Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Janus opened his eyes.

Then realised he had eyes.

He groaned. Thomas had split again.

He stood up and looked around him. The headspace was completely empty, pitch black, which meant Creativity hadn’t formed yet. 

With nothing else to do, Janus sat and waited.

Romulus opened his eyes. Thomas had split again. This was bad. But maybe it could be good? It meant he had a chance to exist again. Existing was nice. But it also meant Thomas was struggling. And the constant fights…

Deceit sat in front of him.

“Ah,” he said, snake face smiling sarcastically. “You’ve formed, Romulus. Could you please create the world for us? It’s been just delightful, sitting here in the dark waiting for you all.”

“Have the others arrived?” asked Romulus.

“Yes, everyone,” said Janus. “But we’ve got three out of six.”

Janus could sense the others beginning to form. Romulus would be fine to get them adjusted to existing again- though it wouldn’t be long before Romulus himself split into Light and Dark.

But he had a job to do. He needed to take control until Thomas could reform. Any of the others being in control could be disastrous. And he, Thomas’s lies, but also Thomas’s self-preservation, needed to protect Thomas. Make sure the split didn’t make him do anything stupid.

Before Patton opened his eyes, he could feel the crushing sense of despair.

Thomas’s emotions. Also his Morality. Which meant the bulk of whatever Thomas was feeling was left to him.

And, well, Thomas split. Which meant he couldn’t handle whatever life was giving him just as himself, and felt it easier to be six- or five, still?

So clearly emotions weren’t favouring him well.

Patton groaned and covered his eyes.

Virgil, the Anxiety, was the next to form. He sprung up. Fuck. Thomas had split again.

Sitting around him were Romulus- hadn’t split yet, okay- comforting a Patton who was covering his eyes. Logan and Janus were nowhere to be found.

Which meant one of them hadn’t formed, and the other was in control.

Virgil raced to the front room. It was difficult, as Romulus always changed the headspace every loop, for a ‘change of scenery.’

It took a while, but eventually Virgil found it.

Please be Logan, please be Logan, thought Virgil as he entered. Deceit being in control would not serve them well.

Fuck. It was Janus.

Logan opened his eyes, already sensing he was the last to form.

Why? Why? He was arguably the most necessary here, being literal Logic. 

He sighed and looked around. Virgil and Janus weren’t here, but the other three were. Three. So Roman and Remus hadn’t split yet.

“Deceit!”

Janus turned around. “Going by titles, are we? I can play that game, Paranoia.”

Virgil flinched with the use of his old title. “You know that is no longer who I am.”

Janus stared down Virgil.

“Are you here to force control from me? How well do you think that would go for Thomas, hmm? Anxiety in control?”

“It’d be better than having the literal embodiment of lies in control,” spat Virgil.

“That is not all I am. Remember, I am also Self-Preservation,” Janus said smoothly.

“And so am I,” snapped Virgil. “We just clearly have different ways of going about it. I prefer an honest, moral life, which it seems you don’t care about.”

Logan nudged Patton’s shoulder.

“Patton? Are you going to get up?”

Patton shook his head.

“Thomas needs you. He can’t go completely without emotions. And especially if Janus is in control, as I believe he is, Thomas needs his morals to keep Janus in check.”

Patton shook his head again. “Don’t wanna.”

Logan sighed. Emotions. Tricky things. Good thing he didn’t have any.

No one had thanked him yet. Not a single Side had thanked Romulus for creating the world they currently resided in. He had spent all of Thomas’s waking life dreaming up what their world would be next time they formed, and no one had thanked him. They all had their own rooms, honed to perfection of what they all enjoyed, and no one cared! Patton was there sulking, Logan was trying to make him see reason, and Virgil and Janus were fighting. None of them had even gone to see what their rooms looked like. They didn’t care.

They didn't respect his work. Just like no one respected Thomas’s work.

Well, Romulus cared about his own room, even if the others didn’t. He could sit there until the others came to thank him for this world.

He knew some other people didn’t have their own worlds. They couldn’t visualise the place they were in. But Romulus could create it for the Sides, and they didn’t care.

Thomas’s phone rang. Janus picked it up. Virgil glared at him.

“Hey, Thomas,” Joan’s voice echoed through the mindscape. “I was wondering if you wanted to come to see the stage reading of the script I wrote?”

“Sorry, Joan,” Janus said smoothly. “But I’m busy today. My mother is sick, and I’m currently making her soup.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that,” Joan’s voice came. Janus smiled at Virgil.

“Would you like to come over some other time? I haven’t seen you in a while. Honestly, I’m kinda worried about you. Are you okay?”

Janus’s smile dropped. “I’m fine,” he said. “Just a little busy, is all. Sorry.”

Virgil stared down Janus. “You’re a liar. You think Joan would care if they found out about us? They helped create us. They would be more mad if we hid it from them.”

“We don’t need that sort of attention,” snarled Janus. “We don’t need them to burden themself with us. We can sort all this out ourselves. They don’t have to know at all.”

“Patton. You’re being childish. Get up!” Logan scolded Patton.

Patton said nothing. His hands were still covering his eyes.

“Patton! For fuck’s-” Logan pulled Patton’s hands away from his face.

Patton moaned, pulling away.

“Patton!” Logan sighed. Fine then. If Patton didn’t want to listen, didn’t want to be a functioning part of Thomas, that was fine. Emotions were useless anyway. 

Logan turned away. He would go do something more productive. Like take control of Thomas’s life, instil rationality into all of them.

Just as Logan was about to turn away, though, he felt hands clinging to his pants.

“Don’t leave,” said Patton.

Logan sighed. So he couldn’t even do that.

“You think I want to be in control?” asked Janus. “You think I want Thomas to be constantly lying? Me being in control affects the rest of you, too. You’ll become more like me.

“No, I want Thomas in control. But unfortunately, Thomas isn’t here. We are. And we need to keep Thomas functioning until we can combine again and he’s ready to come back. And until then, I have to keep us functioning. I have to be in control. If you're in control, you’ll push us all beyond the edge and could end up destroying Thomas. None of the other Sides would be much use to Thomas in control either. I am his Self-Preservation. I am desperately needed in this situation.”

“If Thomas truly wants to lie to be able to preserve himself like you seem to think he does, maybe he does deserve to die,” snapped Virgil. His eyes widened and he covered his mouth as he realised what he just said.

“And that is exactly why I cannot let you in control,” said Janus.

None of them had checked out their rooms. Still.

Romulus could hear the Sides all arguing and shouting. He could hear Janus and Virgil fighting for control. He could hear Patton begging Logan not to leave him, and Logan telling Patton to leave him alone so he could help Thomas.

None of them even wondering about Romulus. They clearly didn’t care about him. They clearly didn’t think Creativity was a necessary part of Thomas.

Romulus stormed out of his room. He would make them care about him.

Hallways turned to flesh, darkness, spiders, spiraling, twisting corridors as he walked through.

“Patton, if you aren’t going to be a useful Side, at least let me be useful.”

“Don’t leave me! Please, Logan. I don’t want to be alone!”

Logan attempted to pry Patton’s fingers off of him.

“This is why I don’t bother myself with emotions. Patton, get over yourself.”

Logan thought back to the final few days before Thomas had split. He had spent much of his time, similarly to Patton right now. In bed, refusing to do anything.

The splits were always annoying, but at least it meant he didn’t have to deal with emotions anymore.

If this was what emotions caused, he didn’t want any part in them.

He didn’t hear his name be called out.

He didn’t notice the changing environment around him.

“Patton! Logan!”

Romulus tried to get the others to listen to him. He had already tried with Janus and Virgil, but they were too caught up in arguing.

None of them noticed how their world was changing, or him calling out. They didn’t care.

Romulus was arguably the most important Side here. He gave Thomas inspiration! Without him, would the others even exist? He made Thomas who he was- a creator!

The others didn’t understand.

“LOGAN!”

They were ignoring him. Just like everyone ignored Thomas, told him his creative pursuits would never amount to anything 

How dare they.

A gun formed in his head. Before he even thought, he had raised it and fired.

Logan heard a loud bang, and felt something small whizzing past his head.

He turned around.

Behind him was Romulus, holding a gun and looking stunned.

Janus and Virgil both flinched when they heard the gunshot.

They ran to check where it came from, but Virgil paused. Janus didn’t look back.

This was his chance.

A sense of anxiety took over the mindscape as Janus stared at Romulus. He had dropped the gun and was shaking now, a look of panic on his face.

Logan was staring at Romulus, shocked. Even Patton looked up, and Janus could see his face was tear-streaked and damp.

Romulus shook, and then dissolved into white light which split into two, green and red, and then reformed.

Roman and Remus.

They had finally split.

Light and Dark Creativity.

“You almost shot me. You almost killed me,” Logan said, quietly, softly. His face, usually cool and expressionless, was open and scared. 

“I’m so sorry,” Roman, the red half of Creativity, said to Logan. “We were both mad at all of you for not focusing on us. He- he made me take revenge. He put the gun in my hand.”

Remus turned to Roman, incredulous. “I did not! We were the same, I had no more control over you than you had on me!”

“Well, you’re the dark side of Creativity. So you’re the one who makes the impulsive actions, such as shooting Logan.”

Patton squeaked as a spider, made by Romulus as he transformed the rooms, crawled in front of him. He dug his head into Logan’s pants, tears wettening the hem.

“Patton! Would you stop that? Leave me alone!”

Patton didn’t say anything.

“This is why I don’t bother myself with feelings. They just get in the way! I would appreciate it if I were able to help Thomas, but Patton is here, throwing a pity party and refusing to let me do anything. I’m the most important Side, but I can’t do anything!”

Roman scoffed. “You’re the most important Side? I’m the one who runs his job- I’m his Creativity! I created this world for us! Without me, none of you would exist!”

“I also am his Creativity! I created this all, too!” said Remus.

“Yeah, but you’re only the bad stuff,” said Roman. “Come to think of it, without you, I wonder if Thomas would have split in the first place! You’re- you’re the ugly stuff. The weird stuff that makes Thomas feel like he’s a bad person, and should split that stuff away!”

Logan tried to pull away from Patton, but Patton only clung harder.

“No, please, Logan, I need you, please don't go, I don't want to be alone, I don't want to be alone!”

Logan tried to pull away harder. “Patton, please! I'm trying to help Thomas, he needs me to get him to do things like eat, if he doesn't eat, he will die! You're making me make Thomas die!”

Patton continued sobbing, while Logan shouted over him to be heard. Roman started also shouting, complaining that no one was listening to him or thanking him, while Remus was doing what seemed to be his way of attempting to stop everyone, by screaming about a variety of unpleasant scenarios that Janus really didn't want to think about.

“Quiet!” shouted Janus. “We need to be helping Thomas here! All of your shouting is probably stressing him and-” 

He stopped, breathing quickly. He had left Virgil when he came here to check on the gunshot- the gun which was still lying on the ground, abandoned by Roman and Remus- and now all the Sides were getting louder and more stressed, including him. Virgil had been in control for too long. 

It was only when Virgil dropped Thomas's phone that he realised how bad his hands were shaking, and how fast his heart was beating. 

He could hear all the other Sides, hear their panicked thoughts as they tried to do what they thought would help Thomas, yelling at each other. He could feel his own thoughts, swirling around his head like pieces of paper in the wind, or shards of glass cutting him as he tried to grab one. But they all pointed in one direction.

Thomas was having a panic attack. And Virgil had been in control for too long. 

He backed away shakily, then turned and ran to join the others, leaving Thomas alone and empty for the time being.

Janus barely noticed as Virgil approached, trying as he was to get everyone to quiet, calm down and listen to each other. The shouting was overwhelming, and he could hardly hear himself think. 

“You were right,” Virgil said. “I'm pushing everyone over the side of the curve. I shouldn't've taken control.”

“Too late now,” Janus said, glancing at Virgil. His face mostly appeared calm, only the whites of his eyes showing fear. “Everyone's already panicking, and shouting over the top of each other. We can only calm Thomas down by getting everyone to shut up.”

Virgil nodded, and then moved into the group, trying to quieten everyone, but only succeeded in adding to the noise. Janus pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stave off a headache. 

There was only one thing he could think of that would get everyone to listen. It was the only way anyone had ever listened in the past, though that probably wasn't a good sign. 

But Janus really, really didn't like it. It went against all his instincts, as Thomas's sense of Self-Preservation.

Janus watched, frozen, as the Sides all continued to fight. 

“You're not just his emotions, Patton! You're his Morality, too! Stop acting so childish and just grow up! You…”

Remus tuned out the arguing, which he had been trying to stop, and turned to Janus, who was staring blankly at everyone, eyes unfocussed. 

Janus had had a thought he didn't like. Remus was the expert on thoughts people don't like. 

His thought was a thought to stop the fighting, to bring Thomas back. But it was a thought he couldn't act on. 

Silently- a strange occurrence for him- Remus left the Sides, all of whom hardly had realised he was there in the first place, and went to Front. 

The Sides didn't notice as the area around them changed, merging into the Front, until, one by one, they noticed a rope hanging in front of Thomas.

“Shut up!” yelled Remus, and everyone fell silent.

With that, Remus spoke, quieter now. 

“Listen to Janus. Or I will kill us all.”

The Sides froze, not daring to move. 

Janus cleared his throat. “Thank you, Remus. We've all been fighting over how to best help Thomas, but that is the exact opposite of what Thomas needs. What he needs is us working together and listening to each other, not arguing.” He sat down and opened his palms. “So. Can we try to have a discussion, without fighting?”

Logan glanced at the others, then reluctantly sat down. Patton wiped his eyes, then sat down next to him, shuffling closer. Roman sat down on the opposite side, and when Virgil and Remus could tell that they weren't fighting anymore, sat down too.

“Right.” Janus cleared his throat and took off a glove. “Virgil. I know you don't like me, and I don't need you to like me. I know you don't agree with my methods, but I didn't want you in control because Thomas is already in a bad mental state-”

“Obviously,” interrupted Virgil. Janus glared at him, and he glanced down. “Sorry.”

“As I was saying, Thomas is already in a bad mental state. I know you just wanted to help, but I didn't want you unintentionally making it worse.

“Now that I've said, politely, my feelings on the matter, Virgil, would you like to tell me what's been bothering you?”

Virgil shrugged. “I'm mostly fine, now. I realised you were right about not wanting me in control, because I did make everyone panic, and that made Thomas panic. I didn't want you in control because I didn't want Thomas lying. But you were just trying to help him, in the way you knew how.”

Janus nodded. “I didn't want to be in control for long, either. I was just trying to keep him alive and functioning until Thomas was ready to come back.”

“I could have kept him functioning, but Patton-” started Logan, but his words died as Virgil and Janus both turned to him. Logan cleared his throat and turned to Patton.

“Patton, I found it… frustrating, when I was trying to help Thomas, and you weren't only not helping, but also actively hindering my ability to do so. It's fine to have emotions, but you were letting them get in the way of Logic.”

Patton took a deep breath. “I'm sorry, Logan. I wasn't trying to stop you from doing anything, I just… everything was so much, Thomas hasn't been feeling great emotionally, and as his emotions, all of that was piled on me. I couldn't see any sort of hope, but you're Logic. I wanted you to be able to tell me that everything would be okay, that this wouldn't last forever. Despairing as I was, I couldn't see that, but I wanted to be told that from a rational perspective, everything would be okay. I just wanted you to talk to me. I'm sorry I got in the way.”

Logan paused, taken aback. “You… wanted my help? You wanted comfort from me? I'm not the most comforting of Sides.”

Patton shook his head. “I know. But when emotions are telling you everything is horrible, I think sometimes, Logic is all that can help.”

Logan reached a hand out to Patton. “I'm sorry for having brushed you off like that. I just assumed… I'm sorry.”

Janus allowed a smile to flit across his face, then turned to Roman, who rolled his eyes. 

“I've got no issues with anyone.”

Virgil raised an eyebrow. “You shot at Logan.”

“That was Remus!” Roman exclaimed, leaning back. 

“We were the same person!” Remus shouted back. “You were mad at everyone that they haven't been paying attention to you! Like how no one's been paying attention to Thomas!”

Roman paused for a moment, before scoffing. “Ha, no? I'm- I'm fine…”

“Roman,” said Janus. “You cannot lie to the master of lies. As much as it pains me, everyone needs to be honest if we're to get Thomas back.”

Roman sighed. “Fine. I was… annoyed. And hurt. None of you seemed to care about the world we're in, or anything I've done for you. Thomas’s videos haven't been doing very well recently, and just after he quit his job… I was wondering, if most of Thomas doesn't seem to care about his Creativity, maybe the world shouldn't either. Maybe it's right, that no one cares.”

“Roman, I care about this world,” said Patton. “It's… nice.” A remaining spider skittered past, and Patton shuddered. “Other than the spiders. I'm sorry I wasn't really in a state to enjoy it.”

Logan nodded. “Roman, Thomas is a creator. Without you, he would be a fundamentally different person. While I would prefer a more stable job for Thomas, he prefers this, and… I like what you create. I thought you did too. I thought you were confident in your own work enough to trust that we liked it, without needing to say.”

“I do like my work. But part of the point is that it needs to be seen and appreciated. And I didn't feel like it was. I'm sorry for taking this out on you.”

Remus nudged his brother. “Now that you've admitted you have issues, could you also admit I'm not totally bad? I may be the Dark half, but I'm not completely evil. Just as you're not a perfect angel.”

Roman sighed. “Alright. You are a lot of what I don't like in yourself, but you're here for a reason. Probably. I'm not sure what that reason is-”

“That's fine,” Remus said. “I'm not sure what my purpose is either. I'm trying to work it out.”

“But you can be helpful sometimes,” said Roman. “I don't know if we would be here, talking things through, without you getting us to shut up like that.”

“Though we do need to find a healthier way to do that,” said Logan. “We shouldn't rely on that in the future. It could go very, very wrong.”

Janus turned to him. “Yeah, we do. But you were the one- one of the ones- fighting, which made that necessary.”

Logan tilted his head. “Point taken.”

“Well, next time, maybe we can find a different way to communicate our issues,” Virgil said. 

“Hopefully, there won't be a next time,” Janus said. “But if there is- and there likely will- maybe we can find a better way.”

“Group hug!”  Patton yelled, pouncing on Logan, who, after a few seconds, reciprocated. Roman and Remus joined soon after, and Virgil piled on too.

He glanced back at Janus, standing there with his gloves back on. Virgil smiled  and pulled the snake in. 

Janus tensed, but then melted into the group. He would never tell them, but he loved them all. 

Thomas opened his eyes. How long had it been since he split?

He checked the calendar. Only a couple days. His Sides had managed to get along again pretty quickly. 

He hated to do this to them, but he had needed a break, and it was easier to calm the dissonance in his mind when they each had their own voice. 

Hopefully that time would be the last.

Chapter Text

CJ stared at the paper in his hands. All ready, all signed. Now all he needed to do was hand it in.

“[Absolutely not,]” Apollo said, rising into CJ's living room out of nowhere. “[You cannot be doing what I think you're doing.]”

“Oh, hey, Mind,” CJ said.

“[Please, Whole. You may refer to me as Apollo.]”

CJ raised his eyebrows. “And you may refer to me as CJ.”

“[Touche. But, please, CJ. Do not do this. You won't be able to-]”

“(Stop right there!)” Artemis said, rising into CJ's living room. “(Whole-)”

“CJ.”

“(-Can do whatever he pleases!)”

CJ tried to open his mouth to talk, but Apollo interrupted, sighing. “[Heart, CJ can't do anything just because he feels like it, that's idiotic. The fact is, music is not a stable career. It has been a fine hobby, but is simply not viable as a long-term investment.]”

“(What do you know about art?)” Artemis retorted. “(CJ wants to make music, so he should!)”

“[I never said he couldn't make music,]” Apollo replied evenly. “[I'm only saying that it cannot be his sole source of income. Music does not make enough.]”

CJ smiled uneasily as his Sides began to argue. “Speaking of ‘sole,’ shouldn't Atlas be here?”

“{I'm here,}” Atlas said, appearing suddenly. 

CJ looked up at him. “Atlas! Can you, uh… sort these two out…?”

Atlas rolled his eyes. “{Yep.}” He summoned his trident. “{Artemis! Apollo! Shut up, you two!}” The two looked up at Atlas.

“(Oh. Hey, Atlas. I didn’t see you there,)” said Artemis.

Atlas rolled his eyes. “{No, of course you didn’t. You were too busy fighting with Apollo.}”

“[And you’re blind,]” Apollo added.

Atlas turned to CJ. “{So. What’s the emotional dilemma of today?}”

CJ lifted the documents he was holding. “I’m about to hand in my resignation letter. Apollo doesn't want me to, while Artemis does.”

“{Well, what do you want to do?}” Atlas asked.

“Obviously I want to quit…” CJ said slowly. 

Artemis smiled. “(Exactly! CJ wants to quit, so he should be able to quit. He-)”

“[Simple ‘want’ is not a good enough reason,]” Apollo interrupted. “[CJ needs to make money. That is the purpose of a job. Music cannot- is unlikely to- fulfill that requirement. CJ requires another job to do that.]”

“(Didn't you see the amount of money CJ got from his last album? If that keeps up, CJ will totally have enough money to quit,)” Artemis said.

“[If that keeps up,]” Apollo pointed out. “[Music is a volatile industry. You can fall out of public favour quickly. If you stop getting ideas, you stop getting paid. You could miscalculate the amount of money you need, and not have enough to pay your bills. Not to mention the judgement from everyone when they hear that you don't have a proper job.]”

“{Aren’t you a cheerful one,}” Atlas remarked.

“[I am simply trying to be realistic,]” said Apollo. “[Something Artemis clearly cannot do.]”

“(Yeah, well-)” Artemis huffed, and turned to CJ, who had been silently watching the entire exchange. “(CJ, how do you feel when going to work? Do you feel excited? Inspired? Happy?)”

CJ shook his head. “I feel… trapped. I don’t want to get up in the morning and I dread going to work. I want to write music when I get home, but I’m too exhausted.”

“(You can’t make your best music if you’re being crushed by the boot of capitalism! You need time to focus on your music.)”

“{You also can’t make your best music if you’re stressed about whether you can meet deadlines and remain popular enough to actually get paid,}” Atlas pointed out. “{Half of musicians earn less than $6,000 per year. You’d have to juggle making music people want to listen to, to get paid, and also music you enjoy making.}”

Artemis stepped back. “(He absolutely can make great music if he’s stressed. Watch him try! Anyway, whose side are you on?)”

“{Nobody’s, fuck off,}” said Atlas.

“[Why did you assume he’s on your side?]” Apollo pointed out. “[He must be on my side. I’m the right one.]”

Artemis laughed. “(Oh, you think you’re so high and mighty! You’re always right, Mr Logic knows everything!)”

“[Why are you restating things we all know? I do know everything, which is why it is frustrating when none of you listen to me.]”

CJ looked between Artemis and Apollo as the two began arguing, talking over each other. “Ummm, Atlas…”

Atlas sighed, summoning his trident again. “{Alright, you two! Back to headspace! You’re both in time out!}”

Artemis and Apollo turned their attention to him, about to argue, but Atlas raised his trident, and they sunk out.

Atlas dissipated his trident, wiping his hands. “{Well, that’s settled. Now you can sort it out for yourself, without those two fighting. Are you going to quit your job, or stay?}”

CJ winced. “Yeah…. I don’t know. I haven’t- I feel like Apollo and Artemis both had good points, and I don’t know which one I agree with.”

Atlas sighed. “{So you want them back to explain their points.}”

“Uh, that would be nice.”

“{But they’re just going to fight again. We’ve been through this so many times, every time you can’t decide on something, they fight about it, sometimes we reach a conclusion, but it takes ages! And we keep coming back to the same issues! It never gets better!}”

“Hey, Atlas,” said CJ. “We can’t solve this issue if we don’t talk about it, right? So we need to talk about it.”

Atlas sighed again. “{Yeah, I know. But you haven’t had to deal with them fighting every day in the headspace.}”

“Maybe not,” said CJ. “But their fighting affects me too. Even when they’re not directly out here.”

Atlas waved his hand. “{Artemis, Apollo! Come back!}”

The two appeared in CJ’s room again, looking cautiously at Atlas.

“{Alright. We need to talk about-}” Atlas gestured to the four of them. “{This. We- mostly you- keep fighting, and we never solve it. It’s weighing on all of us. You want to help CJ, right? Then you need to stop fighting.}”

Apollo frowned. “[I am trying. But every time, Artemis-]”

Atlas held up a finger. “{No. Nope. We’re not doing that. Right now it's CJ's job, but it's always something, it's bigger than that. See, we’re in a cycle, something goes wrong in CJ’s life, we fight about it, sometimes some of the problems get solved, but the same issue comes up again. We forget about it until we have to deal with it again, and you fight, and it makes everything worse. How many times now have we gotten to threats of violence?}”

Apollo frowned. “[So we’re stuck in a loop?]”

Artemis bit back a grin. “(You can say that again!)

Apollo looked up at him, lips quirking. “[We’re stuck in a loop?]”

Artemis rocked back on his heels. “(You can say that again!)”

Apollo raised an eyebrow. “[We’re stuck in a loop?]”

Artemis nodded. “(You can say that again!)”

Atlas glared at the two of them, gripping his trident. “{OH MY GOD, I WILL KILL BOTH OF YOU WITH MY BARE HANDS.}” He lowered the trident. “{A- and this trident.}”

The three looked between each other for a few seconds, unsure, then burst out laughing, CJ quickly joining in. After a few moments of laughing, Atlas sighed.

“{Seriously, though. We can't keep ignoring or talking past the issue. Why can't you two get along?}”

“(He always-)”

“{No, Artemis,}” Atlas interrupted. “{We're not blaming each other.}”

“Wait,” said CJ. “This might actually be good. Not to blame each other, but to hear what's upsetting them about each other. As long as they're not being unnecessarily mean.”

“(Unnecessarily mean is all Apollo does,)” Artemis sulked, arms crossed.

Apollo scoffed. “[Excuse me, when have I been mean? I'm the logical Side. I do not deal with insults, I deal with facts.]”

“You called Artemis idiotic,” said CJ.

Apollo frowned. “[No, I didn't.]”

“(Yeah, you did,)” Artemis said, rubbing his arm. “(And you also said I am unable to be realistic. I know sometimes I get in over my head with things, dreams or fears- I know it can seem like I get worked up over little things. But the little things do pile up, like the little insults, and I'm trying my best to stop these little things from piling up and overwhelming us, by dealing with them as they come. If I get worked up about something small, it's because I don't want it to get big. And it really hurts when you call me things. I'm trying just as hard as you are. It's like I'm never good enough for you.)”

“[O- oh,]” said Apollo. “[I must admit, your reasoning is more realistic and… logical. Than I thought. I apologise for calling you idiotic. I can't promise that I will always agree with you or find what you do helpful, but I will try to understand.]”

“(Can you understand why I want CJ to quit his job, then?)” Artemis asked.

Apollo sighed. “[Yes, I can. It's draining for him. It affects me too- I find I am less able to talk to CJ when he's bone-tired. And I know it affects you- You can't help him create. You find it harder to regulate your emotions.]”

“{Plus, you two fight more,}” added Atlas. “{And that makes it harder for me.}”

Apollo nodded. “[But… my reasoning for wanting CJ to stay in his job is more than just that it wouldn't pay well, though that is a large factor. It is incredibly unlikely that he would be able to have it as a stable career, as I've said. And I do not wish for CJ to quit his job, and then find he needs it. It would be difficult and otherwise unnecessary to try to be rehired.]”

Artemis opened his mouth to argue, but Apollo continued, averting his gaze.

“[And more than that, it would crush him to have the hope that he would never need to return to capitalism, to then have that ripped out from underneath him. It would crush you, Artemis.]”

Artemis's face fell open. “(You… care about that? About my feelings?)”

Apollo flushed. “[As you said, you try to stop the little things from overwhelming us. You are… beneficial. You are CJ's feelings. I do not wish for him to be hurt, as that would impede functioning.]”

Artemis nodded a few times, lifting his blindfold to rub his eyes. “(Right, of course. I- thank you. And, yeah, it would be upsetting if we, hypothetically, had to return to a ‘proper’ job-)” Artemis used air quotes on ‘proper’- “(But I don't think we can last much longer how we are anyway. It is crushing us. It's making all of us worse, which makes us more worse, which makes us more worse, and the cycle continues. We shouldn't accept this just because a hypothetical also would hurt.)”

“[Hm, I suppose not,]” mused Apollo.

Atlas smiled. “{Artemis, are you sure you're not the logical Side?}”

“(Hell no,) said Artemis. “(I don't want his job.)”

“[And thank Harmonia for that,]” said Apollo. 

Apollo and Artemis both laughed, and Atlas smiled, then turned again to CJ.

“{So, after hearing all that, do you know what you're gonna do?}”

“I think I will quit,” said CJ. “Artemis was right, it is crushing me. I can't work there much longer. But, Apollo, could you help me work out finances? Make a plan of how much money I need to make, and a weekly budget, to ensure I don't have to return unless necessary, and so we can tell when I will have to?”

Apollo nodded. “[That sounds excellent. And I suppose, being more focused on music will make you able to make it better.]”

Artemis nodded. “(Thank you for listening to me, Apollo.)”

“[You too,]” said Apollo. 

Atlas smiled, clapping his hands. “{And thank you two for getting along for once. Let's make this a pattern, yeah?}”

The two Sides nodded.

Atlas turned to CJ. “{Now that that's settled, you ready to hand in your letter?}”

CJ took a deep breath. “Yeah. I'll be happy to see the look on my boss's face.”