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Patton dived behind a rock, huffing and puffing as he tried to get his breath back. It had been... what - two, three days? Maybe a week, since he lost himself in the Imagination. He had come to check on Roman, he was pretty sure - memory had been fuzzy since he entered, as it always was in the Imagination as new stories unfolded out in front of him - but for the past few days he'd been on the run, from so many different enemies that he'd lost count. At first it was a bear, then an army of soldiers who'd apparently declared him a threat to their kingdom, then a giant spider as he got closer to the Dark Imagination. Needless to say, he'd ran in the other direction, back towards the Light Imagination. He did fear he was beginning to enter the Dark again, though.
And now a dragon was chasing him, spurting fire out at him every five seconds, and he was slowly beginning to lose it. He wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to go on for - the dragon had lost him, for now, but it was only a matter of time before it found him again, and then Patton would be done for. He wasn't a fighter, like Roman, and he didn't know how to get out of situations like this, like Logan or Virgil would. If only Roman was here now, maybe he'd be alright.
Roman would be on his way, Patton was sure of it. Eventually his friends would realise that he's missing and come and find him. And Roman would be able to slay the dragon, and maybe Patton could convince him to carry him back to the Mind Palace, because God his legs were hurting like hell right now.
The dragon would be back any moment. Patton could hear it stomping around, the ground shaking beneath his feet. He could feel the heat making its way towards him. Patton breathed in and out, trying to remain calm. He wasn't going to die he - could he even die? He was pretty sure he couldn't die, but he still didn't like the idea of the dragon eating him alive.
The dragon cried out, and Patton ducked closer to the ground, raising his hand above his head. His body was shaking, and he didn't like that at all. But then everything stopped. The footsteps, the roaring, the heat. And then Patton realised it hadn't been a cry of war - it had been a cry of pain.
He slowly rose up over the rock, peeking out over the scene in front of him, and, once he was certain he would be safe, climbed over it, walking a few metres out into the clearing. The dragon laid on the forest floor in a pool of its own blood, dead. Patton couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness upon seeing that, but pushed that down once remembered that dragon had been trying to kill him. And besides, the dragon had been slain, meaning Roman must be here! Finally, they'd noticed that Patton was gone! Except...
That wasn't Roman. His clothes were black, not white, with green details rather than red and gold, and a mace dripping his blood hung by his side rather than the usual sword...
Oh, darn. That was Remus. Brilliant.
Patton cleared his throat. Remus spun around, eyes widening when he saw Patton. "Oh! Sorry, did you want to kill it?"
Patton blinked. "Uh, n-no?"
"Oh, good." Remus grinned, kicking the dragon's side one more time before running over besides Patton. "Are you hurt? Deceit said you might be hurt." He began to move around Patton, apparently looking for any injuries, and getting a little too close for comfort. Patton back away.
"I'm fine," he said.
"Don't lie to yourself, Morality," a voice said, coming from behind him. Patton spun around, eyes widening when he saw Deceit, leaning against the rock he had previously been hiding behind. Deceit pushed himself up and stepped towards Patton.
"Yeah, you're covered in burn marks," Remus mused. "And you're bleeding on your arm. Hmm."
Patton instinctively reached his arm up to hold his arm, as if covering up the cut would somehow make it go away.
"Remus, you can leave now," Deceit said. "I can take it from here."
"T-Take what?" Patton stuttered.
Deceit smiled. "All in good time, Morality. Now, Remus-"
"Yeah, okay, I'll go." He glanced around.
Deceit sighed. "There's a family of dragons on the other side of the forest." He pointed vaguely to the east.
Remus grinned and ran in that direction, and Patton turned back to Deceit, a little alarmed.
"Don't worry," Deceit said. "They aren't real. Remus hasn't actually killed anything."
The edges of Patton's lips tipped up.
"Now, Morality, I'd say we better get going," Deceit said. "Get you to safety."
Patton shook his head. "No, I-" He glanced down. "Uh, Roman will be on his way. I should probably wait here."
Deceit chuckled, lightly. "Morality, dear, your Prince isn't coming to save you."
That was a lie, right? That must have been a lie.
"I've been watching you, these past few days," Deceit said. Patton tried not to think about how creepy that sounded. "You've been in mortal danger since you arrived in the Imagination, and yet you aren't any closer to being saved by your Prince, are you?"
Deceit... wasn't wrong. Roman had yet to notice that Patton was here. If he had noticed, then he would have already been saved, wouldn't he? It shouldn't have taken this long for Roman to arrive.
"I-I'm sure he's almost here," Patton said anyway, more to himself that Deceit. "I mean, he must be busy. I'm sure he's got more important things to be doing that rescuing little ol' me."
Deceit hummed. "Things more important that you? Are you two not friends?"
"We are, of course we are," Patton said. "Why wouldn't we be?"
"Well, if you truly were friends, I'd imagine he'd be here to save you much sooner," Deceit said.
Patton didn't know how to respond to that. He didn't want to believe Deceit, but... deep down, he knew he was right. Roman wasn't coming to save him. God, his friends probably hadn't even noticed that he's gone.
"Come with me," Deceit offered. "I can take you back home."
Patton breathed in. His eyes were fixed on the ground, refusing to make eye contact with Deceit, refusing to notice how he had held out his hand, waiting for Patton to accept his offer.
"You can trust me, Morality, dear."
Patton took Deceit's hand.