Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Just be sure to keep up that personal growth, Virgil. Who knows? Maybe soon, you could be rid of us all." 

"So you’ve never been reluctant to share anything with the group then?”

“It takes a liar to know a liar." 

“Virgil, you’ve never been one to soften the truth. Why would you aspire to be so…boring?” 

“Despite his best efforts, Virgil could never stop being the bad guy!” 

 “Of course I did, Dr. Seuss! I would never hide anything from you!” 

"Because I was one of them." 

Thomas recoiled at the words, and the last ounce of hope Virgil had been holding onto that maybe, just maybe, things would turn out okay dissipated as Thomas stared at him, hurt etched into his features. 

Part of Virgil’s function as Thomas’s anxiety was to consider all the worst possible outcomes to any situation, so he had pictured this exact moment, over and over and over again. He’d pictured Thomas’s anger, his revulsion, his contempt. He’d imagined the names Thomas might call him (liar, traitor, monster), the demands that Virgil get out of his sight and never show his face among those who could be considered “light” ever again. He had steeled himself for that, mentally prepared to accept whatever punishment Thomas saw fit to give him, because he deserved it, didn’t he? 

This though…this was worse. Thomas didn’t look angry, didn’t look disgusted. He didn’t speak, just stared at Virgil with a look that could almost be described as wounded. Virgil’s eyes burned, and with what he hoped was an apologetic look, he sunk away before Thomas could say a word. He’d thought he would be strong enough to face him. 

But Virgil obviously wasn’t as strong as he needed to be.

Thomas pulled a blanket over himself and sighed as his body sunk into his mattress. If he’d ever needed a late afternoon nap, it was now, but despite his body being completely exhausted, he found that his mind was currently incapable of letting him sleep. Instead the events of the past hour plagued his mind, spinning around and around in his brain. One startling revelation about himself was always difficult to deal with, but two…that was a lot.

As jarring as meeting the Duke had been, Thomas had been expecting to meet another dark side eventually. Instead he found himself thinking about a side that he already knew very well…or at least, that he thought he knew. Virgil’s words echoed in his mind as he stared up at the ceiling: "Because I was one of them.” 

“One of them,” what did that even mean? The more Thomas thought about it, the more it made sense, he supposed…after all, he had once classified Virgil as nothing more than a villain in need of defeating. And the other dark sides he’d met so far he would certainly still qualify as villains. But then again, it wasn’t exactly a secret that he used to consider Anxiety a bad guy, was it? But the look on Virgil’s face when he’d admitted that truth…Thomas could have sworn that Virgil had been close to tears. So what was going on? 

Thomas sighed, and swung his legs out of bed, rubbing his eyes. For the second night in a row, his thoughts were incapable of letting him sleep. At least…Remus didn’t seem to have anything to do with it this time. Thomas wandered into the kitchen, thoughts of a before-bed snack vaguely occupying his thoughts, but as he stared into his fridge, he soon became aware that he wasn’t alone in the room anymore. He turned around, shoulders tense, but they relaxed almost instantly at the sight of Patton standing behind him, the light from the refrigerator reflecting off his glasses. 

“Hey, Pat,” he said, wincing at the roughness of his voice. “What are you doing here?” 

“I could ask you the same question, Kiddo,” Patton chided gently. “Hasn’t Logan told you about-” 

“Not eating anything before I go to sleep, I know,” Thomas finished, rubbing his eyes. “I just…can’t sleep right now.” 

Patton knit his brows, and the expression reminded Thomas of a parent who had just been told their child was having bad dreams. 

“It’s not…” he made a vague gesture with his hands, and gave Thomas a pointed look. “You know?” 

Thomas shook his head and sighed. 

“No, it’s not Duke stuff this time, I-” he paused, glancing at Patton. Did he know about Virgil’s past? It made sense that he would, the sides all seemed to know more about his mind than he did, but whatever the significance of what Virgil had told him, it’d obviously taken a lot for Virgil to trust him with it. Would telling Patton be betraying that trust? 

“Kiddo? What is it?” Patton pressed, and Thomas rubbed his temples with his thumb and forefinger. 

“It’s just…Virgil told me something, at the end of the video today, and I’ve been…thinking a lot about it.” 

“Aaah.” Patton clicked his tongue sympathetically. “So he finally told you the truth, huh?” 

“You knew?” Thomas asked, his eyes widening, and Patton nodded. 

“We all do. It just…wasn’t our secret to tell.” Thomas didn’t respond, so Patton pressed further. “So…how’re you taking the news then?” 

Thomas ran a hand through his hair, and closed the fridge door. 

“There’s…a lot that I still don’t understand,” he admitted. “About…Virgil, and the Others, and what it all means. It’s…a little confusing.” 

“Well, we’re always here to help you through it, Kiddo,” Patton said with a smile. “I can answer any of your questions about the Others if you want. All you have to do is ask.” 

“Thanks, Pat.” Thomas smiled back at the moral side gratefully. “But I think…I’m going to wait so I can talk to Virgil about it tomorrow. He seemed really upset when he told me…I want to make sure he has a chance to tell me everything that he wants to. And…I want him to know that I’m proud of him. For opening up like that, I mean.”

Patton blinked, then nodded in understanding. 

“That’s really mature of you, Thomas. But while I know you want your answers as soon as possible…it may be best to let Virgil have his space for a little while.” 

“Oh? How come?” Thomas asked, and Patton grimaced. 

“Well, it’s like you said, Kiddo. Virgil was upset when he told you, right? Remember, he is Anxiety. He probably thought that you’d react really badly to the news, maybe think he was some kind of monster for being one of the Others. That’s probably why he left without another word, so he wouldn’t have to face your reaction.” 

“Oh, no…” Thomas heart ached as he remembered the crumpled expression on Virgil’s face as he’d sunk out of sight. “I should talk to him, I can’t let him think that-” 

“I know, Kiddo, I know,” Patton interrupted, his voice gentle but firm. “But I’ve learned the hard way that it’s best to let Virgil have some alone time when he’s upset. When he’s ready to talk again…he’ll come to you. Okay?” 

“Okay,” Thomas sighed in agreement. He looked at his moral side and smiled again. “Thanks for talking to me, Patton.” 

“Anytime, Kiddo!” Patton chirped happily. “Now, it’s getting late, and I seem to recall a certain logical side telling you to go to bed?” 

“Okay, okay,” Thomas laughed. “See you later, Pat.” 

He made his way back to his bedroom and settled under his blankets, sighing in relief as he finally felt some of the tension of the day drain away. There was a lot he still had to figure out, but as he drifted off to sleep, he took comfort in the fact that he didn’t need to figure it out alone.

Virgil wasn't sure how long he cried for. Upon rising up into his room, he'd immediately collapsed on his bed, his shoulders shaking with sobs. It was all over now, he was sure of it. This was the end of cozy movie nights, easy conversation, and casual gestures of affection. He'd shown his true colors, and there was no way Thomas would want him to stick around anymore. Well, no matter. Virgil didn't need to be part of the famILY to do his job. Patton's dinners, Roman's adventures, Logan's debates...they were all nice, but they weren't why he did what he did. He did what he did to protect them, and to protect Thomas. They didn't have to like him for him to keep them safe. 

But the thought of losing them...it still hurt. 

He must have cried himself to sleep, because the next thing he knew, he was waking up to a genlte knock at his door. He whimpered and pressed his face deeper into his pillow, but the knock sounded again, and Virgil knew whoever was at the door wouldn't go away until they got an answer. 

"What?" he croaked out, not caring if they could hear the break in his voice.

"Virgil? Open the door," the knocker called out, and Virgil's stomach dropped. Thomas had come to the mindscape himself? He hadn't expected that. Still, he could never bring himself to refuse Thomas, so he slowly forced himself off his bed and cracked open the door to his room. 

"Hey," he mumbled, keeping his eyes on the floor. 

"Hey," Thomas repeated. The two of them stood in silence for a moment, then Thomas sighed and placed a hand on Virgil's door. "Can you let me in, Virge?" he asked. 

"I...my room..." Virgil stammered, but Thomas waved his hand dismissively. 

"I'll be okay, Virgil." 

Virgil shrugged, and stepped back, allowing Thomas to enter the room, keeping watch of the dusting of eye shadow that appeared under his host's eyes. The two of them sat down on Virgil's bed, and Virgil clenched his hands in his lap, waiting for Thomas to speak. He didn't have to wait long. 

“Virgil, I..." Thomas ran a hand through his hair, and the shadow beneath his eyes darkened half a shade. "I don't think that I have to tell you that I'm...a bit disappointed in you."

Virgil's heart skipped a beat, and he stared resolutely at his lap. He'd expected this. He'd prepared for this. 

"I mean...It's not just that you used to be a Dark Side. It's..that you lied to me about it. You know how I feel about lying, Virge." Thomas continued, and Virgil's eyes burned. 

“I know,” he mumbled, and he hated that his voice wavered, that he couldn’t even look Thomas in the eye. Didn’t his host deserve at least that? Virgil had betrayed his trust, and now he had to accept the consequences. 

"I have to admit, I thought better of you than that, I really did,” Thomas said, and Virgil felt tears well up in his eyes again, but to his surprise, Thomas kept talking. "Still...I understand why you did it." 

Virgil's eyes widened and he snapped his head up to look at Thomas. 

"You...you do?" he asked, and Thomas nodded. 

"You thought you had to protect me from them," he said, and with every word he spoke, the tightness in Virgil's chest loosened just a little. "And you thought that protecting me from them included...protecting me from you. From what you really are." 

Virgil nodded, fresh tears blurring his vision. 

"I'm sorry," he whispered. “I’m so sorry, I-” 

Thomas reached forward and pulled Virgil into a hug, cutting him off before he could even finish his apology. 

“It’s okay, Virgil,” Thomas murmured. He tightened his grip, and Virgil nestled closer to him. “I’ll make everything right again.” 

Virgil opened his mouth to say thank you, but what came out instead was a gasp of pain as something sharp dug into his neck. His eyes widened as Thomas’s form rippled and shifted in front of him, revealing a glowing yellow eye and a satisfied smirk. Virgil tried to pull away as the snake that bit him slithered across his arm to rejoin its master, but he could feel his strength sapping away as venom worked its way into his bloodstream. 

“N-no...stop...y’can’t…” Virgil slurred, but already his vision was going dark and he could barely hold his head up straight. 

“Shhh, shhh.” Gloved fingers carded through Virgil’s hair as the last of his consciousness slipped away. “Didn’t you hear me, Virgil?” 

Deceit smiled coldly as Virgil finally went limp in his arms. 

“I’m going to make everything right again.”

Thomas woke up with the sunlight, feeling truly rested for the first time in what had to be days. He sat up and stretched, then let out a contented sigh. Finally, he’d been able to get a night’s rest without being  plagued by any thoughts from- 

The Duke suddenly stepped out of his closet, a massive grin on his face. Before Thomas could even react, Remus pulled out his stick of deodorant and took a giant bite, all while maintaining direct eye contact with him. Thomas blinked, then rolled his eyes and got out of bed to head to the bathroom. 

The Duke followed him around all morning, munching on his deodorant stick, making rude gestures, and laughing.  Somehow though, Thomas managed to film his video promo without too much difficulty, and eventually, Remus seemed to bore of lurking around the apartment and sunk back to the mindscape. Finally rid of his presence, Thomas sat down on his couch with his chickpea couscous and switched on the TV. 

He didn’t get to watch his show uninterrupted for long though, as after barely five minutes, Patton rose up to sit on the couch next to him.

“Hey, Patton!” Thomas smiled, but his face fell when he took in his moral side’s expression.  Patton’s brow was drawn tight with worry, and one hand was picking absently at the seams of his khaki pants. “Is something wrong?” 

“Hey, Kiddo.” Patton smiled nervously. “Sorry to bother you,” he began, but Thomas waved his apology away. 

“You’re never bothering me, Pat, you know that.” 

Patton seemed to relax a bit at that, and he pressed on. 

“This might seem like a funny question, but...you haven’t heard from Virgil today, have you?”

Thomas frowned. 

“No, I haven’t. I haven’t talked to him since after the video yesterday.” 

“Neither have I,” Patton said, biting his lip. “Logan and Roman haven’t seen him either, and it’s past noon. He’s usually at least come downstairs for his coffee by now. I went and knocked on his door earlier, but there was no answer.” 

“Well, I can see why that’d be upsetting,” Thomas acknowledged. “But I thought you said that he would need some time to himself to process everything?” 

“What?” Patton asked, frowning in confusion. “When did I say that?” 

“Last night,” Thomas said, a frown of his own forming on his face. “You know, when we were talking about him last night? You said that when he was ready to talk, he’d come to me.” 

“Thomas, what are you talking about?” Patton looked truly worried now. “We...didn’t talk last night. About Virgil, or anything else.”

Patton paused, and scanned Thomas’s face. Something akin to dread was slowly building in Thomas’s stomach, and he swallowed nervously.

“Then...who was I talking to?” Thomas asked, his voice barely a whisper. 

“Tell me everything,” Patton urged, and Thomas did. 

Patton, for his part, tried to be an attentive listener, but he couldn’t stop a gasp from escaping his lips when Thomas told him about Virgil. 

“He finally told you,” he whispered, raising a hand up to his mouth in awe. “Oh my goodness...that must have been so hard for him, he’s been so worried…” Patton’s face fell as the realization struck. “Oh, poor kiddo...that’s why he’s shut himself in, isn’t it?” 

“I assume so,” Thomas agreed grimly. “Then that night, I couldn’t sleep, so I went to the kitchen and you were there...or, I guess, I thought you were there, and we talked, and you basically told me that Virgil was probably really upset, and that I shouldn’t bother him.” 

Patton shook his head emphatically, his eyes wide. 

“No, no no no. I didn’t, I wouldn’t say that, that’s not what Virgil needs. You have to seek him out, otherwise he’ll just try and avoid what’s bothering him until it goes away. He needs to be shown that he still has support, otherwise he might spiral-”  Patton  froze, then suddenly he reached out and grabbed Thomas’s wrist. “Thomas, we have to go find Virgil, right now,” he urged. 

“I- okay, but why?” Thomas asked as Patton pulled him to his feet. 

“Because,” Patton said breathlessly. “Whoever was pretending to be me last night told you not to talk to Virgil this morning. Your first instinct was to find him, but they wanted to stop you from doing just that. So-”

“So why didn’t they want me to check on him?” Thomas gasped, and Patton nodded. 

The two of them sunk out without another word, and as soon as Thomas appeared in the mindscape Patton started dragging him up the stairs towards the hallway where all the sides’ bedrooms lay. 

“Virgil!” Patton called, knocking on the pale purple door at the end of the hall. “Virgil kiddo, please open the door.” He glanced over at Thomas, who took a deep breath before calling out himself. 

“Virgil? Virgil, it’s Thomas...are you in there?” 

Silence. 

“Virgil, please,” Thomas said again. “Let me in...I have to talk to you. You’re not in trouble, I…” he looked over at Patton helplessly, and the moral side attempted to give him an encouraging smile. “I want to make sure you’re okay, Virgil.” 

Silence again. 

Patton pushed on the door, but it didn’t budge, and he let out a small, frustrated whine. 

“No, it’s locked. Virgil, please!” he banged on the door again, and Thomas tried not to focus on the growing pit of dread in the center of his stomach. 

“What are you two doing?” Logan’s cool, calm voice cut through the panic that was growing between the two, and Thomas felt some of the tension in his chest leave. 

“Logan!” From the tone of Patton’s voice, it was obvious that he was equally relieved. “Can you help us get this open?” 

“Get it open? What do you need Virgil’s door open for? Can he not just open his own door?” 

“He won’t answer us, and he might be in trouble, I don’t know, but he’s not responding and now we can’t get the door open and-” 

“Breathe, Patton,” Logan said, placing a hand on Patton’s shoulder. 

“Right, sorry.” Patton took a deep breath, and Logan turned to Thomas. 

“What exactly is going on here?” he asked, and Thomas swallowed.

“Virgil...he won’t answer his door, and we have to see him now, it’s really important.” 

“Why is it so-” 

“He told Thomas the truth, Logan,” Patton interjected, and the two of them shared a look. 

“I see...Virgil, are you there?” Logan called, but Patton shook his head. 

“Something’s wrong...we’ll explain later, but we need to get in there, now.” 

“I see,” Logan said, then he turned to Thomas. “Thomas, you should be able to accomplish this.” 

“What?” Thomas blinked in surprise. “Why me?”

“Technically, when we are in the mindscape, we are inside your head. This whole place is made of your thoughts. Because you hold the control, you should be able to override the quote-unquote physical lock of the door.”

“Okay...how do I do that?” Thomas asked. 

“How does he do what?” a booming voice echoed down the hall, and Thomas turned to see Roman coming towards them, his sword draped over one shoulder. 

“Ah, good afternoon, Roman. I was just going to explain to Thomas how to open a locked door in the mindscape,” Logan said, nodding to Roman in greeting. 

“Uh, not that that’s not a super cool trick he can do, why are you explaining it now? And why are we having this powwow outside Dark and Stormy’s room?” 

“Virgil could be in trouble, Roman,” Patton said, biting his lip. 

“Trouble?!” Roman cried. “What trouble?!” He stepped forward with his sword, but Logan held up a hand. 

“Thomas has promised to explain everything in a moment, but we must focus on one thing at a time. Thomas. Visualize the door being open to you clearly in your mind. As the master of this plane of existence, your projected thoughts can, with enough concentration, come to pass.” 

“Are...are you saying that if I just believe really hard that the door is open, it will be?” Thomas asked. 

“If that mindset helps you achieve the desired results, then by all means,” Logan said, pinching the bridge of his nose with a sigh. 

Thomas looked back to Virgil’s door, then put his hand on the doorknob. 

Open, he thought, feeling a bit silly, if he was honest with himself. You’re an open door, you’re unlocked. Open. Let me in. 

To his surprise, after a moment the doorknob clicked quietly and the door swung smoothly open, revealing a glimpse of Virgil’s room beyond. 

“Bravo, Thomas!” Roman exclaimed. Patton beamed proudly, and for a moment, Thomas forgot the worry that had lead them all here. 

Then, Logan cautiously stepped into Virgil’s room, and as Thomas and the others followed, the momentarily high spirits came crashing back down. 

“Virgil?” Patton called, but it was no use. The room was empty, with hardly a trace of their little worrywart in sight. 

“I think it’s time that you two explain exactly what the trouble is,” Logan said, and as Thomas and Patton took turns explaining, the logical side’s expression turned grim.

“That snake!” Roman growled, punching one of the throw pillows on Virgil’s bed.

“Yes, it does seem likely that it was Deceit you were conversing with last night, Thomas,” Logan agreed. “It is difficult to offer speculation on why he would desire to keep you from checking on Virgil, but the fact that his room is empty after such a conversation is...troubling, to say the least.” 

“What are we going to do?” Patton whimpered, and Thomas clenched his fists.

“I’ll tell you what we’re going to do,” he proclaimed. 

Three heads turned towards him, three faces that mirrored his own curiosity, his own worry, his own determination. Thomas took a deep breath, and met each of their eyes in turn.

“We’re going to find him.”

Chapter Text

“Why isn’t he awake yet?”

“Kaa’s venom is strong. It will take some time for it to fade from his system.” 

“Do you think he’ll wake up if I throw some ice water at him?”  

“Yes, that’s completely necessary. Have some patience, Remus.” 

“You’re no fun, Lies of the Guardians. If he doesn’t come to in the next five minutes, I’m gonna see what happens if I set off a firecracker in here.” 

Virgil opened his eyes with a groan, every muscle in his body aching in protest as consciousness slowly returned to him. He tried to move, but found that he was tied down securely to an old wooden chair. He tugged experimentally at the ropes around his wrists, but they held fast.

“There, you see?” Deceit said, gesturing at Virgil as he stirred. “He’s fine. There’s no need for your dramatics.” 

Remus huffed and folded his arms, but a wide, near maniacal grin spread across his face when he saw Virgil’s eyes on him. 

“You lucked out, Resident Emo. Five more minutes asleep and you would’ve-” 

“I heard,” Virgil grumbled, and Remus pouted. 

“Everyone just wants to take away all my fun today!” 

“Welcome back, little shadow,’” Deceit said, ignoring Remus. “How does it feel to be home?” 

Virgil hissed in response, and Deceit chuckled fondly.

“We’ve missed you too.” 

“Fuck off,” Virgil growled. “This isn’t my home.” 

“I do apologize for that whole little charade in your room,” Deceit continued, as if he hadn’t heard Virgil’s protest. “I just knew that I had to get you away from there quickly, and that I didn’t have time to convince you how important it was that you came back.” 

“Cut to the chase, Deceit,” Virgil spat out. “What do you want?” 

“Want?” Deceit placed a hand over his chest as though he were wounded. “Virgil, I want you safe.” 

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Virgil deadpanned. He tugged harshly at his bonds again. “This whole setup just screams safety.” 

“Whaaaat?” Remus drawled, wiggling his eyebrows. “Ropes sure do make me want to scream.”

“Now, Virgil,” Deceit scolded, ignoring both Remus’s words and Virgil’s cringe of disgust. “This is for your own protection. If I let you go, you’d just go running back to their side of the mindscape. But what makes you think you’d be welcome back there? Your little secret is out, after all. This is the only safe place left for you.” 

Virgil opened his mouth to fire back, but as he did so, Thomas’s hurt expression flashed through his mind again, and the words died in his throat. Deceit seemed to know just what he was thinking, and he smiled as one would at a child who had just yawned after insisting that they weren’t tired. 

“Sooner or later, you’ll accept the truth...when you do, we can talk about removing some of your restrictions,” he said. He reached down and brushed Virgil’s bangs out of his face, ignoring the way the anxious side jerked away from the touch. “Until then, I’m afraid you’ll have to stay locked up, little shadow. But it’s only temporary, providing you cooperate, of course.” 

Deceit clapped his hands together, and Virgil flinched at the sudden sound. 

“Now, I’d love to stay and talk more, but I’m afraid I just have too much work to do to stay here all day, Virgil. I shall come back and visit you later, how does that sound?” 

Virgil just glared, and Deceit rolled his eyes. He turned to leave the room, pausing as he passed Remus on his way to the door. 

“Stay and keep an eye on him. Alert me if anything goes wrong.” 

Remus bowed low, sweeping his cape out behind him, and with one last wave at Virgil, Deceit left the room, the door clicking shut behind him. Remus straightened up, then faced Virgil with a chilling grin. 

“You don’t know how excited I am to have you back, Virgey!” he squealed. 

Virgil tried and failed to swallow down his fear as Remus took a step closer, a disturbing glint in his eye. 

“I’m just dying to get reacquainted!” 

Thomas took a look around his apartment. He’d turned off all the lights, locked the front door, and after sending a quick text to Joan to tell them that he wouldn’t be available for the rest of the night, turned off his phone. Everything was ready for him to sink back into the mindscape for an indefinite amount of time. 

“Alright, are you ready, Thomas?” Logan asked once he had double checked all the preparations Thomas made.

Was he ready?

If Thomas was completely honest with himself, he had no idea. He’d gone into the mindscape with the others plenty of times, but he’d never ventured further than the commons or the sides’ own rooms before. So yeah, what they were about to do was uncharted territory for him, both literally and figuratively. 

“I’m...kinda anxious,” he admitted when he realized that Logan was still waiting for an answer. 

“Well...look at it this way,” Patton suggested. “The fact that you’re still experiencing anxiety...it probably means that Virgil is okay, right?” 

Thomas shot Patton a grateful smile, which the paternal side returned nervously.

“Okay then,” he said, taking a deep breath. “I’m ready.” 

Logan nodded, and he, Patton, and Roman sunk out of Thomas’s sight. Thomas himself sat down on his couch, leaned back and closed his eyes, then followed suit. 

“Alright,” Logan said once Thomas rose into the commons. “The first place that I suggest we go is the others’ commons. While it is unlikely that Virgil will be there, it will serve as an appropriate starting point for our search, and we may even encounter another side there who be of some assistance to us.” 

Thomas nodded in agreement, and Logan clapped his hands together. 

“Excellent. Thomas, since you have never traveled to this section of the mindscape before, I suggest you take Roman’s arm.”

Thomas followed the instructions, and once he had nodded again that he was ready, the group sunk out again. Thomas was used to sinking in and out of the mindscape, but this journey was different; it reminded him vaguely of the way sinking to Virgil’s room for the first time had felt. It was cold, colder than other times he’d traveled this way, and his stomach churned unpleasantly as the world blurred around him in a dizzying spin of color. But the sensations were far stronger than when he’d gone to Virgil’s room; it was all he could do to stop himself from retching as he appeared in what he could only assume to be the Dark Sides’ commons. 

“Thomas? Is everything gucci?” Roman asked, and Thomas nodded, swallowing down his nausea. 

“Yeah, yeah, that was just...a rough trip,” he managed when Roman raised a questioning eyebrow at him. 

“I suppose that is to be expected; none of us are particularly fond of the atmosphere in this part of the mindscape, but we at least have all been here before,” Logan mused. “It stands to reason that you would be quite disoriented the first time you were exposed to it.” 

Thomas nodded in agreement as he looked around the room they had appeared in. Just like the commons he was used to seeing, the room mirrored the first floor of his apartment, with its open living room and dining space in the center and a small kitchen off to the side. 

Unlike the Light Sides’ commons, the space had virtually no sense of warmth or comfort. The carpet was threadbare and the paint on the walls was cracking and chipped away in places, giving the room an eerie, abandoned feeling. The ancient looking couch had a dark stain on the center cushion that Thomas chose to believe was from a spilled cup of coffee, and he wouldn’t be surprised if the kitchen cupboards had very little, if any, food inside that was acceptable for consumption.  

“This is…” he trailed off, unsure of what to even say. 

“Depressing,” said Patton, while at the same time Roman said, “Disgusting.” 

“I mean, yeah,” Thomas nodded in agreement. Both were apt words to describe the space. 

“As unpleasant as these surroundings may be, the fact remains that they serve the same function as our own commons,” Logan pointed out. “This is a neutral space, one that is unaffected by the influence of any particular side. If we have to make a sudden retreat while on this mission, this would be the best place to return to. It will be easier to travel within this section of your mind than to go back and forth between this and our own designated area.” 

“Why can’t we just go back to our commons?” Patton asked, biting his lip. “Why do we have to come back...here?”

“Well, put simply, because doing so could be damaging to Thomas in the long term,” Logan explained. “Thomas, you said your experience traveling to these commons from our own was unpleasant, correct?” Logan’s mouth became a firm line as Thomas nodded. “This part of your mind is one that typically you make the active choice not to think about. As such, being suddenly confronted by its existence is no small shock to your system. Repeatedly submitting yourself to such a shock may prove detrimental to your mental or even physical health.” 

“That makes sense, I guess,” Patton sighed. He wrapped his arms around himself and looked around the room uneasily. 

“Padre?” Roman asked, and Thomas could see concern written across his face. “What is it?” 

“Oh, nothing!” Patton said quickly, and Thomas frowned. 

“Pat?” he prodded, and Patton sighed. 

“I just...this place makes me feel really...wrong.”

“I get that, trust me,” Thomas said with a smile. “It’s okay though, we-” 

“No, it’s not okay!” Patton insisted suddenly. “This whole place...I, imagine Virgil living here, without any love, any support, it...it’s not fair, and we...I…” Patton took a deep, shuddering breath, then let it out slowly. “Sorry,” he said quietly. “It’s just...sad. But I’ll be okay, don’t worry.”

Thomas was, in fact, worried, but before he could press Patton further, Roman bumped his shoulder against the moral side’s.

“That’s the spirit! ” he cried, and Patton shot him a small smile. “Let’s go bring our Emo Prince home, hmm?” 

“An excellent plan,” Logan said, squaring his shoulders. “As there is nobody in this room, our next course of action should be to venture deeper into this part of the mindscape.” 

“Ooh, ooh!” Roman interrupted suddenly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “We should call it the darkscape!” 

“I...Roman, I spoke about the dangers of black and white thinking and judgement calls literally yesterday, were you not listening?” Logan asked. 

“No! Because my trashbag of a brother knocked me out with a morning star!” 

Logan heaved a sigh, and reached under his glasses and rubbed his eyes. 

“Very well, the name may not be accurate, but having a single word to use will simplify our communication. As I was saying, we should venture deeper into the...darkscape. I believe that the best thing to do is to physically search for Virgil, and also question any of the others we encounter along the way about his whereabouts. One of them is bound to have a clue to what happened.” 

“Is going to them for help really the best idea though?” Thomas asked, shifting his weight from one foot to another. “I mean, isn’t it their fault Virgil is gone?” 

“We technically do not know whose fault it is,” Logan pointed out. “We can assume Deceit is partially behind it, due to his modus operandi of disguising himself as one of us in order to accomplish his goals, but we have no idea how many of the others, if any were involved. Despite commonalities in their appearance and demeanor, not all of the others always share the same goal.” 

“That makes sense, I guess,” Thomas said. “Lead the way then, Logan.”

“Hang on now,” Roman interrupted with a frown. “How come Hide and Geek gets to be in charge? I’ve gone on dozens of quests in the mindscape, I should be the leader!” 

“Your quests primarily take place in the imagination, where you have full control over your surroundings and can effectively pull a fail-safe whenever necessary,” Logan countered. “This is a real situation in the mindscape, the part of the mindscape, I’ll remind you, that we have very little control over.” 

“Just because they were in my realm doesn’t mean the experience that I gained by going on them doesn’t exist! Anyway, what experience do you have?” 

“Guys, I only meant that-” Thomas started meekly, but Logan continued as if he didn’t hear. 

“My experience is in identifying and resisting the so called ‘dark sides’ influences. Influences that, may I point out, you have shown yourself to be incredibly susceptible to.”

Roman reeled back, his expression stricken for a moment before it twisted into a glare. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word out- 

“ENOUGH!” 

Three heads swiveled to face the sound, and all voices fell silent as they stared at Patton. His hands were clenched at his sides and his eyes blazed with an unnamable yet terrifying emotion. 

“None of this pointless bickering is going to help Virgil,” he said, his voice low and careful after his initial outburst. “That’s why we’re here, remember?” 

Logan and Roman nodded, matching sheepish expressions on their faces. 

“Now. Logan, you’re the one who knows the most about the others and how to deal with them, so why don’t you tell us what we should do and where to go?” Patton said. Roman’s face twisted into a pout before Patton continued, “And Roman, why don’t you stay near the front with your sword so you can take point if you need to?” 

Logan and Roman looked at each other for a moment, then they turned back to Patton and nodded simultaneously. 

“Sorry, Patton,” Roman added, and Patton raised an eyebrow at him. Roman sighed dramatically, but turned to Logan anyway. “Sorry, Logan. And...I’m sorry I called you Hide and Geek.” 

“It is quite alright, Roman,” Logan replied. “I am also...sorry, for any unintentional hurt my comments may have caused.” 

Thomas released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, and smiled gratefully at Patton. Patton smiled back, and Thomas took another deep breath.

“Okay. Are we all ready to move forward?” he asked, and once he received three nods of agreement, he gestured to Logan. “Then, once again, lead the way, Logan.” 

“Gladly,” Logan said, and he turned towards what would have been the front door if they were in Thomas’s actual apartment. 

He pulled it open, and Thomas half expected to see some sort of copy of his street behind the door, but the group was instead greeted by a dark hallway. The group set off down the hall with Logan and Roman in the lead, Patton hovering behind Logan and Thomas bringing up the rear. 

As they went deeper down the hallway, Thomas could feel...something growing in the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t put a finger precisely on the feeling, nor could he truly say what was causing it. All he knew was that with every step he took, he grew more and more uneasy, as though he was venturing someplace that he was never meant to go. 

“The hallway diverges here,” Logan suddenly called from the front. “Unless there are any objections, I would like to take a look down the left path first?” 

After smattering of head shakes, Logan steered the group down the new corridor. 

“What’s to the right?” Thomas asked, hoping to fill the silence. 

“We will search there as well if we do not find Virgil here,” Logan promised. “But we must exhaust all possibilities, and I personally think it will be easier to deal with- mPH!” 

The sound of skin slapping against skin replaced Logan’s voice, and Patton cried out in alarm. Thomas’s heartbeat skyrocketed and he froze as the *shlink* of Roman’s blade sliding out of its sheath filled the room.

“Logan! Are you alright?” Patton cried, and Logan’s muffled attempts at speaking made Thomas’s heart ache, but he had to focus. 

Swallowing down his own rising panic, Thomas called out in a shaky voice, 

“Guys?” 

The room fell silent, and Thomas reached out, trying to grab hold of one of his sides.

“I can’t see.”

Chapter Text

When Thomas was ten, he and his family rented a cabin for a weeklong vacation in the smoky mountains. One of the things they did together was take a guided tour of one of the many cave systems running beneath the mountain range. At one point during the tour, the guide brought their group into a large, open space in the cave and turned off all the lights. Hundreds of feet below the ground without a single speck of light coming from anywhere, Thomas hadn’t even been able to if his eyes were open or closed. He’d immediately shot his hand out in a panic, desperate for some kind of contact but finding only emptiness...until his mother standing beside him had placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, drawing him closer to her until the lights switched back on.

Now, twenty years later, Thomas again extended a trembling hand out into the sudden, dark expanse in front of him. He could feel his heartbeat reverberating through his entire body, and he couldn’t help but feel very small as he called out again,

“Guys? Guys, are you there, I-” 

Panic shot through him as something touched him from the darkness and he yelped, but he heard Patton cry out,

“It’s me, Thomas, it’s me!” 

Thomas froze, and Patton spoke again. 

“It’s just me, Thomas, it’s Patton...can I touch you kiddo?” 

Thomas nodded, relaxing slightly as a warm hand covered his shoulder just as his mother’s had all those years ago. He could hear Roman speaking in the background, talking to a still unresponsive Logan from the sound of it, but right now he only cared about one thing. He reached out until his fingers met the soft hoodie tied around Patton’s shoulders, and he let out a sigh of relief.  

“Patton,” he whispered, almost to himself.

“Yeah, it’s me, Thomas,” Patton answered anyway. “Can...can you tell me what happened?” he asked hesitantly, and Thomas shook his head.

“I don’t know...everything just went black, and now I can’t see anything...it’s so dark it’s like my eyes are closed, but I know they’re open, and I don’t know what’s happening, Patton, I don’t know what’s happening!”  

Thomas’s breath was coming in shorter and shorter gasps as his heart beat faster and faster in his chest, and he was vaguely aware that Patton was speaking again, but the words sounded far away, blurred, almost. As though he were underwater and Patton were calling to him from above the surface. 

I’m panicking, thought the tiny part of Thomas that was still coherent. How do I stop panicking?

“-breathing, okay? Just like Virgil taught us, remember?”

Thomas gasped as Patton’s voice faded back into focus, and the memory of Virgil’s voice flooded through his mind.

“Breathe in for four seconds…hold your breath for seven seconds...now breath out for eight seconds. Keep it up Thomas...that’s it, keep going...”

He could do this. Slowly but surely, with Patton muttering the pattern to him over and over, Thomas found that he could breathe again.

“There, that’s it Thomas,” Patton murmured. “Keep going, you’re doing great...I’m so proud of you kiddo, that’s it…”

“Patton? What’s going on with him?” Roman called from somewhere ahead of them, and Thomas felt Patton’s hand slip off his shoulder. 

“I don’t know, he says he can’t see! He’s panicking and I’m trying to keep him calm, but I don’t know what’s wrong, I’m sorry!” 

“I’m okay, Pat,” Thomas said, taking another deep breath. He found Patton’s hand again and gave it a squeeze, and Patton squeezed back, a grateful smile not difficult to imagine accompanying the getsure. 

"Okay, don’t worry anyone,” Roman said in as princely a voice as he could manage. “Everything’s gonna be- What? Logan, slow down, you’re signing too fast...thank you...oh! Oh, I...I see…” 

“What is it?” Patton asked, and Roman sighed in frustration. 

“My sign isn’t that great, but I think Logan is basically saying that since Thomas doesn’t know...um, well...about a certain side yet, that this section of his mind is still hidden from him.” 

“So that’s why I can’t see anything?” Thomas asked, and he was met with silence before Patton muttered, 

“Oh, duh, you can’t see me nodding...yeah, kiddo, we think so.” 

“Also why our dear Nerdy Dancing is currently undergoing a forced silent treatment,” Roman added. “Thomas is still...well, lying to himself about this part of him, as it were. So Deceit has power over us here. We can’t just tell you what’s going on.” 

Thomas’s heart sank, and he hung his head. Patton’s grip on his hand tightened ever so slightly, and Thomas tried to look towards where he thought his logical side was standing. 

“Logan, I...I’m so sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean...I don’t know how to…” Thomas shook his head, giving up on trying to explain the different array of emotions flitting through his head. 

“I don’t...I don’t understand,” Roman said, a frown audible in his voice, and after a moment of silence Thomas realized that Logan must have been signing something again. “Thomas...is strong? Strong here? Logan, I don’t know if you realize that he’s gone blind, that’s not exactly the epitome of strength...like before, strong here? Like before, with the door? Logan, you’re not making any-” 

“I have power here?” Thomas gasped. “Like before, with opening Virgil’s room...I have power in the mindscape? Is that what he means?” 

“Yes!” Roman cried triumphantly, and Patton gave Thomas’s hand yet another squeeze of encouragement. 

“Okay…” Thomas swallowed. “But I still don’t know what to do...before, all I did was envision Virgil’s door open...how do I imagine my sight back?” 

A beat of silence, then,

“You’re...you’re the boss, he says? Logan, what does that mean, do you not know any better signs for this- okay, okay, I’m sorry.” Roman huffed. “Alright, take two. First time Deceit...remember Virgil’s words...you’re the boss? Thomas, does any of this make sense to you? I don’t know what he’s trying to say,” Roman admitted. 

“Oh…” Thomas breathed, another memory of Virgil pushing its way into the forefront of his mind. 

“You’re the boss, Thomas. Anything you want to know, you can know. You just...have to be open to hearing it.” 

“Logan...are you saying that if I’m willing to face whatever truth is being hidden from me right now...I’ll be able to see again?” Thomas asked. 

“Yes! He’s nodding, that’s it, Thomas, I think you’ve got it!”

“Alright…” Thomas took a deep breath, then closed his eyes. The act did nothing to change his vision, of course, but it still felt appropriate to do so. 

I...I want to know this side, he thought. I want to meet them...I’m ready. Let me see them.

Thomas repeated the thought over and over again in his mind, then took a deep breath and opened his eyes. 

Nothing had changed. 

Thomas blinked a few times to be sure, but his vision remained stubbornly blackened. 

“Logan?” he called, hoping that maybe at least his logical side had been released, but the silence that followed was not very reassuring. 

“Uh, whatever you just tried to do, Thomas, I don’t think it worked.” 

Roman’s words confirmed Thomas’s fears, and he groaned. 

“I’m trying, I promise I am,” he insisted. “But...I don’t know how to imagine seeing this side more. Can’t you guys just tell me who it is? Go ahead! Logan, you have my permission, or whatever! Tell me about them!” 

 Logan stayed silent, and Thomas stayed blind. 

“Why isn’t it working?” Thomas cried, pressing his hands up to his temple. “What am I doing wrong?” 

“I don’t know!” Roman exclaimed. “I don’t understand, I don’t know what’s going on, Logan, please, try and slow down, I can’t-”

“Oh…I get it, I think,” Patton spoke suddenly, his voice surprisingly small. 

“What is it?” Thomas asked eagerly, and Patton sighed. 

“What were you thinking to try and give Logan permission to talk?” he asked. 

“I...I was basically thinking ‘I’m ready to meet this side,’ over and over.” 

“I thought so.” Patton said knowingly. “But...is that really true, Thomas?” 

“Of course it’s-” 

“Kiddo.” Patton’s tone was firm. “Deceit has enough power down here right now, I don’t think we want to invite more. So let me ask again...is that really true?” 

“I…” Thomas trailed off, the question settling unpleasantly in the pit of his stomach. “I...want it to be,” he confessed quietly. 

“Right,” said Patton, his voice turning impossibly gentle. “And what have we learned about things that we want to be the truth?” 

Thomas opened his mouth to answer, but found that the words were stuck in his throat. Shame bubbled in the pit of his stomach, and it must have shown on his face, because Patton placed a tentative hand on his shoulder.

“It’s okay, Thomas.”  

“I...I don’t know if I can do it, Pat,” Thomas admitted. “I don’t know if I can face this, I...I really don’t want to find out that I...that I might...” he took a breath to steady himself. 

“I don’t want to be a bad person. And it seems every time I manage to convince myself I’m not, I’m confronted with some piece of myself that wants to convince me that I am, and I can’t...how am I supposed to deal with that, Patton?” 

Thomas wrapped his arms around himself, looking away from where he assumed the sides to be standing. 

“Thomas, I-”

“Patton,” Roman interrupted. His voice was low, and surprisingly serious. “I think we need to get them out of here.” 

“But what about Virgil?” Patton protested

“If Virgil is here, I’ll find him. But Logan and Thomas can’t stay here. Take them back the way we came, and don’t stop until Thomas can see and Logan can speak again.” 

“Aren’t you coming?” Thomas asked.

“I’ll be right behind you,” Roman promised. “As soon as I’m finished here.” 

“Roman, I can’t let you go alone,” Patton said. “It...it should be my responsibility, if it weren’t for me then this wouldn’t even-” 

“I can handle this, Patton,” Roman insisted. “Logan and Thomas need you. If you want to help? Take care of them.” 

There was a beat of silence, and Thomas could imagine the sides trading expressions with each other, holding a conversation that even if he could see them, he wouldn’t understand.

“Fine,” Patton eventually relented. He took Thomas by the hand, and began leading him back down the hall. “Just be careful, Roman!” he called to the creative side. 

“Don’t you worry about me, Padre,” Roman said, a bit of his usual bravado back in his voice. “I’m always careful!” 

“That...does not sound like it’s true,” Thomas muttered to Patton as he was led away. 

He expected Patton to respond with a quip to make him feel better, or a reassuring word given with a smile, but the father figure was strangely quiet as the trio walked away. Still, Patton’s hand remained steady in his own, and Thomas forced his mind to focus on that as they moved. After another minute or two of walking in silence, Thomas felt another hand on his shoulder. 

“I...believe I am alright now,” Logan said in a low, hesitant voice, as though he were afraid that the words might be snatched away again at any moment. “Thomas, has your vision been restored?”

Thomas blinked a few times, and sure enough, Patton and Logan’s worried faces slowly came into view in front of him. 

“Yeah,” he sighed in relief. “Yeah, I can see you.” 

“How many fingers am I holding up?” Logan asked, leaning forward. 

“Four. Now three. Now five, or four and one thumb, if you’d rather be technical,” Thomas answered as Logan held up his hand, flipping between finger formations rapidly. 

“Okay, Logan, give him some space,” Patton said, pulling Logan back and giving him a pointed look. 

“Right, my apologies,” Logan said, nodding curtly and taking a step away. “We should wait here for Roman to return,” he added, looking around the hall where they’d stopped. 

“Logan...are you alright?” Thomas asked carefully. 

“Yes, I seem to be in full control of my vocal chords once more-” 

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” Thomas interjected. Logan looked up at him, and for a moment something small and vulnerable flashed through his eyes before vanishing back beneath his cool exterior. 

“I...I assure you, Thomas, I will be fine. My temporary discomfort is not the priority right now. We need to stay focused on the task at hand and-” 

“And right now, Roman is taking care of what needs to be done, so we have a minute, Lo,” Patton said gently. 

“Yes, we do have a minute, so we should take it to rest,” Logan snapped. “If you two are so determined to use this time to talk about the situation, why not discuss Thomas’s failure to confront a part of his mind, or perhaps Patton’s pervasive feelings of-” 

“Alright, that’s enough,” Thomas said, holding up a hand. Patton’s eyes were as wide as saucers, and Logan looked down at his shoes. 

“I’m sorry, I...I did not mean to lose my temper,” he said quietly. 

“It’s alright, Logan,” Thomas sighed. “I understand...let’s just all try and get through this, okay?” 

Logan nodded and took a deep breath, straightening his tie as he did so.

“Indeed. In the past, despite there being proverbial bumps in the figurative road we traveled, we have managed to solve your past issues by working together as a team. There is no reason this should be any different.” 

“Exactly,” Thomas said with a small smile. He turned to Patton, expecting to see the expression mirrored, but was surprised to see Patton staring back the way they’d come, an odd look on his face. 

“Patton?” Thomas asked, and Patton blinked, turning back to them slowly. “Are you...okay?” 

“I…I think Logan’s right,” Patton said carefully. “I don’t want to keep...repressing things.” 

“Ooo-kay?” Thomas drew out the word in confusion, and Patton sighed. 

“I just...I feel really guilty, because I-” 

“Guys?” a booming voice called down the hall, and Patton immediately whirled around. 

“Roman! Over here!” 

Roman’s sword was propped up on his shoulder as he approached them and his face was pinched in a frown, but he accepted the hug that Patton practically flung in his direction, letting his sword fall as he wrapped his arms around Patton’s shoulders. 

“Roman? Are you well? What did you discover?” Logan asked, hovering at the creative side’s elbow. 

“Well, I have good news and bad news,” Roman said. He released Patton from the hug and looked over at Thomas. “They didn’t have Virgil...they didn’t have anything to do with him going missing, actually.”

“So...what’s the good news?” Patton asked hopefully, and Roman grimaced. 

“That was the good news.”

“Do I...want to ask what the bad news was, then?” Thomas asked, and Roman met his eyes. 

“They may not have him, but they know where he is.” 

“Well...that’s a good thing then, yeah?” Patton tried, but even he couldn’t keep the worry out of his voice.

Roman’s knuckles whitened on his sword hilt, and he glared at the ground before he spoke through gritted teeth.

“He’s with my brother.”  

Chapter Text

Breathe in for four seconds...

“-and like, we already know it’s possible, because Ed Gein did it in the fifties, though he only actually killed two people, the rest was all grave robbing, which is, you know, still fun, but not as fun as getting the stuff fresh, and it’s not as creative-”

Hold for seven seconds...

“-ooooh, you know what we should do instead, make a poodle skirt out of human skin, that has so much more artistic merit than just furniture, it’s like a commentary on wanting to return to the golden years but those years actually being pretty awful for a lot of people-”

Breathe out for eight seconds...

“Virgiiiiiiil, you’re not even listening to me!” 

Breathe in for four seconds...

Remus rapped his knuckles against Virgil’s skull and leaned in to shout in his ear. 

“Hellooooo? Anyone at home in there?” 

The assault left Virgil’s ears ringing and he flinched away, squeezing his eyes shut and desperately trying to continue his breathing exercises, but Remus was having none of it.  

“LOOK at me, Nightmare on Emo Street!” Remus snapped. He reached forward and pried open Virgil’s eyelid with his thumb and forefinger and stared deeply into the now exposed eyeball. “Honestly, what have those light sides done to you? You never used to be this boring.”

Virgil stayed silent, and Remus heaved a sigh, releasing his grip and straightening up. He started pacing around the room, hands gesturing wildly as he talked. 

“I mean, honestly! You and me, we were unstoppable! Worst case scenarios of the most delicious kind, the darkest, most pessimistic readings of media, seeing the absolute worst in people. We had so much fun together! But then you had to go and turn...soft.” 

Virgil’s head snapped up at that, and for the first time since he’d woken up, he met Remus’s eyes willingly. 

“I didn’t go soft,” he growled. “I grew up. I learned how to do my job without hurting Thomas...without you.”

“Is that sooo?” Remus asked, a new glint in his eyes as he met Virgil’s gaze. “Well, we’ll see about that, won’t we?” 

He snapped his fingers, and suddenly the empty room around them disappeared. They stood instead at the center of a deep, dark thicket, storm clouds brewing ominously overhead. Black branches twisted all around them,  thorns sticking out at all angles, some as long as Virgil’s palm. In the distance, the silhouette of a lone tower could be seen poking over the horizon, confirming Virgil’s suspicions: they were in Remus’s realm of imagination.

“You say you haven’t gone soft?” the side in question asked, circling Virgil’s chair as he spoke. 

Virgil saw a glint of metal from the corner of his eye and he flinched, only for the ropes holding him down to fall away as Remus sliced through them in one clean swipe. He was yanked roughly to his feet, and before he could properly get his bearings, Remus pressed the dagger he’d used to cut the ropes into his palm. 

“Prove it,” Remus purred into Virgil’s ear, then he grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around to face–

“Patton?” Virgil gasped.

He reached out towards the other side, but froze when Patton’s eyes locked on his. The moral side’s face was set into a cold, disapproving glare, and his arms were crossed over his chest, making him appear more imposing than Virgil would have thought possible.

“I’m very disappointed, Anxiety.” 

No.

“I really thought you might have changed, but obviously I was wrong.”

No, please. 

“Indeed,” a new voice said, and Logan stepped out from behind Patton, an equally condemning look on his face. “I had hoped that a more accepting environment might aid you in overcoming your inherent nature, but clearly that hypothesis has been proven incorrect.”

“I had hoped you might be a fellow knight,” Roman continued, stepping out from Patton’s other side. “But you are nothing more than another villain.”

The three of them bore down on him, and the knife shook in Virgil’s hand. 

No, this wasn’t right, this wasn’t right... 

“I offered you a chance to help him.” 

Patton’s voice was empty...

“But the only thing you have accomplished is causing more harm.” 

Logan’s face was blank...

“This is to protect Thomas.”

Roman’s sword was drawn…

“No…” Virgil whimpered, taking a step back and bumping into Remus.

“Goodness gracious, what ever is the matter, Virgil?” Remus asked. “I thought you were fight or flight? Have you lost your edge after all?” 

“Stop,” Virgil hissed, and Remus chuckled. 

“Self-preservation, and he can’t even protect himself! Those light sides really have ruined you.” 

“Stop!” Virgil cried again, covering his ears, but Remus grabbed his wrists and forced them back to his sides.

“They’re going to kill you if you don’t do something,” he whispered gleefully in Virgil’s ear as the others slowly advanced towards them. “They’re going to run you through and leave you to bleed, force you back into the depths of the subconscious where you’ll never reach Thomas again. You really don’t need me to do your job? Prove it. Protect yourself!” 

He shoved Virgil forward, just as Roman raised his sword. Virgil ducked out of the way and just narrowly escaped the swing, but the thicket around them kept him from dodging very far. In these close quarters, a dagger would hold an advantage over the sword, allowing Virgil to move in and strike close. He’d be difficult to block, and the other two didn’t even have weapons…

This wasn’t right.  

“I thought you were fight or flight?”

Wasn’t right, couldn’t be right, couldn’t be real...  

“Protect yourself!” 

Virgil raised the dagger, took a deep breath, then spun around and plunged it into Remus’s shoulder. 

The dark side let out a howl of pain and the forms of Patton, Roman and Logan flickered, but Virgil didn’t stick around to watch them fully disappear. He just turned around and ran. Unfortunately, there was only one place to run: straight into the thicket. 

Virgil covered his face with one arm and pushed the branches out of his way, ignoring the pain as thorns scraped at limbs and snagged on his clothes. He had to get as far away from Remus as possible, that stab wound wouldn’t slow him down for long. 

“See, NOW we’re having fun again!” Remus’s gleeful voice echoed through the thicket, and Virgil’s heart dropped into his stomach. 

So much for having a head start. 

Mentioning Remus had an immediate effect on the group. Patton let out a horrified gasp, and Logan’s face twisted into a grimace. Roman’s eyes remained trained on his feet, his mouth a grim line across his face. Thomas felt his own heart rate increase at the thought of his other side of creativity, and he swallowed carefully. 

“Okay...so we know where he is. How do we get him back? Do we go to Remus’s room, or?” 

“Thomas, it…” Roman paused, and Thomas heard him take a shaky breath before continuing. “It’s not that simple. Remus, he...he’s like me. He doesn’t just have a room, he has a whole realm that’s his...a part of your imagination where he has total control.” 

“That...doesn’t sound good,” Thomas said, shuddering at the thought of Remus having complete control over anything.

“Indeed,” Roman agreed, straightening up and meeting Thomas’s eyes. “But if he has Virgil, that’s where he’s keeping him.”

“As I demonstrated yesterday, Remus’s influence is possible to overcome,” Logan spoke up, but Roman shook his head. 

“It’s different in the imagination. That’s where I...I mean, where he...ugh!” Roman let out a frustrated groan, running his hands through his hair. “Our separate sections of the imagination are where we are the strongest. While it’s possible to deflect Remus when he is in the real world, his actions aren’t so easy to dismiss in his own territory.” 

“So...what do we do?” Patton asked in a small voice. 

“Well…” Thomas said slowly. “You have said you’ve always wanted to take me to the imagination, Roman.” 

Roman grimaced and unconsciously fiddled with the hilt of his sword as his gaze drifted away from Thomas again. 

“Yes, well...this isn’t the version I wanted you to see,” he said quietly. 

“I know, Roman,” Thomas said. “But if I have to see it...I’d want you to be the one to show me.” 

Roman looked up, his mouth quirking upward ever so slightly, and Thomas smiled back. 

“Well isn’t this a charming scene.”

Thomas yelped and whirled around, finding himself face to face with a grinning Deceit. 

“What are you doing here, you snake?” Roman cried, drawing his sword in one smooth motion, but Deceit just raised a single eyebrow. 

“Funny, that’s what I was going to ask you all, Roman. Last I checked, this is my side of the mindscape. I have every right to be here. This time it’s you intruding on me.” 

“I would hardly call this an intrusion; we are accompanying Thomas, and as the entire mindscape is his, we are quite literally incapable of trespassing when with him.” 

“Logan Logan Logan,” Deceit chuckled. “What about the events of today so far has given you the impression that people want to listen to what you have to say?”

Logan’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly and he fixed his gaze forward, refusing to make eye contact with anybody. Deceit smirked, and Thomas felt anger bubble in his stomach. He opened his mouth to speak, but someone else beat him to it. 

“How dare you?!” Patton exclaimed, sounding for all the world like a mother whose child had just been unjustly suspended. “Every time you show up, without fail, you always target Logan! You always try to shut him up or distract him or talk over him or SOMETHING, and it’s not right! Well, I’m sorry that you can’t handle someone outsmarting you and poking holes in all your lies, but the rest of us actually care about what Logan has to say...we care about Logan, so you just keep your dishpan hands away from him!” 

Patton’s fists were clenched at his sides, and the glare on his face as he stared down Deceit was unlike anything Thomas had ever seen from him before. 

“Patton…” Logan’s voice was low, and he was staring at the moral side with something akin to awe on his face. “I–” 

“Riiiight,” Deceit drawled, examining the tips of his gloved hands. “Because you don’t know anything about suppressing sides that you don’t agree with, do you Patton?” 

Patton reeled back as though he’d been slapped, the fire draining out of his gaze almost immediately. Roman and Logan exchanged glances, and Thomas got the feeling that something very important had just been said, but he had no idea what it meant. 

And quite frankly, he didn’t care. 

“Cut to the chase, Deceit,” he snapped. “What have you done to Virgil?”

Deceit turned to Thomas, the satisfied smirk on his face twisting into an obviously facetious look of confusion. 

“Done to Virgil?” he repeated. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, Thomas. I haven’t done anything to him.” 

“We know you took him, you serpent!” said Roman. “Release him now, and maybe I won’t run you through with my sword!” 

“My my, everyone’s so presumptuous today! What makes you so certain that Virgil is being held against his will?” 

Thomas felt a bit of unease worm its way into his stomach, but he pushed it down as he glared at Deceit. 

“You impersonated Patton last night! You lied to me!” 

“True,” Deceit admitted, and Thomas blinked in surprise. “I did impersonate Patton. It’s not exactly a secret that he’s the one you listen to the most, Thomas. If I wore my own face to tell you that Virgil wanted to be left alone, you wouldn’t have exactly believed me, would you?” 

“Wha–” 

“Now, you all can do what you like,” Deceit continued, ignoring Thomas’s sounds of confusion. “As Logan so eloquently put it, I can’t stop you all from going where you please when dear old Tommy is with you. Just don’t act too surprised if Virgil wants nothing to do with you once you find him.” 

Thomas opened his mouth to reply, but Deceit sunk down before he could get the words out, leaving him staring blankly at the spot where he had stood.  

“What...what is going on?” he cried, turning around to face the others, his eyes wide. “Of course Deceit took him, right? Why would Virgil...I mean, he...he has to be lying, right?” 

“Take a deep breath, Thomas,” Logan said slowly, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Deceit was most likely trying to confuse you, to sow metaphorical seeds of doubt in your mind. Do not let his words deter you from the task at hand.” 

“Right,” Thomas agreed. “You’re right Logan, sorry, I just…” He sighed, and rubbed his eyes. “It’s hard to keep my head on straight down here.” 

“Your head has never been straight,” Patton said automatically, but his voice lacked its usual pep, and for some reason Thomas found that more worrying than if Patton hadn’t made the joke at all. 

“Patton?” Logan asked carefully. “Are you–” 

“I’ll be fine, Logan,” Patton said. “Are you okay?” 

The two of them made eye contact for a moment, something unreadable passing between their gaze, then Logan sighed. 

“Yes, Patton, I am fine.” 

Thomas got the distinct feeling that neither of them were particularly fine at the moment, but before he could ask them about it, Logan spoke again. 

“Roman, I retract my earlier statement. Since it is the imagination that we must go, it would be more beneficial to all of us if you were to take the lead now.” 

Roman’s eyes widened. 

“I–Logan, are you sure?”

“I am sure, Roman. You said it yourself, the imagination is your territory. If we are going to resist Remus’s influence, we will need you to guide us.” 

“I…” Roman took a deep breath and nodded. “Very well. I’ll do my best.”

“You can do it, Ro!” Patton said, flashing Roman an encouraging smile. 

“Right.” Roman squared his shoulders. “We can’t just walk to Remus’s realm, we’ll have to sink out. But be forewarned, the imagination can be unpredictable. Not to mention that once we rise up there, Remus will know we’re there. We have to make sure we stay alert the entire time, and stay together. Understand?” 

Everyone nodded, and Patton reached out and took Thomas and Logan’s hands.

“So we stay together,” he said when Logan gave him a questioning look, and Roman nodded in approval. 

“Excellent idea, padre,” he said, taking Thomas’s other hand in his own. “Is everyone ready?” 

Thomas took a deep breath, and nodded. Patton gave his hand a squeeze, and Thomas smiled at him gratefully. 

“We’re coming, Virgil,” Thomas whispered. Then the world spun around them, giving way to blackness. 

Chapter Text

“Olly olly oxen freeee!” 

Remus’s voice sang out through the thicket, and Virgil pressed his back tighter against the trunk of the tree he had ducked behind. 

“Come on now Virgil, be fair!” the creative side chided. “Olly olly oxen free! Come out, come out, wherever you are! No more hide and seek, time to play a different game!” 

A twig snapped from somewhere nearby, and Virgil held his breath. His heart pounded wildly in his chest, and he desperately hoped Remus couldn’t somehow hear it. He risked a peek around the tree trunk, then whipped his head back against the tree. Remus was stalking through the thicket a few feet away, his morning star dragging along the ground behind him. Virgil squeezed his eyes shut and tried desperately to regain control of his breathing.

In for four, hold for seven, out for–

“Really, Virgil,” a voice purred in his ear, and Virgil’s eyes snapped open. Remus stood inches from his face, his breath hot on Virgil’s skin. “What makes you think you can hide from me?” 

Virgil jabbed a blow to Remus’s wounded shoulder and bolted from his spot, but as he ran, huge thorny vines surged up from the ground, blocking his path. He tried to push his way through them as he had before, but this time the branches reacted to his presence, wrapping around his arms and legs and holding him fast. Virgil thrashed against them, but they just curled tighter around him the more he struggled. 

“Sorry, Virgie,” Remus said cheerfully. “But that little stunt of yours was only going to work once.” 

He snapped his fingers and more branches wrapped themselves around Virgil’s limbs and torso, lifting him off the ground completely. The thorns dug deep into his flesh, and Virgil bit down on his tongue to keep from crying out in pain.

“Now, I’m impressed, don’t get me wrong,” Remus said, his tone light and conversational, as though the two of them were merely chatting together over a coffee. “Taking me by surprise isn’t easy to do.” 

He tapped the handle of the knife that still stuck out from his shoulder.

“But trying the same move twice? Did you really think I wouldn’t be prepared a second time?”

Virgil didn’t speak, and Remus frowned. 

“Oh, come on Virgil, again with the silent treatment? Really?” he huffed. “No witty comeback, no snarky banter? Not one peep?” 

The beat of silence that followed seemed to stretch out for an eternity as the two sides stared each other down, then Remus’s face split into a grin that made Virgil’s heart skip a beat. 

“Let’s see if we can’t change that.”

He wrapped his fingers around the knife hilt sticking out of his shoulder and in one swift motion pulled it free from the wound with a sickening *schlick.* Blood dripped from the tip of the blade as Remus lazily twirled it between his fingers, then without warning, he darted forward.

Virgil barely had time to brace himself before the knife was plunged into his shoulder in a perfect mirror image of where he’d stabbed Remus. His face contorted in pain and he bit down so hard on his tongue that he tasted blood, but he made no noise. 

“Come on, Virgie,” Remus cooed. “Just one little scream for me? For old time’s sake?”

He twisted the knife sharply, and at the same time the vines wrapped around Virgil’s body twisted tighter, the thorns digging even deeper into his skin. He inhaled sharply, but held back the whimper that was forming in the back of his throat. Remus tutted in disappointment, then unceremoniously ripped the knife out of Virgil’s body, and Virgil almost broke. 

“You can be as stubborn as you like, Virgil,” he sighed, examining the fresh blood that coated the blade of the knife. “I have all the time in the– What?!” 

Remus froze, then he spun around and thrust both hands upward. Lightning flashed through the sky, and with a deafening crack of thunder, rain began to pour from the dark clouds overhead. The branches that held Virgil captive suddenly loosened, and he dropped to the forest floor with a grunt. He tried to get to his feet, but the ground began to shake violently, and Virgil stumbled back onto his hands and knees. Abandoning the idea of standing, Virgil began to crawl away blindly, but he barely made it three feet before branches wrapped around his arms again, yanking him back. 

“Not so fast, slippery little shadow,” Remus said without looking back at him. “I’m not done with you yet.” 

Virgil didn’t know what had taken Remus’s attention away from him, but quite frankly, it didn’t matter to him. What mattered was that with Remus concentrating on the storm and the earthquake, he wasn’t concentrating on Virgil...or on the branches wrapped around him. 

Virgil squirmed, and while the thorns digging into the fabric of his hoodie scraped against his skin, the branches did not tighten around him. With one final twist, he pulled his arms out of his sleeves and slipped out of his hoodie, leaving it stuck to the thorns. Virgil didn’t waste time checking to see if Remus had noticed his second escape attempt, he just picked himself up and ran, disappearing into the shadows of the forest. 

--- --- --- 

“This is it,” Roman said grimly, gesturing around as the group rose up. “This is Remus’s realm...the Dark Imagination.” 

Thomas looked around. The four of them were standing on the edge of a steep ravine that overlooked a thicket of twisted thorn branches, like something out of the Lion King or Sleeping Beauty. To the west, an eerie forest spanned as far as Thomas could see, and directly ahead of them, a single, tall tower loomed over the landscape. It wasn’t difficult to picture Remus in that tower, overlooking his realm and...doing whatever it was that Remus liked to do. Dark clouds hovered overhead, and Thomas couldn’t shake off the apprehension that settled onto his shoulders like a heavy blanket. Looking around at the others, he saw his own unease reflected on their faces, and he took a deep breath.

“Well,” he said, trying to keep his voice upbeat. “I suppose it could be worse.”

As soon as he spoke, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. The clouds above them darkened and began pelting them with raindrops as thunder echoed around them. Patton’s grip on Thomas’s hand tightened at the flash, and Thomas shot him an encouraging smile. 

“Okay, so it’s storming now, but we still–whoa!” 

The ground beneath them began to shake, and Thomas stumbled forward as his feet struggled to find purchase beneath him.

“What’s happening?” Patton shouted over another clap of thunder, and Roman swore under his breath. 

“It’s Remus!” he cried, letting go of Thomas’s hand and drawing his sword. “He knows we’re here! Watch your back!” 

“Roman, no, put your sword away!” Logan called. “In an earthquake, you need to stay clear off all possible haza-AAGH!” 

“LOGAN!” Patton screamed as the ground beneath them began crumbling away, the combination of the earthquake and rainstorm causing a sudden landslide that swept everyone off their feet. Logan was yanked downward as the ground moved beneath their feet, and he began to slide down the ravine.

“Hang on!” 

Roman dove forward, moving with the momentum of the shifting earth and grasped Logan’s hand, reaching back with his other arm and driving his sword into the ground, wedging it behind a boulder that protruded from the side of the slope. 

There was a moment of stillness, and Thomas released a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

Then, the earth shifted beneath Thomas’s feet, and suddenly he was the one falling down the ravine, his feet scrambling uselessly for purchase in the mudslide. 

“Thomas! Hang on!” Patton called through gritted teeth, his grip vice-like on Thomas’s hand. For a split second they had footing, then the world shook again and the two of them pitched forward, tumbling downwards. 

“Patton! Grab hold of Logan!” Roman gasped, and Patton reached up, trying to catch Logan’s outstretched hand. 

Their hands clasped for the briefest of moments, illuminated by a flash of lightning, but their skin was slick with the rain and neither momentum nor gravity was on their side. Patton’s hand slipped out of Logan’s grip, then with a scream he and Thomas were swept away by the now massive mudslide. 

“Thomas! Patton!” Roman shouted, but it was no use. 

They were gone. 

--- --- --- 

If there was one thing Deceit took pride in, besides his impeccable fashion sense and affinity for deception-based musical puns, it was his ability to anticipate the behavior of his fellow sides. From knowing how to copy their individual mannerisms to being able to push each of their specific buttons, Deceit was deeply familiar with each part of Thomas’s mind and how they all fit together. 

In theory.

Sure, he could lay out the most perfectly crafted plans, tailored to fit each individual side. But it was difficult to feel in control when the others kept going off script, going against what they should want for themselves and throwing wrenches into his well-oiled machines. 

Though now, standing in the pouring rain across Remus’s unapologetic simper, he supposed he had nobody but himself to blame for putting so much faith in a side that was by nature unpredictable. 

“So let me get this straight,” Deceit sighed. 

“Good luck with that!” Remus chirped, and Deceit fought the urge to sic his snake on the creative side. Knowing Remus, he would probably just be turned on by the venomous attack, anyway.

“You had Virgil restrained…”

“Yup!” 

“No chance of escape at all…”

“Like a baby trapped in a hot car!” 

“But then you let him get away because Thomas and the others entered the imagination and distracted you?”

“Come on now DeeDee, no need to be so mean about it,” Remus whined, folding his arms with a pout. “What was I supposed to do, just let them romp about however they pleased until they found us?” 

Deceit bit back a groan and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Maybe if you didn’t want to be found you should have taken Virgil and run rather than let him get away in an environment where it is now possible that the others could find him?” 

“Oh, I’m sorry that my function isn’t based around careful planning and calculations like yours, Misled Zeppelin,” Remus huffed, and Deceit rolled his eyes. 

“I have never expected great design from you Remus, all I expect is the most basic competency.” 

“Yeah? I’d like to see you control the imagination well enough to simultaneously command the weather, trigger geological events, and keep control of a few thorn bushes.”

“Fine,” Deceit said, holding up a hand. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is regaining control of the situation you’ve put us in.”

Remus rubbed his hands together, a maniacal grin spreading across his face. 

“I can see the gears turning, Puppet Master, what’s the plan? Want me to track down our little Eva-nuisance?” 

“No, no, you’ve done enough damage with him already,” Deceit said, pressing his fingertips together. “You finish what you started and take care of your trespasser problem. I’ll take care of Virgil myself.”

“You want me to drive them out completely?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Deceit said with a shake of his head. “Drive them out, or distract them long enough to give me time to get to Virgil before they do, whichever is easier. Think you can manage that?” 

“Not a problem, D-Man!” Remus said, and with a wink, he was gone.  

Deceit sucked in a breath through his teeth, then turned and followed the footprints trailing through the mud and leading out of the thicket. 

“Come on, Virgil,” he muttered under his breath. “Don’t you go making this difficult on me.” 

--- --- ---

Thomas woke up, which was strange enough in and of itself, since he didn’t remember going to sleep. Even stranger was waking up flat on his back with raindrops peppering his skin. Thomas was sure that he wouldn’t have fallen asleep outside, what was going on? 

He pushed himself into a seating position, wincing as his head began almost immediately to pound in protest. He rubbed the back of his head and groaned when his fingertips found a goose-egg bump forming on the top of his skull. He must have hit his head when he and Patton fell...Patton! 

In an instant, it all came flooding back to him: the lightning, the earthquake, the landslide. He was in Remus’s realm, and they were looking for Virgil. Thomas looked around, and gasped when he saw a familiar form lying still a few feet away. 

“Patton!” He crawled over to the moral side and frantically shook his shoulder. “Patton, are you okay?” 

“Hnnngg…” Patton’s eyes drifted open, then blinked up at Thomas. “Kiddo? Thomas, is that you?”

“Yeah,” Thomas sighed in relief. “Yeah, it’s me. Are you okay?”

“I think so…” Patton sat up, then frowned, pulling his glasses off his nose. “I think the fall broke my glasses though.”

Thomas looked closer and saw that not only were the frames bent slightly out of shape, one of the lenses was cracked from top to bottom.

“Can you still see with them?” he asked, and Patton held them up to his eyes, squinting. 

“Maybe...I don’t know if they’ll even fit on my face though,” he added, running his fingers over the bend in the frame. 

A thought struck Thomas, and he held out his hand. 

“Can...can I see them?” he asked. 

Patton tilted his head curiously, but handed the broken pair anyway. Thomas took them in both hands and took a deep breath, closing his eyes. 

When we are in the mindscape, we are inside your head. This whole place is made of your thoughts. You hold the control.

“Whoa!” 

Thomas opened his eyes, and smiled when he saw the glasses sitting in his palms, completely repaired. 

“That was amazing, Thomas!” Patton exclaimed, taking the glasses and slipping them back on his face. “How did you do that?”

“I remembered something Logan said...since technically this whole place is my thoughts, my thoughts should be able to change it.” 

Patton beamed at him, and Thomas felt a rush of pride. Then his eyes flew wide as he realized something. 

“Wait, Logan! Roman! Where are they?” 

He turned, almost expecting to see the two of them behind them, just outside the thicket he and Patton had fallen into, but they were nowhere in sight. He and Patton were alone. 

“I don’t know...I tried to grab Logan’s hand, I tried to keep us together, but I couldn’t hold on, and–I tried, really, I–” Patton’s breath hitched, and he closed his eyes for a moment.  

“Patton?” Thomas asked, and Patton shook his head. 

“I...I’m sorry, Thomas.”

“Sorry? Sorry for what?” 

“For everything,” Patton said, opening his eyes that were now shining with tears. “For holding you back, for being wrong about everything, for not being able to stop you from falling, I–” A tear spilled down Patton’s cheek, and he let out a shaky breath. “I’m just...really, really sorry, Thomas.”

Thomas stared at Patton blankly, unsure of how to respond to the sudden, tearful apology. 

“I...Patton, you don’t have to apologize to me for–”

“I do though!” Patton insisted. “None of this would even be happening if it wasn’t for me, and now you’re here and Virgil’s in trouble and we don’t know where Roman and Logan are and it’s all my fault!” 

“It’s not your fault, Patton, how could you think that?” Thomas asked. “None of this has anything to do with you!”

Patton shook his head, a sad smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. 

“No, Kiddo...this whole thing has everything to do with me.”

“Patton,” Thomas said, trying to make his voice as gentle as he could. “I know we’re all scared right now, we’re all stressed, and we’re worried about Virgil...and it’s easy to let those feelings make us feel guilty about what’s out of our control. But you can’t blame yourself for any of this.” 

He offered Patton an encouraging smile, taking his hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. 

“You didn’t do this, Patton. It was the dark sides.” 

“I know,” Patton whispered. “But it’s still my fault.”

“Patton, you can’t hold yourself responsible for something the dark sides did!”

“Yes I can,” Patton said, pulling his hand out of Thomas’s grip and clutching it to his chest. “I created them.”

Chapter Text

“Thomas! Patton!”

The world around Logan seemed to move in slow motion. He heard Roman’s voice ring out over the sound of the mudslide, felt Patton’s fingers slip through his own, saw Thomas’s eyes widen and Patton’s mouth open in a scream as they fell down, down, down, swept away by the mud and rock. Another shout echoed down the cliffside, and Logan wondered whether or not it had come from himself, but there wasn’t time to dwell on it. For what seemed like forever, all Logan knew was shaking earth, sliding rock, and Roman’s grip on his hand.

After what could have been mere seconds or several more minutes, Logan didn’t know anymore, the world around them finally stilled. Roman let out a grunt above him, then shifted his grip on the hilt of his sword. Logan’s stomach jumped into his throat as the world lurched, and he reached up with his other hand to steady himself against the cliffside.

“Lo!” Roman gasped, and Logan made a noise of acknowledgement. “Can you pull yourself up?”  

“I can try,” Logan said, and thus began the long, arduous process of climbing their way to safety.

Roman helped him where he could, pointing out handholds to grab and loose places to avoid, and Logan was certain that if they ever managed to make it back to their side of the mindscape, he would be ridiculously sore afterwards. But somehow, eventually, the two found themselves lying at the top of the cliff on solid ground, panting from exertion.

“Alright, Specs?” Roman asked, and Logan nodded, taking off his glasses and wiping away the grime that had accumulated during the climb.

“Yes, I...I believe I am unscathed. And you?”

“Yeah,” Roman huffed, flashing him a small smile. “It’ll take more than a measly old mudslide to take me out.”

It was meant to be encouraging, Logan knew, but the image of Patton and Thomas falling flashed through his mind, and he grimaced.

“Lo?” Roman frowned, and Logan shook himself.

“We have removed ourselves from immediate danger.” He gave his glasses a final wipe and slipped them back on his face. “What now?”

Roman looked surprised.

“You’re asking me?”

“I did propose you take charge of our expedition while we were in the imagination, did I not?”

“Well, yeah, but that was before…” Roman trailed off, and Logan swallowed.

“Before we became separated from the others, yes, but the point still stands that you have more knowledge and control here.”

“Yeah,” Roman said bitterly. “I let our friends fall off the side of a cliff, great control I showed off there.”

“You cannot be held responsible for the actions of your brother,” Logan said, even as his chest tightened again at the memory of Patton’s fingers slipping through his own. “Besides, your hands were full with me, you are not the one who had a chance to save them and-” he inhaled sharply, and Roman’s expression softened.

“Lo, it wasn’t your fault,” he assured him, but Logan shook his head.

“If there is any blame to be placed between us, it falls on my shoulders for failing to catch them. But that isn’t important now, what’s important is what we’re going to do next.”

“Well, you’re Logic,” Roman said, raising an eyebrow. “Surely you can figure out what the best course of action would be?”

“You are Creativity,” Logan shot back. “And we are in the creative realm. Your expertise far exceeds my own.”

“I don’t know what to do, Logan!” Roman cried, as at the same time Logan quietly admitted “I do not know what to do, Roman.”

There was a beat of silence as the two stared at each other, both at a loss for words. Roman was the first to regain his composure, running a hand through his hair.

“Okay, okay,” he said, pacing back and forth. “We’ll figure something out, between the two of us we have to, right?”

“We can try,” Logan said, pushing his glasses up his nose. “We essentially have two options. Try to find Thomas and Patton first, or temporarily ignore them and search for Virgil right away.”

“Okay…” Roman said slowly. “Gotta admit, I don’t love either of those options...either one feels like we’re abandoning the other, ya know?”

Logan opened his mouth to answer, but something moving behind Roman caught his eye, and the words died in his throat.

“Roman!” he cried, rushing forward before he had time to fully process what he was doing.

He barreled into Roman, fast enough to push him out of the way of Remus’s incoming morning star, but not fast enough to remove himself from the weapon’s path. Pain exploded across the back of his head, he heard Roman shout his name, then everything went black.

Roman was grateful that, if nothing else, his reflexes in Remus’s realm were up to his usual standard. He recovered quickly from Logan’s sudden tackle, rolling backwards and drawing his sword, standing over Logan’s unconscious form and staring his twin down.

“Aw poo,” Remus said, leaning on his morning star like a walking stick. “I was hoping I’d hit you with that. Oh well, Nerdy Wolverine is just as good a target as any.”

“Don’t call him that,” Roman growled, and Remus rolled his eyes.

“Oh that’s rich, coming from you, brother dear. Since when is the Nutty Professor worth your time?”

“Logan is twice the side you’ll ever be,” Roman shot back. “So you just keep your mouth shut about things you don’t understand.”

Remus gasped in mock offense, placing a hand over his heart.

“Oh, Roman, your words wound me.”

“Enough!” Roman spat, raising his sword. “What have you done with Virgil, you twisted fiend?”

A grin spread across Remus’s face, and Roman held back a shudder at the sight.

“Done with him? You make it sound like I’ve committed some heinous act against him, all I’ve been doing is catching up with an old friend! Is that so wrong?”

“Where. Is. He?” Roman growled, and Remus shrugged.

“I dunno! Slippery little shadow ran off just when things were getting interesting, but don’t worry, DeeDee’s gonna find him and then everything’ll be peachy keen!”

Roman gripped the hilt of his sword tighter and shifted his feet.

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” he hissed, and he charged forward.

Remus squealed with glee, dodging out of the way of Roman’s sword strike and twirling around, raising his morning star up into a fighting stance. Roman rolled away from the next incoming attack and swiped at Remus’s legs, and Remus retaliated by knocking the butt of his weapon against Roman’s chest. Roman fell backwards, and just barely raised his sword in time to block another blow, wincing as the impact knocked the wind out of him. He managed to roll out from underneath his brother, kicking back as he did so hoping to gain a bit of extra time to move. What he hadn’t been expecting was for Remus to howl in pain, and he glanced back to see Remus doubled over and clutching his shoulder.

Acting quickly, Roman darted forward and slashed at Remus’s arm again, and as Remus jerked back to avoid the attack, he lost his grip on the morning star. Roman grabbed it with his free hand, then swung at Remus’s legs, causing his twin to stumble backwards. Roman planted a foot on Remus’s chest and pointed his sword at his brother’s throat.

“No more games,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “Where. Is. Virgil?”

Remus just grinned at him, eyes wide and crazed.

“It doesn’t matter if you find him or not. He’s never going back with you.”

And with a wink, he vanished, dissolving into a thick, foul-smelling black mist before Roman’s eyes.

“Remus!” he shouted, but it was no use. His brother was gone.

“Ugh-what? Why...who’s shouting?” a slurred voice from behind him asked, and Roman whirled around to see Logan sitting up, rubbing the back of his head.

“Logan!” Roman cried, rushing to his friend’s side and helping him up. “Are you alright?”

“I...I believe so,” Logan grumbled. “What...what happened, exactly?”

“You tried to be a damn hero, that’s what happened,” Roman said, shocked to find himself blinking back tears. Before he could stop himself, he pulled Logan forward into a tight hug.

“Don’t scare me like that, you nerd,” he mumbled into Logan’s shoulder.

“No promises,” Logan muttered back, and Roman pulled away with a smile.

The expression didn’t last long, as Roman’s mind drifted to what his brother had said.

“Roman?” Logan asked. “What is it, what’s wrong?”

“I think…” Roman ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. “We need to find Thomas and Patton as soon as we can. Virgil isn’t here.”

“He isn’t? But I thought that...you know who, I thought that they said-“

“They said he was with Remus, I know. And I think he was. But Remus said that he got away, and that Deceit was going to find him.”

Logan’s eyes widened.

“He got away? When? How?”

“I don’t know, my brother wasn’t exactly forthcoming with answers.” Roman huffed, and brushed his bangs away from his forehead. “He was too busy trying to kill me. But what he said about Deceit...I don’t like it, Lo. I think at this point if we’re going to find Virgil…” he trailed off, and Logan finished his thought with a grim expression.

“We’ll have to confront Deceit.”

“Hold on a minute.”

The pouring rain, gnarly trees, and wicked looking thorn bushes all faded to the back of Thomas’s mind as he stared at Patton, trying to wrap his head around what was going on.

“What do you mean you created them?”

“Exactly what I said,” Patton said miserably. “I created them. It’s my fault you have dark sides.”

“I...okay, I’m lost,” Thomas admitted. “How could you create a side?”

“It...well, I didn’t create them in the same way that like, Roman creates things in his realm,” Patton said. “But when you were younger, you did have fewer sides than you do now. You started out with just a few, simple ones, and more developed as you grew and developed.”

“That makes sense,” Thomas said, nodding along carefully.

“Well,” Patton said with a sigh. “As I grew into my role as Morality, my main concern was, and still is, really, making sure you were living a good and happy life. And as you grew and more sides came to be, I tried to sort of...corral them into doing the same.”

Patton’s hands fidgeted in his lap as he spoke, and he gave Thomas a sad smile.

“We all wanted what was best for you. But I learned pretty quick that we all had different ideas about what that actually looked like. Deceit and I, we argued so much back then.” Patton shook his head. “He said I was too strict, I said he was going to get you hurt...but everything really fell apart the day the twins were born.”

“Roman and Remus?” Thomas asked, and Patton nodded.

“Before then we didn’t even have names, we just went by our traits. But when Creativity was all of a sudden two creativities, it got a little confusing. They came up with their own names not too long after they were first split.”

“How did they split, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“It was my fault,” Patton said, tears pooling in his eyes. “The Old Creativity...he was all over the place. I tried to guide him as best I could, praising what I thought was ‘good,’ scolding what I thought wasn’t.” Patton shook his head. “I was so young then...I mean, we all were, but at that point, I hadn’t really learned to see in shades of gray. By the time I did, it was already far too late. And then one day we woke up and instead of the one Creativity we were used to, there were two instead.”  

“Just like that?” Thomas asked, and Patton nodded. “Did they ever get along, or were they always…” Thomas trailed off, unsure of how to phrase his question, but Patton seemed to know what he meant.

“I don’t think they hated each other immediately, but they did bicker nearly right from the start. When we asked them who they were, they would both say ‘Creativity!’ at the same time, and then they argued about who the ‘right’ Creativity was. It was Logan…or, Logic, I guess, who suggested they give themselves names to keep better track of themselves. They did...and then they asked us what our names were. I think Logan came up with his on the spot, I mean, it’s pretty similar to his trait name and it gets right to the point and fits him well, so that wouldn’t surprise me, but I was so taken aback at the time, I had no idea how to answer. I told them they could call me Dad, but I never stopped thinking about what I thought my name should be, and-“

“Patton?” Thomas interrupted with a raise of his hand, and Patton smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry, Kiddo. That was just a really crazy day, hard to keep my memory focused when I think back on it…”

“You said that’s when things fell apart?”

“Yeah...they did,” Patton said, the smile slipping from his face. “It was a complete disaster. Logan suggested that the twins try and create something, and right away it was obvious that even though they looked the same, they were very different sides. Roman’s creations resembled everything I praised in the old Creativity, and Remus’s everything I reprimanded. It didn’t take long for the rest of us to see what had happened.”

Patton closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around himself.

“I remember Deceit was so angry. Shouting that I was going to destroy us all one by one. And...well, I’m not proud of it, but I do represent all of your emotions. And that was a very, um, emotionally charged time for you. So I was having trouble reigning in all my feelings.”

“You two fought?” Thomas guessed, and Patton nodded, shrinking in on himself.

“I don’t remember everything we said...but it ended with Deceit grabbing Remus by the arm and shouting that he wasn’t going to stick around to watch every side get twisted up in the same way.” He sighed, wiping at his eyes. “Deceit left that day, took Remus and...some others with him.”

“Virgil?” Thomas guessed, and Patton seemed to shrink even further.

“Yes...Virgil went with them. He was just Anxiety then… he was so scared all the time, and of absolutely everything, no matter what I or Logan said to try and help calm him. I tried to ask him to stay with us, but…”

“He was afraid of you?” Thomas asked. He couldn’t imagine being afraid of Patton, not in a million years.

“I...I don’t know,” Patton admitted. “Deceit made it sound like any side that had both good and bad in them could be split like Roman and Remus were, and I think that is what really scared Virgil far more than anything else, even more than the thought of going with Deceit.”

“So...that day is when the others became...The Others?” Thomas asked.

“That’s when Deceit started hiding them, yeah. You didn’t really know us as sides yet, and by the time we started making ourselves known like that, Deceit was strong enough to hide the knowledge of all the others from you.” Patton looked away, his fingers tightening their grip on his arms. “All because of me.”

“I...it doesn’t sound like it was all you, it sounds like it was a lot of things all combining together into one messy-“

“But I started it,” Patton insisted. “I drove Deceit away, I didn’t argue when the others fell into the shadows. I let myself believe the lie that if we couldn’t see them working, we didn’t have to acknowledge them at all, and it was wrong, I…I was wrong.” He shook his head bitterly, before glancing up at Thomas with a dry smile. “Some morality I turned out to be, huh?”

Thomas swallowed, unsure of what to say. He wouldn’t lie and say that Patton had done absolutely nothing wrong...he wasn’t sure the moral side would believe him anyway. But on the other hand, Patton looked so miserable, it was hard to harbor any resentment for mistakes that had been made years ago, before any of them were grown enough to know better.

“Patton...it’s okay,” he eventually said, and Patton immediately shook his head.

“No, kiddo, it isn’t. You don't have to pretend that-”

“I know,” Thomas interjected. “I’m not pretending, or...or ignoring or repressing or anything, what I’m saying is…” he met Patton’s eyes, and smiled. “I don’t care about any of that.”

“But, I was wrong, and-”

“And I forgive you,” Thomas said gently. “Because what you may have done in the past doesn’t matter as much as the steps you’re taking to be better now. And because I know you’d do the same for me.”

Patton’s eyes filled with tears, and he started to lean towards Thomas but he paused, an unspoken question in his eyes. Thomas opened his arms in response, and Patton fell into them immediately. The sky overhead was just as cold and dark as when they’d first entered the imagination, but warmth still blossomed in Thomas’s chest as he tightened his arms around Patton.

“We’ll be okay,” he murmured, and Patton nodded against his shoulder.

“I know we will,” he whispered. He let out a half-hearted chuckle, givingThomas one last squeeze before pulling back. “But you can’t blame your old dad for worrying.”

“Well, we did say that the worry was probably a good sign, right?” Thomas pointed out. “Means Virgil’s probably okay.”

“I hope so,” Patton said.

An eerie howl echoed through the forest, rising in pitch as an ominous wind rustled the trees overhead, and Patton shivered.

“I really hope so.”

Chapter Text

Virgil couldn’t tell how long he’d been running for. Every breath came in a short, ragged gasp, and his heart thundered against his ribcage so fiercely he thought it might burst, but he pushed ahead. Thorns and branches whipped past his face, adding to the numerous other cuts and bruises that littered his frame, but he barely felt their sting; everything was drowned by the rush of adrenaline flowing through his system. 

Suddenly, his foot snagged on something in the undergrowth, and the ground came rushing up to meet him. He cried out as the impact sent pain shooting up his injured shoulder and he rolled onto his side, clutching the wound with his other hand. He glanced behind him, expecting to see Remus right on his tail, but to his surprise, the thicket was eerily empty. He strained his ears, but the only sound was the steady pitter patter of raindrops against the muddied ground. 

Virgil let out a shaky breath and finally allowed himself a moment’s pause, dragging himself up to a tree to sit with his back propped up against the trunk. Water dripped from his bangs into his eyes as he wrapped his arms around himself, trying to stave off the cold. He was really missing his hoodie right about now, but there was little he could do about that, so he resigned himself to sit in a huddle of damp misery.  

“You had to go and make it rain, didn’t you Remus?” he muttered to himself. 

He really ought to get up soon, no doubt this slight reprieve from Remus’s torment wouldn’t last very long, but even the thought of moving made him want to curl up tight into a ball and disappear forever. Every inch of him ached, and as the adrenaline rush slowly faded away, he wasn’t even sure if he could keep running. What was the point of it, anyway? Remus would catch him eventually; it was his imagination, after all. He was never going to get out of here. 

Virgil’s breath hitched in his chest as the thought hit him. Oh god, what if he never got out of here? It didn’t really matter if Remus found him now or later, or what would happen to him once he was caught, the bottom line was that he’d never be able to get away. He’d be stuck here forever, never make it back to his own room, never see the others-

Virgil swallowed a sudden lump in his throat. What he wouldn’t give for one more day spent with the others. He wanted to bake cookies with Patton and banter about Disney movies with Roman and fall asleep listening to Logan read about the stars. But even if he did manage to make it out of here...what were the chances that he’d be welcomed back into their family with open arms? 

Thomas knew what he was now. There was no way he could ever go back It didn’t matter that they knew Anxiety to be necessary; necessary wasn’t the same thing as wanted. He’d be trapped on this side of the mind forever, perpetually dodging the other dark sides and trying to keep Thomas safe all on his own, just like it had been before he’d ever dared to try and survive in the light. 

Virgil wrapped his arms tighter around himself and shivered. As foolish as it had been to ever hope he’d get to stay with them, he did wish he’d at least gotten to say goodbye before he left.

“Goodbye,” he whispered, even though there was nobody around to hear him but the trees and the thorns. He closed his eyes, and felt a drop slide down his cheek that was definitely not from the rain. “I’m sorry.” 

Thomas decided that he did not like the imagination. 

Or at least, not the part of it that Remus controlled. He and Patton had been walking through the woods for what seemed like ages now, and it felt like they still hadn’t really gotten anywhere. Each gnarly tree looked both familiar and distinct, and thorns as long as his palm poked out from vines that twisted around the forest, in some cases barring their way completely. Thomas was half convinced that they’d been going around in circles, when something caught his eye. 

“What’s that on the ground there?” 

He pointed to a patch of mud that looked as though it’d been disturbed recently, and he and Patton leaned in closer to study the ground. 

“Are those-” Thomas began, and Patton nodded eagerly.

“Footprints! Someone came through here earlier!” 

“Two someones,” Thomas corrected as he knelt to get a closer look. “There’s two different shapes here; one is smoother and the other has treads like a sneaker.” 

“Like Virgil’s sneakers!” Patton exclaimed, and Thomas shrugged, getting to his feet. 

“I can’t say for sure, but it seems likely.” 

“We have to follow them!” Patton said immediately. 

“I agree...but what if instead of Virgil, we find Remus...or whoever the second set of prints belongs to?” Thomas asked. He couldn’t tell for sure which side it was, but any side that was stalking Virgil through a cursed forest wasn’t one he was thrilled about confronting. 

“Well…” Patton bit his lip, then he brightened a bit. “You were able to fix my glasses, remember? It’s like Logan said, you have power in your own mind. So you should be able to beat them! You just have to believe that you’re the strongest one here!”  

“I hope you’re right,” Thomas said, and Patton gave him a smile that had just a hint of tightness around the edges. 

“I know I am!” he said, and the two of them began following the footsteps through the woods. 

For awhile, nothing changed. The thicket of branches was as impenetrable as ever, and if it weren’t for the trail they now had to follow, Thomas might still think they were walking in circles. And who knew, maybe they were. What proof did they have that Virgil and whoever had been following him hadn’t gone around in circles themselves? And now Thomas and Patton were just blindly following them in an endless loop, doomed to wander in this cursed forest forever and ever- 

A sudden gasp pulled Thomas out of his spiraling thoughts, and he looked up to see Patton standing frozen still, staring at something ahead of them. 

“Wha-” 

Patton darted forward, stopping just short of a mass of twisted branches. 

“Patton, what are you-” the words died in Thomas’s throat as his eyes fell on what Patton was looking at. 

Tangled up in the bunch of thorns was an unmistakable lump of black and purple plaid. 

“Oh,” was all he managed to say, and Patton let out a little whimper. 

Thomas wished he could soothe him somehow, but he couldn’t think of anything comforting to say, and instead reached through the branches to pull the hoodie out. It didn’t come easily, several thorns had snagged themselves deep into the fabric, but eventually Thomas managed to retrieve it with only a few minor pricks to his fingers. 

The garment was soaked through with rain and hung limp from Thomas’s hands like a ragdoll. He could count on one hand the number of times he’d seen Virgil without his hoodie, and holding it like this now felt wrong somehow, as though he were violating something sacred.

“Virgil would never just leave his hoodie,” Patton said quietly, giving words to what Thomas was thinking. “Not unless…” he trailed off, unable or unwilling to finish the train of thought, and Thomas nodded grimly. 

“Look around, the trail has to continue somewhere,” he instructed, and after a moment of searching, Patton let out a little cry of triumph. 

“Here! Right where we found the hoodie, look!” 

Thomas leaned over and saw another trail of footprints in the mud leading away from the thicket and deeper into the forest. 

“Nice catch,” Thomas said, patting Patton’s shoulder. “Let’s try and-”

“Thomas!” a voice rang through the air, nearly startling Thomas out of his skin.

He whirled around, shoulders tensing up, but relaxed as he recognized the figures hurrying towards him. 

“Logan! Roman!” Patton cried, voice filled with relief. 

Roman and Logan were jogging toward them, Roman with his sword drawn. His white prince’s outfit was smeared all over with mud and his hair was a ruffled mess, and running beside him, Logan didn’t appear to be in much better shape. 

“Thomas, Patton, thank Disney we- oof!” Roman grunted as Patton nearly knocked him over with the force of his hug. 

“Thank goodness you’re alright!” Patton exclaimed before letting go and turning to Logan, catching the logical side in an equally fierce hug. “You are alright, aren’t you? Are you hurt?” 

“I-I feel it’d be more prudent to ask you that,” Logan spluttered in surprise. “You two are the ones who fell down the ravine, are you certain that you have no injuries of your own?” 

“We’re fine, Logan,” Thomas reassured, and he saw Logan’s shoulders relax a notch. 

“I am glad to hear it,” Logan said as Patton released him. 

“How did you find us?” Thomas asked, and Logan gestured to the mud around them. 

“Once we managed to get down the ravine ourselves, we simply followed your footprints.” 

“It’s a good thing it was raining after all,” Patton said. “We were doing the same thing, and we found…” he trailed off as he turned back to Thomas, his face falling. 

“Is that…” Roman took a step forward, staring at what was in Thomas’s hands, and Thomas nodded, holding up the hoodie. 

“We found it in one of the thorn bushes,” he said, and Roman’s face darkened. 

“Any sign of Deceit?” Logan asked, and Thomas frowned. 

“Deceit? No, why?”

“We met Remus,” Roman growled, and Patton inhaled sharply. “He said that Virgil got away from him.”

“He also seems to have confirmed our theory that Deceit is primarily to blame for Virgil’s disappearance,” Logan said. “As he stated that Deceit was going to find Virgil.”

“And by the looks of things, he was telling the truth about the first part,” Roman said, gesturing to the hoodie. “Which means-” 

“Deceit might have Virgil already,” Thomas finished, and Roman nodded, grimacing. 

“But what if he doesn’t!” Patton said. “What if he’s still here somewhere? We found a trail here, see?” He pointed to the footprints leading out of the thicket, and Logan winced. 

“I assume that Deceit had a significant head start over us, considering the amount of time it took Roman and I to catch up to the two of you. And this trail is not exactly well hidden. It’s likely that he was able to find and follow it already. Look, you can even see that two sets of feet made these prints,” he added, bending down to look at them. 

“There were two sets of prints before, too,” Patton argued. “One might be Remus’s, maybe it’s further down the track that Virgil got away.”

“Or maybe Deceit has already found him and he’s completely gone from the imagination!” Logan countered

“I think Patton’s right,” Roman piped up. “We should at least follow these and see where they go. There’s still a chance we could make it to our stormcloud first.” 

“You’re the one who suggested that the only way to find him now was to go straight to Deceit,” Logan pointed out, and Roman ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. 

“I know, but that was before there were prints to follow...and what if Deceit told Remus to say what he did to us? I can just picture that snake somehow tricking us into leaving the imagination while Virgil’s still here somewhere, giving him all the time in the world to find him while we go wandering around the rest of the mindscape.” 

“Guys, debating isn’t going to help Virgil now,” Thomas interjected, holding up his hand. 

“That is true, I apologize,” Logan said with a sigh. “I am merely concerned that if we do the wrong thing, we may find ourselves in an even worse situation than we are now.”

“No, Logan, I’m sorry,” Patton said. “I didn’t mean to argue, I just-”

“We’re all on edge,” Thomas said gently. “It’s okay. Just...let’s try and work together, alright?”

“Well, I believe the final decision should fall to you then,” Logan said, straightening his glasses. 

“I think…” Thomas looked around at his sides, then down at the hoodie in his hands. “I think we have to follow the trail. Just to be certain.”

“Very well,” Logan said, turning to Roman. “I believe that once again, you should lead the way.” 

Roman nodded and raised his sword. 

“Keep your guard up,” he instructed before forging ahead through the thicket. 

Thomas quickly tied the hoodie around his waist before following Roman down the trail. 

We’re close now, Virgil, he thought. Just hang in there. 

A twig snapped and Virgil’s head shot up, his senses suddenly on high alert. He strained his ears, and his heart started beating faster as he heard the tell tale sound of footsteps squelching through the mud, getting louder as they came closer and closer to his meager hiding place. His first instinct was to scramble to his feet and run again, but once more that nagging voice in the back of his mind spoke up. 

What’s the point of running? There’s nowhere to go. May as well let him catch you. 

Virgil slumped over and buried his face in his arms, waiting for Remus’s shout of glee to ring in his ears. 

Instead, the footsteps grew closer, and a surprisingly gentle voice spoke. 

“Virgil? Oh, my poor little shadow, what happened to you?” 

Virgil lifted his head up in confusion and saw a familiar face peering down at him, concern written all over his features. 

“My goodness, just look at you, you’re shaking...come here.” 

Deceit took him by the arm and pulled him to his feet, wrapping one arm around his shoulders. 

“Let’s get you out of the rain.”

In the blink of an eye, the forest was gone, replaced by a dimly lit room that registered as familiar in the back of Virgil’s mind. Part of him urged him to move, to try and twist out of Deceit’s grip and do...something, Virgil wasn’t honestly sure what. But as Deceit eased him onto a soft surface and brushed his wet hair out of his face, he found that part of him very hard to pay attention to. 

“Poor thing, you’re absolutely soaked. Here.”

Deceit snapped his fingers and Virgil’s wet clothes vanished, soft sweatpants and a black tank top taking their place. With another snap of his fingers, a first aid kit appeared in his hands, and he sat down beside Virgil.

“I’m so sorry about all this,” he murmured as he began to dab at Virgil’s cuts with neosporin. “I should have known Remus was too excited about you being home to be left unsupervised around you. I promise, that won’t happen again, alright?”

Virgil opened his mouth to answer, then gasped in pain as Deceit reached the stab wound on his shoulder. 

“Shhh...I know, little shadow,” Deceit soothed as he worked to clean and dress the wound. “I know it hurts, but I have to do this. We don’t want this getting infected, now, do we? Just hold still, it’ll be over soon.”  

Virgil bit his lip, looking around the room. There was still a tiny part of him that was itching to run, but the air seemed to press in around him, wrapping him in a soft, hazy fog and soothing his worries. 

“There, all done!” Deceit said, smiling sweetly at him. “How do you feel now?” 

Virgil shrugged, rubbing his bare arms absently, and Deceit clicked his tongue. 

“Of course, I should have realized, you’re cold. Here, I have something for you.”

He slipped off the bed and ducked his head down, emerging a moment later with something black and lumpy in his arms. 

“I saved this in case you ever decided to come home again,” he said, unfurling a familiar old hoodie with a smile, then draped it across Virgil’s shoulders.

“There, is that better?”

“I…” Virgil frowned. Something was wrong, he knew something was wrong, but the weight of the hoodie settling over his shoulders and the warmth that was finally seeping into his skin and chasing away the cold cradled his mind like a blanket, and he felt his eyelids beginning to droop.

“Tired, little shadow?” Deceit asked, and Virgil nodded mutely. “Here then.” 

He pressed Virgil down until he was lying on his back, his head sinking into a soft pillow. 

“Go ahead and sleep,” Deceit said, his voice almost a whisper. “You don’t have to worry, nothing will get to you while you’re here.”

Virgil’s eyes fluttered shut, and Deceit’s words echoed in his mind as he slowly drifted off. 

“You’re safe now.” 

Chapter Text

Any hope that Thomas had that they would find Virgil easily vanished the moment the trail of footprints disappeared. 

“Song of a siren!” Roman growled, looking around the forest helplessly. 

“What is it?” Logan called up from the back of the line, and Roman gestured to the ground. 

“The footprints disappear into this mud puddle, and then don’t reappear anywhere beyond it! I don’t know where they went from here!” 

“Let me see?” 

Logan pushed forward, peering down at the ground intently, and Thomas found it wasn’t hard to imagine a deerstalker on his head and a magnifying glass in his hand. 

“It does appear that- what’s this?” 

Thomas blinked, and realized that the accessories were no longer imaginary- Logan was actually wearing them. 

“Roman, what did you do?” Logan immediately accused, but Roman lifted his hands. 

“Hey, don’t look at me! This is my brother’s realm, not mine. My summoning abilities are dampened here.”

“I think it was me,” Thomas admitted. “I was just thinking...you looked like Sherlock Holmes, investigating the puddle like that. I guess the imagination took the thought literally.”

“Your control over the mindscape is increasing,” Logan mused. “I think the longer you spend here, the easier you will find it to influence the environment. Can you try to vanish the objects away again?” 

Thomas concentrated, and after a moment the hat and magnifying glass disappeared. 

“Great work, Thomas!” Patton cheered. 

“Logan, look!” Roman suddenly called, and the others all turned to him. 

Logan hurried to where Roman was standing off to the side and knelt down to look. 

“The second pair of footprints...they stepped off to the side here before they disappeared,” Roman explained when he saw Thomas and Patton’s questioning looks. 

“Maybe they went deeper into the thicket?” Patton suggested.

“No, look here,” Logan said, waving at the puddle absently as he got to his feet.

“Uh, Specs, what may be obvious to you and your big logical brain isn’t that apparent to the rest of us,” Roman said. “Explain, now.” 

“It’s not a puddle, see?” Logan insisted. “It’s an imprint.” 

“Huh?” said Roman, but Patton made a noise of understanding. 

“Oh, I see what you mean!” 

Patton pushed Virgil’s hoodie into Thomas’s hands then lowered himself to the ground, nestling into the puddle perfectly and looking up at the others.

“Our bodies fit perfectly into it, it’s our exact size!”

“Yes, precisely Patton!” Logan said, and Patton beamed. 

“Here, let me help you up Padre,” Roman offered, holding out a hand and helping to pull Patton to his feet. 

“Thanks Roman!” Patton said. “Oh goodness, I got a little soaked there,” he added, looking down at his outfit, which was now covered in mud.  

Thomas tilted his head thoughtfully, then concentrated on Patton’s clothes being soft and warm again, snapping his fingers when he had it pictured perfectly. 

“Whoa!” Patton cried as the mud vanished from his clothing. “Thomas, that was amazing!”

“Indeed, it is impressive how much your control over the mindscape has improved in such a short time,” Logan said eagerly, his eyes bright. 

“Hold on!” Roman exclaimed. “I’m confused. So the puddle is the size of one of us? What does that mean?” 

“It’s from somebody falling in the mud earlier,” Patton explained, and Logan nodded.

“The first person, presumably Virgil, tripped and fell before crawling away, but the second person followed them, before they both vanished without a trace. The rain has destroyed the integrity of the scene somewhat, but I am certain that’s what happened,” he said, adjusting his glasses with a final flourish. 

“So it’s not that we lost track of their trail,” Thomas said. “It’s that the trail is truly gone.”

“They sunk out,” Patton whispered. “Which means-” 

“That we have to leave now!” Roman cut in. “I’m not about to sit around and wait for a second ambush from Remus.”

“I agree,” Logan said, wincing at the thought. “Thomas?” 

“Yeah,” Thomas nodded. “Yeah, let’s do it. Where am I taking us exactly?”

“Let’s not make it complicated,” Logan suggested. “Back to the commons in the darkscape. We can decide what we’re going to do from there.” 

Thomas took a deep breath, then tied Virgil’s hoodie around his waist and held out his hands. Patton took one immediately, then grabbed Logan with his other hand. Roman took Thomas’s hand as Logan took his, and in a blink of an eye, the four of them were gone.

. 

Thomas couldn’t stop himself from letting out a sigh of relief when they rose up in the dark sides’ commons. He plopped down on the couch, unable to bring himself to care about the stains that had so turned his stomach the first time he’d seen them. 

“You okay, Kiddo?” Patton asked, and Thomas nodded. 

“Just...glad to be out of there, is all. Everything seems...clearer in here, I dunno.” 

“Yes; even though it is in the hidden portion of your brain, these commons still serve as a neutral space. No one side has any significant power here over any other, and thus it is as safe as it is possible to be in this part of your mindscape,” Logan said. 

“Out of the frying pan and into the fire though, I’m afraid,” Roman said grimly, fiddling with the hilt of his sword. 

“Yes, our respite is to be very brief...we must make our way to Deceit’s room,” Logan agreed. 

“What...what is his room like?” Thomas asked, and the sides exchanged glances. 

“We...don’t exactly know, Kiddo,” Patton admitted. 

“Wait, really?” 

“It’s not as if we get along with Captain Crook,” Roman pointed out. “Why would we go to his room on purpose?” 

“I do have a few hypotheses,” Logan chimed in. “But we have no way of knowing if they are correct until we actually go.”

“Well...maybe you could share a few of those hypotheses?” Thomas offered. 

“While I am usually thrilled to hear you express interest in my ideas, I don’t think that now is the best time,” Logan said. “We already wasted far too much time in Remus’s realm; it would be ill advised to delay our search any longer.” 

“Being better prepared for what we may have to face could give us an advantage against Deceit though,” Roman argued. 

Logan opened his mouth to answer, but Patton spoke up first. 

“Roman, Logan’s right,” he said firmly. “We can’t waste anymore time bickering amongst ourselves! We need to just face whatever it is head on. Okay?” 

Logan nodded immediately, and after a moment, Roman did as well. 

“Alright then,” Logan said, turning back to Thomas. “You recall how to get to one of our rooms, correct?” 

“Focus on the things that you embody,” Thomas said. “Things that make me anxious for Virgil, things that make me happy, or I guess any kind of emotional, for Patton.” 

“Precisely,” Logan said. “It will be the same for Deceit. We will begin walking, and as we do, take your thoughts to the lies that you commonly tell yourself or others, and the door to his room should appear.” 

Thomas bit his lip and glanced over at Patton, who offered him a shaky smile. 

“I know, Kiddo. It’s not gonna be fun for either of us, I know.. But it’ll be okay, I promise. You can do this. ” 

Thomas nodded, and half smiled, half grimaced back. 

“Yeah...yeah, I can do this,” he repeated. “Ready everyone?” 

“We are if you are, Thomas!” Roman said, clapping him on the shoulder, and Thomas let out a nervous laugh. 

“So how ready is that really?” he asked, looking down with a small sigh. 

“You can do this, Thomas,” Logan said, his voice uncharacteristically soft. “It may be difficult, but it is a difficulty you can overcome. If not for your own sake, then for Virgil’s.” 

“Right…” Thomas fingered the sleeve of Virgil’s hoodie, still wrapped around his waist, then nodded firmly, looking up at the others. “Let’s go then.” 

--- --- --- 

Virgil crept quietly down a long, dark hallway, glancing behind him every minute or so. He couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him, following him, but every look revealed nothing but the empty hall behind him, so he tried to put the thoughts out of his mind. 

There were no sounds besides the creak of the floorboards beneath his feet and his own breathing, and the further he went, the more uneasy he became. Still, he forced himself to keep moving...one foot in front of the other towards the pinprick of light at the end of the hall. Nothing else mattered besides reaching that light; once he got there everything would be okay again. 

Easier said than done, unfortunately. No matter how long he walked for, it felt as though the light never got any closer, and Virgil began to lose hope that he would ever make it. What if he was stuck wandering down this hall forever, with no end in sight, but unable to go back? Should he just turn and go back now while he still had the chance? Ahead only lay uncertainty, but going back meant safety, security. He should go back. 

“Shut up!” Virgil growled, whirling around with a glare, but the hallway was as empty as ever. 

Virgil sighed, rubbing his temples with the tips of his fingers. He just had to focus. Block out the voices in his head and keep moving forward, no matter what. He turned, took another step, and found himself in front of a door. 

A tiny pinprick of light shone out from the keyhole, and Virgil glanced around before pulling a large skeleton key out of his pocket. Holding his breath, he slotted it into the keyhole and turned it sideways until it clicked, and the door swung open. 

Dazzlingly bright light shone through the doorway, and Virgil squeezed his eyes shut on instinct, turning his head away. He raised a hand to shield his eyes, but something caught hold of his wrist and his eyes flew open with a gasp. 

“What are you doing here?” Roman growled.

“What do you think?” Virgil hissed, wrenching his wrist out of Roman’s grip. “I’m trying to get back!” 

He made a move to step forward, but Roman drew his sword with one smooth motion, aiming the tip at Virgil’s throat. 

“Roman?” Virgil asked, looking up at the creative side. “C’mon man, this...this isn’t funny-”

“Thomas doesn’t want you back,” Roman growled. “You don’t belong here, Anxiety.” 

“I...Thomas needs me-” Virgil stammered, but then Logan stepped out from behind Roman, his mouth a grin line and his eyes hard. 

“What Thomas needs is for you to go back to where you came from,” he said coolly. “And cease your attempts at crossing back into the light.” 

“But I-” 

“This side of the mindscape is for good sides, Kiddo,” Patton said gently, stepping around Roman’s other side. “And Thomas has decided that you fit in better with the Others.” 

“No, wait!” Virgil cried, but Roman was shoving him forward, back through the door and slamming it shut and then he was falling, falling, falling back down into never ending darkness, the tiny prick of light getting farther and farther away- 

Virgil woke up with a start, shooting upright in bed and gasping for air. 

“Whoa, whoa, easy there, little shadow!” 

Deceit’s hands were on him in an instant, one to gently push him back down against the bed and one to run softly through his hair. The touch grounded him, and Virgil blinked, trying to focus on the things that proved the nightmare was over. The soft, dim light of Deceit’s room, the pillow beneath his head, the blanket tangled around his legs. 

“That’s better,” Deceit crooned as Virgil’s breathing slowed down. “Did you have a nightmare?” 

Virgil nodded, and Deceit hummed sympathetically. 

“Tell me about it?” he said. 

Virgil groaned, trying to bury his face in his pillow, but Deceit just chuckled and placed his fingers under Virgil’s chin, tilting his head back to face him. 

“Tell me about it, it will help,” he said, and Virgil sighed. He made to sit up again and Deceit let him, keeping one guiding hand on his shoulder the entire time. 

“I…I was walking down a hallway,” Virgil began, and he proceeded to recount the entire dream. 

Deceit listened intently, humming sympathetically at all the right parts and squeezing Virgil’s hand whenever he faltered. 

“I’m so sorry, little shadow,” he murmured when Virgil had finished. “I didn’t mean for this to happen, but sometimes it’s so difficult to control…”

“What are you talking about?” Virgil asked, and Deceit gave him an apologetic smile. 

“My room, it can be a bit much sometimes,” he explained. “It has the tendency to show the raw, unfiltered truth; the truth that we’re sometimes better off not knowing. Why do you think I hide this place from Thomas and the other sides? The mind isn’t always ready to face such harsh realities. I had hoped that if I stayed by your side while you slept then you might be spared that pain, but it seems that I was wrong.” 

Virgil bit his lip, and fiddled with the edge of the blanket draped over his lap. 

“But...that dream wasn’t the truth.”

“Oh?” Deceit asked, raising an eyebrow. “Why not?” 

“Because! Because…” Virgil frowned, and Deceit sighed. 

“It’s difficult to accept the truth sometimes,” he said. “It’s so often not what we want to hear. It hurts to hear. And none of us like to be hurt. I don’t like Thomas to be hurt either, which is why there’s so much I keep from him. But when you do eventually face the truth, you can’t go back. There is no way to undo what you’ve learned; you have no choice but to accept it.” 

“R-roman wouldn’t do that to me,” Virgil insisted, a hint of desperation in his voice. “He- he wouldn’t threaten me with his sword, and Patton wouldn’t just kick me out without even letting me-” 

“It was still a dream, little shadow,” Deceit said, smiling sweetly at him. “It wasn’t completely literal. And you are still Anxiety. Some elements were probably enhanced by your own tendency toward cognitive distortions. But the core of what you saw? That is still the truth.”

Virgil was silent for a moment, then looked up with a frown. 

“Why should I believe a word you’re saying to me? You’re Deceit! You kidnapped me!” 

“I hide the truth from Thomas to keep him from being hurt,” Deceit said, a little sharply. “A task that many seem to find unsavory. Is it so hard to believe that I would do something unsavory to protect you?” 

“I don’t need protecting,” Virgil argued, and Deceit shook his head. 

“If anything, the way you’re reacting to all of this only makes me more convinced that I did the right thing in taking you when I did. Hearing it from me is bad enough; I don’t even want to think of how you might have reacted if you’d had to hear this all from Thomas.” 

“Thomas knows he needs me!” Virgil insisted a tad hysterically, and Deceit just patted his arm. 

“He does,” he agreed. “And deep down, he knows he needs me too, that he needs all of us. And we know that we are needed, which is far more important. But needed and wanted are not the same thing, little shadow, and it’s time for you to stop lying to yourself about which side you belong on.” 

“I...I don’t know if I can,” Virgil admitted, and Deceit drew him closer, wrapping his arms around him. 

“I know, I know it’s hard, little shadow,” he murmured. “I wish that I could make it easier…” Deceit trailed off, his voice thoughtful, and Virgil pulled back to look up at him. 

“What?”

“Perhaps...perhaps there is a way to help you,” he said slowly. “But I’ll warn you, you may not like it. In fact, I know that you won’t, but it will be the only way for you to finally come to terms with the truth.” 

“What is it?” Virgil asked warily. 

“Just a form of exposure therapy, that’s all,” Deceit said. “You won’t even have to leave this room to do it. However, we will need Remus’s help.” 

Virgil leaned away on instinct, but Deceit shook his head, taking Virgil’s hand.

“It won’t be like before...besides, you know he didn’t mean to hurt you. He’s just...well, Remus. But I’ll be with you the whole time; I’ll keep you safe and make sure he doesn’t go off script. Okay?” 

“I...I don’t know…”

“I believe you can do this, Virgil,” Deceit said earnestly, smiling when Virgil met his eyes. “Try it, at the very least.”

Virgil hesitated a moment longer, then slowly nodded. 

“I’ll...try it.” 

“Good for you!” Deceit praised. “Let me talk to Remus for just a moment to fill him in, and then we’ll get started.”

“Whatever,” Virgil shrugged, picking at the edges of his sleeves.

“Excellent! Remus!” Deceit called, summoning the creative side with a dramatic flourish. 

“Ah, there you are, Virgey!” Remus said after rising up, a wide grin on his face, and Virgil glared at him. Deceit ignored both of them and rose to his feet, taking Remus by the elbow and leading him to the opposite corner of the room, speaking in hushed tones that Virgil couldn’t make out. 

“Oh, you’re deliciously clever, Captain Crook! Count me in!” Remus exclaimed suddenly, and after winking at Virgil, he sunk out again as quickly as he’d come. 

“What is he doing?” Virgil asked, narrowing his eyes, but Deceit waved his hand dismissively. 

“He has to make some preparations outside the room so that this will work; he’ll be back in just a moment. Are you ready?” 

“As I’ll ever be,” Virgil sighed. 

“Aw, chin up, little shadow,” Deceit said with a smile. “This is going to be just what you need, I promise.” 

Before Virgil could reply, the door to the room flew open with a loud *bang!* and Virgil flinched back. Then, he saw who was standing in the doorway, and his eyes widened. 

“Thomas?” 

Chapter Text

Thomas stepped into the room, his eyes trained on Virgil. He wasn’t quite frowning, but he definitely didn’t look happy, and there was something unreadable in his eyes. Virgil shrunk back, and Deceit pulled him to his feet. Virgil hissed in pain as his injured shoulder throbbed, but Deceit ignored his discomfort, turning him to face Thomas.

“You can do this.” 

“Do what?” Virgil asked, but then Thomas spoke. 

“There you are, Virgil, what were you thinking?”

Virgil whimpered, and Deceit squeezed his arm. 

“Did you think you could just run away from us like this?” Thomas continued. “After what you said? After what you did?” 

“I–” Virgil’s voice shook, and he swallowed. “I don’t understand…”

“It’s okay, little shadow,” Deceit said softly. “Tell him.”

“Tell him what?”

“I should have known you were too much of a coward to face us,” Thomas said, and Virgil’s breath caught in his throat. 

“No, I–”

“Virgil is not a coward,” Deceit said suddenly. “He just doesn’t need your approval anymore. Now get out of here and leave him alone.” 

Thomas frowned, but Deceit waved his hand and in a puff of black smoke, Thomas was gone. Remus was standing in his place, and his face immediately broke out into a large grin. 

“What’d you think?” he asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I was going for ‘dissapointed dad’ energy, did it come across?”

“Yes, Remus,” Deceit said tiredly. “But let’s talk about performances when we’re finished, hm?” 

“What– what is going on?” Virgil asked, and Deceit smiled, reaching down and brushing a lock of hair out of Virgil’s face. 

“I told you, little shadow, exposure therapy. You need to tell Thomas that what he thinks doesn’t matter, and that you belong here. If you can say it to Thomas, then you’ll be able to say it to yourself.” 

“I don’t know if–” 

“Let’s go again, shall we?” Deceit interrupted, and in the blink of an eye Remus shifted back into Thomas. 

“You know I’m disappointed in you, Virgil,” Thomas (no, Remus, it was Remus) said. 

“Dee, I don’t–” 

“Come on, Virgil, you agreed to this,” Deceit pointed out. “I can’t fight all your battles for you, you know. Tell him.”

“I–”

“Lying to us, Virgil?” ThomasRemus asked. “I thought you were better than that.”

“I-I...I don’t need your approval, Thomas,” he stammered, and Deceit smiled. 

“Good,” he murmured. “Now tell him where you belong.” 

“You thought you could just run away from us?” ReThomas asked, folding his arms with a frown. 

“I...I didn’t run,” Virgil protested weakly. 

“I should have known you were too weak to stay with us,” Thomas said. 

“Tell him where you belong,” Deceit hissed. 

“Stop, please stop,” Virgil begged, covering his ears and squeezing his eyes shut. 

“You’re not worthy to be my side.”

“Tell him the truth Virgil.” 

“Leave me ALONE!” 

Virgil dropped to his knees, wincing as his distorted voice echoed around Deceit’s room. His head was pounding, and it was only when he felt someone grab his hands away that he realized he’d been pulling on his hair. 

“Virgil! Virgil, look at me,” Deceit said sharply, and behind him Virgil could hear Remus chuckling. 

“At least his tantrums haven’t changed,” he chirped, and Virgil opened his eyes to shoot the duke a glare. 

Remus just blew him a cheerful kiss in response, then Deceit placed two fingers under his chin, tilting his head so he was forced to look him in the eye. 

“You can’t back out of this,” Deceit said firmly, and Virgil swallowed. 

“Dee, I can’t–”

“You can, and you will,” Deceit insisted, hauling Virgil back to his feet. “This is my room, and it’s not going to stop tormenting you until you accept the truth. I’m trying to help you. Now.” He turned Virgil towards Remus again, who had already shifted back into Thomas’s form. “Tell him again. We’re not taking a break until you can do it.”

“Virgil, I’m so disappointed in you.” 

“Dee–”

“Tell him, Virgil. Now.” 

“I don’t...I don’t need your approval, T-thomas,” Virgil choked out. 

“And?” Dee prompted, and Virgil swallowed. 

“I...I was just doing what I thought I had to,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“You don’t belong as one of my sides,” Thomas huffed, and Virgil ducked his head. 

“I know.”

“Guys, I don’t know if I can do this.” 

Thomas stopped walking, and the others turned back towards him, their faces wearing matching looks of concern. Patton spoke first, an encouraging smile sliding onto his face.

“I’m sure that you can, Kiddo. I know it’s hard, but–” 

“No, that’s not what I mean,” Thomas interrupted. “I...I do want to do this. But I’ve been trying, and nothing’s happening, and we’ve been walking for what feels like forever. I think I’m doing something wrong.” 

“What are the lies that you’ve been focusing on?” Logan asked, and Thomas sighed. 

“That’s just the thing. They’re all really small...things like fibs I’ve told my relatives or excuses I make to leave parties early. I can’t think of any bigger stuff...but there has to be more, or we’d have found it by now, right?” 

“I see…” Logan said, frowning and steepling his fingers together. “I suppose that it would be difficult for you to suddenly recall things that you have spent so long repressing. If anything, it shows that Deceit does his job well.”

“What if...what if we did it too?” Patton asked suddenly,  his eyes wide behind his glasses.

“What?” Thomas asked, and Patton swallowed. 

“We’re part of you, after all,” he said. “The lies we tell ourselves should count as the lies you tell yourself too, right? We all do a little more repression than is healthy, I think.”

“Is that going to be enough to get Deceit’s room to appear though?” Thomas asked. 

“Only one way to find out,” Roman said suddenly. “I’ll go first.” 

Thomas looked over at him, surprised, and Roman gave him a wry smile. 

“So are we telling the truth, or the lies? Because the truth is I’m hopelessly insecure.” 

Patton made a wounded noise, and Logan’s eyes widened in alarm, but Roman just shook his head and kept talking. 

“I set these standards for myself, you know? And I always tell myself that I can meet them. But that’s got to be the lie, because I always fall short of them, and then I tell myself that I just need to try harder next time, that I won’t fail again if I just make myself do better.” 

Thomas stared.

“Roman...you know that if you do fail sometimes it’s okay, right?” he eventually asked, and Roman shrugged. 

“I’m your creativity, and you work in a creative field. It’s practically impossible for me to separate myself from my work, and my work has to be perfect, so I have to be perfect.” 

“That’s not true, Roman,” Thomas said instantly. “You don’t have to be perfect for us; it’s okay if you’re not always at your best. I’m not always at my best either, and that doesn’t make me any less than, does it?” 

“Thomas, look!” Patton said suddenly, pointing at something over Thomas’s shoulder. 

A faint, shimmering yellow door was visible against the wall, and Thomas blinked.

“Is that–”

“That was the lie,” Patton said breathlessly. “That you have to be perfect, Roman, that’s the lie you tell yourself. It’s working!” 

“Quick, someone else go!” said Roman.

“I still hide when I’m sad from you guys most of the time!” Patton blurted out. “I know we talked about how that’s bad, and I try not to do it as often, but...I just can’t help it sometimes. Feeling sad is just so...so sad, and I’m no help to you guys when I’m sad, so I just...keep it to myself.” 

“Patton, you don’t have to do that,” Thomas started, but Patton shook his head. 

“I know it’s not...always what’s best for me, but I don’t wanna drag you guys down–”

“But you won’t, Padre,” Roman cut in. “We don’t only care about you when you’re happy, you know.” 

Patton just shrugged half-heartedly, and Roman’s face fell. 

“Oh, Patton…”

“I’m no use at all when I’m sad,” Patton said. “I can’t even take care of myself, let alone you guys, and I hate not being able to take care of you guys. It’s better for everyone if I just push through it.”

“Patton, that’s not true,” Thomas exclaimed, and Patton smiled dryly. 

“Doesn’t stop me from telling myself that though.” 

“Patton, I–” Thomas began, but Patton cut him off with a triumphant cry. 

“Look!” 

Thomas turned and saw that the door was more solid now, less illusion and more reality, and Patton clapped his hands together.

“It’s working!” he cheered. “Logan, you go!”

Logan sighed, and adjusted his glasses. 

“I am not well suited to this type of...emotional confrontation,” he muttered to himself. 

“It’s okay, Logan, we all already know your lie is that you don’t have emotions,” Roman said, which earned him an elbow jab from Patton. 

“Be nice!” Patton hissed, and Roman winced. 

“Oh, Logan, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean–” 

“It is of no consequence,” Logan said with a wave of his hand. “But...I do not believe that you are correct.” 

“What do you mean, Specs?” Roman asked, and Logan sighed again.

“‘I don’t feel anything’ is not a lie I tell myself. At least not anymore. It is a lie that I tell all of you.” 

“Um...no offense, Lo, but...it’s kinda obvious that it isn’t true,” Patton said. 

“And that is precisely the problem!” Logan exclaimed so suddenly that Patton jumped a little. “My attempts to refrain from emotional outbursts have all failed miserably, I am consistently unable to control my temper, and try as I might, I find myself incapable of fully emotionally removing myself from situations, thus impeding my judgement!” 

“Is emotion being a part of your decision making really such a horrible thing?” Patton asked in a small voice. 

“For me it is,” Logan insisted. “I am logic, I should be able to operate outside those...those restrictions.”

“But Logan, you do,” said Thomas. “You always show me the level headed side of things; no matter what I might be feeling, your input is still always there. Your emotions aren’t stopping you from doing your job, so why not just admit you have them?”

“Because if I do you won’t take me seriously!” Logan snapped. “And there goes any hope of you actually listening to me!” 

Patton looked crestfallen, and he took a step towards Logan, but Roman pointed mutely at the wall and they all turned. 

Deceit’s door was truly visible now, as real and solid as any of them, save for one thing. The doorknob was still a pale, translucent yellow, and when Thomas reached out his hand passed right through it. He frowned, then looked back at Logan, Patton, and Roman. 

“When this is all over...we’re gonna sit down and finish all these conversations, okay?” he asked, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. 

Patton nodded quickly and Roman bowed his head, and after a moment Logan slowly nodded too. 

“Good,” Thomas said, then he turned back to the door and squared his shoulders. “I know exactly who I am,” he said firmly. “I’m secure in the choices I’ve made in my life, I set realistic and attainable goals for myself, and I am in control of my emotions. I am fine.” 

The doorknob flickered and turned solid, and Thomas let out a sigh of relief. He gripped the knob, then glanced back at the others. Logan nodded to him, and Patton gave him an encouraging thumbs up while Roman smiled. He smiled back at them, then took a deep breath and turned the knob. 

“I know my place. You don’t need to remind me.”

“Very good, little shadow,” Deceit murmured, but Virgil barely heard him. 

He had no idea how long he’d been in Deceit’s room, but whatever the answer was it could probably be classified as too long. Everything felt stuffy, like his brain was full of fog, and the harder he tried to focus the more his head hurt. 

“Let’s go again,” Deceit said, and Virgil lifted his head just in time to see Remus sink out of the room.

A moment later the door opened and “Thomas” walked back in, and Virgil bit back a sigh. He was so tired, but every time he’d asked for a break Deceit had scolded him and the affronts from Thomas got even worse, so he’d given up on talking outside of the “exercises.” 

“Virgil, did you really think you could get away with this?” Thomas asked, and Virgil responded automatically. 

“I was just doing my job. I don’t need your approval for that.” 

“How could you lie to us like that?”

“I did what I had to do.”

“Did you honestly think you could ever deserve a place with us?”

“No.” 

“Very well done, Virgil,” Deceit crooned, placing a hand on Virgil’s shoulder. “You’ve made so much progress in such a short time, I’m so proud of you!” 

Virgil didn’t answer him, and Deceit clicked his tongue in sympathy. 

“You must be getting tired,” he said, and Virgil nodded wordlessly. 

“Well, I daresay you’ve earned a bit of a break. Remus, if you’d give us some privacy?” Deceit asked, and Remus waved cheerfully before sinking out again. 

Deceit guided Virgil over to the edge of the bed and sat him down, then reached out to pull Virgil’s hoodie a little tighter around him. 

“I told you that you could do it,” he said, straightening up and smiling down at Virgil. “Keep progress like this up and eventually your room should reappear nearby! You should stay here until that happens though, okay little shadow?” 

Virgil nodded silently again, and after a moment Deceit tutted at him. 

“Too tired for conversation right now? That’s fine, I don’t mind. How about this, you lay down again and I’ll read to you for a little while. Do you still like Grimm’s Fairy Tales? I think I have a copy here somewhere…ah, here it is! Now, which one would you like to hear?” 

Virgil just shrugged. 

“Alright, little shadow, I’ll choose. How does ‘Rapunzel’ sound?” 

Virgil shrugged again, and Deceit chuckled, opening the tome of fairy tales and settling into a chair. 

“There were once a man and a woman who had long, in vain, wished for a child,” he began, and Virgil’s eyes slipped closed. 

Thomas wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting Deceit’s room to look like. Perhaps a victorian style sitting room with gold accents on the furniture, or a terrarium like environment to cater to Deceit’s snake half. 

What he actually was confronted by was...surprisingly normal. There was a bed with a yellow comforter and a handful of throw pillows, a desk and a bookshelf up against the wall, and a handful of bean bag chairs piled in the corner. But Thomas didn’t spare the room more than a second glance. 

Because there, curled up on the edge of the bed with his eyes closed, was Virgil. 

Patton gasped and took a step forward, but Thomas shot his arm out, blocking the moral side from going too far. 

Virgil wasn’t alone in the room; Deceit sat next to the bed, reading aloud from a thick tome resting on his lap. 

“You would fetch your dearest, but the beautiful bird sits no longer singing in the nest; the cat has got it, and will scratch out your eyes as well.” Deceit looked up and smiled at Thomas. “Rapunzel is lost to you; you will never see her again.” 

“Let him go,” Thomas growled, and Deceit blinked innocently at him. 

“I’m sorry?” He closed the book and folded his hands on the cover. “Let who go? I don’t see anybody being held captive here.” 

“Cut the crap, Crapton Crook!” Roman snarled. “It’s the end of the road for you!”

“Yeah!” Patton added. “Virgil’s coming home with us!” 

“Really?” Deceit smirked. “Why don’t you ask him yourself?” 

He leaned over and tapped Virgil’s ankle, stirring the anxious side awake. 

“Wake up, little shadow,” he said in a sickly sweet voice. “Storytime is over.” 

Virgil shifted, blinking owlishly at Deceit who smiled and leaned back in his chair, opening his book again. 

“Virgil?” Thomas asked.

Virgil looked over, and Thomas’s heart skipped a beat as their eyes met. Virgil looked exhausted; his eyes were glazed over and the bags beneath them were darker than Thomas had ever seen. He whimpered when he saw them all standing at the door and shrunk back into his hoodie...his old hoodie, Thomas noticed with a twinge of anger.

“Dee,” Virgil started in a tight voice, and Deceit raised an eyebrow at him.

“Don’t you have something to tell our guests?” 

Virgil deflated, his gaze falling to his lap, and Thomas frowned, taking a step closer. 

“Virgil, what’s going–” 

“You didn’t need to come here.” Virgil spoke so softly that at first Thomas didn’t hear him, and then he was certain that he’d misheard him. 

“What–”

“I know my place. You don’t need to remind me.”

“Your...your place?” Thomas asked, and Virgil nodded listlessly. 

“I was just doing my job. I don’t need your approval for that.”

“Virgil, I don’t–”

“I know I was wrong, but it doesn’t matter now. You can just go.” 

Virgil drew his legs up to his chest and rested his cheek on his knees, turning his head away and closing his eyes. Thomas turned to stare at Deceit. 

“What did you do to him?” 

“I told you not to be surprised if Virgil wanted nothing to do with you, didn’t I?” Deceit asked, examining the tips of his fingers. “It isn’t my fault that you never listen.”

“Oh, and you expect us to believe that he’s just suddenly changed his mind and gone crawling back to you at the first sign of trouble?” Roman spat. “That’s not the Virgil we know!” 

Deceit rolled his eyes, then he flicked his wrist, curling his fingers into a fist. Roman’s hand slapped over his mouth, and Patton gasped. 

“So you’re suddenly an expert on Anxiety?” Deceit demanded. “How long have you truly known him? Two years, if that? I’ve known him his whole life.”

“Oh yeah?” Patton’s voice was surprisingly vicious. “How often in all those years he was with you did he ever go to your room after a nightmare? Or fall asleep on your lap in front of the TV? Or try to bake you cookies because he knew you were hiding how sad you were? You may have known Anxiety, but Virgil is our family!” 

Virgil lifted his head at that, and slowly looked over at Patton. He frowned, tilting his head in confusion before turning and giving Deceit a questioning look.

“Don’t act like you know how things work around here,” Deceit hissed, and with another flick, Patton fell silent, glaring openly from behind the hand pressed against his mouth. “You have no idea what–” 

“We may not know how you run your side of the mindscape,” Logan interrupted coolly. “But we can infer from Virgil’s reactions any time you or Remus show your faces that it is not an overtly pleasant experience. Certainly not one that he has been eager to return to.” 

Deceit smiled sweetly. 

“Oh, Logan Logan Logan,” he chuckled. “Always so confident.” 

Logan’s hand flew to his mouth and Deceit stood up, folding his arms behind his back. 

“Don’t forget where you are right now,” he crooned. “I have the power here.” 

“No.”

Deceit’s smile froze.

“I do,” Thomas said, and he snapped his fingers. 

It was unlike any time Thomas had ever sunk out before. Normally, it took barely a second; there was a blur of color and then blackness and then you were there. This was more like trying to run a marathon through a field of molasses; Thomas could feel the room pulling back against him, as though it were trying to keep him there. 

But Thomas was done letting Deceit have all the power; he wasn’t going to let his secrets hold him back anymore. He gritted his teeth, dug his heels in, and pulled with everything he had. 

The landing in the darkscape commons was far from smooth. But it was a landing nonetheless, and Thomas noted with some satisfaction that it seemed to have been an even more jarring journey for Deceit than anyone else. 

“Oh, very clever,” he grumbled, straightening his hat with a huff. “But leaving my room won’t change the truth, you know!” 

“No, but it allows the truth to be seen more clearly,” Logan said proudly.

“Like you know anything about the truth,” Deceit scoffed. 

“More than you, Fibber on the Roof,” said Roman, drawing his sword and aiming it squarely at Deceit’s face.

“Thomas, that was amazing!” Patton exclaimed. 

Thomas smiled, but he was only half listening. His eyes were trained on Virgil, who’d been deposited unceremoniously on the couch and was now blinking rapidly, looking around with a slightly stunned expression. 

“Virgil?” Thomas asked, and Virgil met his gaze. There was fear and suspicion in his eyes, and Thomas did his best to look reassuring. “Virgil, are you okay?” 

“Don’t let him trick you, little shadow!” Deceit urged.

“No! Virgil, he’s the one tricking you!” Patton pleaded, holding out his hands. “Don’t listen to him anymore!” 

Virgil looked over at Patton, then Deceit.

“I…” 

“Don’t forget what you saw,” Deceit hissed. “Don’t forget the truth!” 

“Virgil, it is highly likely whatever Deceit showed you is the complete opposite of the truth,” Logan said evenly. “Do not forget what he represents. He has been trying to trick you into staying with him.” 

“He’s trying to rob you of your place with us, stormcloud!” Roman declared. “Don’t let that no good, two-faced, second rate victorian fashion model get away with it!”

Virgil frowned, eyes flitting around the room between them all, before looking back to Thomas. 

“I...don’t understand,” he said slowly. “What...what’s going on?”

“Virgil, we’re here to rescue you,” Thomas said, and Virgil’s frown deepened. 

“Why...would you want to rescue me?”

“Because we care about you!” Patton cried, and Thomas nodded emphatically.  

“You’re one of us, stormcloud, how could we just leave you?” Roman added. 

“But I,” Virgil’s breath hitched, and he looked down. “I lied to you,” he whispered. “I don’t deserve to come back.”

“Virgil, you have demonstrated on numerous occasions that you have grown beyond your past,” said Logan. “Your history with Deceit and the Others doesn’t change the fact that you belong with us.” 

Virgil looked up at that, blinking in surprise.

“Really?” he asked, and Thomas nodded immediately. 

“Absolutely.” 

A thought struck him, and he pulled Virgil’s sweatshirt from around his waist. Virgil sat bolt upright, staring at the hoodie with wide eyes, and Thomas held it out to him. 

“Please, Virgil,” he said. “Come home.” 

Chapter Text

Thomas held out the hoodie, and time screeched to a halt. Virgil was certain that every person in the room was holding their breath. He was up off the couch and reaching out for the hoodie before he even realized what he was doing, then he paused, looking up and scanning Thomas’s face. There had to be something wrong there, a glint in his eye or a curl to his lip, some tell that would prove this was nothing more than another trick meant to teach him a lesson. But no matter how hard he looked, there was nothing there.

He glanced around the room, briefly letting his gaze linger on Deceit. Roman’s sword was still aimed squarely at his throat, and his face was a familiar mask of cool indifference, but looking closer, Virgil could see the clench of his jaw and the tension in his muscles. His act of confidence was just that, an act...an act that Virgil was done believing.

Virgil turned back to Thomas, who smiled at him.

“It’s alright, Virge,” he said softly, and Virgil swallowed down a sudden lump in his throat.

“Okay,” he whispered back. “Okay.”

He took the hoodie gingerly, relaxing a notch as his fingertips brushed the familiar fabric. Thomas’s smile widened, then his expression shifted and he stared at Virgil in surprise. Virgil looked down and realized with a start that the old black sweatshirt from Deceit was disappearing, dissolving away into nothing before his eyes and leaving his arms bare. He shivered at the sudden exposure, and Thomas quickly moved to drape the patchwork hoodie around his shoulders like a blanket.

“Better?” Thomas murmured, and Virgil nodded, clutching the hoodie close with one hand.

“Perhaps now would be an optimal time to return to our own common space?” Logan suggested, his voice even and surprisingly gentle.

“Sound good to you, buddy?” Thomas asked.

Virgil glanced around the room, then realized that Thomas was talking to him. He nodded, and Thomas smiled again, warm and soft and sincere, and Virgil wondered how Deceit or Remus ever could have fooled him.

“What about Bad-guy Fieri over here?” Roman asked, and Virgil looked over his shoulder just in time to see Deceit sneer at Roman.

“I think,” Thomas said, his voice firm, “that he needs to stay in his room for awhile. Away from the rest of us.”

Deceit narrowed his eyes. “You can’t repress us forever,” he hissed. “We’ll always be a part of you, whether you like it or not!”

“I know,” said Thomas simply. “And I know there will be times when I need your input. But I’m still the one in charge. You will go back to your room, and you won’t leave it unless specifically called for, and the same goes for Remus and any of The Others.”

If looks could kill, Virgil was certain that the glare Deceit shot Thomas would have leveled a city, but Thomas met his gaze evenly. Eventually, Deceit slowly sunk out of sight. Virgil released a breath, suddenly light headed.

“Whoa, easy there Kiddo!” Patton exclaimed, reaching out and putting a steadying hand on his shoulder, and only then did Virgil realize he’d started swaying slightly.

Unfortunately, the shoulder Patton gripped was where Remus had stabbed him however many hours ago, and he was unable to stop a small cry of pain escaping his lips.

“Oh my gosh, what happened?”

“Virgil? Are you injured?”

“Someone catch him before he–”

Their voices overlapped in a panicked chorus above him, but Virgil couldn’t focus on their words. His head was throbbing and the room spun around him in a dizzying kaleidoscope of color. He felt himself tilt forward, expecting to hit the cold floor beneath him, but instead he fell against something warm and solid.

“Easy, Virgil, we’ve got you now,” Thomas’s voice sounded in his ear, and Virgil let himself slip into unconsciousness.

.

Awareness came back slowly; the first thing that Virgil’s brain registered was that he was lying down, with his head against something soft and warm. The second thing was that someone was gently running their fingers through his hair. He froze under the touch, his mind momentarily filled with thoughts of gloved hands and a hazy fog, but then a soft voice murmured, “Kiddo? Are you awake?”

Virgil cracked open one eyelid, and saw black frames surrounding wide, worried eyes.

“Pat?”

Relief flooded across Patton’s features and he smiled, a little shakily.

“Yeah, Virgil, it’s me. How’re you feeling?”

Virgil considered the question. Lying here on what he now realized was the couch in the commons, his head was far clearer than it had been with the influence of Deceit’s room hanging over him. But his whole body ached, and even the thought of moving made his muscles groan in protest.

“I’ve been better,” he eventually answered, wincing at the rasp in his voice.

“I can imagine so,” said a voice to Virgil’s right, and he turned his head to see Logan walking towards them, a glass of water in his hands. “You’ve been through quite the ordeal.”

“But that’s over now,” Roman added, and Virgil lifted his head up just enough to see Roman sitting on the other end of the couch. “You’re home with us, safe and sound.”

Home.

Something twisted in Virgil’s stomach, and he tried to swallow the sudden lump in his throat.

“Do you think you can sit up for us?” Patton asked. “You should try and drink some water if you can.”

Virgil nodded, gritting his teeth through the pain as he pushed himself upright.

“Easy, Stormcloud,” Roman murmured, reaching out to squeeze Virgil’s ankle. “Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“You’re one to talk,” Virgil grunted, and Roman chuckled.

“Fair point. Still, we just managed to get you back, it’d be nice to keep you in one piece for awhile.”

Virgil wasn’t sure how to respond to that statement, so he elected to stay silent, instead reaching out for the glass of water Logan offered him. He downed nearly half the glass in one gulp, sighing in relief as the cool liquid soothed his dry throat.

“Easy,” Logan instructed. “Don’t drink too much all at once, we don’t want you to become ill. ”

Virgil opened his mouth to answer, then paused, frowning as he looked around the room.

“Where’s-“

“Virgil?”

Thomas emerged from the kitchen, and the question died on Virgil’s lips. Thomas stepped forward, and Virgil couldn’t help himself, he shrunk back. Thomas froze, but he didn’t look offended or angry, like Virgil had expected him to.

“Virgil?” he said again. “Are you okay?”

“I…” Virgil glanced around at the others, similar expressions of concern written across their faces, and he looked down at his lap. “I...don’t know,” he admitted. 

“Oh, Kiddo…I’m so sorry.” Patton sounded absolutely heartbroken, and Virgil looked over at him.

“It’s not your fault,” he said, startled. This had apparently been the wrong thing to say, because Patton’s eyes immediately filled with tears.

“Virgil, I...oh gosh, Virgil, can I hug you?”

Virgil blinked, but nodded, and Patton pulled him close.

“I’m really, really sorry,” Patton whispered again. “For everything.”

The lump in Virgil’s throat returned, and he hugged Patton back as best he could with his injured shoulder. Patton squeezed him tighter, and he winced.

“Ow, it’s– ow. It’s okay, Dad,” he hissed, and Patton drew away with a gasp.

“Oh goodness gracious, I forgot, I’m so sorry–”

“It’s fine, Pat, really,” Virgil said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. Patton didn’t look particularly reassured, but Logan spoke up before Virgil could figure out why.

“Would it be permissible for me to examine your injuries?” he asked, and Virgil nodded, shrugging off the hoodie still draped around his shoulders.

The room fell silent, and Virgil suddenly was hyper-aware of the cuts and scratches that littered his arms, the dark pink of rope burn around his wrists, and the spot of blood that had soaked through his bandages. Logan’s voice cut through the silence, and Virgil focused in on the words, grateful for the distraction from the unwavering gazes of the others.

“- could have been much worse,” Logan was saying. “You are very lucky you were able to get it bandaged when you did, and rather competently at that.”

“It wasn’t the first time Deceit had to patch me up after one of Remus’s ‘games’ went wrong,” Virgil explained, and at the mention of the dark side, a terse silence fell over the group once more. Roman in particular looked especially irate at Virgil’s words, though who that ire was directed at, Virgil wasn’t sure. He ducked his head, avoiding looking any of them in the eyes.

“Well,” Logan said, the calm in his voice sounding a tad more forced than normal, “I am at least glad that the wound does not appear infected. We should try and change your bandages somewhat frequently for several days to ensure that you continue to heal optimally.”

“Actually,” Thomas interrupted. “Can I try something?”

Logan looked surprised, but nodded, and Thomas crouched down in front of Virgil.

“Hey,” he said quietly. “Can you look at me, Virge?”

Virgil honestly wasn’t sure if he could, but there was something so earnest in Thomas’s voice that he forced himself to meet his eyes anyway.

“Can I touch you?” Thomas asked, and after a moment, Virgil nodded.

Thomas laid a hand on Virgil’s forearm, then closed his eyes. Virgil opened his mouth to ask what Thomas was doing, but then froze when he saw what was happening on his arm.

The cuts on his arms from the thicket were disappearing, fading from raw and red to faint and pink to slightly raised white lines until they were gone completely. The rope burn around his wrists faded away, and the throb in his exposed shoulder faded to a dull ache. He twisted his head just in time to see the gash close up, a twisted scar mottled with bruising replacing the open wound. Virgil rolled the shoulder experimentally, and while he didn’t quite have his full range of motion back, the slightest movement no longer sent pain shooting through his body.

“How?” he breathed.

“I’d say you’ve truly mastered control over the mindscape, Thomas,” Logan said, pride evident in his voice. “I’m truly impressed.”

“What about the bruising?” Roman asked as Thomas opened his eyes. “Surely that could be healed as well?”

“The other things that Thomas altered the states of were inanimate objects,” Logan explained. “Healing an actual person, that is not so simple. And while we may not be humans, I suspect we are individuals enough that Thomas cannot change us on a complete whim. Some of the healing will have to come from Virgil’s own strength over time.”

“But we’ll be right here with you to help you through it though, Kiddo,” Patton said firmly, taking Virgil’s hand and giving it a squeeze.

“Indeed, we shall stay ever vigilant by your side!” Roman agreed.

“Rest assured, Virgil, your recovery will be our top priority,” Logan promised.

Virgil knew that he should be grateful. But an incessant voice hissed in the back of his mind that he didn’t deserve all the trouble they were going to. Something must have shown on his face, because Thomas suddenly took his hand.

“Virgil, I owe you an apology,” he said quietly.

“Wait, what? Why?”

“When you told me about your past, I...I was surprised,” Thomas admitted, and Virgil’s blood suddenly ran cold. “I was also sleep deprived, and reeling from finding out about Remus, and I just...I wasn’t thinking about your feelings, in that moment.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Virgil muttered, looking away. “I’m the one who was hiding things from you.”

“I do have to apologize though,” Thomas insisted. “Because I should have made it clear to you from the start that your past...that doesn’t matter to me.”

“Thomas, I–”

“It doesn’t. Matter.” Thomas punctuated the words by squeezing Virgil’s hands. “Seriously, Virge. What I said back in the darkscape...I meant it. This is your home. You belong with us. And you always have.”

“But…” Virgil could feel tears beginning to well up in his eyes and he furiously blinked them away. “But I lied to you,” he whispered.

“All of us have our own lies we tell, Virgil,” Thomas said. “Everyone in this room. But that doesn’t change the fact that we’re a family. Nothing could ever change that.”

Virgil opened his mouth to speak, but a choked sob escaped his lips instead. He slapped a hand over his mouth, traitorous tears spilling over his eyes and trailing down his cheeks. Thomas just smiled at him, opening his arms in invitation, and Virgil let himself fall into the embrace. Thomas was warm and solid and grounding, and for the first time since he’d  woken up in Deceit’s clutches, Virgil let himself relax.

“Oh, oh, group hug!” Patton exclaimed, then Virgil felt another warm weight press against his back.

“What a splendid idea,” Roman said, a smile clear in his tone before he snuggled up to Virgil’s left side. Thomas lifted one arm to encompass the other two as best he could, and Virgil looked up just as Thomas turned towards the last side in the room.

“C’mon, Logan, don’t think you’re getting out of this,” he teased.

Logan paused for a moment, an odd look on his face, but then his gaze fell on Virgil and expression softened.

“I suppose there are worse fates,” he conceded, before stepping forward and allowing Patton and Thomas to pull him into their tangle of limbs.

Thomas squeezed them all as tight as he could manage, and dropped a kiss into Virgil’s hair.

“We’re gonna do a better job of looking after each other from now on,” he murmured, before looking back up at the others. “Deal?”

“Deal,” Patton said, nodding enthusiastically and squeezing his arms tighter around Virgil’s middle.

“Definitely deal,” Roman agreed, and Logan nodded.

“Affirmative.”

“Well, Virge?” Thomas asked after a beat of silence.

Virgil looked around at them all, at the warmth and support and love written over all their faces, and found himself smiling.

“Deal.”

Patton let out a happy squeal before reaching out and tugging both Logan and Roman closer. Virgil let his head rest back against Thomas’s chest, smiling softly as he closed his eyes. Thomas was right.

He was home.

Deceit was not sulking. He was a sophisticated side with grand and complicated schemes to concoct, he did not sulk. Why would he sulk? He’d only had his attempts to keep Virgil out of the others’ reach thwarted by none other than Thomas himself, and been locked in his room for his efforts to boot. Now his power would be weakened for who knows how long, and any chance he’d had of regaining the influence he’d once held over Virgil was completely destroyed. Everything was just peachy.

He kicked at the copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales that lay open on his bedroom floor in a completely normal and not-childish-at-all way before plopping down on his bed and running a hand through his hair with a huff.

“Aww, someone’s sulking.”

Deceit nearly lept off the bed in surprise, his face twisting into a scowl. Remus’s face showed no such displeasure; his mouth was stretched in a toothy grin and he was leaning on the handle of his morning star as though it were a walking stick.

“I’m not sulking,” Deceit muttered, folding his arms. “And shouldn’t you be in your room? I seem to recall Thomas inflicting the same mandate on all of us.”

“I am in my room!” Remus said cheerfully. “Bold of you to assume Thomas can stop me from astral projecting around the darkscape as I please.” Remus giggled to himself. “Heh. ass-tral.”

“Did you need something?” Deceit asked, barely repressing a sigh of annoyance. “Or did you just come here to make butt jokes?”

“Mostly the second,” Remus said, examining his mud-caked fingernails. “But I also wanted to ask you if there was anything else you wanted me to do in your little scheme.”

Deceit did let out a frustrated sigh at that, and forced himself to sound merely bored at the most recent turn of events.

“No, there’s not much we can really do now that we’re confined like this. I’d say we’ll have to call this particular venture unsuccessful.”

Remus snorted.

“Well, I could have told you that from the start.”

“Excuse me?” Deceit asked, frowning.

“I mean, I know you think you’re all Mr. Master Planner, but I could preeetty much tell from the start that there was no way that you’d be able to both convince Tim Hurtin’ that he should stay with you and keep Thomas from reaching him eventually.”

“You were awfully cooperative for someone who didn’t think the plan had a chance,” Deceit growled, glaring openly at Remus. “Why help if you thought we were doomed to fail?”

“Are you kidding?” Remus asked with a laugh. “This was the most interesting thing to happen in the mindscape in months! Plus, no way I was gonna pass up a chance to play with ‘ol Virgey again, even for just a little bit. I even got to have a duel to the death with my brother! Best few days I’ve had in awhile!”

Deceit groaned and buried his face in his hands.

“I’m surrounded by idiots,” he muttered.

“I may be an idiot, but at least when I want to say something to Thomas, I’ll say it myself.”

“Please,” Deceit scoffed. “The only reason you can even show yourself to him now is because of me.”

“Yeah, and using me to get Thomas to listen to you didn’t exactly go your way, so why should Virgil be any different?”

Deceit opened his mouth to answer...and then closed it again. Remus chuckled. 

“Just saying. You trying to go about this all clever-like isn’t doing you any favors.” He leaned off his morning star, picking it up and hoisting it over his shoulder. “It wouldn’t kill you to try a direct approach every once in a while.”

Remus winked, then fizzled out of existence with a jaunty wave, leaving Deceit alone to stew in his thoughts once more. He let himself fall backwards on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. A direct approach? Was Thomas ready to even respond to something like that? He’d been working in the shadows for so long that in all honesty (ha), he hadn’t even considered anything else a possibility. But maybe...maybe Remus was actually on to something. Deceit’s mind drifted back to his last exchange with Thomas.

“You can’t repress us forever,” he’d said. “We’ll always be a part of you, whether you like it or not!”

And how had Thomas responded?

“I know. And I know there will be times when I need your input.”

A slow smile spread across Deceit’s face.

“I’ll hold you to that, Sanders,” he whispered to himself. “I’ll hold you to that.”