#logiallity

Ships: Logicallity, Analogical Warnings: Supernatural powers, violent unsympathetic Remus, abusive relationship (creativitwins), beating, major character death (referenced), weapons, referenced mass shootings, dark magic/hallucinations, drinking, sympathetic Virgil, (if I need to add anything to the warnings please let me know!)  Characters: Logan, Patton, Virgil, Remy, Remus, Roman (referenced- Character!Thomas) Word count: 2739 Thank you @stop-it-anxiety for beta reading! (and starting this whole trainwreck. It’s great) 

 The town felt oddly familiar, too similar to the one Logan moved away from to start all over here. He blended in with everyone busying around and getting to wherever it was they needed to go. His horse slowed down to a careful trot and he moved through the crowd. In his old town the rich got around with horses and carriages, but this didn’t seem to be the case here. Most got around on foot, which helped make the town look less crowded when traveling though it but made it harder for Logan to make sure no one was standing in front of his so he wouldn’t crash into anyone. A horrible first impression of the soon to be new sheriff. 

This place has been without any sort of law system for around a month now since the death of the old sheriff, who had lost a fight and was practically beaten to death by the town’s best criminal. It wasn’t the beating that killed him but the shot right after, but that didn’t matter now. What mattered is that he was dead and not what it was that killed him. What mattered is that Logan was there now and was able to help, no matter what it took. Even if he had to go through the same painful death Thomas did. Despite what everyone said he wasn’t scared like he was supposed to be. That’s what made him such a good sheriff, he didn’t believe in fear. He didn’t believe he could feel any sort of fear anyway. It felt unnatural not to flinch when a gun was pointed at him, but that’s what happened. There was no way of explaining it. 

Crofters was tied to the fence of the house he would be staying in for a while with his partner he had yet to meet, Patton. Thomas’ old deputy, and now his. He’s heard the name plenty of times going through the town mixed in with his own. He heard Patton was nice. Almost too nice, and let people get away with a little more than what they were supposed to. Thomas was the same way he heard, but that was going to change fast now that he was here. No one is going to get away with hurting people because the law is too scared to fight them. Sure, Thomas wasn’t scared in the moment. Look where that got him. He became the reason everyone was scared. 

_ _ _ _ _ 

Logan and Patton traveled by foot to blend in with the rest of the town. This place seemed much bigger than his old home, and there were many more shops and restaurants and theatres to go to if anyone had some time to kill on a normal day. The two of them were stopped at a bulletin board posted in the center of town, with plenty of random papers stapled to the board from places wanting to hire, missing posters, and the town's most wanted. All of the posters could already be seen splattered on walls and posts and trees, and this was just another reminder those same famous criminals existed. The face he saw in most places was Remus. That same picture with his crazy smile and clown-ish looking outfit printed in black and white all over. The same poster was stapled multiple times on the board mixed in with the rest of them. 

MOST WANTED: 

REMUS SANDERS “DUKE”

Charged with:

-Kidnapping and abuse of Roman Sanders

-Killing over 100 passengers on a stolen train

-Contributions to the black market

-Seriously this guy killed like 50 people just riding through town just turn him in plz.

REWARD: $150,000 

“One hundred fifty thousand…” Logan stares at the picture, the Duke’s wild hair and crazy smile printed into the paper nailed to the board in the center of town. “No wonder this town was in need of a sheriff. This guy probably killed the last one.” 

“Aren’t you scared?” Patton asks, Logan’s new assigned deputy. They had met only a few hours ago, and decided to spend time together walking through town to help Logan get more familiar with the city and get to know his partner better before going into official business. 

“Scared of what?” 

“Getting killed?”

“Well, he hasn’t killed me yet, has he?” The picture on the poster amused him- how Remus looked exactly like a cliche criminal in the movies, mostly the moustache and cowboy hat that set him off like that. And his costume, like some sort of cowboy-clown. Logan takes the poster from the board and folds it, then slides it into his pocket to use for later. 

“You know what happened to the last sheriff, right?” Patton’s voice was soft, watching the reflections in Logan’s glasses. He remembered everything. How much the other sheriff fought the beating and ended up shaking on the ground. And Remus finally put a bullet in his chest. Maybe he would have had some mercy if he hadn’t fought back so much. The two had always pushed each other to their limit until then, and Patton was there for all of it. He witnessed his death, but Remus didn’t know until he was charged of murder and Patton testified against him. He broke out of jail, and everyone was too scared to try him again. 

“Of course,” Logan adjusted his glasses and let out a breath, starting to reimagine the story Patton had told him before. “And that’s why I need this job. I’m sorry for your old friend by the way, you guys were close.” 

_ _ _ _ _  

Logan snuck out again around 10:00 after Patton had gone to bed, just to explore town again on his own and go into the things he was most curious about and could be most helpful to his work. The only thing they had done the first time was walk as Patton rambled about what there was to do here and all the people he knows and stories that came from certain buildings he liked to spend time in. Now he was alone, using his hat to help him blend in with the crowd and using the shadows after sunset to his advantage for blending in. Maybe a few people recognized him, but it was unlikely considering he hasn’t even started his job yet and since more people were here it was harder to tell when someone new came along. Less people crowded the streets at night, so at least he didn’t have to worry about moving through people anymore.  

The only thing still open this late was a small tavern across from where Patton and Logan had found Remus’ poster. It looked fairly empty from what he could see, which wasn’t much of a surprise since most people drank during the day and started to go home once the sun began to set. From the window, he could see it was dim and uncrowded, with only one or two people at the counters and no one sitting at the tables or dancing. 

All eyes turned on him, all eyes being only two. The man behind the counter looked up immediately as if he already recognized the man who walked in. The other slowly turned once he saw his friend was staring at something and met eyes with Logan as soon as he did. Both men dressed a bit strange, one of them wearing a purple vest- purple being an extremely rare color for clothes where he was from- with smoke-colored bags under his eyes, and the other wore a leather jacket with a dark blue skirt that went down to his boots. The first one looked like he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the right words in the moment. Logan was the first one to speak up. 

“I’m sorry to interrupt. I’m new here, I’m just exploring to get more familiar with the town.” 

“You’re Logan?” The man in purple finally spoke, quickly changing the topic from whatever Logan was about to say. 

“...Why does that matter?” 

“Your name’s been going around like wildfire. We saw you walking with Patton out there a while ago. It’s not that hard to connect the dots.” The man gestured to the open seat next to him, inviting Logan to come sit with the two of them. “May I offer you a drink?” 

“I shouldn’t. I have a big day tomorrow.” 

“Then come sit with us and tell us what you’ve learned so far.” Logan didn’t move. “You’re gonna be sheriff, you gotta know your stuff. Do you know any of the top criminals here? You’ll be working against them.” Logan reached in his pocket for the flyer and tossed it at the counter in front of Virgil. 

“Remus Sanders. Worth $150,000 dead or alive. The average criminal is like 50 or 60 thousand.” 

“He killed a lot of people,” Remy said. “Important people too. That’s why you’re here.” Virgil never said anything, but kept staring at the picture and re-reading the words on the flyer. Virgil slams the flyer back down to the table. 

“How long do you really think you’re gonna last here? Be honest.” 

“If all goes well I plan on staying until retirement.” Virgil went quiet. “Listen you might not believe me right now but I’ve done this before and I can do it again. This guy isn’t any different than anyone else I’ve arrested. With me here now all of this is gonna stop. I’m not gonna let it keep going.” 

“Why should I believe you?” 

“It’s my job. Someone has to do it.” Virgil tried not to look at his smile. “Things are gonna change here.” 

_ _ _ _ _

The real first day Remus was the only thing set on Logan’s mind. Town’s most wanted. Most wanted. As his days in the new town grew he learned more and more about the highest criminal. No one was able to arrest him, and everyone who tried didn’t make it. Even if they could, Remus seemed like someone that could break out in a matter of days. Still, all the chaos he was bringing had to be ended somehow. He heard stories of his brother, the only one of his victims that didn’t end up buried in the ground. His mind wandered as the horse sped up, starting to make him lose balance. The grip on Crofter’s saddle grew tighter fighting against the wind as his mind returned to the dirt path in front of him and his horse. 

The image that was in his mind came to life as they pulled up closer to the scene they were heading towards. The two were called to handle one of Remus’ episodes with his brother. Past the train tracks, Remus had his brother tied to a thin tree with rope. No weapons were seen, yet the prince appeared like he had been mentally beaten. Defeated. Normally the crimes involving his twin were ignored since no one is killed in the crime, and most were too afraid to involve themselves in the Duke’s presence. 

Logan thought differently about letting him get away with it, whatever he was doing to him. Maybe he was scared knowing the Duke had magic unlike normal humans. No one knows where they came from, and only Roman had been able to witness it and survive. Yet he kept quiet. No one seemed to blame him for it either. Virgil had seen a glimpse of what he could do and bailed before anything could happen. He described darkness taking over everything in his vision, and controlled hallucinations in the corner of his eyes, then he escaped and hadn’t seen Remus in person since. They talked about his powers, and Logan got the whole story when he made himself heard to the boy behind the counter dressed in purple leather and dark eyeshadow surrounding his eyes. Makeup looking similar to Remus’ on the paper he stole off the town’s Most Wanted board. 

The two horses had slowed down to a halt on the other side of the tracks. From a distance, it didn’t look like much, in comparison to the other things Remus has done anyway. The scene was exactly how they had been told. The victim was tied to a tree, no longer trying to escape, and there weren’t any weapons being used, though from a distance you could see weapons hiding in the Duke’s pockets in his costume. This was the first time Logan had seen Remus in person. Real. Not just some story that had been told to him in the tavern by local drunkards. Real criminal, real crime. Though no magic had been seen where Remus and his brother had been standing. That was the hardest part for Logan to believe. 

Patton seemed a little more on edge than usual. He stared at the Duke, watching his smooth gestures toward the prince in fear of what he was saying to him unaware of the law’s presence behind them. Patton had dealt with the Duke’s chaos before, only he was the one to live. The past sheriff didn’t live, and that fact didn’t scare Logan as much as it should have. Not at the time anyway. 

Without saying a word, Logan swung off his horse and tied it to another thin tree close to Patton’s. Patton stayed still, silent, They addressed the plan beforehand when Patton protested coming up to Roman’s rescue, so Patton wouldn’t have to interact with the Duke unless he had to. The fear was real, even if it had to be part of the job. Logan walked past the train tracks, pulling a gun from his belt to use if he needed to. He held it beside him so Remus wouldn’t see it as a threat straight to him, but still see the weapon to know not to do anything stupid. 

“Excuse me, are you Remus?” The man ignored him, continuing his business with the man dressed in red. There was no mistaking him even from behind. His outfit, that made him look like a lime green clown more than anything. When no response came Logan repeated himself. “Mr. Sanders, we need to talk.” No response. After a moment Logan reached into his belt for his gun, then fired a warning shot that moved just pass his head, just enough to get him to turn around and acknowledge the sheriff behind him. 

“You’ve got a nerve.” Remus turns, reaching for throwing stars in his shirt pocket in case he needed to use them on his intruder. “...Sheriff? Oh, they must have hired a new one.” 

“Sorry to interrupt, but I’m afraid playtime is over. Time to let him go.” 

“Who told you to come up here?” 

“There was a report of a goblin harassing a young prince. I have reason to believe that’s you.” The Duke stopped, taking slow steps toward the sheriff. “This is only a warning. Let him go and we can all move on with our lives, if you protest I have right to arrest.” 

“Arrest me?” The Duke laughs. “You haven’t heard the stories, have you?” 

“I have. I believe you haven’t seemed to hear anything of me before.” The Duke waited for him to continue. “I don’t have fear. That’s what made me so good in my old town. Must be some sort of magic like yours.” 

“That explains it. To come here during brother’s playtime you must be crazy or have a death wish. You seem to be the first one, crazy.” Logan stuttered at the strange nickname he was given. Remus isn’t a normal criminal. Well, he found that on the first day exploring town with Patton. Most criminals he worked with before never used any cute nicknames. “You know about my magic?” The cheer in the Duke’s voice was strange, interested in whatever it was Logan was about to say. 

“I’ve heard stories…” A wave of darkness takes over the nature surrounding the three until the only thing Logan would see was the green and black figure standing in front of him. Remus. 

“Don’t believe in magic, do ya? Not before anyway.” Logan never moved. Remus reached in his pocket and pulled out a knife and made a cutting motion where the prince was once standing, pointing over to where Patton would be standing if it were for the cloud of darkness blocking his vision.