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It was late at night the first time it happened. Virgil was scuffling around the kitchen in the dark looking for a late night snack. He had kept Thomas up for hours with 'what if' scenarios about the party he attended earlier, and decided he deserved a treat for helping him not embarrass himself. He was using his phones flashlight so he wouldn't cause too much attention downstairs, which made the room dark. He was so focused on finding a specific Crofters flavor that he didn't notice someone else had crept up behind him.
Out of nowhere, he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard a voice. "Oh Virgey!" the assailant whispered in a creepy voice.
Virgil whipped around and smacked the hand off of him, shining his flashlight onto his attacker. "BACK OFF" he yelled. His voice sounded....strange. But he didn't focus on that at the time, his focus was on whoever tried to attack him. But his light only showed his friend, Remus.
Well, Remus who was now at least 10 feet away from him. Waving. His eyes shone red in the flashlights light, like a cat's, but it was definitely Remus.
"You alright there, anxiety attack?" Remus said, his scratchy voice trying to be quiet in the night but failing.
Virgil was breathing heavily, frightened by this late night jumpscare. He shook his head and slowed his breathing down. Scrunching his eyes, he responded. "Y-yea. Yea, sorry man. I uh... i don't know. I thought you were like-" he was stumbling his words," An attacker or something". He mumbled the last bit, slightly embarrassed now. He looked at Remus again, his head a bit clearer. "Why did you move so far away, I wasn't gonna like hit you or anything?" He asked.
Remus looked at him confused, looked at his feet, and then back. He stalled for a second before responding. "I.... don't know. You said back up, and i guess i did!"
Virgil stared at him with confusion. "You never listen to me, weirdo".
Remus started walking back over to him, stealing some of his jam with his finger. "You're right, that's why i'm confused too!" He licked his fingers as Virgil cringed. "But, i've never heard you sound like that! I guess my body moved all on its own!" he said absentmindedly. But Virgil stared at him like he had three heads. (Which he has had before. Awful idea if you ask Virgil, genius if you ask Remus. And annoying if you asked Janus). He didn't mean to sound different, he just.... he wasn't sure what really happened. But it was late, this was future Virgil's problem.
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This time, it was during the day. Thomas had come home from school, and was anxiously pacing his room. "What if I embarrassed myself! I should have never talked to those guys, would they have actually wanted to be my friend? Just because they had a steven universe pin does NOT mean that they'd like me!" He ranted. Janus was sitting in the corner of his room, while Virgil paced alongside him.
"You're right, I mean was that the right move? Giving them your Tumblr? What if they see something cringey you reposted and decide they should never have talked to you in the first place?" Virgil had said. Thomas stared at him with horror, and paced even faster.
"Oh will you both calm down. This is not the end of the world. It's good for Thomas to make friends!" Janus lazily said from his seat. He was reading a book, not fully invested in the situation.
"Don't tell me to calm down!" Virgil hissed back. "This may not have been the best move. I mean, our Tumblr? What were we thinking?"
Thomas started to breathe a little quicker as Virgil spoke, which finally got Janus' attention. "Alright you fiend, let's take a step back" he said. Janus stood from his seat and walked over to the stressed teens, attempting to remind them of the grounding techniques Thomas had seen on the internet. Trying to listen, Virgil followed what Janus said to do, which helped Thomas to calm down as well.
After a few minutes, the tension settled. Thomas sat on his bed and sighed. "Thanks guys. I feel a lot be-" he started, until his phone dinged. It was a notification from Tumblr, one of the guys he talked to had messaged him. He looked panicked at the sides, silently asking for help again.
Before Janus could get a word in...
"GET RID OF IT." Virgil had yelled. His voice was weird again. Distorted. Thomas immediately grabbed his phone and threw it out his bedroom door. He looked at Virgil helplessly. "...I meant like, put it under your bed or something.....".
Janus stared at Virgil with his mouth agape. He stared for what seemed like minutes, before speaking. "Would you care to explain what that was, Virgil?" He said.
Virgil looked at him, and then at Thomas who was now checking to see if he cracked his phone.
"I..... have no idea"
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"Side meeting! Please converge in the living room!" Janus had yelled through Virgil's door, and again muffled through the wall at presumably Remus' door as well.
Virgil's stomach dropped. Side meetings were basically like being texted "We need to talk". It was worse than being left on read. As he put on his hoodie, his head filled with every little thing he had done wrong, wondering which one would be tonight's topic of discussion.
He trudged down the stairs and sat on the far side of the couch. Remus and Janus were already down there, the latter standing next to the table.
"So..." Virgil started. "What's this all about..?"
Janus, reading Virgil's discomfort, sighed. "You're not in trouble. Quite the opposite actually" He said, a strange look in his eye. Happy? Remus also looked weirdly excited. More than his usual creepily cheerful self. He was even smiling at Virgil.
Now Virgil was really confused. ' I think i'd rather something be wrong...' he thought to himself.
"It has come to my attention that... how should i phrase this" janus muttered the last bit to himself. "Your... voice is changing..?" he tried. Remus laughed hysterically and chimed in.
"You're going through puberty!!" He shrilled.
"WHAT." Virgil yelled, his cheeks turning bright red.
"NO." Janus yelled, trying to draw back their focus. "That came out wrong-"
"That's what she sai-" Remus started, before Janus used his power to silence him. His hands rose to his mouth, but Remus kept mumbling the rest of his sentence anyways.
Janus sighed and straightened his shoulders. "What I meant is... well. You know how I can silence the others." He said, pointing to Remus who nodded furiously. Virgil gave a small nod. "And how Remus can stifle the others, get Thomas' attention. It appears, you can do something similar with your voice as well."
"What do you mean..." Virgil mumbled. He was thoroughly confused at this point. Was this about his voice going so....weird? Was it a problem?
Janus have a warning look to Remus, and then released his hold on him. Remus took a comically large breathe. "Do you remember that night i spooked you in the kitchen?" Remus said. Virgil nodded again, slightly shuddering at the memory. It made him feel wrong. "You made me jump back to the other side of the room!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.
"I didn't make you do anything....I just..." Virgil tried, but he didn't know what happened. "I got scared. I thought you were like, gonna attack me or something, so I freaked out. That isn't a good thing".
Janus shook his head as response. "Yesterday," he said, "when we were with Thomas. He threw his phone through a doorway, all because you told him too. Even I don't have that kind of sway". He had a strange look in his eye, but Virgil didn't care. He felt horrible about that as well. He didn't mean to make Thomas do anything, he just wanted to help him. But instead, he panicked. Like he always does.
Janus sat next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't be upset storm cloud, this is good. In fact, this is a great thing!" Janus said. He even looked... proud. Virgil hadn't seen that side of him before. It made him feel good. Confused, but good. Remus was nodding wildly as Janus continued. "Me and Remus, we can silence the other sides. And sometimes, it's the only way for Thomas to hear us. But you? Virgil, you can reach Thomas directly."
"But... I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I didn't mean for Remus to jump away. And with Thomas, I just didn't want to see what that kid texted. I didn't want Thomas to get hurt. I wasn't thinking either time, I was panicking."
"No, you were fighting." Janus has said. His tone was strong. "When cornered, you choose at break neck speed between fight, or flight. This ability, this power, is fight. Don't you see?" The anxious side shook his head slowly. "You can help Thomas in a way none of us can. When he needs to move, you can make him. Virgil, if Thomas is in danger, you can get him out of there." Janus finished, and he was glowing.
Virgil was staring at them now, dumbstruck. "But...neither of those instances was real danger."
Remus laughed, but Janus shook his head in agreement. "While that is true, this is definitely a start." he said.
"Besides!" Remus interrupted, "This is just cool! If I could make Roman jump a mile away anytime I pleased, i'd abuse the heck out of that power!" He continued laughing while Janus rolled his eyes. Virgil softly laughed as well.
"Actually, that'd be a pretty good use of it.." Virgil muttered, this time Janus laughed as well. "But... you actually think this is a good thing? That I can really help keep Thomas safe..?" He asked.
This time, Remus was the one to respond. "Oh Virgil, of course you're anxious about making someone anxious!" he cupped the younger side's face in his hands. "Don't you know I'd never steer ya wrong?" he said. The crazed look in his eyes wasn't helping his case, but he sounded sincere enough.
"I guess not....at least not about something like this." Virgil amended.
"Our job in life, our entire purpose, is to help Thomas." Janus added solemnly as Virgil wriggled out of Remus' grasp. "Whether we guide him through society's struggles, show him the truth of himself, or keep him safe. You were literally made for this. And of course, you have us to guide you on what to do best. I mean, are we not the most upstanding role models you've ever met?" he joked. The others laughed and Janus continued. "For once in your life, don't overthink this. This ability you have is going to cause great things, and he will be better for it."
Virgil sat there, staring once again. "You're not usually this mushy Jan..." he said, a small smile on his face.
"You aren't usually inclined to listen to me anyways, so how would you know" he teased back. With the mood now lighter, and knowing he wasn't in trouble, Virgil actually relaxed a little bit. As much as he could at least, being himself and all. Until Janus abruptly clapped his hands.
"Well then, with that out of the way" he said, " How about we start training?"
"Im sorry what-" Virgil said before Remus pulled him off of the couch.
"You've got to hone this power, young grasshopper. And after we'll eat your head like a real grasshopper!" Remus added. Virgil looked ill at that, so Janus shook the green side off.
"What he means is, we need to understand how it works." Janus said. "With my ability, I need to focus on what side I intend to silence and wave my hand. It's mental and physical. We need to find a way for you to get a grasp on your vocal outburst." Virgil gave a small nod, starting to understand.
"For me, I just talk a lot!" Remus said.
"But..you always talk a lot." Virgil responded.
"Correct! But in this instance, I talk even more!" Remus amended. Janus looked at him, exasperated.
"Yes Remus, that was very insightful. Thank you" He hissed. Remus nodded his head proudly. "What he means is, to get Thomas to listen, he will grab Thomas' focus. Sort of like tunnel vision. The more he pokes at the problem, the more aware Thomas is. And the less the others can redirect him."
"Thats what I said!" Remus pouted, but Janus just rolled his eyes.
"Ok...so what do I need to do?" Virgil asked. The other two stared at him for a moment.
"I actually.... am not sure. Let us go over how it happened in the first place." Janus said.
So, Virgil recounted the entire interaction. He wanted some jam, started to eat, and felt someone behind him. Obviously he assumed it was a murderer, as any sane person would assume. So he.....
"You just yelled? Thats it?" Janus said. He started pacing, confused. "You yell at Remus all the time, what made this instance different?"
Virgil shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. It was late, and I was tired. I couldn't see him, I guess. I was just....scared."
Janus stopped pacing and nodded. "Strange... Here, yell at Remus now." He instructed.
"What." Virgil deadpanned. Remus just nodded and jumped up and down.
"YES! Come on, yell! Let's get crazy!" Remus responded.
Virgil rolled his eyes, but listened. He felt awkward, but faced Remus and yelled at him. Well, it was more like loudly speaking at him. Remus deflated.
"Oh come on, that was nothing! Weak sauce!!" Remus yelled back.
Virgil huffed and tried again. This time he tried yelling the same thing as when it first happened. "Uhh..just... b-back off!" He gained volume near the end.
"AGAIN!" Remus was screeching bow.
Virgil looked exasperatedly at Janus, who just nodded for him to do it again. He sighed, but did as told. "Back.. Back OFF!" he yelled again. He still sounded the same, the only difference was his voice cracked. Janus urged him to try again. Remus was laughing now, but he kept screaming. They went back and forth for a while, each time Virgil gaining more confidence in his voice. But still, it was only him yelling. No distortion, no effect.
Janus was behind him now, Virgil not noticing from his focused state. He yelled again. "BACK OFF!" But it was the same. Until Janus crept behind him and pressed the screen of his phone. An ear splitting alarm went off at full volume. This time...
Virgil jumped a foot in the air from the sudden noise. He quickly turned around, yelling at Janus now. "BACK OFF". And this time, his voice had the same creepy effect from that night in the kitchen. It was actually more intense, louder and reverberating off of the walls. Instead of only moving away, Janus involuntarily threw his phone and raised his hands in the air. Both him and Remus had moved a full 10 feet away from Virgil, neither saying anything. Virgil stood there, breathing heavily with his fists clenched. It took a minute before he even realized what he had done. When his vision cleared, he made eye contact with Janus. He stared at him, eyes widened and opened his mouth to apologize. But Janus wasn't mad. He looked....thrilled.
"I.... I don't-" Virgil started, but Remus interrupted him.
"Don't even think of apologizing you frightening fool! Ive never seen Janny look this excited!" He said. As he spoke, he walked back to Virgil and stood next to him. Virgil turned back to Janus who was now... smiling???
Janus walked up to Virgil and put his hands on the younger sides shoulder. "That...." he started, but couldn't find the words.
"You're not... mad at me?" Virgil asked. Janus looked at him like he was crazy, and Remus smiled along.
"Mad? Why in the WORLD would I be mad? Ive never seen you sound so, so resolute! Im not mad, I'm proud!" He responded, his eyes shining. Virgil's jaw dropped. "Virgil, do you understand just how important this is to Thomas' well-being? You literally have the ability to make him stop, drop, and roll!" He was laughing now, Remus joining him.
Virgil shook his head, and shirked off Janus' hold. "But I just, I yelled at you! I didn't even mean to, I have no control over this-"
"Yet. You have no control yet." Janus interrupted. "But that doesn't mean you never will. We are going to strengthen this. It appears to be emotionally driven, unlike Remus' and I's powers. But, is that what makes it so much stronger?" He was rambling to himself now, but Virgil wasn't listening. He just made his friends, his family move from him like he was a threat. He's the least threatening side in the mind scape! His breath quickened.
Remus took notice, and placed his hand on Janus' shoulder. "Hey Janny, I think you're overwhelming the kid." He said, nudging his head in Virgils direction.
Janus turned to look, and it seemed Remus was right. Virgil was starting to spiral. Janus shook himself from his thoughts, and focused on the boy in front of him. He took his own coat off of his shoulders, and placed it around Virgil. The younger side looked at him confused, but Janus just nodded his head. "Alright, breathe now storm cloud. I didn't mean to upset you. You've done nothing wrong!" He said, but Virgil still had a distant look in his eye. Janus sighed, and spoke again. "Ok listen, let's drop this whole voice thing for tonight, shall we?" Virgil nodded a bit.
Remus grabbed conjured some blankets and threw them onto the couch. He pushed Janus onto it, and picked up Virgil over his shoulder, he yelled in protest. He wasn't too shocked from the grab, as this was a common occurrence when one lived with Remus. The intrusive side placed him on the couch and started to flick through their movie pile to find a good one to watch.
While janus cozied up with a blanket, Virgil started to calm down. He counted his breathing, and rubbed his hand along Janus' cloak. It was softer than it looked. Probably why the snake side wore it so often. It definitely wasn't because it looked good. After a few minutes, Janus leaned over to him. "Better?" he asked. Virgil nodded his head.
Janus sighed. "I didn't mean to upset you, I...apologize." It cam out strained, but he meant it. "I was trying to understand, but it appears my methods were not...."
"Of sound mind? Morally correct? Good?" Remus finished for him.
"Yes Remus, thank you so much for the input."Janus grumbled out as Virgil laughed. "We both know I am not good with emotions. I see things cut and dry. I wanted an answer, and I wanted to help you understand yourself better."
"I want that too" Virgil said. "I just.... when it happened the first time, I didn't really know what it was. I felt, bad. And with Thomas, I just wanted to help him. But I almost made him shatter his phone. Just now, when you both jumped away from me, it didn't feel good. It felt like, like you were scared of me."
"Oh Virgey, no offense but you could never scare us!" Remus said as he flopped onto the couch. "We were there for your fingerless gloves phase. It's hard to see you as scary after that." he joked, but Janus nodded his head.
Virgil gently swiped Remus in the face. "Oh my gosh never bring that up again."
"He is correct though." Janus said, and Virgil glared at him. "What I mean is, we know you. We'd never be scared of you." he amended. Virgil looked at him and thought for a moment.
"Oh....cool." he muttered with a small smile.
Remus gave an extravagant yawn and laid over the over two's laps. "Now if we're done having a big ol' pity party, I wanna watch 'Nightmare before Christmas!!"
"Aw heck yea!" Virgil cheered.
Halfway through the movie, Remus had fallen asleep. Virgil glanced over at Janus to see if he was awake. When realizing he was, he softly spoke.
"Uh.. I wanted to say. Cause ya know, I didn't really say earlier, I guess." he stumbled out. Janus looked at him and laughed a little, making Virgil feel less tense. He sighed. "Thanks for, ya know. Saying you were proud of me. That, meant a lot." He looked back at the tv to not have to see Janus' face, but he could feel the other side looking at him.
"I know im the personification of lies, but I did mean it. I still do. You stood your ground, and told me off. It's not because you have some new voice effect, but because you used your voice. That is why I am proud." he said.
Virgil smiled at him, and he smiled back.
"Now shut up, Oogie Boogie is about to sing" Janus whispered. Virgil rolled his eyes, but complied. He also wanted to watch that part.