving one of the extra capsules Mary had made from Thomas’ blood before WCKD raided the camp. ‘Here,’ she said, passing over the injector. 

‘Thanks!’ Y/N said, already sprinting back into the war zone before anyone could stop her. 

She could feel it, the exhaustion, the strain she was putting her body under. Underfed and under trained, she was struggling. But she refused to stop. Newt had come all this way to find her, risked his life to get her out of WCKD’s clutches when he could’ve been administered the temporary cure and been safe on the berg already. No, Y/N refused to let him die without trying.

Minho, Brenda, Frypan, and Gally – Y/N was still shocked about that revelation, but that was for another time to discuss - followed around her, covering her with guns and other weapons as they ran through the war zone.

After an eternity of running, the group rounded a corner to find a sight that made Y/N feel like she was back in the nightmare simulator. Newt was leaning over Thomas with a knife aimed at his chest.

‘Newt, no!’ Y/N cried, running towards the two boys without thought. 

Newt faced her at the call of his name, and she froze as she saw his black eyes. Dark veins branched over his skin and black blood dribbled from his chin. He was a full-blown crank now. 

He raced at her, snarling as he swung the knife at her throat. She ducked just in time and rolled away as he slammed the knife down where her neck was. She quickly jumped to her feet, and despite her fatigue, muscle memory took over her legs, then her hands. That first night in the Scorch came to mind, how her and Newt sparred. The injector was her knife, and Newt her proper opponent.

‘Newt, it’s me,’ she said, slipping into her Medjack demeanour – calm and steady. ‘It’s Y/N. Please, snap out of it for a moment so I can help you.’

She thought he would run at her again, but his brows crinkled with concern and he looked at the knife in his shaky hands. He looked back at her, and the voice he spoke with broke her heart. It was a mixture of his sweet accent and a gargled croak where blood clogged his throat. 

‘Y/N…’ he started. ‘Run away… Before… Before I kill you.’

The scene reminded her of the time he came in with his injured ankle. How desperate he was to fade into nothing because he was scared and ashamed of what he’d done. But just like then, she refused to be scared of him. 

Y/N shook her head. ‘I’m not leaving you, Newt,’ she said. ‘None of us will.’

Newt seemed to realise there were more people than just her and Thomas, turning around to see the others. The sight of them seemed to distress him, though, as he snarled angrily and charged at her. She shuffled back as he swung at her again and again, but as she stepped back again, she tripped on something. She fell onto her back, knocking the air out of her lungs. Before she could gather herself up, Newt was on her, straddling her similar to how he had Thomas pinned before. Newt raised the knife to bring down on her but was tackled by Thomas.

They rolled for a little, then scrambled to their feet as they fought once more. This was Y/N’s only chance. She pushed herself up and ran for the boys, injector at the ready. Newt was bringing the knife forward in a wide arc that would gut Thomas when Y/N threw herself in between them, slamming the injector into Newt’s arm.

Right as his drove the knife into her stomach.

‘Y/N!’ 

She wasn’t sure who called her name, because all she could focus on was Newt as some of the blackness in his eyes cleared and she saw some of his gorgeous brown eyes. She also felt her body finally giving up. As if it knew that this was the end. After all the torture and pain, she had stayed alive so long for one reason. To save Newt – the boy who had been there from the start. So much so she hadn’t realised until he wasn’t there how much he meant to her. How he’d wormed his way into her heart and consumed it without her even knowing. 

She gripped his hand that held the knife in her stomach, unfurled his fingers from the handle, and brought them to her chest where her heart was slowly slowing down. Her weak legs gave out, and she brought Newt down to his knees with her. She could’ve been imagining things, but she swore she saw recognition in his half-black eyes which made her smile as tears finally fell from her eyes.

‘It’s okay, Newt,’ she whispered. ‘It’s okay because… I love you.’

Her vision blurred and she finally let go of Newt as the both of them collapsed to the ground. Her breaths were short and sharp as the pain made itself known. A rush of feet thumped around her, and she had the slightest awareness that someone was moving her, but she didn’t care. She was finally at peace as darkness, at last, consumed her.

~

Y/N woke to the sound of waves rolling over on sand. The first thing she saw was grey canvas, then rolled her head around to see she was lying on a cot in a small tent with tables and medical supplies similar to how her Medjack hut looked. But she wasn’t alone.

‘Oh my God.’ Brenda’s face came into focus as the girl crouched by Y/N’s cot, disbelief and relief morphing her gentle features. ‘You’re awake! You’re finally awake!’

‘Ow,’ Y/N clasped at her head at the sudden loudness. ‘Could you lower your voice please?’

‘Yes, right, sorry,’ Brenda said, but her lips split in a bright smile as she helped Y/N sit up. ‘I’m just so happy you’re okay.’

‘What happened?’ Y/N asked, all she remembered was being stabbed then falling unconscious. She pulled up her fresh linen shirt to see her wound bandaged. ‘I thought I was done for.’

‘So did all of us,’ Brenda admitted, her tone sombre as she pulled up a seat beside the cot. ‘We got you to the berg as quickly as possible and Vince got you stable, but you just weren’t waking up. It’s been a week.’

‘A week?’ Y/N made to get up but sat back down as her wound pulled in an unpleasant way.

‘Whoa, where do you think you’re going?’ Brenda asked stabilising Y/N back in her bed. ‘You’ve just come out of a coma induced by physical and mental torture. Not to mention you were stabbed.’

‘I’m fine. Trust me, I’m trained… somewhat,’ Y/N said, this time able to swing her legs over the side of her cot. Brenda didn’t try and stop her, but she did have to help Y/N when she stood. ‘Now, where is Newt?’ Brenda didn’t answer right away, and tears threatened to pool in Y/N’s eyes at what her silence could mean. ‘Brenda… Is he… Is he alive?’

Brenda, again, didn’t answer, and her face didn’t give anything away either. Instead, she just held back the flap of the tent and motioned for Y/N to exit. Y/N took cautious steps forward as she followed Brenda into a completely new place that had her staring in awe.

It was a bustling camp where sleeping quarters and other spaces were mapped out by canvas strung up on carved wood pillars and posts. Y/N spied a kitchen area where she swore she heard Frypan laughing with some others. 

There was a gathering area where a giant stone stood in front of the seats. There were names carved into it, like what they used to do in the Glade. Y/N tried to make out if a certain blonde’s name was on it. She caught familiar names like Alby and Chuck, Clint and Jeff. 

‘Y/N?’ 

She swung around to find Brenda smiling as she was joined by Thomas, Minho, and Jorge. The three of them ran at her, arms wide open to capture her in a hug.

‘You crazy shank, Minho said, laughter on his lips. ‘Look who finally decided to join the living again.’

‘And here I thought I was the lazy slinthead for sleeping for so long,’ Thomas said jokingly, pulling Y/N in for another hug. ’I’m so relieved.’

‘Welcome back, hermana,’ Jorge said, a warm smile gracing his lips as he gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder.

‘Good to be back,’ Y/N replied, smiling at the three males. ‘What happened after I thought I’d died?’

Thomas went to reply, but Minho cut in. ‘We’ll explain later. Right now, I think you should go say hi to someone else.’

Confused, Y/N followed Minho’s gaze to Brenda, who stood atop a hill and was staring over the other side of it. Y/N quickly reached Brenda’s position and followed her gaze to a large garden that people were working on. But her breath caught at the sight of a familiar blond at the edge of the gardens talking and pointing in all directions to people.

‘Hey, Newt!’ Brenda called out, causing the blond to turn around and look up. At first, he saw Brenda, but his gaze soon fell on Y/N and his whole face changed into disbelief.

With the other gardeners forgotten, he started climbing up the hill, and Y/N couldn’t wait another moment so she started walking down the hill. 

They met in the middle, with Y/N standing at Newt’s height on the uphill. Neither said anything to begin with, both in disbelief and awe at who stood in front of them. Y/N looked over Newt, noting he still looked pale and somewhat sickly. But the dark veins were gone, as was the black blood and his black eyes. And the sun shone so brightly that his hair looked golden. It was as if he was never infected to begin with.

With a shaky hand, she reached out to rest her hand over his beating heart. ‘You’re alive,’ she whispered, too scared to voice it too loudly in case this was also another nightmare. 

But he proved her doubts wrong as he rested his own hand on top of hers. ‘I am,’ he said, and the usual warmth of his voice truly convinced her he was real. 

His face pinched suddenly with concern and guilt. ‘I’m so sorry, Y/N,’ he said, his hand tightening slightly over hers. ‘I hurt you. I almost…’

‘It’s okay,’ she interrupted, using her free hand to cradle is cheek and keep his eyes on her. ‘You didn’t. I am here, too. Looks like we both saved each other.’

To her relief Newt smiled. It was a genuine, happy smile, something she hadn’t seen on him in a long time. He nuzzled into her hand briefly, before bringing it down with his free hand so he held her hands between them. 

‘Before I passed out,’ he started, ‘I remember you saying something.’

‘Oh.’ A blush heated upon her cheeks, but she refused to look away from him. ‘Right. I did say something.’

She was trying to play it cool, but as soon as his deep brown eyes fixed on her, she knew he could see right through her. But he didn’t smile smugly, he didn’t tease. He actually looked scared as his jaw clenched, fighting to find the next words to speak. 

‘You said you love me,’ he finally said, words tight but hopeful. ‘Is that true?’

Y/N’s mouth dried up suddenly, constricted by all the things she wished to say but couldn’t say all at once. It’s not like she was scared, she just never thought she would live long enough to have a future, let alone one with love. One with Newt.

But she had – she had survived WCKD’s cruelty, she had survived the terrors of the old world, she had survived when so many of her friends hadn’t. And it was her duty to live her gift of a life to the fullest.

‘Yes,’ she finally said, and it was like breathing in fresh air after being underground for so long. ‘I love you, Newt. I don’t know when or how it happened, but I do. I love you.’ 

There was a second of hesitation, but then Newt broke out into a wide smile, and Y/N swore she saw tears brim in his eyes. He suddenly reached one hand up to cradle her neck as he pulled Y/N in for a sweet kiss that simultaneously knocked the air out of her and breathed new life into her. He held her neck and hip, and she pressed her hands against his chest, satisfied to feel his heart thundering beneath her hands. The heart that almost never beat again, the heart that had saved her over and over again. 

The kiss was short but was no less breath-taking, and when they pulled apart neither could stop the smiles on their faces. 

‘I love you, too,’ Newt said. ‘If that wasn’t already obvious.’

Y/N threw her head back in a hearty laugh. She slung her arms around Newt’s neck, a cheeky grin dancing across her lips. ‘I’m not so sure. Maybe we could try that again to make sure?’

‘Cheeky bugger,’ he murmured as he pressed his lips to hers again. Y/N sighed into the kiss, grasping the baby hairs at the base of his head. 

They pulled apart at the sound of their friends whooping and clapping atop the hill. Y/N felt her face erupt with embarrassed heat, to which Newt laughed as she ducked her head into his chest. 

‘All right, come on lovebirds!’ Minho called out. ‘Dinner’s almost ready.’

As they walked down out of sight, Y/N went to follow but was stopped by a loose grip on her wrist.

‘What is it?’ she asked as she turned back to Newt.

‘I just…’ Newt turned to the gardens below, then to the water, then to the sunset that bathed the whole camp in beautiful hues of orange, pink and purple. When he finally turned back to Y/N, she thought he couldn’t look any more handsome with that pure sunshine smile and sparkle in his eyes. ‘Thanks.’

‘For what?’ she asked.

‘For teaching me how to be brave,’ he answered.

Y/N gave his hand a squeeze. ‘You were always brave, Newt,’ she said. ‘It’s how I learned how to be brave in the first place.’

Newt squeezed her hand in return, then they walked hand in hand back up the hill and down to dinner to where their friend awaited them. 

Where the lives they never imagined they’d get a chance to live awaited them.

[arkngth]

not cringetober bc i was busy today

but i did get a doodle done for 40 years of thomas the tank engine <3

[hugecarls]

my friends gave me sum doodle ideas using expression memes for the creeps + mh chars so here they are :-3 links to the templates r at the bottom

template 1 template 2 template 3