Summary: Virgil moves into a new town and meets Roman, a ghost that he promises to help in finding the unfinished business needed to pass over. However, Roman's past seemed to be deeply muddled with trouble, an uncurable disease that has started to affect a classmate, and a certain tight-lipped valedictorian. Friendships are made and Virgil finds himself thrown into a situation far more complicated and twisted than he signed up. Hopefully, with the help of his new five friends, he can find a way to bring peace to the town once and for all.
“Sca-scared of us? But it’s like a giant spider, and it probably has venom and stuff- and what makes you think that its not planning to kill us all?” He laughed nervously, still terrified that there was a giant spider thing in their house
“I- uh- I heard one of the ghosts. They were telling someone to wake up, that they were having a nightmare, and that they wouldn’t let the humans- us- hurt this person.. It came from the room of webs” Janus fidgeted with his sleeves, as if that would help his case
Patton blinked, before processing the information. A giant spider that was scared of the humans? That couldn’t be real..
Except, there was fear on its face when they first saw it, and it did seem content to avoid them beforehand...
Shit. They probably traumatised this person
-
Virgil woke up sobbing. The humans needed to leave, otherwise everyone would die, and it’d be all Virgil’s fault because he couldn’t protect them. He felt a pair of ghostly hands wrap him in a brief embrace, before passing through him. He remembered when the twins couldn’t even touch a living thing at all, but Virgil had helped them, he and Logan had helped them with figuring out their powers. They were nowhere near full potential, yet, but maybe a century or two and they’d be as powerful as any other ghost.
Exactly why the humans had to leave. Any human could find methods to destroy a ghosts soul if they knew the exact resting place of the bodies, and now that the humans had found the tunnels, it would be fairly easy to find their skeletons, which hadn’t been moved from the spot they were in at death. He couldn’t let that happen. They could kill Logan if they had iron weapons, which they had. Iron could cut through dragon scales as easily as steel could hurt Virgil, which was very easily
He couldn’t speak for the next half hour, in which the twins and Logan sat next to his web, whilst he cried. It wasn’t unusual for his friends to see him whilst non-verbal, so after about 50 years, he had stopped worrying about them judging him, but he felt rather pathetic, crying over a bad dream.
A bad dream that could soon become reality, a voice in his head shouted. He shook his head quickly; he couldn’t think like that
-
Remus wished that he could comfort Virgil, but he couldn’t offer physical comfort, due to being a ghost, and he knew that verbal comfort would make him feel pressured to respond and work himself up again.
He decided that they were definitely never telling Virgil about the humans’ midnight visit
TW: death mention (as an unborn baby) and talk of death (with ghosts)
-Virgil (Age 19) is a young witch who runs his family’s plant shop but sells potions on the side (at least to the people who know about it) and prefers to keep to himself.
-Remus is a runaway (Also age 19) who finds his way to Virgil’s shop and immediately breaks six plants and try’s to eat the dirt when Virgil turns his back. Needless to say, Virgil is smitten.
-He let’s Remus stay on the top level of his shop (aka his house) and finds out how Remus will talk to a ghost called Roman. At first he brushes it off as Remus just talking to himself, but later, when they get more comfortable, he asks. Remus shares his story of how Roman was his twin brother that never made it but still followed Remus around as a ghost, aging alongside him.
-After that, Virgil comes clean about his Witch-ness and the two grew closer, becoming the creepy couple on the outskirts of town.
-After helping Virgil’s grandma clean her attic, they find an old spell book with a potion recipe to bring ghosts to life. It takes a long time as most of the ingredients have different names that have changed over the generations and they mess it up multiple times, in the process resurrecting a deceased Naga who calls himself Deceit.
Bonus
-After Roman’s resurrected the first thing he does is run to that bathroom and shave off the moustache (since he had to modeled his ghost form after Remus).
“No, Joan… Listen, I’ll call you back, no, it’s fine, I’ve just started unpacking, you can come by later…” Logan watched warily as the new human shuffled boxes around, speaking ceaselessly to someone on his phone, occasionally laughing, reassuring the person that he was fine, the drive had gone well, making idle chatter.
It hadn’t been all that long. Merely three months, but he wasn’t all that surprised the house went so fast, to a first-time owner, as well, judging by the looks of the young man. No doubt at an insanely low price, thanks to the laws dictating they disclose any deaths on the property, Virgil’s having been so recent, as well. He was sure Virgil was lurking somewhere, watching all of this, or perhaps he was hiding somewhere.
They’d caught glimpses of him, here and there. Nothing much, just a flicker of shadows, a tinge of darkness, always out of the corner of the eye, always gone before they could say a single word, and it was driving all of them a bit mad.
Patton and Janus had tried everything, to get him to come out, to get him to come back, but to no avail. They still often spoke out loud, when doing things, now, holding conversations with the air, just in case Virgil was nearby, listening, reassuring him that they were there, if he needed anything, wanted anything, they were there for him. To his frustration, Logan had also started doing it, not noticing until someone called him out on it.
And Roman. Roman was worse off than the rest of them. He was miserable, he was apologizing endlessly, trying at every turn to seek him out, but if anything, that seemed to drive Virgil farther away, the sense of his presence dwindling, the paint on his door fading and chipping off, a sign that he hadn’t been in it at all, maybe since the last time they’d all seen him, which meant he wasn’t getting the rest he needed, either.
With a sigh, Logan shook himself out of his thoughts, swapping back over to the spirit plane.
“Well?” Roman asked, laying upside down on the couch.
“Young adult, thirty, brown hair, brown eyes, named Thomas. Seems nice enough.” He reported. “Didn’t seem to notice me at all, no mentions of cold spots, hearing my voice when I spoke, seems just as oblivious as the rest of them.” He commented, noticing the tenseness fading out of Patton and Janus’s shoulders, Remus’s grin growing feral.
“Good. I like a challenge.” He sighed, ignoring Remus’s commentary.
“And… any sign?” Patton asked hesitantly. He shook his head, eyes clouding with worry for a moment.
“No. I would have expected… something, but there was no hint of his presence. I don’t know… I hate not knowing things.” He muttered, falling onto the far end of the couch.
“I know, Lo, but we’ll figure this out.” Patton answered, though his own voice was tinged with disappointment.
There were some cases, rare cases, where humans could see ghosts, speak to them, as if they were just normal, still alive people. None of them had ever met someone like that, the most they got were amateur ghost hunters, in years the house sat empty, when it had still been an old plantation house, and even they weren’t very perceptive. Some humans were more sensitive, catching glimpses of things, picking up on words here or there, cold spots, hot spots, that was more common. They’d have to wait and see, if this one could pick up on any of that.
…
In hindsight, they maybe should have been more worried, when the human, Thomas’s, friend showed up, with a bottle of wine, a cactus as a housewarming gift, and a Ouija board.
But most of that stuff was just hocus pocus, as Logan said, which set Roman off, quoting what was apparently a Disney movie.
“Roman, I am begging you to shut up.” Janus moaned. “I am trying to watch these idiots.” Roman scowled, but ceased, watching the two humans laugh as they lit candles around the board, turning off the lights, to add to the atmosphere.
“What do they think candles are gonna do?” Remus asked, continuously blowing out the small flame as they tried to light the final one.
“Probably supposed to symbolize a portal to the afterlife, or something similarly ridiculous.” Logan scoffed, still watching their actions with interest.
“Ok, who should we try and talk to?” Thomas asked.
“Uhhh, Abraham Lincoln!” Joan responded, earning a startled laugh from Thomas.
“What? Why was that your go to?”
“I don’t know, it was the first famous dead person that came to mind! What was your plan, then?” Joan asked indignantly, though they were smirking too. Thomas shrugged.
“Um. Hey. Anyone here who’s friendly and not, like, gonna go all Amityville horror on us, feel free to communicate with us, using this board.”
“Dude, they’re ghosts. How are they gonna know what Amityville horror is? Since when do ghosts watch movies?”
“I don’t know! You were trying to talk to good ‘ol Abe, I feel like you don’t have room to lecture here.” They both froze as the planchet moved. Not much, not far, but it had definitely moved.
“Did that just…”
“Hoooolly shiiit.” Joan whispered, wide eyes meeting Thomas’s. Neither of them had even had their hands near the board, much less touching the planchet.
In the ghostly realm, everyone’s eyes locked on Roman, who stood frozen, mouth agape, staring at the planchet he’d bumped against while leaning in to examine the board, as easily moved as anything he summoned himself.
“Oops?” He said, shushing Logan as the two humans started speaking again.
“Ok, um, ok, that’s normal! We probably just bumped the table! Um, is… is anyone here, with us?” Thomas asked. Immediately the planchet started moving again, landing on ‘yes’.
“ROMAN! What do you think you’re doing?!” Janus hissed, and he wrung his hands.
“I-I don’t know! They asked! It seemed rude not to answer? I haven’t exactly been in this situation before, Jan!” He fired back, their own panicking mirroring the panic going on between Thomas and Joan.
“What do we have to lose?” Patton asked softly, getting everyone’s attention.
“I am unclear what you mean, Patton.” Logan said, gaze turning to him, where he sat, biting his lip, fiddling with his cardigan.
“I mean… by answering them. What do we have to lose? We’re all stuck here, anyway. It’s not like they can hurt us. And… we live here too! Shouldn’t we get to know our new roommates?” He asked, voice getting higher in pitch with each word, until he squeaked out his question.
“Who are you?” Came the question from the humans, from the board, and Roman hesitated, looking back at everybody, asking what he should do, the question evident in his eyes.
“Fine. Go ahead. Patton’s right, I suppose, there’s not much they can do, besides leave. But I will not be involved in this.” Janus sighed from the couch, retreating to his room, to avoid whatever action was coming next. Logan nodded.
“I second Janus’s sentiments. Pardon me.” With that, it was Roman, Patton and Remus, who tried to swipe the planchet, but failed, swiping right through it, letting out an annoyed squawk.
“What?! Why!?” He screeched, Roman grinning like an idiot.
“Their opening. They said…” He broke off laughing, “They said anyone who wasn’t gonna Amityville them, Ree you’re literally a poltergeist, that stupid line is keeping you from doing shit!” He laughed harder at Remus’s indignant expression, eyes flashing with ire.
“OH, they’re gonna regret that bullshit. Imma haunt them so hard it’s gonna feel like a-“
“Thank you, Remus, that’s enough!” Patton interrupted, not wanting to know the end of that sentence, and Remus vanished with a scowl and puff of black smoke. Roman rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to the board, spelling out his name.
“R-o-m-a-n. Roman. Like, a Roman soldier? What would they be doing here?” Thomas asked.
“What would they be doing speaking English?” Joan piped in.
“Good lord, these two are slow.” Roman muttered, moving the planchet once more, Patton giggling at his remark.
“My name is Roman, you idiots.” He spelled out, “And I am not a roman.” The two humans stared at each other for a moment, before bursting into only slightly hysterical laughter.
“We just got called idiots… by a ghost! What even… how is this happening?” Thomas wheezed, trying to pull himself together, devolving into giggles every time he and Joan looked at each other.
“I mean, they’re not wrong!” Joan shot back, once they got their breathing back under control.
“How did you die?” Blurted Thomas, and Roman rolled his eyes.
“Oh my god, you can’t just ask people how they died!” Roman replied, enjoying the befuddlement on the two human’s faces.
“I’m… I might be wrong, but did it just make a mean girls reference?” Joan asked.
“Yes. And I use He/Him, thank you. If you must know, I was a civil war soldier. Fighting for the North, y’know, the right team? But my family were assholes and lived here so… here I am!” He answered.
“Oh, good. He’s anti-slavery and not a homophobe. Cool, cool, cool.”
“Is there anyone else, with you?” Joan asked, and Roman bit his lip, turning to Patton, who eagerly grabbed the planchet.
“Hey kiddos! I’m Patton!” His answer was met with instant bursts of laughter.
“Wow. Straight from civil war action to dad mode. Um. Hello, Patton. It’s… nice to meet the both of you? We’ve never really spoken to ghosts before. Uh, you guys…live here?” Thomas asked a bit nervously.
“Yuppers! But we’re all pretty friendly. Mostly. None of us are violent, or anything, though some can be a bit… startling at times.”
“That’s only a bit worrying. Oh god, now I’m gonna hear every noise and think it’s a ghost. Because it could be a literal ghost.” Thomas mumbles, shoving back his hair, Joan chuckling nervously.
“Yeah, good luck with that one, Thomas.” Joan answers, getting to their feet. “It’s late. I should probably be going.”
“What? No, uh uh, after this, you do not get to ditch me on my first night in a new house in a new town that you made me learn is actually haunted, though the ghosts do seem polite, no offense, guys, just a liiittle freaky.” Thomas said, gaze shifting to the board for a moment, and Patton laughed.
“He’s worried about us! That’s sweet!”
“He’s worried we’ll haunt his nightmares.” Roman muttered back, watching the humans argue back and forth, before finally agreeing.
“Alright. Uh, we’re gonna go to bed and try and sleep. So… talk to you later, I guess?”
“Yes please! This is fun!” Thomas chuckled a bit at that.
“I’m guessing that was Patton. Good night, Pat. Good night, Roman, who is not an actual Roman. Uhhh, you’re dismissed?”
“Are you a school teacher? ‘you’re dismissed. Get some style. Farewell, my fellow brother in arms, may your gay heart guide you true!” Roman replied, making them both break down into a giggling fit yet again, as they blew out the candles, setting aside the board as they got up to get ready to sleep, Patton and Roman returning to their own living room in the spirit world.
“Well, that was… interesting.” Roman said slowly.
“It was… a bit nice. Talking. To other live people.” Patton said softly, and Roman stopped, pulling Patton into a hug, which he easily melted into.
“yeah. It was. But it did still take quite a bit of energy. We should get some rest, as well.”
“I’m gonna stay out here for a little bit. Just… just in case.” Roman sighed softly, but nodded, stepping away.
“Alright. Rest well, Pat.”
…
He had been asleep for a few hours, when he blinked open his eyes at a small movement. All he caught was a deep shadow, tucking a blanket tight around him.
“Virg?” He asked softly, the shadow freezing, the room dropping in temperature with his fear, and he moved to hide away. “s okay, bud. I love you kiddo, okay? Jus want you to know.” He mumbled, smiling as his eyes drifted closed, pulling the blanket tighter with a soft sigh. “you can come talk to me, anytime. I won tell. Promise.” He felt a soft pat against his hand, then the shadow slipped away, though Patton was sure he felt a little better than before.
I was gonna wait till my 666 follower milestone but I hardly ever draw SS stuff anymore and I'm an inpatient brat so here it is right now! Earlier than expected!
I'm very excited for this project. I have a lot of old stories that I never published of just random things. This one is one of the books I'm actually really proud of, so I decided to revamp it and have some fun with it. I'll try to update it often. Every chapter will always have a trigger and content warning. Please look to it before reading the chapter because I'd rather your mental health be prioritized over a number on a fic. This story comes from the basis that all six sides have their own powers. Every chapter will be the perspective of one of the sides, but there is a pattern to the chapters. I hope you guys enjoy!
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Summary: Virgil moves into a new town and meets Roman, a ghost that he promises to help in finding the unfinished business needed to pass over. However, Roman's past seemed to be deeply muddled with trouble, an uncurable disease that has started to affect a classmate, and a certain tight-lipped valedictorian. Friendships are made and Virgil finds himself thrown into a situation far more complicated and twisted than he signed up. Hopefully, with the help of his new five friends, he can find a way to bring peace to the town once and for all.
Trigger Warnings: None
Content Warnings: Swearing, Religious Exclamations, Mild Mentions of Death
<Masterlist>
<Next>
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Chapter 01
Virgil Gray wished he could say he didn’t believe in ghosts, but he was a realist. He believed the things he could only see, and for as long as he could remember, he had been able to see them.
The world was full of natural magic, everyone instilled it with it. Sometimes, the magic took form as a power, and sometimes it stayed as magic in the body. For Virgil, it became a power to see ghosts. Mediums were only about 10% of the population, and so most ghosts tried as hard as they could to find the mediums and annoy the hell out of them.
Ghosts, upon meeting Virgil, were different. Some were nice, and some were horribly mean. Either way, Virgil found ghosts annoying, especially since he wasn't one for social interactions. However, they became his only sense of company as he found the living more annoying than ghosts.
Being able to see ghosts ran in his family, and so he was taught when he was younger why ghosts existed. They were people who died, who couldn’t move onto the afterlife until they had completed their unfinished business. That business could range from making up relationships with their family to even becoming famous.
Virgil, annoyed by how many ghosts resided in the living world, swore that he would help every ghost he became friends with move onto the afterlife, because he knew that everyone deserved closure.
-+=~=+-
“Heads up!”
Virgil looked up from grabbing a box from the UHaul, only to duck again once seeing a ball fly over his head.
Standing back up, he shifted the box to become more comfortable as he put it into the house. When he got back outside, he found a group of tweenage boys glancing at the football that had just skimmed by him. They were currently being scolded by Virgil's mother, their heads down as they apologized for almost decapitating Virgil's head.
Turning towards the UHaul again, he went to grab another box only to find a teenage boy about his age sitting on the truck, smirking. Jumping, he blinked, staring at him. “What? Why are you smirking like that with me?”
“You’re new here, aren’t you, sunshine?”
Virgil rolled his eyes, “And who might you be, pretentious asshole? Get off the truck. I don’t want you dirtying the UHaul that we rented.”
“The name’s Roman. Roman Sanders.” The boy bowed.
Virgil took a good look at Roman. He was wearing a white shirt with a red and gold jacket and some brown jeans. On his head was a paper crown, nicely pinned to his head with his hair nicely groomed. Virgil practically contrasted the boy with black jeans, a black t-shirt, and the purple jacket he wore everywhere. He could practically see the number of insults running through Roman's head about how he was dressed. Virgil would be lying if he said that the same was going through his head.
Jeez, Roman was going to be an annoying little prick, wasn't he?
“Uh huh…” Virgil drawled, grabbing a box, “Still haven’t answered my question.”
“Looks to me like you’re a medium.” Roman hummed as he jumped onto the UHaul with Virgil, going to face him.
Virgil rolled his eyes, “Hey, if you’re going to annoy me, can you at least help me move in?”
“Sorry, no can do, emo nightmare.” Roman snickered.
Virgil sighed, placing the box to his side, “And why is that?”
“I think you forgot to ask one little thing about me.”
Virgil raised an eyebrow before he heard his father.
“Who are you talking to, Virge?”
Virgil turned towards his father, who he knew was the only one in his family to not have the medium powers and blinked before turning back to Roman.
“You’re a ghost.” Virgil groaned as he stared at Roman.
“Right you are.” Roman clicked his tongue, winking at him, “Virgil's a pretty name. Just like you.”
“No chance.” Virgil glared at Roman before he handed his father the last box on the truck and answered his father's question, “Just a really annoying ghost.”
“Ah, you always say that.” His father snorted, “Maybe he’ll be your new friend. You had a lot of those in Costas.”
“Yeah well, I’m trying to turn a new leaf and not look like I’m insane, Dad.” Virgil snorted as he jumped down the truck to bring the last few boxes in with his family.
“Oh come on! You’re handsome, I’m handsome, we’d make a good pair!” Roman yelled.
Virgil ignored Roman as he walked into the house, not paying attention to what the ghost had to say.
-+=~=+-
It was evening when Virgil had finally gotten his closet unpacked and put into the correct places. Granted, he didn't have many possessions, especially in terms of clothes, in the first place. Upon turning around, he sighed in content and accomplishment, taking out his headphones.
“Finally!”
He yelped at the voice, turning around to see Roman sitting on the chair lavishly. Of course.
“I thought you’d never take them off.” Roman gave Virgil a loopy grin.
“What are you doing here?” Virgil yelled, “How long were you watching me?”
“Only about half an hour.” Roman shrugged, “You’re the first medium that I’ve come across ever since I died. What’s your full name? How old are you? What’s your favorite color? Do you have any hobbies? What-“
“Jesus fucking Christ, shut up and slow down.” Virgil groaned, trying to calm his heart. Roman did just that, closing his mouth and looking at Virgil expectantly.
“My name is Virgil Gray, I am 17, my favorite color is purple, and I like to draw. How old were you when you died?” Virgil answered all his questions calmly, knowing that many new ghosts become a little excited upon seeing a medium.
“I’m 17 too, and I died almost 3 months ago.”
For a fairly new ghost, Roman seemed to be more knowledgeable than most. Most were unable to gauge time or even what happened until they came across a medium. It seemed that Roman knew enough that he wasn't completely clueless.
“Do you mind me asking what happened?”
“Ah, car accident. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and some drunk driver swerved and killed me.”
“Jeez, that’s brutal. Sorry you had to deal with that.”
“I’m glad it was a quick death, at least.” Roman shrugged before going back to his energetic and cheerful personality, “Well, no matter…how’s being a medium like?”
“Well…there’s this super annoying ghost that continues to bug me.” Virgil joked.
“Ha ha, very funny.” Roman stuck his tongue out.
“What power did you have?”
“Teleportation. It was really handy for school.”
“And yet you still died in a car accident.” Virgil remarked as he collapsed the empty boxes that used to hold his clothes.
“Ouch, too far.” Roman acted wounded, “I enjoyed the freedom of driving, even if I could teleport everywhere. You know…it still works in the afterlife. I tried it when I first died. I met a lot of ghosts, and they told me the same thing. I apparently can’t move on…”
“Yeah, until you find your unfinished business and complete it.” Virgil remarked. “Do you have any idea what it might be?”
Roman shrugged, “I keep thinking about it, and I really don’t know.”
Then, Virgil realized that even if he always pretended like ghosts were an annoyance to him, his heart would always be 10 times too big for him to keep in. He knew how it felt to not have anyone to depend on or to have anyone to help him. He never wanted anyone else to feel like that, not even a ghost, who always felt alone. So he said something that he knew he would regret later.
“I’ll help you.”
“Wh-what?”
“You heard me. I’ll help you find your unfinished business and then I’ll help you finish it.”
“Really?”
“You seem like a good person, and I know you’re probably not going to ever leave me alone, so I might as well help you to get you to not be so annoying all the time.”
Roman snorted, and Virgil watched as his eyes crinkled. Virgil knew that behind that cheerful demeanor, Roman hadn’t genuinely smiled in a long time. He was glad he could make the royally-dramatic boy genuinely smile, and then he knew he wanted to help Roman smile like that more.
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