The Academy of S.I.D.E.

No. 49: The Dreamers

Virgil nodded. "Good. Good. We're staying positive."

"There's nothing positive about Jan-Jan being missing," Remus mumbled, pulling the blanket tighter around himself. "Anything could've happened to him, Virge. Whoever has him could be torturing him or starving him or brainwashing him or---" His voice broke.

"Easy, there, big guy," Virgil soothed, giving him a hug. "You're okay. It's okay."

Remus shook his head, but he still hugged him back. "S'not okay."

"I know, but we're gonna get through this. Hopefully." Virgil blinked away the tears that were starting to form.

Remus sniffed. "It's dumb, I know, but I keep on dreaming about him. And it's always happy---I keep on remembering the best times we had together, y'know? Like the first time we kissed, or the first time I had dinner with his family, or the first time we... well, you don't wanna hear about that."

"Yeah, no offense, but I don't really want to hear about---" Virgil stopped.

Remus gave him a concerned look. "What's up?"

"Dreams," Virgil whispered, his brain racing a mile a minute. "Holy shi---that's it."

"What's it?"

"I know how we can find Janus," he said, getting up and pulling his friend to his feet. "C'mon. We gotta get everyone."

Remus's eyes widened. "What do you mean, you know how to reach him?"

"Just trust me, okay?" Virgil pulled him out of the room and down the hall.

"Could you please tell me what you're thinking about?"

Virgil opened up the door to his dorm, snapping his fingers. "Roman. Up."

Roman looked up from his phone. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. Everything's perfect. C'mon, we gotta go get Logan and Patton."

"Okay, be secretive." Roman got up and followed Virgil and Remus down the hall and around the corner.

Virgil barged into their room. "Heartwave! Get moving, we gotta get to Picani's office!"

Patton nearly fell out of his chair. "Okay! Okay! We're coming!"

"What's with all the hubbub?" Logan asked.

"Just move, okay? I'll explain once we're there."

The group speedwalked to the elevators and rode one of them up to the offices. Virgil didn't speak a word for the entire ride---he was too amped up.

As soon as Virgil slammed the door open to Emile's office, the man in question jerked his head up from a set of files. "Boys, you can't just barge in whenever you---"

"Get Remy down here," Virgil told him. "Now."

.........

"Why did I not see this before?" Logan exclaimed. "I'm the genius here! I should've remembered your powers!"

"You can't always solve every problem, Jacobi," Remy said, running a hand through his hair. "Let Hayashi take the credit for once."

"I am letting him take the credit! I'm mad at myself here!"

"Don't beat yourself up, Lo-Lo," Patton told him, resting a hand on his arm.

Remy let out a sigh. "Okay, fair warning, it might get a little... spooky."

"I deal in shadows," Virgil reminded him. "How spooky can it be---"

He removed his sunglasses.