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wolfprincesszola · 8 months ago

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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).

#wolfprincesszola #echoes of 50 #chapter 12 #logan sanders #virgil sanders #thomas sanders #patton sanders #remus sanders #janus sanders #roman sanders #orange side #thomas and friends #friends of thomas #tss bb #tss big bang 2024 #tw major character death #angst

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wolfprincesszola · 8 months ago

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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

<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.

#wolfprincesszola #echoes of 50 #chapter 8 #angst #tss bb #tss big bang 2024 #logicality #prinxiety #logan sanders #patton sanders #orange side #roman sanders #virgil sanders #friends of thomas

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