Patton was inside the facility when he found Virgil on the ground near the center of the room. He approached slowly and kept his vision locked onto Virgil's form. Reaching down Patton scooped up a now shrunken Virgil into his hand and lightly brushes him awake with the other.
"Kiddo. Hey you need to wake up. Something's happened and I need you to explain it to me."
Patton was shaking slightly, but continued to try his best to remain still as Virgil began to wake up from his slumber. Patton was relieved to see Virgil was okay, but could feel a stinging sensation poking at his heart. He wondered for a moment if this was how Virgil felt when he held him in his hands for the first time. A constant fear of literally having a life in their hands and the impulse of curiosity that swept through the mind as one gazed down at something so small. A need to protect them and to hold them dear. Such conflicting emotions in constant battle could throw any mind into chaos, but Patton knew that for him, he was not going to be feeling this for long. Virgil, on the other hand, had to deal with this conflict all the time. As Patton continued to ponder, Virgil began pulling himself up and sit up on Patton's palm.
"Glad to see you up sunshine!"
Patton tilted his head down towards Virgil and gave him a big smile. Again, he worried that Virgil might freak out due to the peculiar situation and end up hurting himself somehow. Virgil was still groggy, but quickly began to realize what was happening. He first noticed he was now off the cold, hard ground of the facility and was sitting on something soft and warm. Next he saw the shadows of four pillars that were fingers looming over him and that his hand was attached to a massive thumb. Lastly, he recognized that all too familiar voice and craned his head upwards to meet Patton's eyes looking down at him. A shiver ran down his spine in shock at what he was truly seeing. A giant Patton!
"Pat-ton? Wha-what happened to you?!"
Virgil shot Patton a horrified and overly concerned look. He worried that somehow Patton's growth was his fault and was choking at the thought that Patton would be permanently stuck like this. He squeezed his eyes shut at the mere idea and began shaking. Patton picked up on this reaction, but thought it was because Virgil was scared of him.
"Whoa there kiddo, I'm not going to hurt you or anything. It's me see? No need to be so scared, you're safe."
Patton used his free hand to lightly press his pointer finger against Virgil's hair in order to comfort him. Though, just having to say those words caused Patton's heart to tighten. It was no wonder Virgil always acted the way he did when he size-shifted. The thought that Virgil maybe afraid of him was tearing him up inside. Virgil on the other hand opened his eyes slowly at Patton's words. He was confused as to why Patton would ever think he would be afraid of him and thus took the time to observe his surroundings. Finally he came to the startling truth that Patton had not grown, but somehow he had shrunk. Flustered at his misunderstanding Virgil frantically started explaining himself.
"Oh Patton, I'm sorry. There's no way in this world I could ever be afraid of you! I-I had thought that you had grown and that somehow it was my fault. I was so worried over nothing and it made you feel terrible. I'm really sorry Pat."
"Awe Virgil! That's the first time you've ever called me Pat! That makes me really giddy inside so no need to worry. Still, I'm glad to know that you aren't scared but it seems like you also don't know why you've shrunk."
"Yeah...I have no idea why I'm like this. It doesn't seem like I can grow back right now either. I think I'm still too worn out from that testing."
Virgil stared down at his hands and compared it to the size of Patton's thumb. Sure he wasn't afraid, but he wondered about something else.
"We should probably go find the others and see if Logan can give us any answers."
As Patton was about to rise up from the ground Virgil whispered under his breathe, "Is this how you all felt?"
Patton stopped rising abruptly, puzzled by Virgil's mumbling. He gave him a worried look in response.
"What's up kiddo? Is something wrong?"
"Hey Pat...could we stay here a bit longer, just you and me. I have some things I want to get off my chest before we see the others."
Patton gave Virgil a smile and sat himself down on the ground.
"I'm all ears!"
"Thanks. I um, I wanted to ask if this is how you felt the first time I held you?"
"What feeling would that be?"
Virgil paused for a moment in order to better word his response. He needed to ask, but at the same time he didn't want to hurt Patton's feelings like before.
"Afraid...not that I'm afraid of you, but it's like an instinctual reaction to seeing something so much bigger than yourself and that creeping sensation in the back of your mind that reminds you that you're not in control."
"I'll be honest with you Virgil. Yes, I was afraid but not because I thought you were going to hurt me. I was afraid of losing you more than anything."
"Really?"
"Yeah, you mean a lot to me Virgil. I fight to keep my family close to me and you're my family. Even if we hadn't known each other for every long I did know that you were not a bad person."
Virgil couldn't help but be overwhelmed with emotion from such words. He grasped tightly onto Patton's thumb and rubbed his face against it. Patton giggled a bit as it tickled and Virgil was just too adorable. Yet, Virgil still had other things to talk about so he stopped his fooling around and continued.
"That test was really intense. I'm still not sure what happened by the end of it and obviously I have no idea what happened after as I've become like this. All I really remember after I got on my stomach was this weird power rising up inside me and then the rest is kind of hazy. Patton...how big did I get?"
Patton twitched at the question. He wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to tell him yet so he remained silent as Virgil continued,
"What did the others do afterwards? How did they react? I remember at one point Logan asked me to keep my eyes open so I wouldn't hit my head on the ceiling again, but when I saw your figures getting smaller and smaller there was no way I could keep my eyes open. I couldn't help remembering how Roman first looked at me back in the forest. That face, I'm still scared that I'll have to see it again."
Patton wasn't sure what to answer first or what to say. He waited for a short while until he began to respond.
"Virgil, I'll tell you what happened but I need you to promise me that you understand that you are safe here. None of us think of you as a monster and we would never want you to feel like one either. Can you promise me you can handle what I'm about to tell you and not think badly about yourself?"
Virgil gulped loudly at such a proposal, but knew he wanted to know...no, he needed to know. He nodded his head in agreement.
"I promise." nodding nervously.
"Alright, to answer your first question you grew to 1000 feet and filled the entirety of the facility."
Virgil froze in horror at the unearthly concept of him almost overflowing this massive facility. He almost started panicking, but snapped out of it as he remembered his promise and the fact that Patton was unharmed. Meaning he hadn't accidentally hurt them during or after his spontaneous growth.
"A-a thousand?" he stammered.
Patton nodded his head sheepishly.
"I was so worried too. You looked so worn out and you weren't able to talk. I really thought you might be hurt. Luckily, Logan noticed you were fine for the most part and could still see and hear us."
"Wha-what about the others. How was Roman?"
"Roman was...rattled. He had fallen over from the shock-wave your sudden growth caused. I'd hate to say it too, but he did look scared. Even Logan froze up for a little bit. He mentioned how you had grown past his expectations so I think that's why he was shocked. As for Rom-"
"What did Roman do afterwards?"
Patton was growing worried about this train of questioning, but answered nonetheless. He understood why Virgil needed to know.
"He kept quiet and went straight to the training room to calm down and collect his thoughts. He might still be there honestly."
"I see..."
"Listen kiddo, that test went way too far. Logan's curiosity got the better of him and there was no need for you to have gone through something like that. If anything we should have taken it slow, so I'm sor-"
"No Pat it's okay. I know that Roman wasn't lying when he said he now sees me as family and not as a monster, but I also know that it's hard to change so suddenly. It also wasn't just Logan who was excited for the testing, I-I too wanted to test my limits and see if I actually could grow bigger than them. It felt really good too. I hate to admit it, but knowing that I could made me feel powerful. That I didn't have to be afraid of them anymore, but at the same time I..."
Virgil bite his lip as he locked eyes with Patton. His eyes were wide and he had a complex expression on.
"I was afraid of myself. Pat, is it wrong that I felt like that? Is it wrong that I'm starting to like this power?"
Patton brought his free hand back up and pressed his pointer finger against Virgil's face and gently moved it under his chin and back in a soothing motion.
"Oh course not kiddo. This power is a part of you and you are a good person. You want to be able to control this power in order to keep us safe, right?"
"Yeah I do, I honestly do. I want to protect you, Roman, and Logan. I want to protect my family more than anything!"
"Then you have your answer. There's no need to be afraid of what you can do because no matter what we'll be here to support you. Remember, you're not alone anymore Virgil."
"Thanks Patton. I feel a lot better now after talking with you about all this."
Virgil looked around at the emptiness of the facility and back at Patton. "I guess we should get going before the others come looking for us."
"Right, we need to find out what caused you to shrink and also some of the equipment that's usually in here shouldn't be left outside for too long."
Patton slowly lifted himself off the ground while cupping Virgil securely in his hand. He then started towards the facility door and stepped outside. They made their way back inside the fortress to find the others.
To be continued.
Bonus: What really happened when Virgil realized he had shrunk