“Or,” Kal’s voice chimed in with it’s quiet, soothing baritone, “You could jusst find a way to render the demon unconsscious and we could ….probably buy you quite a bit of time before he even knowss what iss happening. Though we don’t know much of thiss place and would not be able to make a very believable replica of it. Sstill, it may keep him tricked for a bit.”

Virus looks at Kal “and how? We can’t get near him or else he may hurt doctor even worse or take gears.” He told him

Gears nodded, “The earliest I could knock him out would be the next time he plays with his pet if I can get enough nanites in him..” He frowned.

“If we could add you to the hive we could provide you with accurate visual representations of the lab.” Gears looked to Kal.

Virus tried to think of any other possibilities that could work.

“Your doctor musst be exceedingly fragile. We shall take that into account,” he murmured, sounding sleepy and overall like the lazy bastard he was. “Mm, that iss not for uss to decide. We cannot touch anything, we cannot physically harm anything. It iss just a notion.” The eyes peeked open at Gears once more, and he sighed. “Thiss hive sseems usseful in ssome wayss, but our mind iss a dangerous place to intrude in. Would you invite thiss demon you detesst into your hive? Our mind iss not much different. It may be deterimental.”

“The problem is the demon is in possession of his soul.” Gears said, frowning softly. They had to figure out how to get that from him.

“Mmm a good thing to take into consideration..” He nodded. Doing what was best for them was more important than giving the demon accurate nightmares.

Virus hiss “No hes not worthy….you are though.” He told him. He listened and just huff. He growl some “how does one even get a soul.” He grumble

“Bargain, cheat, or ssteal,” Kal replied easily from his sprawling position on the counter. “It iss an intangible thing that iss traded by will alone, but iss sstill very real. You would need to engage your demon ssomehow. It iss unlikely he would want to bargain with you in any way that would have a reassonably pleassant outcome for any of you. Thiss leavess trickery – ssome demonss enjoy gamess of chancce, for example. Or you could ssteal it with outright fabrications – twisst his wordss around. Neither of you sseem terribly adept at that.”

Gears nodded at Virus’ words, though the precaution of it potentially being detrimental was still in his mind. “We stole the heart by replacing it with something that appears to be the same object. Could we do similar here?” Gears mused. He doubted a bargain would end well and he wasn’t sure they could decieve the demon in such a way.

Virus looks to the heart “we will never have a chance with Wagner…..Gears….you should…you need to modify me and I’ll do you” he told gears.

“Unless you are a being of expressly formidable power, no,” Kal reasoned to Gears. “It iss ssomething that musst be freely given, hence bargain, cheat, or steal through trickery. It cannot be jusst copied or taken by force.” He paused. “If you were one of the rare creaturess powerful enough to take a ssoul by force, then you would not be in thiss ssitutation right now,” he chuckled.

Gears frowned softly, looking to Virus as he spoke. “Are you certain?” He could draw on the doctors knowledge through the hive and could probably shapeshift whatever tools they needed. “Mmm… that isn’t good.” He wasn’t sure how to trick the soul from him. Part of him just wanted to take Virus and the doctor and run away from it all. “We’ll have to do what we must. Whatever that is.”

Virus hadn’t even hit most of his power Voltaire even before becoming death was able to rip souls. However this knowledge was unknown to Virus. He would nod to Gears “yes.” He looks to kal “I just…I want to save them and then kill 24.”

“Thiss iss beacause you are sstupid, pretty thing,” he said easily to Virus. “Your only goal sshould be to ssave them. Your obsession with killing Bex iss going to -actually- cosst you everything….but we can ssee you cannot be sstirred from this. I wonder if you would ever conssider assking them if -they- would rather forget he exissts.” He clucked his tongue idly before sighing. “Whenever I find ssomeone of usse, they are ultimately sself desstructive,” he mused, closing his eyes once more. There wasn’t very much he could do in such a situation, really.

Gears nodded, feeling uneasy. As Kal spoke again he listened thoughtfully. “He is right… I can’t lose you both in the struggle for revenge against 24. It’s not worth it. He hasn’t taken us from you, but he will if we keep going. We need to focus on us.” Gears pleaded, reaching for Virus shoulders. They were in this position because he and Wagner been trying to keep Stahs from Azazel and keep 24 from escaping.

Virus looks at Kal furrowing his brow and then at gears as he spoke. Virus shook his head “No….he has to pay….he can’t get away….he doesn’t deserve happiness.” He told Gears. “Why does he get to get away with being evil?”

Kal shrugged at Virus. “Why do we get away with doing evil? Why doess anyone?” He looked to Gears then, and actually may have had just a tiny, ittybitty hint of a vague notion of pity in his gaze. “All the more reasson for us to decline the offer of thiss…hive, tempting as it may be. We will sstill sstay, however, but if revenge iss more important than the hive, then we do not wish to be bound to ssomething…dissposable.” He chuckled lightly, unhinging his jaw into a yawn.

“I know… I know he shouldn’t. It’s not fair. But is it worth making sure he’s punished it if it takes us from you?” Gears asked, gazing into Virus’ eyes. He nodded at Kal’s words. Was revenge more important than the hive? He needed to know. “If it came to it and it’s just not feasible to have both and you had to choose, which would you choose?” Gears asked.

Virus heard kal talk and would say “The hive is good.” He told him. He look down as he listen “the hive is not…disposable.” well the cybrogs kinda were, but those close to him ge didn’t see that way. He look to Gears frowning. He thought and said “I…I want the hive. I…wouldn’t want to lose you. Any of you I’m connected to. ” he deflate some “so nothing is to change….I’m….just as helpless as in my own lab….I just have to allow pain to be done to me?”

Kal gave a low laugh at Virus’ words. “No wonder your nightmaress are sso deliciouss. If I sshowed you a world with Bex gutted on a sstring, you’d sstill lament that it wassn’t you who put him there. Nothing will fill the chasm of ssadnesss because you are the ssource of it. It makess ssense now,” he mused. Of course the guy who spent all his time in people’s brains had a knack for teasing out insecurities. He was like Salt Bae, only with the psyche.

That was reassuring, hearing him say that. Gears knew it deep down, but still it helped to hear. He watched Virus as he thought, listening as he spoke. “I don’t either. I care more about you both than hurting him.” He wrapped his arms around him protectively. “It has changed though. You aren’t alone. You have us.” He listened to Kal as he looked into Virus’ eyes. “If we let go of revenge on 24…. would you help us think of a way to trick the demon into giving the doctors soul back?” He thought again about what Kal said about forgetting 24 existed. “What if, what if we could erase the memory of 24 from the hive? If we cannot have both, at least we need not suffer for what he’s done to us? We could be free of that pain, get the doctor’s soul back and leave this place.”

Virus heard kal talk and says “no I am not the source…..” he look down. He felt Gears hold him. He just frown “he always wins ” he muttered. Virus looked rather distant in his gaze. Virus just seem to slightly shut down. He felt he was still losing everything. “But…home…” he murmur.

Kal tapped a finger thoughtfully against his chin. “Demonss are not friendss to one another, on mosst occasionss. But we are excellent enemiess to one another. If we are able to aid, we ssee no reasson not to – sso long as you are able to provide uss with a reward in the form of susstenancce. We cannot guarantee we can aid you, however. We know nothing of thiss demon, and there iss no guarantee that we are able to confront him in any way.” Tutting at Virus, he shook his head as he reached out to touch a finger under his chin. “Lovely little sstupid thing. We like you very much, but you are indeed your own ssorrow. You resst in the armss of ssomeone willing to die for you, and all you can mourn iss not getting to kill ssomeone that sslighted you.”

“We will fine a better home. Make a better home.” Gears tried to reassure him though he could feel him shutting down. “Perhaps you could collect information about him and this place from my nightmares. If I let you feed on me you will assist us? I will need sleep soon. I have not slept since being moved to the cages in the surgical wing when Virus arrived.” He suggested. Gears sighed softly, Kal wasn’t wrong. He just had to convince Virus they could have happiness without revenge.

Virus turn his head when Kal touch his chin, looking at him and hearing his words. He look to Gears now, gears could see the words hit him hard as he thought.”I….I have to let him go..
Let him win…” he stared at him hard.

“Bessides, if he’s as inssufferable as you ssay he is, perhapss the mosst cruel thing iss to let him ssee how happy you are.” Kal’s lips twisted into a smirk then. “Oh, without our vowss we could give him ssuch dreamss. He ssounds like the ssort that would be moritifed, unable to find resst at the thought of you all forgetting his exisstence, dead to your mindss. Mm.” Of course everything Kal knew was a bit one-sided at this point.

Gears tilted his head. “Yes, maybe we still win. If he does not want you to be happy, then we should do exactly that.”

Virus didn’t like it, but he sighs “If this is what the hive wants.. then…this is what we give to the hive. The hive is important to us.” he say

The fingertip slowly moved away from Virus’ chin as Kal nodded. “Revenge iss a ssweet thing to have. We could give you dreams of killing him every night – you could kill him in a million different wayss. And…you could sseek revenge another time. Care for thosse you’ve got at your sside firsst, hm? You have a rare and preciouss thing.” Looking past Virus, he gave a small nod to Gears before settling back into his comfortable sprawl.

“I think the doctor wants this too. We want you to be happy most of all. If the demon cannot own you he will try to break you, I cannot let him do that.” Gears said, pressing a kiss to Virus’ temple. “Maybe one day. But not now.” He nodded to Kal. Maybe one day they could all simply put 24 out of their minds, could be happy and safe. He hoped smiley would play with his angel soon so they could knock him out. If they could, then they could see the doctor.

Virus shook his head “It be cruel. It wouldn’t be real.” He told him. “We’d never want to wake.” He looks at Gears and then lowered his head. “Again if that is what the hive wishes…”

“It’ss what iss besst for your hive,” Kal reasoned, but then chuckled. “We are being obtrussive in eventss that do not concern us. It iss out of boredom, we do hope you accept our apologiess.”

“I do not wish to lose you. I want to be with you. That is what the hive wants.” Gears said softly. He looked over at Kal. “You’re right though.” He said, “I cannot calculate a scenario where revenge is possible without losing one or both of us…” no matter how many scenarios he ran in his head, there were too many variables. Too many vulnerabilities smiley could exploit to tear them apart from each other. Virus was already fragile, if Azazel took him from him he wasn’t sure Virus could deal with it.

Virus stared down as Kal spoke and says “we can not blame…..” he looks at Gears and said defeatedly “if its what the hive wants then this we sacrifice.” He couldn’t lose his hive.

Kal nodded to Gears. “You ssee?” he said with a soft voice. “Even now he cannot revel in the thought of freedom. Pretty little thing,” he sighed. “Pretty broken thing. You are preciouss. Both of you, really. You would make excellent petss – ” He paused. “…though you do not prefer thiss term. Neither did the loud vampire. We have nothing elsse to call you which makess it rather awkward,” he chuckled.

Gears looked at Virus sadly, he didn’t want to ask this of him. He knew it hurt to let go after all he’d suffered. “It is hard to let go.” Gears nodded. “We still have to get the doctors soul back too before we can be truly free.”

“It is a little different when you say it.” Gears said thoughtfully. He could feel the angel reaching out to him as well, reaching back. He wondered if they could take Azazel’s toy with them.

Virus looks at Kal “pet to you is like Acquaintance to you yes?” He ask him. ” I just correcting that Gears is my lover. I do not call him pet. ” he state. Virus looks to gears “it hurts…but….hive comes first and we must save doctor.” He told him.

“It iss like acquaintancce but we do not trusst acquaintanccess,” Kal said with a soft laugh, apparently in quite a good mood in the perfect, continuous blackness of the room. “Esscaping thiss place will be difficult. The long pit that leadss down here – you will need to perhapss fly up it? We came here through shadowss.”

When Azazel said pet it was cruel, demeaning. When Kal said it there was a touch of fondness that wasn’t mocking like Azazel’s false sweetness was.

“Our opportunity may be at hand,” He squeezed Virus’ shoulder, “Smiley’s pet is trying to get my nanites into him. If he can I can try to knock him out.” Maybe they couldn’t beat 24, but they could outwit the demon if they worked together. “You will join us once we are free of this place? Virus can fly, and I can shift into an avian form or pull myself up with my wires.”

Virus listen “you can call us pet, it does not bother us.” He told him “its not that big a deal.” He then nods “we can fly.” He told Kal. He looks to Gears “oh?” Tilting his head, noding to Gears “oh good.” He look to Kal with wide eyes.

Kal seemed curious about that, and he tilted his head. “We sshould return to the Manor and retrieve our pet or….release him. He likess it there very much, we do not think he would leave. But he hass been a good pet, leaving him without a word would be unssseemly. The manor has many mindss with many nightmaress in it, however,” he sighed. Ugh. Endless supply of food, or interesting new weirdos? THE STRUGGLE.

He nodded at Virus’ words, he wouldn’t mind Kal calling them pet.

“Got them in. Just got to knock him out.” Gears nodded to Virus and looked to Kal, “Then you can feed off him to your hearts content.” “Hm, if your pet does not wish to be here perhaps he would consider joining us wherever we relocate to.” Gears suggested.

Virus nods to this “Yes perhaps …” he then would hear Gears “good…soon…soon we will get doctor back.”

In the darkness, Kal grinned wide. “Well then. Let uss ssee what fun we can have. We are familiar with you, we will be able to find you again sshould you ssleep while on thiss plane. We do repeat our warning; it iss unlikely we can hold him for long, if he iss a demon of any power.” And with that, the gold eyes were gone into the shadows as he crept back towards the source of the unconscious mind he sensed nearby.

Gears nodded, looking to Virus. “Got him. Let’s go. Quickly now. My nanites can only hold him so long until I am out of range of the lab. I can buy us that much time at least.” Gears said, his heart beating fast in his chest. They were really doing this.

Virus grab the heart and runs with Gears as they go to leave abd he look sorrowful. This was home and he had to let it go again.