"I'm... confused..." Logan said softly, staring down Pathos.

"Same," Responded the other.

Pathos had heavy freckles remaining firmly on his cheeks and nose. His glasses were big, rounded and circular, and orange-tinted goggles sat up in a mess of bouncy, golden curls that was his hair. His skin looked just as tanned as Roman's', but more freckled and his eyes were pastel yellow. There was a birthmark along his neck and he had a scar on his chin. He wore a light grey jumper around his shoulders, filled with nails, pouches and a few rounded knives. His shirt was blue and hung off loosely in pools by his wrist. He wore long, tan trousers, covered in pockets.

"I'm more confused," Roman interrupted. "Pat, who is he?"

Pathos blinked slowly at Logan. "His name is Logos, we... we've been talking. I knew that he had managed to switch realities but... I'm sorry, hi, Logos, I didn't expect to see you here."

Logan nodded slightly. "Same. What are you doing in Prime Morria's' tower?"

"Breaking out my best friend. You?"

"Got escorted here by guards and met Prime Morria. Convinced her to show us around and tricked her into letting us talk to Roman." Logan explained, gesturing vaguely. He twisted slightly, pointing to Thomas. "This is my little brother, Thomas. A-And my name's Logan, not Logos."

Pathos nodded along as he listened. "My name's Patton. Are you gonna sound the alarm?"

Thomas glanced down the corridor. "Not really. I really want to go home."

"And I agree with Thomas," Logan said firmly. "If we help you get Roman out, we'll tell you whatever we know that you want to know and go home."

Patton frowned. "But we just met..."

Logan's' expression was genuinely sympathetic. "I know. And I'm sorry, Patho- Patton. But I wasn't expecting to get thrown into some big civil war style thing when I came through the portal..."

Roman huffed impatiently. "Can we get out of here before they find Pat? I need to apologise to someone very important and I can't do that if I get put to death."

Patton jolted back to the present and shot Logan one more heartbreaking look. Then, he silently padded down to Roman's' cell, slipping the blunt knife into the keyhole, listening to it fold and bend with a scrape. He jerked it one way, then the other and it was getting gradually louder.

"When we say run," Roman began to tell the two brothers. "You're gonna have to bolt it with us."

"I've got a place we can go," Patton said as he kept picking the lock. You'll have to stay with us and then we'll drop you off at your portal, Logan."

Logan smiled sadly. "Thanks, Patton. Message me if you ever win and I can come back."

Patton nodded as the lock finally clicked open. "Will do."

Roman got out of his cell and reached a hand out to Patton. Patton handed him a scabbard and Roman pulled out a huge sword. "Now," he grinned, shifting it in his hand. "Time to get out of here."

Thomas gaped at the sword. "Epic..."

~('3')~

Prime Morria sat waiting in the throne room. She wasn't stupid. Her men had told her that they had found an oxygen vent picked open and she knew exactly who it was. All she had to do was keep the otherworldly boys here. They were trying her patience and she could not be a patient woman forever.

A smirk crossed her lips when a door beside her opened.

"Let me guess," She said, interrupting the guard. "Pathos and Garcia are attacking the upper floor and are trying to escape, taking Logan and Thomas with them?"

"Yes, Prime Morria," The guard replied stammeringly. "They're taking the elevator, they want to head straight out with as little fight as possible."

Prime Morria turned to him and smiled. "Well, we'll give them a fight." The smile vanished and she stood from the glass throne. "Get all men down there, I want it packed so tight that they'll hardly be able to raise a finger!"

The guard bowed and scampered out. Prime Morria sat back down, with a twisted smirk. "Oh, Thomas and Logan," She said to no one in particular. "You really should've allied with me when you had the chance."

~('3')~

The four stood in the slow-moving elevator, all quiet. Thomas glanced around, eyes falling on Patton's' scar along his chin.

"Excuse me," He asked, breaking the comfortable silence. "How did you get that scab?"

Patton reached a hand up involuntarily, brushing his fingertips across it. "It's... a long story. My twin got worse off but, long story short, it was just after Roman and I left our crew-"

"Crew?" Frowned Logan.

"We were - well, are - steam pirates," Roman piped up. "We left about three years ago."

Patton glanced at Logan. "It was a month or so before your first text, I saw something happen on-ground really early in the morning and I was too scared to check it out on my own, so I fetched Roman who was in a..." Patton stared down his now blushing friend cheekily. "Situation, let's say... He came with me to check it out and we ended up getting ambushed-"

"What did you see?" Thomas interrupted.

"He saw a mugging," Roman said. "Turns out it was staged by people who thought we were steam-pirates working for Prime Morria. When they found out we weren't, our crew had ditched us, leaving us alone in this city, here. We reluctantly went back to the guys who had grabbed us and joined their anti-Prime group."

Logan tilted his head. "Why did your crew leave you?"

Roman awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, keeping his gaze away. "I have a... few guesses but I don't think I want to share them."

Patton nodded. "Yeah, it's all a long story. We're nearly at the ground floor, get ready."

"Morria thinks she's gonna surprise us by swarming the ground floor," Roman said. "But she isn't as unpredictable as she thinks. We're gonna rush them before they rush us, stick close between us and be ready to punch some bitches."

Logan and Thomas exchanged a glance and Thomas took his brother's' hand in his nervously. They both readied their fists, Roman raised his sword carefully and Patton stretched his arms, rotating his wrists as he prepared to do something.

The elevator stopped moving and a soft whirring noise was heard from outside.

"One..." breathed Patton as the doors jerked. "Two..." He whispered as a slow gap began to form. The doors snapped open and Patton and Roman suddenly charged, with Thomas pulling Logan along behind them.

Men from all sides began to press forwards, hollering and yelling out. Roman slashed his sword and Patton dealt some harsh punches, the two sending guards tumbling away. Thomas and Logan were basically as effective as newborn babies.

The four struggled against the oncoming swarm, fighting desperately as they staggered slowly towards the door leading to the outside world. Logan wriggled one arm up to pull his face mask on, back over his mouth, and Thomas did the same. It didn't make much difference,  but it blocked the chemical flavour in the air.

Patton, with one smooth punch, crashed the doors down and barely paused to rub his bruising fist. "Follow me!" He yelled, scrambling out into the empty streets. Thomas was the first to move, bolting into Patton's' arms in desperate need of the shelter the older seemed to promise. Logan quickly followed Thomas, stepping behind Patton. Roman still stood at the door, scaring off soldiers with his fast swipes and lunges. In his free hand, he popped a hoop from a small, tennis-ball green tube. He hurled it into the mess of soldiers before running as fast as he could to the other three.

"Go! Go! Go!" He barked, shoving them forwards. Behind him, a hiss was heard and then a muted explosion.

"Was that a grenade?" Logan yelled, trying to look over his shoulder.

Roman shook his head, forcing them down a corner. "Smoke grenade! Don't worry, we're not the murderers in this war."

When the Prime Tower was as far behind as they could get while still staying in the city centre, the four collapsed on the ground in an alley, all breathing heavily.

Thomas slowly rotated his head to Logan. "Out of all the realities we could have gone to..." He panted. "We went to one that is currently having some kinda civil war."

"Yeah..."

"We could have gone to a reality where discrimination wasn't a thing or a reality where school is optional."

"Yeah..."

"Those realities would be better."

Logan thought for a moment. "Yeah..."