Reapers

Chapter 50: And Now Just One is Missing

"Okay, let's go over them again," Roman said, talking about his lines for the play.

"Roman, you did them flawlessly last time!" Virgil complained. "All of them! I think you have them memorized."

"Just to be sure! Please?"

"You're going to be fine," Logan told him, setting the script down. He, Virgil, and Patton had been standing in as the other characters as Roman practiced. "You have a few rehearsals left before open night."

"What if I stumble and forget a line?" Roman insisted.

"Then you improvise, that's what you've been taught to do. Patton and I have been to your plays before and you've done wonderfully in them all." Logan set him down on the couch, Virgil pulling him into a hug. "The times you have forgotten something, you've improvised effortlessly."

"You're going to do amazing, amica mea," Virgil promised. (My love)

"Okay, yeah, you're right. It's just some stage jitters, I guess I'm nervous because it'll be the first play of mine that you're coming to."

"And I can't wait, I already told the others that I'll be there so they don't expect me to be hunting phantoms. Though, my first job is protecting you. I'll be sure to get rid of any phantoms that I see in the theater."

"Thank you, dear." Roman turned and gave Virgil a kiss on the cheek.

"Do you guys have your ti-" Virgil tried to ask, being interrupted by someone out of the apartment.

"Coming in!" Remus ran into the living room, Janus following him as he laughed slightly. The green reaper stopped when he saw Logan. "Dang, Logan's here. I really wish that he could see us." He waved his hand in front of Logan's face.

Logan waved him off with a roll of his eyes. "I can now, it's nice to see you, Remus."

"Ack!" Remus jumped back.

"Oh right, I guess I forgot to tell them," Virgil admitted with an amused smile on his face.

"But he's human...?" Janus asked. "How can you see us?"

"Um... well we shared a milkshake," Patton explained, face turning red. "And I guess it had some backwash in it and..."

"Ooh, that's an indirect kiss, Patty!" Remus teased.

"Well we had a real kiss afterwards," Logan added.

"Wha- when did that happen?! You don't tell us anything anymore!"

Logan sighed, but a smile lingered on his lips. He turned to Janus and asked, "And you are?"

"Janus, it's nice to meet you. Remus has told me quite a bit about you, and the other two of course."

"Ah, you're Remus's boyfriend, correct?"

"Yes I am."

"It's nice to see that Remus found someone a bit more... sophisticated."

"I know what you mean," Janus said with a small laugh.

"So, what brings you two here?" Roman asked. "I thought there were too many phantoms to have these visits?"

"It won't be long, I just need to talk with Virgil."

"Uh oh," the purple reaper sighed, folding his arms. "What did I do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong. I just wanted to tell you that the number of phantoms have still been increasing, and Death is having trouble finding another reaper to send over for help. Until they can, I'm going to need you to destroy more phantoms. You don't need to worry about taking souls to the afterlife, we'll take care of that. That way you can stay here in case something happens and you're needed."

"But Roman's play is in a few weeks!"

"You can still go, the play only lasts a few hours, but I need you to help more with the phantoms. However if there's a class four or five and you're nearby, I'll need you to respond to it."

Virgil groaned, "I understand."

"I've told Ren and Sal the same things, and they're working harder. At least, it appears that they have been. I'm still trying to figure out who has been summoning phantoms."

"Have you-"

"Yes! I've talked to Ren, and I've even tailed her. I hadn't seen her do anything suspicious so I don't know why phantom activity has increased. I'm still suspicious of her, but I haven't seen any proof that she is the one summoning phantoms."

"People can summon phantoms?" Logan asked.

"Only reapers," Virgil explained. "You need reaper blood to summon them."

"Whoever's summoning them is sloppy to let us find two of the three summoning circles," Remus added.

"Destroying them wouldn't get rid of the phantom, it's almost like they want us to find the circles," Janus mused.

"Or they were in a rush to get out," Virgil said. "They don't want to stick around to be caught by us, or be phantom food."

"Where do the phantoms even come from?" Logan asked.

"We don't know," Janus admitted. "There are theories that they're just created from nowhere, or that they're taken from somewhere else in the world."

"They summon them randomly too," Roman added. It's been a while since the last class four showed up."

"Unless they're summoning lower classes. But I can't risk watching everyone on my map all day to see where the phantoms are appearing."

"Then just watch us," Virgil suggested. "Two out of the three phantoms had appeared near Roman. The other one appeared near you and Remus, to keep you distracted."

"Yes but I also have a job to do, and only twice has it happened. The best we can do is get rid of any strong phantoms and stay safe. The last thing we need is a shadow on our hands."

"Shadow?" Logan asked.

"It's when a reaper turns into a phantom because we were infected by one and weren't treated in time," Remus explained. "External injuries caused by phantom claws or teeth cause infections."

"Shadows are difficult to beat," Virgil added. "They're not only strong and fast, but they were one of us. I've had to fight shadows before in the world wars, it felt wrong. Not only that, but the only reaper in this city that I'm not friends with is Ren, and even I wouldn't want her to become a shadow. It's... horrible. Being stripped of your humanity."

"I've never seen one before," Patton admitted. "I didn't even realize that was a thing. I know nature spirits can be infected, but then again we're not really human and some of us are bad. I-I try to be good, but some nature spirits hate humans, others just love destruction."

"Well, what a heart warming discussion," Roman interrupted, clapping his hands once. "I would love to do this again sometime!"

"We should get going, we shouldn't be here for long," Janus said. "There are still plenty of phantoms to be taken care of."

Remus took Janus's hand, heading to the door. "Buh-bye! It was nice to see you all again! The gang is back together!"

"Gang?" Logan asked with a puzzled expression. "We're not a gang."

Once the door shut, Virgil sighed, "Well, I guess we're hunting tonight, Roman."