Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

February was getting colder, and the gentle tapping of rain on his windows was once again inviting Thomas to cuddle up on the sofa in a blanket and doom-scroll, and this time - the first in a while - he actually indulged himself. 

Glancing at a candle on the side, he thought to himself for a moment before walking over to the kitchen and grabbing a safety match to light it. A small flame danced around the wick, slowly melting the candle wax around it as Thomas picked up the candle gingerly and placed it on a coffee table in front of the sofa. Smiling softly as he hummed the tune for ‘Wait for It’ to himself (he was stuck singing Hamilton again), he grabbed a blanket and his phone and sat on the sofa, inhaling the subtle scent of vanilla wafting from the newly-lit candle. 

Snuggling in the blanket, he turned on his phone and started scrolling on Instagram, looking at all the new Percy Jackson Series posts. The series was amazing, and the actors were portraying the characters quite well - he'd know, he read the books - and he wanted to support them where he could. He remembered all the times he dreamed of being a demigod or some sort of hero, having those cool powers and being able to fight monsters. 

He heard a dreamy sigh somewhere next to him and glanced over to see Roman, the Creative Side's hair regally combed to the side and his amber eyes glinting with excitement at the idea of fighting monsters. The prince winked at Thomas and conjured his samurai sword, standing up and slashing at the air.

“You know, Thomas,” he started, slashing at invisible opponents with a grin on his face. “I think it'd be truly marvellous if we had our own adventures! Our own monsters to fight, with some handsome young prince to save! And-”

“Woah, slow down Princey.” Thomas shook his head and smiled. “I think I'd love to just sit here and take a break from all of those monsters. Don't you think that's a good idea?”

Roman sulked and pouted, his lips slightly jutting out sadly.

“But…adventure awaits us! There are dreams to follow! Monsters to fight-”

They both heard a mischievous giggle from the other side of the room as a voice spoke.

“That's not all we can do with the monsters~!”

Remus was leaning against the wall, his eyes shining as he grinned widely at both Thomas and Roman, wiggling his eyebrows with no subtlety in sight.  

Thomas groaned and grabbed the nearest throw pillow, using it as its name suggested as he hurled it at Remus’ head. Remus - being a figment of Thomas' imagination - didn't get hit, but a lampshade behind him did. Thomas grimaced and sunk deeper into the sofa, sighing. There goes his relaxing day off, apparently. 

Remus raised an eyebrow and grinned, looking at the throw pillow and then back at Thomas. 

“Kinky! So, what are we doing today? I have a few ideas-”

“Nope! We're not doing anything you suggest today. This is supposed to be Thomas' day off!”

Patton had risen up, his brown hair messy and glasses slightly lopsided. He frowned at Remus and shook his head, then turned to Thomas and smiled widely. 

“Hey, kiddo! You have fun and enjoy your day off, ok?”

“Hey Pat, and thanks, I appreciate-”

A familiar throat clearing from another side of the living room interrupted the little reunion.

“Thomas. As much as a day of relaxation may be desired today, you very well know that you have a bunch of chores piling up and that you need to get them done.”

Roman groaned loudly at Logan's statement and booed at him. Patton, smiling slightly at Roman's reaction, looked at Logan and gave his own opinion on the matter, his cheery voice lighting up the atmosphere of the room.

“Logan, buddy, Thomas needs a break! He worked so hard yesterday, he deserves this. He can do those chores later-”

“Indeed! Today's the day to fight monsters and save princes or princesses!” Roman butted in, stabbing his sword at invisible threats. Remus giggled and opened his mouth to say something, but Logan cut him off.

“Thomas didn't work that much yesterday. We, no, I made a list of things we needed to do yesterday, and Thomas only finished half of the items on that list. It is in his best interest that he finishes those tasks instead of procrastinating again.”

The room darkened, shadows condensing in a familiar shape as they bent and shifted colour, adding purples to the black. After a second, in the place of those shadows stood Virgil, piercing milk chocolate-coloured irises with lilac flecks framed by the dark eyeshadow beneath his eyes. He glared at Remus and then looked at Thomas. 

“Hate to say this man, but I agree with Logan. You're behind on stuff, and you basically left out half of the things on yesterday's list. If you don't do anything today, well, face it, what's the point of your existence?”

Patton's face fell and he turned to Virgil.

“Kiddo…that- that's a little much, don't you think? I'm sure it's not that bad!”

Virgil looked to the floor and muttered under his breath. “Isn’t it, though? Things aren't exactly improving around here, Patton. And distracting himself isn't going to make anything better.”

Roman gave the emo nightmare a concerned glance and hesitantly walked over to him.

“Well…recently, you've been…better? I think, at least.”

Virgil flinched away from Roman and looked away.

“Yeah well maybe something's changed. Or, nothing's changed.”

Roman looked…hurt. The Prince's face fell and he looked at Virgil, trying to find the right words to say. But before he could say anything, Remus laughed maniacally. As they all turned to see him, his eyes subtly glowing green as he turned to Virgil and put his hands on his own face, as if in shock.

“Aw, Virgey-”

“Don't call me that.”

“-please tell me you're planning on rejoining the Dark Sides?”

“No.” 

Virgil's voice echoed through the room, sinister undertones causing everyone except Remus and Logan to shiver, and Thomas' breathing quickened slightly. Morality, worried for Thomas now, tried to crack a smile and calm everyone down.

“Hey! Deep breaths everyone. And no, Remus. Virgil's good, he's one of us now! He's part of the group!”

“Sure he is, and I'm straight! Oh wait, I'm not. And Virgil's not exactly one of you, either! He was a Dark Side. Like me.”

Remus grinned, his eyes twinkling as his silver bangs fell slightly over them. Logan, who had been trying to speak for a while now, cleared his throat, annoyed now.

“Thomas, please. You need to-”

“Ooh! you know what? We can't have this party without my little snake friend! Ohh, Ja-nus!” Remus called out, completely ignoring Logan's attempt at getting the group back on track. “Would you like to join us?”

There was a slight humming sound as a low chuckle filled the air and Janus appeared, his deep black capelet covering his shoulders elegantly. His golden eye shone as he nodded at Remus, who clapped his hands with a wide grin.

“Now the party can start!”

Janus smirked and rubbed his gloved hands together, eyes darting to everyone in the room. Roman pointed his sword at Janus and yelled as loud as he could, startling everyone there.

“DECEIT!” 

Snapping a finger near his ears as if to test his hearing, Janus rolled his eyes at the Prince and clapped thrice, each sound slow and mocking.

“Wow, everyone seems so happy to see me here! I feel so welcome.” 

Virgil hissed at him.

“We get it, you're here. And definitely going to make things worse.”

“Oh yes, and it's definitely not you that's the problem.”

Growling at Janus, Virgil looked absolutely prepared to fight him, shoulders tensing.

“I'll show you who's the freaking problem, snake-”

As they continued arguing, with Patton trying to calm them both down and Remus annoying Roman, Thomas stayed quiet. He was just trying to relax, but with Virgil feeling like that… Thomas' anxiety escalated, and he closed his eyes and tried to breathe in slowly through his nose, inhaling the sweet smell of vanilla. There goes his day off, but he still didn't feel up to doing those tasks he had left over from yesterday. Admittedly, thinking about the huge pile of clothes he had to sort and long hours of video editing that he had ahead of him didn't seem too tempting at the moment. Though trying to block out the yelling proved to be severely difficult when Virgil punched Janus in the face, and the snake-man yelled and retaliated, punching him back. 

“Boys, stop!” Patton cried out, eyes brimming with tears as he saw Virgil fighting. Meanwhile, Remus was laughing loudly and randomly swinging his morningstar at Roman, who dodged and countered the attack with a stabbing motion of his sword. The fighting got louder and louder and Thomas frantically looked over to Logan - he was usually the voice of reason. But Logic was looking down at the ground with his hands clenched, knuckles white. Thomas watched in silent awe as Logan's hands started glowing with a slight orange colour before he looked up, an expression of pure anger and frustration on his face.

“EVERYONE, STOP.” 

Logan's eyes glowed a bright, blazing orange as long orange chains made from what looked like links of fire erupted from his hands and proceeded to wrap themselves around everyone except Thomas and Patton. The chains tightened around the remaining four sides, coiling around their bodies and covering their mouths. Roman looked at Logan, a look of confusion and frustration on his face as he struggled against the fiery bonds, unable to talk as the ones around his mouth turned into a blazing muzzle, akin to the ones on the other Sides’ faces. Virgil struggled in his chains, a look of recognition flashing in his eyes. Logan's eyes, which had always been a shade of deep blue, now burned with the same orange as the flames around the room. 

Patton, who had been frozen in shock, snapped out of it and screamed out to Logan, even if there seemed to be a look of recognition mixed with horror in his eyes.

“P-please, Logan, stop! How are you doing this? Please, let them go!” 

Logan - was it still Logan? - looked over Patton and grinned. Grinned. Logan never grinned! Those orange eyes shone, and the person - whoever they may be - tilted his head to the side and spoke in a rough, low voice. 

“Well, Sunshine-” Not-Logan smiled at Patton, toying playfully with the chains holding Virgil and Janus. “-since you asked so nicely, I'd be happy to.” 

The chains relented their tight grip and the sides were released. Remus clapped his hands together excitedly and smiled widely at Not-Logan.

“Oh good, you've made it! You're so much more interesting than boring old Logan!”

Janus rubbed his wrists, still sore from the chains. He glanced warily at those orange eyes and took a small step backwards, a look of confusion quickly erased off of his face and replaced with a neutral one.

“Well, look who’s here. Didn't miss you at all, too. So... how have things been going, Anger?”

Roman gaped at Janus for a moment, gaze flitting between him and Not-Logan. Anger… another side? An orange side? Grasping his sword, he took a stance and pointed the Samurai blade towards the orange-eyed side. 

“Who are you, and what did you do to Logan?!”

Virgil looked towards Anger and then at Patton. 

“Are we just gonna ignore the fact that this guy just called Patton Sunshine?”

Since everyone else was fairly distracted, they did, in fact, ignore it. 

Anger glanced at Roman's sword and laughed carelessly, the sound off-putting coming out of Logan's mouth.

“Oh, I'm just borrowing Logan for a bit. He's been pretty, let's say, pissed at most of you for quite a while now, and I just wanted to help the poor guy out! See, I'm not that bad.”

It was safe to say that these words were not the most convincing they'd ever heard. Virgil hissed at Anger and took a step forward, darkness pooling in his hands. Thomas glanced at it in shock. Everything was…changing, so quickly. He was feeling so many emotions at once. Worry, anger, a very heightened anxiety, and confusion. All of the fighting, which to Thomas was just internal conflict, was close to figuratively driving him insane. Logan had some weird orange side (with really powerful magical abilities, apparently) hiding inside him? And Virgil could control shadows? All of this was starting to give him a really bad migraine. Thomas looked at Not-Logan and spoke, his voice barely audible.

“Please leave Logan alone. Just…don't use his body anymore. Please.”

— — —

Chapter Text

With a grin, the, well, possessed Logical Side bowed and opened his mouth. Orange fumes and smoke tumbled out, flowing through the air as it settled next to Logan, whose orange eyes rolled upwards as he crumpled to the floor. As Patton ran to go help him, the fumes swirled and began to take a humanoid form. Standing at a height of around 6’2”, Anger wore an orange shirt underneath a black leather jacket clad with metal spikes. His chestnut hair was longer than the other Sides’, and dark orange streaks ran through it. He was wearing sunglasses which barely hid the blazing eye that they had seen on Logan just a few moments before. A pale scar ran across the left side of his face, slashed down across his eye. His boots matched his jacket, also black leather with metal spikes protruding through. 

The Side grinned and plopped down onto an armchair casually, spreading his arms expectantly as if waiting for a reaction. 

“C'mon guys, is that really how you treat an old Side?” 

Virgil seemed to tense up, glaring at Anger. 

“Well, that explains the heightened emotions I've been feeling, then. I just thought I was having a bad day.”

Anger lowered his sunglasses and leaned forward, leaning his elbows onto his knees as he looked at Virgil, one eye glowing like the flames in a campfire while his left eye was eerily pale, an unmoving milky white, as if he was blind in that eye.

“Aw, I missed you too, little spider. Say, why'd you leave? We had so many good times together!” He grinned at Virgil, and Anxiety glared at him back.

“I'm not a Dark Side anymore,” he spat out, darkness collecting in his hands. “And I don't care how many ‘good times’ we've had, it doesn't change the fact that a lot of those times, they weren't good. And I'm not that kind of Side anymore.”

A quiet groan rose from the floor as Logan began to regain consciousness, and everyone turned their attention away from the other two. 

“I…what happened?”

Patton almost cried with relief as he held Logan's face in his hands and checked his eyes. To his relief, the fiery orange had ebbed away, bringing back the deep blue. Patton helped him up and started pestering him with worried questions.

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Are you you again? Do you need me to get you some water-?”

Logan shook his head and took a deep breath, confirming that he was fine before he looked around the room. His gaze landed on Anger, who winked at him mischievously. Logan frowned slightly before going tense, understanding dawning on his face as he realised what had happened.

“Ah. Feelings.” He shook his head and turned to Patton to reassure him. “Well, I'm quite pleased to say that I'm back to my old self, or at least I believe so.” Logan turned to Anger, voice relatively cold. “If you could please refrain from using my body as a sort of emotion-heightening vessel, that would be appreciated. Now, what I do want to know is how long you've been doing this. Also, that one time, with Remus? Was that you?”

Anger chuckled and leaned back in the armchair, raising an eyebrow.

“You really do talk too much. But to answer your little questions simply: no promises, a long while, and heck yeah.” 

Patton glared at the new Side and pulled Logan a little closer to him protectively.

“You stay away from him, Anger.” The others weren't entirely sure they'd ever heard Patton's voice be that cold before. 

Roman, who had been staring at the entire exchange open-mouthed along with Thomas, straightened his back and once again pointed at Anger with his sword.

“Padre’s right. You need to stay away from our Microsoft Nerd, dude. And if you don't, you'd better sleep with one flaming eye open, Cruello De Vil!”

Anger rolled his eyes and chuckled, as if Roman's threats were something he was expecting and perhaps even enjoying a little bit. 

“Looking forward to it, punk. And really that's assuming I do sleep.”

Janus looked at him and his face betrayed his concern, and even Patton looked a little worried for a moment.

“You're not sleeping?” Morality asked quietly. 

Anger looked at Patton with a lazy smile on his face, eye still blazing with the now equally lazy flames. 

“Concerned about me, little brother? You didn't seem too concerned when you made everyone forget I existed and tried to push me away further.”

Thomas looked at Patton with a confused look on his face, before some things started to click into place.

“Wait, Pat… you have a brother?”

Okay, maybe that wasn't the best thing to focus on.

“You erased our memories of him?” Roman muttered quietly, but Patton didn't seem to hear him. 

Patton frantically looked around at everyone, seeming to panic slightly before he plastered a slightly shaky smile on his face.

“Uhm…yeah! I haven't seen him in a while though, and also,” he turned to Anger, his voice taking a slightly harsher tone. “You're way too mean to these people, my family, and everyone around us. I did what was right, what I had to do. You… you're hatred! And fury! You're Anger!”

Anger seemed to snap as he roared and stood up, towering over Patton as flames encompassed his entire being, hair glowing like a lit bonfire.

“YOU WERE MY FAMILY FIRST.” He took a shaky breath, eyes glowing brightly as he spat at Patton. “And you know that's not all I am.”

Everyone flinched at the loudness and suddenness of his yelling, shocked to speechlessness, before Roman broke the silence.

“Hey, you look like Hades from the movie Hercules-”

Anger cut off his sentence by once again wrapping him in the fiery chains, the muzzle settling on his mouth as Roman's sword fell to the ground with a loud metallic clash!. The chains tightened as he struggled, and Thomas saw Virgil's eyes widen as he looked at the Prince with shock and concern. Remus, on the other hand, looked at his brother with an almost envious expression on his face.

“Hey Anger, can you tie me up too? C’mon, it'd be fun~”

Anger pointedly ignored him as he glared at his younger brother, who was trying really hard not to break eye contact. Patton's eyes were brimming with tears, but he stood his ground with a determined look on his face as Anger loomed over him.

“That's exactly what I'm talking about! You lash out like that and hurt others,” he pointed at Roman, still struggling in the chains. “You were my family, but If you want to know what else you are, it's probably violence. And… and I'm sorry for what I’ve done in the past, but I did the right thing. And you can't exactly blame me when you keep doing that!” 

Roman fell to the floor, chains dissipating into nothingness. Anger's flames diminished slightly, his fists clenching. Janus, who had stayed quiet for a while, surveyed the room.

“Anger.” He murmured softly but firmly, and the new Side turned to face him, breathing heavily. “I totally don't want you to go to your room right now, where we definitely won't have to talk about a couple of things. Understand?” 

Anger snarled at him and glared at everyone else, but his fires retracted slightly as he sank out, nodding at Janus coldly. As soon as Anger left with Janus sighing heavily and following in suit a few moments later, the room calmed down quite a bit - though the atmosphere was still tense. Remus groaned and muttered something under his breath before sinking out too. Patton, seeing that his newly revealed brother had gone, fell onto the same armchair and started sobbing, curling up into a ball. Logan was more confused about whatever was happening, but kneeled down next to Patton and put his hand on the other Side’s, whispering unusually reassuring words to him under his breath. Thomas stood up and walked next to Roman and Virgil, who were speaking to each other quietly. 

“You remembered that Patton had a brother?” Roman hissed at Virgil, hunching over and whispering to make sure Patton couldn't hear. 

“Well…yeah, but it doesn't excuse the fact that he heightens emotions this badly.”

“He also said that our puffball over there pushed him away and erased our memories of him. I don't know when this happened, but… we both saw how badly that ended when I pushed away Remus. I don't want Patton to get hurt the same way.”

Thomas, who was listening in on the conversation, shook his head and whispered sadly.

“I think he already has been.” 

He gestured towards the sobbing dad character being comforted by Logan. Virgil eyed Patton sadly before looking to the floor, almost in defeat. Roman frowned and poked Virgil's arm.

“He knew you.”

Virgil tilted his head towards him and hissed. “Who?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, you know I meant Anger. Is it because you were a Dark Side?”

“No, I met him off of Tinder.” Virgil rolled his eyes and poked Roman back. “Of course I know him ’cause I was a Dark Side!”

“Why'd he show up now?”

“I don't know! It's not like I go over there every week to get updated on their plans. I haven't even stepped foot there since becoming a Light Side other than to get my stuff to move.”

“How long have you known he was Patton's brother?”

“...a while.”

“What-”

Thomas smacked the Prince's arm and gave him a stern look. 

“You're asking him too many questions, Princey.”

“...oh.”

Roman looked a little guilty and turned away from Virgil, but it could be seen that he still wanted to ask a lot more questions. He needed answers, something that could make him understand the situation better. Whether it was to help Patton, or for something else… even he was unsure. Falling silent, they watched Logan stand up a little bit and look at them, gesturing that it was okay for them to go check on Patton. 

As they neared him, Morality sniffled a little and looked up to see them, plastering a smile on his face. 

“Hey, kiddos! How're you doing?”

Thomas looked at Patton worriedly, and went closer to give him a hug. Patton melted into Thomas' arms and closed his eyes.

Pulling back a little bit, Thomas looked into the Side's eyes and spoke to him in a serious voice.

“Patton. Please don't pretend to be okay right now, 'cause we understand that what you just went through was probably something really hard to do. What I do want to ask is: how're you holding up, man?”

Patton gave him a sad smile, trying to shrug it off. 

“Well, I wasn't expecting it. At all. Ever. I thought I had it all under control. And I feel pretty bad, but…well, it's nothing I won't get over eventually, right?”

“Doesn’t exactly seem like you have it under control. And will you?” Virgil muttered under his breath, earning him another poke in the arm from Roman, this time harder.

“Of course you will, Patton! Things'll get better, they will. Say, what did happen between you and your brother, though?”

This last question caused Thomas to poke Roman this time, hard, and for Roman to get a stern look from Logan, who was staying a little quiet. Patton looked down and muttered under his breath.

“I don't really wanna talk about it.”

Roman was a little hurt, both at Patton's words and because of the poke that Thomas gave him. It really didn't need to be that violent. Virgil rolled his eyes at Roman and looked at Patton, his expression softening.

“It's okay, Pat. You don't need to. Do you want us to stay?”

Morality seemed to think about it for a second before shaking his head hesitantly, a guilty look on his face.

“Can I just…be alone for a bit? I'm sorry.”

“Don't be, take all the time you need.”

Nodding his thanks, Patton sank out and the others stayed silent for a while. It was Thomas that broke the silence.

“So… that just happened.”

Logan nodded and sighed softly. “Indeed it did, and I must say I'm glad to be once again in control of myself. It was… strange, feeling that much emotion. Though I must admit, the flames could be quite… invigorating, if that's the right way to describe it.” He looked at the rest of the people in the room and sighed.“ Patton is going to be alright, he's just shaken up. He hadn't seen… Anger in years, so the sudden appearance visibly scared him. This doesn't mean that it's going to affect him forever, he will grow,” Logan frowned a little bit, thinking. “Though I do wish he could explain to me why Anger seemed so…emotional. It seems like Patton had done something to him, but I'm not entirely sure I can believe that our Patton has the ability to hurt someone in that way. Admittedly, there's also the fact that we shouldn't jump to conclusions or make any educated theories or hypotheses of our own without some solid facts to back them up.”

Roman rolled his eyes and groaned slightly.

“I think I liked you better when Anger was controlling you, and this is coming from someone he chained twice! You talked less.”

Logan sighed in defeat and sank out, trying to make sense of what had happened.

“Now look at what you did,” sighed Virgil, shoving his hands in his pockets. “You chased the man away.”

“Ah yes, but was I wrong? I do not think so.” Retaliated the Prince, and he frowned a little bit. “How did Logan remember all of that if we can't?” 

Virgil shook his head. 

“Let's ignore that for today. We've put Thomas through enough.” Roman looked at the man and nodded, face softening slightly. 

“Try to have a good day, Thomas. We apologise for all of the trouble.”

Thomas sighed and thanked Roman, hoping that he could in fact try to relax for the day. After saying their goodbyes, Roman and Virgil sank out and left Thomas alone in the now quiet living room. Picking up his phone and trying to get comfortable, he inhaled the still present scent of vanilla from the half-melted candle and buried himself in blankets before doom-scrolling once again and trying to drown out thoughts about what just happened.

— — — 

Chapter Text

What the heck was that, Hot Stuff?”

Remus yelled at the newly revealed Side, who was pacing across the room, fists blazing. Anger didn't reply, other than growling loudly at the Duke. Rolling his eyes, Remus plopped onto a couch, analysing the room once again as Janus straightened his cape and suit. The Dark Sides’ common room has had to change alongside Thomas and his growth. Nowadays, the large room was decorated with aspects of all the Dark Sides, including Virgil's - in hope that he might come back someday. Each wall was a different colour: purple, green, yellow, and orange. On each wall were pictures, memories of the Sides’ pasts and experiences they shared. Remus glanced at Anger's orange bean-bag - burnt in some places from the amount of times he took out his frustration on it - before leaning forward on the sofa to listen to Janus’ lecture.

“Anger. Breathe.”

“I am breathing!” He yelled while starting to hyperventilate. Janus walked over to him and put his gloved hands on Anger's shoulders firmly, holding him in place and looking Anger in his good eye. 

“Hey. Listen. I'm totally not going to give you instructions right now that I definitely don't want you to follow. Okay?”

Anger nodded, frustration and panic in his eye as he hyperventilated, and Janus nodded back, looking at him.

“Good. I want you to breathe in for four seconds, hold your breath for seven seconds, then release your breath for eight seconds.” He waited until Anger nodded before he continued.

“Good. Breathe in for 4…” He continued counting and watching him breathe in. “...1. good, now hold your breath for 7…6…5…” Anger closed his eyes, the flames on his hands lessening even more as he loosened his fists. “...2…1. Okay, now breathe out gently for 8…7…you're doing great…5…”

As soon as Janus got to one, the fire on Anger's hands diminished completely and he crumpled into his bean-bag, hands shaking slightly as he stared at nothing. Remus, who had been watching the entire time with a small smile on his face, jumped up and skipped over to Anger, squatting down and leaning forward, uncomfortably close to his face. Grinning widely but completely serious, Remus spoke in a low, cheery voice.

“If you want, I can kill him for you!”

“NO!” The two other sides yelled simultaneously and Anger's hands blazed once again. Remus shrugged and fell back onto the couch he was sitting on before, watching. 

Deceit rolled his eyes at Remus and sighed, sitting down on a chair that he dragged next to Anger's orange bean-bag.

“Rem, you definitely shouldn't let me do the talking in this case. Because we totally want to make things worse.”

Remus groaned and gestured with some newly conjured deodorant in his hand, motioning for them to continue while he chewed noisily. 

Ignoring him, Janus turned the chair to face Anger and leaned forward to be able to talk to him better. 

“I know it's hard,” he whispered gently, letting himself be honest with the Side. “Things won't necessarily get easier, either. But please, trust me when I tell you that things will get better. You'll be able to face your brother, to get him to admit what he did. But don't do so at the expense of yourself, Thomas or Thomas' sanity. Remember, both you and Patton are at the core of most of Thomas' emotions, and you're at the core of his strongest ones.” Janus put a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him sadly. “You know, you aren't a bad Side, Thomas might accept you for what you are.”

“I won’t do what Vee did.” He mumbled, looking down, and Janus sighed in relief. “I won't go to the Light Side.”

“Good. I'd miss you.”

“We'd miss you, you overgrown candlestick. We've already lost Virgey, we can't lose you too!” Remus butted in with a mouth full of deodorant, and Anger grimaced.

“You know, I don't think that's ever not gonna make my stomach churn.”

“Want some?” He offered with a grin on his face, waving the deodorant in front of Anger. 

“Over my dead body, Ree!” He laughed back, jumping up onto his feet and stepping away from the deodorant. Janus looked at the two of them arguing and smiled sadly. He didn't want to think about what Anger's outburst meant, or what pushed him to that edge. But… There had been a time where Virgil would have been here to help calm Anger down during one of his episodes, but those times keep fading farther and farther away. The bickering had become too much, and Anger would enhance the emotions in a room so much that Virgil would panic and become… more irritable than usual. Admittedly, the effect it had on Remus was also probably at fault. The Duke’s flirting on that scale could be a little difficult to handle. But as Janus looked at the two Sides bickering playfully in front of him, he wished Virgil could have waited just a little longer, enough for Anger to pull himself together. That way, well…their family could be whole again. 

~*-*~

Around twenty minutes later, back in the living room, Thomas was still doom-scrolling on Instagram - though the quiet wasn't going to last too long. He heard a distinct cough from the corner of the room and looked over to see Logan raising his eyebrow at him. Thomas sighed and put his phone down, sitting up straight and looking at him.

“Hey, Logan. Are you doing okay? After what happened earlier, I mean.”

Logan nodded but walked a little closer, arranging his necktie slightly. 

“Thomas, I know that you've had an… interesting morning. But I really must bring up my earlier concerns. I'm here because you haven't even started any of the tasks that I mentioned earlier. And I do suggest that you actually start doing them, otherwise they'd continue piling up and eventually you'd have even more work to focus on.”

Pouting slightly at Logan, Thomas glanced at him.

“But what if I don't want to?”

Logan sighed at him and thought for a bit, eyes softening before he spoke again. “How about this, a compromise. You sort those clothes, and you listen to either an audiobook or a podcast or something in the meantime to keep you distracted while still working at a decent pace. Multitasking, in a sense. And you'd be enjoying it while doing so. Deal?” When Thomas didn't reply immediately, Logan sighed and added: “If you do, I swear won't bother you about this again for the rest of the day.”

Thomas thought about it for a bit, then nodded and put on an audiobook he'd been meaning to listen to for a while, walking to the laundry room to start. Logan, seeing this, gave a small smile and sank out, content that something was going to get done today. 

It only took five minutes for everything to go horribly wrong. 

He heard a crashing sound coming from the laundry room and rushed over there to see Thomas lean on the washing machine, breathing heavily. What was left of a ceramic vase lay on the floor, pieces dispersed across the room.

“Thomas, breathe.” He said calmly, but he wasn't sure the man heard him. 

Thomas fell to the floor, gripping his hair as tears streamed down his face. Some clothes from the pile sitting on a chair in the corner lay discarded on the floor, strewn randomly. 

Thomas could barely hear Logan's voice, or feel his hand on Thomas' shoulder. He was feeling so many emotions at once and he didn't know why. His chest felt like someone dropped an anvil on it, causing him to hyperventilate as he tried to breathe.

“Thomas. I want you to look at me right now. Look. Yes, good. Now, I want you to breathe with me. Breath in for four seconds, hold for seven seconds, and out for eight. Thomas, stay with me. Good. Breathe in.”

He looked at Thomas and then flicked his hand upwards, causing a stunned Virgil to appear with his fists prepared for a fight. 

“Dude! You can't just do that to someone without warning!” 

Anxiety looked at Thomas on the floor and his eyes widened in shock. 

“...Thomas?” He whispered worriedly, but Thomas didn't reply, trying to control his breathing as he steadied himself from on the floor. Virgil crouched down and looked up at Logan.

“It's… this isn't me this time. I swear, man, it isn't.”

Logan nodded as he saw Virgil put his hand on Thomas' shoulder, whispering things to him. Virgil glanced up at Logan.

“Can… Can you get Roman? I think he'd be able to help more than I might in this situation. I… I need to go check something quickly.”

Logan's eyes narrowed questioningly at the anxious Side's behaviour, but he nodded and summoned Roman, who squealed in surprise. He held a comb in one hand and his hair was flying out in random directions. 

“DON'T LOOK AT ME!” He yelled, covering his hair as if he was ashamed of his dishevelled appearance. His regular prince outfit was gone, a grey t-shirt with a small red crown on it and black pants in its place. But before he could see Virgil's face flushing red, he glanced at Thomas’ cowering figure on the floor and snapped his fingers, suddenly looking like his regular self as he turned to Virgil.

“Doctor Gloom, I swear, if you did this-”

But before he could finish his sentence, Virgil sunk out, leaving him with Logan and Thomas. Walking over towards Thomas, Roman put his hand on his lower back and rubbed in a circular motion, gently tracing patterns onto the fabric of his shirt until Thomas' breathing settled to a more constant rhythm. Squeezing his shoulder gently, Roman looked at Thomas and muttered to him softly.

“Maybe you should rest, my friend. A little sleep might do you some good, eh?”

Nodding absently, Thomas rubbed the back of his neck and inhaled deeply, stumbling over to his room. When he left, Roman turned to the logical side.

“Now do you mind telling me what in the name of Cinderella’s Shiny Glass Slippers that was all about?”

Logan frowned and leaned on the washing machine, glancing at the door from which Thomas had walked out moments earlier. 

“Truth be told, I'm slightly confused about this myself. I'm aware that Virgil said that it was not his doing, and he did seem to be telling the truth. He asked me to get you after saying that he wanted to check something. Any educated guesses as to what that might be?”

“Other than his My Chemical Romance vinyls? No idea.” He mumbled sourly, angry that Anxiety abandoned Thomas like that. But… he had to have had a reason to do that, right? Just… leave? Logan sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“I asked for an educated guess, Roman. Not a sarcastic remark.”

“Who said it was sarcastic?” He retaliated. 

“Fine. Well, one should hope that we will find out eventually, yes? I believe Virgil might owe us that much.”

“Does he, though?” 

“We'll see.”

~*-*~

In his room, Patton cried. He cried until he had no tears left to cry, and looked into a mirror, staring at his puffy, red face. He had never thought… he thought Anger was gone. He thought that he never had to go through that miserable phase again, that he could bury everything and just never look at it again. But he was Thomas' morality, there was no way Patton was going to let his brother make Thomas a bad person, to make him hurt someone again, especially through Patton himself. 

Walking into the bathroom, he leaned heavily on the sink for a bit before turning on the tap and washing his face, scowling at the idea that his brother was out there, probably messing up the Mind Palace. It took him a minute to realise that he was scowling, and Patton looked into the mirror in shock. No, this had to be Anger. This had to be his brother messing with him somehow. He looked around the room and cried out, fear and paranoia crashing over him like waves, threatening to drown him in the raging sea of past memories and thoughts and leaving him to struggle against it until it was making its way into his lungs, and Patton has no choice but to give in to those waves, that sickening dread like blazing flames, like the feeling of spiders crawling up his arms-

“WHERE ARE YOU? I KNOW YOU'RE THERE, PAL! I KNOW YOU'RE HERE SOMEWHERE.” 

He turned around the bathroom frantically, searching for any sign of his older brother. He couldn't take it anymore, the worry, the pain of remembering what had happened-

After about a minute of screaming and seeing blue-green sparks dancing in the mirror, he fell to the ground and started sobbing again, tearing at his hair as his head started to throb. He was panicking, his emotions heightened to such an extreme, and everything hurt, everything burned-

“Patton, breathe with me.” 

He felt hands grip his shoulders tightly and heard someone inhale, and willed his breath to follow theirs. After a while, the tears cleared away again and Patton looked up, staring into Virgil's worried sliver eyes. 

“Sorry,” Virgil mumbled, averting his eyes slightly. “I know you said you wanted to be alone, but…I felt your panic. You…that doesn't normally come from your room, and I know what it's like to start panicking alone. Just… to drown in your own thoughts, with no-one to pull you out. The loneliness can make people feel worse, or at least that's what happens with me. Hey, padre, I don't know what's going on, and I won't pretend that I do, but it's gonna be okay.” He wiped a tear from Patton's eyes and smiled gently. “Hey Pat, do you want a cookie?” 

Patton choked out a laugh at the random question and nodded slowly, closing his eyes to steady his breath. With his family by his side, maybe things wouldn't be so bad.

Maybe he could try to forget about his brother too.

“Yeah… I'd take one.”

— — —

Chapter Text

Deceit could feel his body being jostled awake and he peeked underneath heavy eyelids to see who was interrupting his sleep at - 3 am, great… just perfect… it’s fine, sleep isn’t that important anyway. Groggily feeling his bedside table for his glasses, he put them on begrudgingly and turned to see who it was, and the figure in front of him was one that he knew all too well.

“Ree- what’re you doing here?”

As the words left his mouth he noticed the boy was shaking slightly, unusual for the young Duke (‘young’ was a bit of a stretch, the boy was merely a couple years younger than Janus himself). Dread filled Janus and he awoke fully as he registered the boy's quiet sobs.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey. Ree… Remus, I need you to look at me, okay?”

The boy’s eyes met the liar’s. Upon their eyes meeting, the younger boy began speaking - or trying to at least, Janus couldn’t really make anything out through the sobs interlaced with frantic laughter. Truly, Janus couldn’t tell, it seemed like a mixture of the two.

“Yeah, just like that. Look at my eyes, Remus. Please, breathe. It's okay, you don't have to be scared. I'm here for you Remus. I'm right here, I’m not going anywhere. Please, what happened? What's wrong? Hey, hey- Deep breaths Remus, okay? Talk to me.”

The boy before Janus did as he instructed, taking deep breaths until he had calmed down enough to voice what had happened, still trembling however and breathing shallowly, clearly somewhat shaken.

“Now, what happened?” Deceit murmured encouragingly.

“Pal…las…f-f-fire… lost control…m-my fault…because of me… Virgil’s h-hurt… really bad.”

The boy attempted to explain further but once again collapsed into Janus’ arms, sobbing.

“Remus. Focus, try to calm down. I need you to tell me where they are, okay? It’ll be okay… I promise.”

The older boy wasn’t sure if he was reassuring the boy or himself with that last part, but nevertheless attempted to keep his face calm and collected, not wanting to frighten the boy in front of him any more.

“My room.”

Upon hearing this, Janus bolted out of bed, making his way to Remus’ room in record time. As soon as he entered, Janus saw Pallas standing in the middle of the room and staring at his burn-covered hands in what could only be described as pure terror. Flames engulfed the Duke’s bed and part an unsettling sculpture of some sort, made out of animal skins and God knows what else - Janus made a mental note to help the young boy fix the piece of art once this was all over, although he was half certain the boy wouldn’t mind the charring all too much - Virgil - dressed in a tattered black t-shirt which was too big for him and was now partially melted into the boys skin, and charred sweatpants - was sprawled out unconscious on the floor, covered in burns. Upon further observation, Janus noticed that the boy’s chest lay flat… completely flat… unmoving… he wasn’t breathing - he’s not breathing, how is that even possible? They’re figments of Thomas’ imagination, for the Empire's sake! Existing only in a plane of existence which Thomas unconsciously created, they aren’t even truly alive, they can’t die… Can they? Just then Janus caught Anger’s eye.

“I didn’t mean to. I swear! I just… I… We were playing and… and… and Remus started teasing me s-so I punched him… Virgil tried to stop me and we got into a fight. And I-I-I lost control… I’m sorry! I’m so so so sorry.” 

Janus nodded absentmindedly at the boy, completely missing the scorched flesh of Pallas’ arms and the blood pooling at the palms of his hands as Janus moved to help Virgil instead. Anxiety was his priority. He kneeled beside the unconscious boy’s side and placed his hands on either of Virgil's shoulders, shaking him gently, trying to keep the worry off of his face in an attempt to shield the other two in the room, Remus having been standing in the doorway this entire time.

“Virgil. Virgil - kid - come on, wake up.”

He could feel the tears threatening to fall, pushing his glasses upwards and attempting to keep those treacherous tears at bay as he gently pressed his ear against the boys chest hoping, praying to whatever he could think of - to God, to the Mindscape, hell… even to Thomas - that he would feel some sort of movement, hear the faintest heartbeat, something, anything to show him that Virgil- His Virgil - The kid who was unhealthily obsessed with the dark and morbid- any sign that the boy was alive… He could feel each second as it passed.

One…

          Two…

                    Three…

                                  Four…

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. 

This time Janus didn’t bother holding them back, he let the tears flow freely as he began pleading, begging even, cradling his son the boy to his chest, blood seeping from the burn wounds and onto his hands where he touched them.

“Virgil please. You can’t do this to me… You just can’t… I won’t let you. You can’t die on me, not here. Not now. Not like this…How dare you think you could go without saying goodbye! Please Vee… Please.”

Ten…

          Eleven…

                         Twelve…

                                        Thirteen…

~*-*~

Janus awoke, tears streaming down his face as he struggled to breathe, his heart pounding in his ears. As he moved his hand he felt something soft beneath him. He balled what he assumed was a blanket into his fists in an attempt to ground himself. He was in his room… In the mindscape… He wasn’t ten anymore… No, he was a grown man - it’d been two decades since it happened… Virgil was okay in the end…Virgil is okay … He is alive… And he’s probably in his room - It’s okay. You’re okay. Everyone’s okay. - It took him some time to pull himself together but he eventually managed to get his breathing back under control. Ignoring the neatly placed glasses on the bedside table, Janus glanced at the clock beside his bed - 3 am. No point in going back to sleep now, not that I’d be able to anyway.

His chest felt tight and he was still fighting the urge to sneak up to Virgil’s room in the Lightside and watch him sleep to make sure he was alright, just as he did for months after the incident - just watching his chest rise and fall, reminding himself that his boy was alive…

Suddenly, Janus’ thoughts drifted to Pallas. To Anger, as they called him. His outbursts today were unusual, more concentrated than usual. And revealing himself to the others, even after Janus specifically told him it was too dangerous? Janus thought that the Side had gained at least some control, though he did understand where he was coming from, even if only partially. Checking up on him won't do any harm, right? 

Putting on his suit hurriedly, using a multitude of phantom-hands to help him, he placed the bowler hat onto his head and walked to his door, opening it silently as he walked down his corridor, which led back to the main Dark Sides common room (Virgil used to call it the Angst Hub, which Remus loved for some reason). Janus walked over to the orange Side's door and opened it quietly before walking down Pallas' corridor, barely registering the swords, crossbows, and Three Days Grace posters carelessly hung on the wall. Opening Anger's door, he stayed silent as he saw the Side glance up at him, pausing in sharpening what looked like Roman's sword. Well... it wouldn't be the first time.

“Can I… help you?” Pallas asked Janus with a raised eyebrow before frowning at the wave of emotions coming from Deceit. Anger's blind eye was covered by a black eye-patch with an ashy-orange scorpion on it which was proudly displaying his emblem whilst his good eye was wearily looking Janus over. The Side closed the door behind him with a soft click! and leaned on it, looking at the Side for a moment before speaking.

“You're angry?” He asked quietly, looking at the sword and then at Anger curiously. Pallas frowned.

“...No?”

“Sharpening blades at three in the morning is just a hobby, then?” 

“Yeah, actually. Old Princey there wasn't taking good care of Brenda, so I'm taking care of her for him.”

Janus smirked slightly at the name

“Does Roman know you named his sword?”

“Absolutely not, he'd probably hate it.”

Anger put down the sword gently and snapped his fingers, watching it burn out of existence as it went back to wherever Roman normally stores it. Janus winced as he looked at the flames, flashbacks from the nightmare earlier still haunting him. Anger froze before glancing at Janus, a confusion evident on his marred face. 

“Jan… did I do something?”

“No.” Janus lied, hating the hurt look on the kid's face.

“You know that I know what you're feeling, Snake-man. What did I do?”

“Nothing recently. I just…”

“Nightmare?” He asked softly, raising an eyebrow.

“No.” Janus bit his tongue before he saw Pallas pat the bed next to him and Deceit sighed in defeat, walking over to his bed and plopping down. 

“It was about Virgil.” He finally muttered, avoiding eye contact. Anger was silent for a bit before Janus heard the hoarse whisper.

“When I… lost control?" Sensing the negative shift in Deceit's emotions, he lowered his gaze, absentmindedly running a hand over his arm, where the fabric of his shirt covered the scars left behind from that horrible day. “Oh.”

“I'm sorry Jan. I really am.”

“It's not your fault.”

“I can't tell if that's a lie or not, but I know that it is my fault, and I can never make it up to Virgil. I know it's been decades, but… even seeing him earlier today, that look he gave me was almost identical to the one he gave me back then. I hated every second of it.”

“Then why?” Janus suddenly shot, turning towards the other Side. “Why make such a scene? It was all totally expected and not concerning at all.”

Pallas was silent for a second.

“I won't… I can't live like this anymore, Jan. I just can't.” His voice had become slightly determined yet still hoarse, and Janus saw him look away, staring at something while lost in thought.

“Well, that's not vague at all.” Janus muttered bitterly before sighing and laying down on the bed, staring at the black ceiling with stars painstakingly painted on it, a mirror image to the ones one would be able to see in the sky without all the light pollution. Thomas loved astrology, and Pallas' room showed it. 

“He's suppressing me again Janny, I can feel it.” He spat out. “Patton's trying so hard to kick me out, to get rid of me. Does he not realise that he couldn't exist without me? Well, he could. I think. But it'd be different. A lot.” 

“Wait, what?”

“He's trying to filter Thomas' emotions again! Masking them with those tailored feelings. Thomas hasn't even been able to feel any proper emotions in ages! No exhilaration, no joy, no frustration, no anger, no love-” He went quiet for a bit, muting his sudden outburst.  “Patton doesn't want Thomas to fall in love again. I don't know why, I don't know why he won't just give Nico a chance. Oh, and of course he’s still bitter about the Incident.” Anger scowled menacingly at the thought. 

Janus turned to glance at the Side, who's hair was singeing at the edges.

“Is that the reason for today's extremely calm confrontation?” 

“No.”

The world around Janus seemed to flourish with brighter colours and he looked at Anger with a raised eyebrow. As if someone could lie to Deceit himself and get away with it. 

“Fine! Yes, that's the reason. Or at least part of the reason. I guess… I'm glad Thomas knows about me now, but… I'm scared, Jan. I'm scared. I'm not entirely sure I can take this any longer.”

“Do you… wanna talk about it?”

“Not yet. But I… I want to try to fix this. Myself. And maybe get to have a little bit of fun with the others, right? Might like it.” He chuckled dryly and lay down next to Janus. 

Janus looked at the stars before mumbling softly to him.

“I hope you don't fit in.” It was only half a lie, really - Janus didn't want to lose Pallas as he lost Virgil. Yes, the others had started accepting Remus too, and maybe Janus (slightly), but…Pallas was actually a good guy, at heart. Yes, he could be destructive, overly emotional and maybe even a little extra at times but…Pallas was his destructive, extra, over emotional hatchling. Anger in question felt all of this, and squeezed Janus' hand gently.

“You're not gonna lose me to the Lightside, bud. I mean, even if I wanted to, I doubt Patton would even let that happen.” He smiled bitterly at Janus. “Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?”

“I'd kill for a glass of wine right now, honestly.” He mumbled bitterly, his mind still picturing his hands covered in Virgil's blood. 

Anger slid off the bed and filled up two glasses with a dull red wine, sloshing them gently in the glasses while humming the first few verses of “Fallen Angel” by Three Days Grace before passing one to Janus and keeping one for himself. Deceit nodded in appreciation and took the glass gratefully. Pallas raised his own and made a small toast, giving the other Side a dry smirk.

“To broken pasts.”

Janus raised his own and completed their old saying with a small nod. 

“To better futures.”

— — —

Chapter Text

“Morning, gays. How are you guys?” 

Thomas yawned as soon as the words left his mouth, still tired but feeling a lot better than he had felt yesterday. He was still confused about what happened, vaguely remembering Logan trying to help, then Virgil, and then Roman. He was pretty sure that Roman took control over his dreams the last night, with them being more fantastical than usual. In response to his question, Logan appeared next to him and looked at him with a quizzical look on his face.

“Thomas, I believe the question should be how are you doing? After yesterday.”

“Well… a little bit shaky, I guess. Still tired. But other than that, I'm fine. I have no idea what happened yesterday though, that was… random. What came over Virgil for that to happen?”

Thomas saw Logan frown slightly and push his glasses back into place thoughtfully. 

“Well…I'm not sure. Virgil said that your panic attack wasn't his fault, but he departed before he could explain why. And if I'm being completely truthful, I believe it's best that he has a decent excuse, for his own sake. Roman seemed quite irritated when Virgil left with barely any explanation.”

Thomas grimaced. 

“Yikes. Do you think… okay, remember what Remus said? Virgil was a Dark Side. Do you think that has anything to do with whatever it was?” 

Logan shook his head.

“If we’re bringing up that argument, we should also bring up how against that idea Virgil was. He didn't seem to want to be associated with Remus, which should be a good sign. I think.”

“I guess so. But what if-”

“Goooood morninggg!” Roman sang, rising up into the room and taking a second to look at Thomas. “Hey, you! Someone looks better than they did yesterday.”

Thomas grinned slightly and laughed at Roman's enthusiasm. 

“Thanks, Princey. And thanks for yesterday too, you definitely helped.”

“I don't recall you thanking me.” Logan muttered under his breath.

“Right, sorry. But yeah, thanks Logan.”

“Well, you're welcome.” Said both Sides simultaneously, though Roman's comment was more enthusiastic than Logan's.

“Thomas, I do think you should probably continue those chores that you left yesterday.” Logan began, a sliver of concern showing through his usual stoicism. “I gave you the majority of yesterday as a break, and you definitely deserved the extra sleep, but I do believe that you should do something. At least the clothes this morning, then you can do the dishes in the afternoon, and start the editing at around four in the afternoon, preferably until around seven or eight in the evening. At the very least to be productive. Does that sound good to you?” 

“Not exactly!” Thomas said with a tired smile , pointing finger guns at Logan. “But I'll go get started on those clothes.” 

“Good. Let's begin.” 

But before Logan could follow Thomas out of the bedroom, he was stopped.

“Say,” started Roman, grabbing Logan's wrist and pulling him back a little bit. “What do you think Virgil was up to yesterday? I didn't see him again for the rest of the day after Thomas’ meltdown.”

“I have no idea where he went. And truth be told, we still haven't seen Patton yet, either.”

“Well, whatever's going on, when I see that Emo Nightmare I'm going to give him the interrogation of his life.”

The room darkened slightly and Virgil appeared, hands in the pockets of his black and purple hoodie. 

“Hey guys-” He started with a small wave, but that was all he could get out before Roman pushed him to the wall and leaned one hand next to Virgil's head, leaning down slightly to get closer and poking Anxiety's chest with his index finger.

“Listen here, Finding Emo. I don't know what you're playing at, or whatever you're getting at, but we need answers. And we need those answers now.”

Logan looked at the scene with a raised eyebrow before contributing to the exchange.

“Well, not necessarily now. And please note that I did not condone to the measures Roman is resorting to. Yet I do feel curious as to why you left Thomas so suddenly yesterday. Would you mind sharing that information?”

Virgil, who was blushing furiously due to Roman's behaviour, took a few seconds to reply, and even then he was stuttering.

“I… I didn't do it. It wasn't my fault this time, b-but I felt something bad from Patton's room-”

“Padre?!”

“-so I went to check and see what was going on, and I found Patton crying on the floor. He was screaming something about Anger, but I didn't really catch what. I think Patton's panic attack triggered Thomas' panic attack.”

“...oh.” Roman dropped his hand to his side and stepped back from Virgil, whose face was bright red. Logan, who was listening intently with a look of concern on his face, straightened his shirt before speaking.

“Is Patton feeling better now, at least?”

“Better, yeah.”

“I'm going to go check on him. See if there's anything I can do to help with whatever he's going through.” He turned away before turning back to look at Virgil once again. “And Virgil, I do apologise for doubting you.”

“Don't sweat it,” he mumbled back. “It's basically your job.”

With that and a nod farewell, Logan sank out, leaving Roman and Virgil alone together in the room. Virgil looked away from Roman, doing his best to try to stop him from seeing Virgil's bright red face. 

Roman turned towards Virgil and leaned on a desk, smirking slightly.

“You know, I still have a bunch of questions left. And I do love when people answer questions.”

Virgil groaned in frustration and did his best to stop from looking at Roman, at that styled hair, at those wonderful amber-coloured eyes… No, this was the worst time to be thinking like this. Roman hated him. And there were so many ways this situation could go wrong, so many-

Roman snapped his fingers and both of them got transported to a dimly lit room with two chairs opposing each other behind a table, with an unlit lamp sitting on it. Roman motioned for Virgil to take a seat. The anxious Side rolled his eyes and sat down, grimacing as Roman switched on the lamp and shone the bright light in his eyes. 

“This, my Chemically Imbalanced Romance, is an interrogation. And I have some questions.”

“Yeah, I know how interrogations work, Princey.” Virgil retorted, and frowned. “Also, what's that even supposed to mean? I'm your Chemically Imbalanced Romance? Your romance?” He raised an eyebrow, willing his breathing to calm down as he felt blood rush to his face slightly. Stupid emotions were still heightened, Pallas' fault, for sure. He scowled slightly at the thought, but returned his thoughts to the conversation with Roman. 

“What- no!” Roman shook his head, and Virgil missed the tinge of red staining his cheeks. “Absolutely not. Also, I'm the one that's asking the questions here, not you. Me. Got it?”

“Is there any way for me to get out of this?” Virgil grumbled as he glared up at Roman. The whole situation was ridiculous.

“Nope!” Roman exclaimed excitedly, slamming his hands on the table as he leaned forward to look into Virgil's eyes. 

“Now, first question. Why me?”

“W-what?” Virgil stuttered in confusion.

“You know what I said. Why me? Of all the Sides you could have asked to help Thomas, why'd you ask me?”

“Because… uh, you were the most sensible option? I mean, the only other Sides that were available were Janus, Remus, and Pa- well, Anger, since Patton was panicking.”

Roman leaned in closer, inches away from Virgil's face as he examined the Side and raised an eyebrow.

“You know Anger's name, don't you?”

Virgil averted his eyes from Roman's piercing gaze, contemplating for a second about whether or not he should say anything. In the end, he decided the truth was probably the best option. Roman didn't look like he was gonna back down anytime soon.

“Yeah.”

“Well? What is it?”

“Pallas.” Virgil answered after a moment of silence, and it seemed to Roman that just saying that name had taken a lot out of him.

“Pallas. Huh, weird name. Anyway, second question.”

“This would technically be your fifth or something.”

“Not officially it isn't. Officially, it's the second question.”

“Whatever.” Virgil rolled his eyes and slouched in his chair, trying to ignore the painfully bright glare of the lamp, which was still setting the scene for the interrogation.

“Anyway, my question. Tell me, Dark and Deranged. You and… Pallas… seem to have some history together. I know you used to be a Dark Side, so… that would make sense. What… is there anything I - we - should know?”

Virgil glared at Roman and leaned back in his chair a little, barely getting it off the ground. 

“Nothing of interest to you, Señor Romance. There were a bunch of bad instances, but usually things got fixed after a bit. Some other things…” Virgil's hand drifted to his chest unconsciously, rubbing it slightly. “Other things took some time to heal. But that isn't any of your business, Roman. So gimme some space.” He snapped, and regretted it. Everytime he got closer to Roman, this happened. He lashed out because he was too scared. Too scared of trusting someone like that, of what would happen if he did, if he really tried. He also knew that Roman could never not hate him. Yes, there could be good things, but Virgil wasn't entirely sure he ever had a chance with Roman. And he didn't want to make things worse, not after-

“And now I just have more questions.”

“Save it, Princey. I…I'm gonna go.”

Pulling a chair closer to the table and sitting on it, Roman crossed his arms and leaned on the table, looking straight at the other Side. 

“Virgil,” he said seriously. “If there is anything that might help Thomas feel better, anything that you can try to make me understand so that I can try to help-”

“Stop! You can't fix everything, Roman!” Why did he even try? “So stop shoving that stupid saviour complex of yours in people's faces and freaking deal with it!”

“Well, even if I can't fix everything, I still want to go ahead and try!” Roman snapped, before his face softened and he leaned back, giving Virgil a concerned look. “Thomas needs our help, and I know The World Is Ugly, but we've got to live The Sharpest Lives we possibly could!”

Virgil cringed internally and grimaced again.

“I… Geez, the amount of My Chemical Romance references you put in that one sentence to appease me is concerning. And you definitely aren't using them in the correct context.”

Roman grinned and placed his hand under his own face.

“Well, anything’s better than you yelling at me.” Virgil lowered his gaze slightly, not wanting to meet Roman’s eyes. 

“Can we just… have this conversation some other time, Princey?”

“That's exactly what I mean!” He exclaimed, accidentally slamming his hands on the table before wincing at the loud noise. “Emo- Virgil. We need to have this conversation as soon as possible! There's this punk-esque dude running around the Mind Palace, making everyone's emotions go haywire, and to make things even stranger, he's Patton's older brother!” He leaned back on his chair and waved his arms out dramatically, grimacing slightly at the situation.

“Now, I love myself a good amount of drama, I really do-”

“Really? I haven't noticed.” Virgil mumbled sarcastically, and Roman ignored him.

“-but the thing is, Thomas' sanity kind of depends on the balance in this place. The Nerd’s right - and by Aurora's colour-changing dress, don't tell him I said that - Thomas needs a balanced mind. And us waging a war in his head isn't going to help. Look at what happened already, Thomas broke down because of the mental conflict. Now… I don't usually ask for help, but it might be a good idea to… work… together.” He seemed to force the words out, but Roman looked quite confident that their alliance would benefit Thomas. Virgil raised an eyebrow and gave a small nod.

“Fine. For Thomas.”

“Good!” Roman clapped his hands in excitement and gave Anxiety a wide smile that made his heart flutter. “Now, questions.”

Virgil groaned and leaned back in his chair, but Roman's smile was contagious, and he gave the fanciful Side a small, tentative smirk back. 

~*-*~

Meanwhile, Thomas stared at his phone wistfully. It had been a while since he texted, well, Nico. Thomas missed him. But there was also the fact that he told himself he'd focus on himself, because that was probably the most sensible thing to do, after the circumstances. 

Talk to him.

Thomas looked around frantically, looking for the source of the voice, but there was no one there. Great, he was hearing things. It was bad enough that Thomas saw things (the wonderful figments of imagination that dwell on his brain, i.e. the Sides), but at least they were usually accompanied with a body of sorts. He didn't notice the Side appearing until he heard the voice tentatively repeat itself from beside him.

“Talk to him.” 

Thomas flinched back and fought the overwhelming sensation telling him to listen to the voice before turning and facing the Side. 

“Oh! Logan, I didn't see you there.” 

Logan nodded in acknowledgement, eyes filled with unusual passion as he looked at the phone, more love than Thomas had ever seen before painted on his expression.

“Talk to him, Thomas. Things… they might actually work.” His eyes looked more of a greenish blue than usual, which was… a little strange. 

“I… Logan, what the heck? What are you talking about?”

The Side stiffened slightly and crossed his arms. 

“Well, Thomas, it's clear that any time you're near him, your cortisol levels decrease. And to us, at least, you are making this severely obvious. So perhaps it is in your best interests to talk to him. He makes you happy, so… take a break from work and, perhaps, indulge in that happiness.”

Thomas looked at Logan with a confused frown, but his hands were already reaching for his phone. 

“...fine.” he said, with a small smile on his face, but he hesitated. “Wait… but, Logan, Patton told me not to. He said I have to focus on myself, that it would be the right option.”

“And Patton knows what he's doing, when, exactly?”

“I- Logan!”

“What?” The Side said seriously. “What did I say that was a falsehood and not a representation of the truth?”

“He…Logan, he's my feelings! And I thought you liked Patton!”

“I never said I didn't. Just talk to him, Thomas. For your sake.” He added, persistent. Logan seemed to pause for a second, closing his eyes and rubbing the bridge of his nose as if he was experiencing a huge headache, shook his head and sank out without another word. 

He stared after Logan, confused, but shook his head. After staring at his phone for a few seconds, he made his decision.

Thomas picked up his phone, and switching it on.

— — —

Chapter Text

~During Roman's interrogation~

“Oh, hey, Logan!” Patton smiled widely, glancing at the logical Side with an expression that was much more positive than the one that he had seen on Morality’s face the day before. 

“Patton. How are you feeling?” He asked cautiously, glancing around at the room filled with junk and memories from Thomas' past.

“Much better. Virgil gave me cookies!” He grinned, bouncing on his bed joyously. Logan raised an eyebrow.

“Is it really that easy to win you over?” He murmured under his breath as the faintest smile tugged at his lips, and he sat down on the bed beside Patton.

“Aww, don't say that!” Patton said, poking Logan playfully. “I'm honestly just really happy that Virgil came to me when he did, he really helped me! And cookies always make me feel better, Lo.”

Logan nodded slowly, as if mentally taking notes, and Patton smiled softly. 

“Patton…” Logan started hesitantly. “I hope this isn't too early, but would you mind if I asked you a few questions?” 

Patton tensed and looked at his hands unsure of how he felt about the situation, so Logan decided to try to make it a bit easier.

“Listen, this is the best way for us to understand what we're dealing with and what we can do to actually help Thomas. I understand that this might be difficult to talk about, and that it's a sensitive and uncomfortable subject, but I want to learn more about this. You…you saw what happened yesterday.” He faltered, looking into the distance as he thought about those events, about the fire coursing through his veins, the rage that had built up inside of him.

“Yeah.” Patton whispered, looking away. Logan shook his head and looked at Patton, thinking for a moment before snapping his fingers and conjuring some Tupperware, filled with something Patton couldn't discern. 

“An unrelated note, but I attempted to make these earlier, and decided to bring them with me. I assumed that these might make it easier to talk about, for the both of us.” The last part was added with a little bit of hesitation, as if uncomfortable with admitting that the event has unsettled him slightly. “And I do apologise if they aren't as good as yours, seeing as you have more experience with baking.”

“Are those…cookies?” Patton whispered in awe, looking at Logan with wide eyes and a loving expression on his face. 

“Huh. It really is that easy to win you over.” He gave a small, rare smile. Patton blushed slightly and looked away, but sneakily went to take the Tupperware from Logan’s hands. The logical Side, intrigued by this childish behaviour of Patton’s, let him. 

“So…what do you want to know?” Patton asked hesitantly before taking out a delicious looking chocolate-chip cookie from the container and taking a bite. 

“Well…more about your brother would be a good place to start. Personally, I do not remember him from Thomas’ childhood, and in fact most of us seem to have either forgotten him or were not aware that he was, in fact, your brother. Anger-”

“Pa-mpf-ahs.” Patton mumbled with a mouthful of cookies. 

“Excuse me?”

Patton swallowed the cookie before repeating himself. 

“Pallas. His name is Pallas.”

“Oh. Like the Greek-” 

“I don’t really care.” Patton shook his head, hurt in his voice, and Logan felt a small pang in his chest. “He’s just someone that I gave too many chances to. Lo, he’s hurt people. So many people. And he’ll hurt Thomas again, if I don’t stop him.”

“Stop him from doing what, exactly?”

“I…” Patton faltered, before lowering his gaze and whispering. “I don’t know yet.”

“Patton, has it ever occurred to you that perhaps you’re overreacting a little bit? That perhaps you just need to understand him more-”

“What do I need to understand? I gave him chances, Logan. So many chances. I just don’t think I can give any more. And besides, what do you know about Pallas? I’m his brother-”

Logan grasped Patton’s wrist before he could take another cookie, and stared Patton straight in the eyes.

“I know Pallas because he was inside my head-”

Patton flinched back, remembering yesterday’s events and moving away from Logan.

“Yeah, he was.” Morality whispered hoarsely, looking at Logan with a sense of distrust. The logical Side sighed. 

“He isn’t anymore, so you have no reason to worry-”

“Maybe you should leave.” Patton whispered in a small voice, looking away from Logan.

“What?”

“I said, maybe you should leave. I just want to feel… calm, gather my thoughts. And with the possibility of Pal taking over you again, I… I don't think it’s a good idea for you to be here again, yet, Lo. I know him. He won't stop. I’m sorry.”

Logan stares at Patton, mouth slightly parted in shock. 

“Patton, I-”

“I said go, Logan.” He choked out, looking at Logan with a look of pain in his eyes. Logan looked at Patton before turning away slightly. 

“You can keep the cookies.” He told Morality, before sinking out. 

~*-*~

Logan appeared in the Mind Palace and looked around, confused. This was not where he had intended to go, he had wished to go to his room and analyse his conversation with Patton. And perhaps ingest an entire jar of Crofters Logan's Berry jam, as an act of self pity. Given the circumstances, Logan was prepared to down two to get through what…felt (though he didn't enjoy using the word) …like emotional hurt. 

Glancing around the room, he saw something that was unfamiliar to the usual clatter found there. On a desk against a wall, Logan observed a blurry, black piece of what looked like paper. Mumbling to himself, he walked over to the desk while taking off his glasses to clean them with a handkerchief that he kept in his right pants pocket. Glasses wouldn't last five minutes without somehow getting absolutely filthy with fingerprints and other things, and that was one of the things he didn't appreciate about them. Even though Logan believed that the glasses did in fact frame his face quite nicely, no matter what rubbish Roman spouted. 

Glasses certainly suited Patton. 

As he got closer to the desk, he saw that it wasn't actually a piece of paper. It was an eye-patch, faded dark-grey fabric with a glowing orange scorpion-emblem on it. Logan arranged his necktie slightly before going to grab the eye-patch cautiously. As soon as he touched it, the scorpion shot out of the eye-patch and quickly scuttled onto Logan’s arm, looking like it was made of only flames, blackening but not harming his skin. It brought with it a familiar sensation, a tingling and burning in the pit of his stomach. Then, as soon as it had come, the scorpion seemed to dig itself into Logan's forearm, and the Logical Side hissed in pain. 

“Logan.” A cold yet smug voice called out from behind him. 

The Logical Side's blood ran cold as he turned around and found himself staring into a pair of different coloured eyes, one orange, the other white. 

“Pallas.” Logan said with a cold that rivalled the other's, trying to ignore the burn in his arm. 

Pallas leaned on the table and tilted his head, eerily looking Logan up and down with a small smirk.

“So… talked to my baby brother about me?”

Logan looked down towards his feet angrily and clenched his fists.

“He doesn't want to talk to me anymore.” Logan muttered bitterly, glaring at Pallas with an emotion that he believed resembled hatred. “It's your fault, really. And the others rarely listen to me, much less when I actually have something important to say.”

“I'm here to listen, you know that.” Pallas murmured, orange eye glowing softly. This was all just so confusing. 

“I…” Logan looked up to see Anger stare at him intently, and fixed his necktie once more. What was that supposed to mean?

“Anger. I’m re-evaluating this situation and-”

“I'm also thinking about stuff, and I'm not entirely sure what to think about you and my little brother.”

“I- what?” Logan frowned, not liking where this was going. 

“You know what I'm talking about. Truth be told, Thomas is about to enter a certain… situation, and I might just need your help.”

“Ah.” Logan's expression soured slightly and he sighed. Anger, who took this as a sign of cooperation, grinned and grabbed Logan's wrist. The logical Side's eyes widened as he saw flashes of orange and aquamarine light before his vision went black and he collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.

~*-*~

~The Present~

“Hey, Bananaconda?”

Janus sighed and turned towards Remus, eyeing the Side and wondering what strange antics he was going to drag Deceit into this time.

“I definitely love it when you call me that, Ree. And I'm totally not going to wring your neck if you continue to do so.” 

Remus grinned and leaned forward. 

“Oh, go ahead and choke me, snake-daddy! But I have an idea first, so… guess!” 

His excitement was both endearing and concerning. Remus was unpredictable on a good day, and psychotic on a bad one. 

“If it's another dead animal, hear me when I speak the truth to say that I will, I repeat, I will throw up on you, Remus.”

“Kinky! But no, it isn't a dead animal this time. Maybe next time though.” He tilted his head slightly and went quiet for a moment, face suddenly serious as if planning that next scenario in his head. But soon after, he shook his head and grinned, and Janus had to smile softly at his behaviour.

“I give up, tell me.” Janus sighed, curious now. 

“Fi-ine.” He put his hand behind his back and brought forward his conjured sketchbook: a small, black leather book (God knows what the leather was from, and Janus was too mentally exhausted to ask) covered in fungi and fish remains. He flipped to one of the pages in the middle and showed Janus the intriguing sketches there. 

“A fashion swap! It's one of my milder ideas, I'm aware. But, I thought it'd be fun to mess around with everyone just a little bit. And hey, who knows! Maybe they'll enjoy it.” He smiled widely and edged the book closer towards Deceit, willing him to look at them further. 

“Is this…Virgil's wearing-”

“I know! It'd be amazing! He hasn’t worn that suit in ages!” He shut the book suddenly before Janus could see any more of the experimental designs. “So?” Remus asked, practically bouncing with anticipation. “What do you think?”

Janus thought about it for a bit before smiling, his scales stretching slightly above his facial muscles. 

“I say go for it. It’s a horrible idea, really. I’m sure Roman would love what you have planned for him.”

“Super!” The Duke grinned, then frowned slightly. “By the way, have you seen mein kleiner Feuerball? He’s been missing for a couple of hours. Haven’t seen him since last night.” 

Remus gasped suddenly. 

“Do you think he’s been maimed violently and had his parts strewn around a room and we’d need to go on a scavenger hunt to find everything-?”

“Relax, Trash Panda. I’m fine.” Called out a low voice from behind them. 

Remus choked slightly in surprise, and it took him a few seconds to be able to regain whatever composure he had. 

“Pallas! I- Hi! You're okay!”

“And not dismembered, thankfully.” Anger smirked at Remus, who seemed to be at a loss for words. 

Janus sighed and took off his bowler hat, dragging a hand through his slightly ruffled hair. He hadn't seen Remus act like this too often, he's usually halfway decent at flirting at least. But something strange about this Creative Side - when he actually liked someone, he became a blubbering mess. And Pallas, the little son-of-a-motherless-goat, could feel all of those emotions. Deceit rolled his eyes discreetly as Remus excitedly showed Pallas his notebook, bouncing enthusiastically on his feet. Pallas looked…a little different. There was more colour in his face, an excited energy in his eyes. He seemed relaxed, casually standing close to Remus as the Creative Side described the idea to him. Janus didn't know whether to be worried or comforted by this contrast from the conversation they had in Anger's room earlier that morning. What… what had happened between then and now? 

Pallas glanced at Janus for a second, orange eye glowing slightly. He nodded his head and made a small swirling motion with his left index finger. So Janus was going to get an explanation later, then. Sighing softly in momentary defeat, Janus left those two to their own devices as he sank out.

~*-*~

“OH GOD THOMAS WHAT ON EARTH-” Virgil screamed at the top of his voice, staring at Thomas' phone with a mixture of horror and unexplainable joy as he waved his arms around to try to calm himself down. 

“I'M SORRY I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF-” Thomas screamed back, staring at the three Sides in front of him as he did the same thing Virgil did. Virgil, Roman, and Patton were staring at Thomas, all with differing views on the matter. Roman, in contrast to Virgil's confusion, was utterly elated that Thomas finally texted Nico again, and that maybe, just maybe, he'd find the love of Thomas' life. Patton was more…reserved. Which was odd to say the least. His eyes darted around the room and under close inspection, a thin sheen of sweat could be seen on his forehead. 

“Kiddo…I thought you agreed that you'd take some time to look after yourself first?” He murmured, barely able to maintain eye contact. 

“And I am, but I'm also living my life, Pat! I feel happy when I talk to Nico, so why is it such a bad thing?” Thomas replied, a lovestruck expression on his face. “And if it's your brother that you're worried about, isn't love a better option than anger, or hate?”

“Well…I guess.” Patton seemed far from convinced, fists clenching slightly.

“This is insane! You're meeting up in two days?!” Virgil exclaimed, eyeshadow flashing purple as he tugged at his hair, his expression phasing back and forth between concern and excitement. “Can you postpone it? No, that'd make him hate you. You need to prepare yourself properly. What place are we going to? What kinda food does he like? Is he allergic to anything?”

“What flowers should we get him? What gem should we put on the engagement ring-?” Roman joined in, taking out a notepad and taking notes. “Is amethyst too much? Maybe ruby, you're too broke for diamonds-”

“Oh my God, Roman, you're right-” Thomas cried out, pacing around the room and staring at his phone, periodically just making excited high-pitched noises mimicking Princey’s and bouncing with anxiety and excitement. 

Patton stayed silent, watching the lovesick chaos unfold in front of him as he hoped, as he prayed, that the logical Side would show up, if only to knock some sense into the others. 

“I'm not sure what I'm looking at here, exactly.” Janus muttered to Patton from next to him, and the Morality flinched in surprise before clenching his fists and trying to keep his concentration.

“Ah,” Deceit sighed, looking at the others. “Love. Leaves everyone entirely sane, doesn't it?” 

It was around then that the other Sides and Thomas became aware of the new presence. 

“What are you doing here?!” Virgil hissed at the half-snake man. 

“Well, it's come to my attention that all of you are acting like lunatics. Oh, I'm sorry, lovesick lunatics. Get a grip of yourself! You're letting emotions overrule you, yes? Where's that Glasses Geek when you need him?”

This quietened the others down slightly as they looked around, as if suddenly realising that Logan wasn't with them. Thomas looked at Deceit and frowned slightly. 

“He… Logan was the one that told me to talk to Nico in the first place. He said it was in my best interest-”

“Hold on,” Roman began. “Nerdy Wolverine told you that you should talk to a handsome guy because he gave you good feelings? That doesn't sound right.”

“I- but it's true!”

“Oh no.” Janus muttered suddenly, eyes widening slightly. 

“What? What did you do to him, you-” 

“No threats required, Virgil. My issue is that…well, you know that Anger is totally gone. He seemed to be in an awful mood just a few minutes ago, too-”

Virgil looked like he was ready to bash someone's head in, and Patton shot him a reprimanding look. 

“And you think he-”

“Left Logan alone after you people told him to? Absolutely.” 

Roman added his own Disney-themed colourful commentary to this, pacing around the room. Thomas watched but wasn't focusing as the Sides worried about Logan, he was too busy trying to replay the scene from earlier in his mind. In hindsight, Logan's behaviour was strange, but it was so compelling to listen to him…things just didn't make too much sense. But if the Sides were right, then Anger had something to do with this. Thomas glanced around the room once again and his gaze fell on Patton. Morality was pale, looking like he was going to cry. 

“Patton?” Thomas whispered to him while the others continued debating what had happened. 

“I'm fine, kiddo. Things are going to be fine. But…Thomas, you promised me you'd take some you time and not jump into a relationship when you weren't ready. Was it really that easy to forget about that promise and text him?” 

“I…I'm sorry, Pat. I just… missed talking to him, it's nothing major.”

“Yes, it is.” Patton grumbled, before sinking out. 

Thomas looked at the area where Patton had been a moment before and sat down on the couch, his head in his hands. The other Sides noticed the little scene and quieted down. Virgil had a worried expression on his face, his concern for everything growing. Roman sat down next to Thomas quietly, and whispered to him gently. 

“Hey, it's alright. Patton's just…upset, but it's ok. Virgil and I are going to go look for Logan and see if he's doing alright, okay?” 

“We are?” Virgil blinked in surprise, and Roman shot him a warning look. 

Janus smiled awkwardly and lay a gloved hand on Thomas' shoulder.

“You did nothing wrong, Thomas.” 

Thomas in question winced, burying the heels of his palms deeper into his eyes, as if trying to push out and erase the memory. 

“That's not as reassuring as you might think, Janus.” Deceit hid his smirk behind his hand, masking it as a yawn. 

“Well, you broke a promise with your literal morality. But it's fine.”

Thomas groaned, regret enveloping his mind. Roman smacked Janus in the back of the head and accidentally knocked his hat right off, causing his hair to stick out in multiple places.

“Whoops, sorry. But please stop. Thomas,” Roman turned to address him. “Rest. If he has no major relevant complaints, Emo-sthetic and I'll go check on Mr. Necktie, okay? So don't worry about things. Hakuna Matata all the way!” 

Thomas gave a weak smile and lay down on the sofa, staring at the ceiling tiredly. Virgil nodded at Roman, and they both sank out, Janus following them shortly after. 

— — —

Chapter Text

Roman and Virgil weren't entirely sure this was a good idea anymore. 

It was strange, being the ones going to try to confront and maybe even comfort the Logical Side - though if they were being honest, they were pretty sure it'd be the former and not the latter. Logan wasn't one to display emotions, and the most extreme reaction they'd ever gotten out of him was a furious 'Falsehood!' yelled every now and again. That is, before yesterday. Logan being controlled by Pallas… they had to agree with Patton on this one. That thing was terrifying. Roman looked at Virgil and gestured to the door, and the emo shook his head pointedly.

“No way in heck am I going in there first, Princey. Ladies first.” Anxiety gestured towards the door and stepped backward behind Roman, who winced slightly, praying to whatever fairy godmother was listening and he gripped the doorknob before opening it quickly. 

The first thing that hit them was the smell. It was the smell of old books and new books, of newly-grounded coffee. Entering the room itself felt like the small awe one gets from holding newly-printed paper, the subtle warmth sinking into their skin. And the inside was incredible. Just… incredible. Roman gazed in awe at the bookshelves, neatly arranged with books that had been assigned new covers so that they could be arranged by colour-gradient while also organized by Dewey-decimal. The bed, a deep dark blue - the same as Logan's eyes, he realised - was placed in a corner directly to the right of the door and had not a single wrinkle in the sheets, nor in the painstakingly organized pillows. In the centre of the room lay an average sized carpet with a De Stijl pattern, matching the one from Logan's Christmas sweater from a few years back. But the lengths Logan took in the name of organisation weren't even the craziest thing about the room. 

Instead of the farthest wall to the door, the two Sides could see space. As in, outer space. A void with purples, blues, streaks of gold and stars brighter than they had ever seen before. Roman remembered helping design the wall for Logan when they were much younger, remembered the quiet thanks that the logical Side had expressed. And there, sitting on a small beanbag in the middle of the miniature galaxy, was Logan himself, his back to the other Sides as he gazed into the starry abyss.

Surprisingly, it was Virgil that broke the silence. 

“Hey, Logan.” 

The Side turned to face them, a fleeting, tired expression on his face. He had bags under his eyes, his hair slightly disheveled. 

“Roman, Virgil. How may I help you?” He asked as he straightened his glasses and arranged his necktie. The other two Sides glanced at each other.

“Logan…” started Roman, taking a few cautious steps forward. “Are you okay?”

“And why wouldn't I be?” Logan sighed tiredly, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“Listen man, I get it.” Virgil interrupted. “Pallas got to your head. But can you at least explain to us what's actually happening here? We want to help you where we can.”

“There's nothing to help with." Logan muttered bitterly. "What's done has been done. And where I stand in this situation has been made quite clear, thank you.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Asked the Prince, arms folded across his chest. Logan looked away and sunk just a little deeper into the beanbag.

“Patton. He hates me.” He whispered, conjuring an open jar of Crofters and scooping out a spoonful, shoving it into his mouth. Virgil's gaze softened and he walked closer to Logan, though still a little disconcerted by the emotion he was expressing. 

“Patton doesn't hate you, Logan. He doesn't hate anyone.”

“He hates his brother, and by default he hates me. He doesn't trust me anymore, because of… that.” He waved his spoon around and gave up on trying to explain, opting instead for another spoonful of jam. 

“Yeah, uhm…”

“We're actually here to ask about that.” Roman interrupted, his now-golden eyes scanning the shimmering stars in the false-galaxy. Logan tensed up slightly, but didn't say anything. 

“The thing is, we have some questions. If you don't mind us asking, that is.” 

“I do mind, at least a little bit.” The logical Side muttered, but he used his spoon to signal Roman to continue. 

“Good. I mean, not good, but answers are nice. Right? Answers are good?” He turned to Virgil for a moment and gave a small, proud smile as the anxious Side nodded in agreement.

“Right. So, Isaac Gloomton, first question.”

“Just saying, this is very similar to what I had to experience earlier.” Virgil butted in, addressing Logan, who gave a strained smile.

“Question one,” Roman emphasised irritably. “Were you the one that told Thomas to text Nico earlier?”

“Technically, it was Anger using my body, but sure.”

“...Right.” He conjured a notebook and scribbled something inside. 

“Question two, what happened between you and Patton?”

“Geez,” muttered Virgil. “Straight to the tough questions.”

Logan stayed silent for a few moments before turning to look Roman straight in the eye. 

“He hates me. Because of the thing with Anger. I went to check up on him earlier, but he told me that he didn't want to see or talk to me again because of the fact that Pallas has and might once again find a way to take over my mind again. He… Patton doesn't want to see me again.”

“Well I'm glad that's cleared up-”

“Roman.” Virgil hissed threateningly.

“Right.” Roman winced, and tried a different approach. “Sorry. Listen, he doesn't hate you. It might seem that way, but… padre was just having a bad day, okay? And the thing with Anger… well, I guess I don't see why it's such a bad thing. Other than chaining us up with fire and getting Thomas to text an equally flaming-hot prince, I can't think of anything else he's done.” 

“You look tired, Logan.” Virgil interrupted suddenly, noting Logan's sad expression “What's up?” 

“Nuh uh, I'm asking the questions, Virge. That one's question four. First, question three. Did Pallas make you tell Thomas to break his promise to Patton?”

“I… there was a promise?” Logan's face drained of colour as he seemed to lose all hope. “Thomas made an oath to Patton? And I…Oh Freud, help me.” 

Logan looked so…distraught. They'd never seen him this disorganised before, and if that wasn't scary, they didn't know what was. 

“Logan.” Roman said as he crouched to look him in the eye. “Did Pallas do that weird voodoo crap?”

“Technically, it's possession, not voodoo. But I do understand your point. And to answer your question, as I said before, yes, that is a correct assumption.”

Princey nodded slowly before looking at Virgil, who nodded slowly and shrugged. 

“Question four…?” The Emo Nightmare prompted slowly, one of his eyebrows slightly raised.

“Right.” He was about to start interrogating again when he paused slightly, catching Virgil's eye. “Why…why don't you take this one, Scaramore?” Roman suggested tentatively, watching as Virgil's violet-flecked eyes darted to Logan before he sighed slowly. 

“Fine. I don't see why I have to ask this again, but okay.” He sighed and looked at the Logical Side once again. “As I asked earlier, what's up, Logan?”

Logic pushed his glasses back with the hilt of his spoon and gripped the jar of Crofters a little tighter, his knuckles turning slightly whiter.

“It takes quite a lot out of me when Pallas… takes over. It's emotionally overwhelming, and when he performs displays of power such as the kind he did yesterday, it's quite taxing on my metaphysical being. I've only realised that that is the reason for my tiredness - at least in part - recently.”

Roman saw Virgil frown slightly, a million thoughts seemingly racing behind those eyes, those purple-flecked hazel coloured eyes-  

“You know,” The anxious Side started suddenly. “I just remembered, Anger said you were already pissed at us, and he wanted to help. Is… is that true?” 

Logan stood up and looked at the two Sides in front of him. 

“There are plenty of infuriating things I've had to endure in my time here. And truth be told, the fact that something like this had to happen for you two to actually take notice is quite telling as to why I might feel that way.” He seemed to hesitate for a moment before shaking his head. “I’m sorry, but I'm going to need a couple of hours of solitude to analyse my situation further. Please excuse my lack of hospitality, and close the door behind you.”

“I-” Virgil stuttered, unprepared for the turn of events. 

“I'm serious, Virgil.” Logan gave him an appreciative look, but there was pain in his eyes, something that the two Sides were greatly unprepared for. “Perhaps it is best for me to collect my thoughts and… try to find the best solution to fix this. After all, that's my job, is it not?”

The Prince looked at Logan, really looked at him. Maybe Logan needed a friend, but maybe he was right. He sighed and leaned back, glancing one more time at the stars and constellations, following a comet passing by, and made a silent wish. Virgil, ignoring Roman, bit one of his nails nervously as he anxiously - hah, anxiously, Roman noted mentally - evaluated the situation to see what the best course of action would be. . 

“Virgil, Roman. Please.” Logan's voice had regained its composure, but there was the slightest crack in his voice. 

It was Roman who broke the silence that followed.

“Okay.” He said quietly, and put a hand on Virgil's shoulder. “Let's go, Purp-Man.” 

“What?!” He whispered harshly as they walked towards the door, away from Logic. “There is no way that we're just going to leave him alone in there!” 

“Virge, it's better this way. I hate to say it, but Logan is smarter than all of us combined. Sure, like you said, he can be a clueless moron most of the time, but… maybe we should let him think this through. At least for a little while.”

Virgil put his hand on the doorknob and twisted it open.

“I still think this is a bad idea.” 

Roman nodded and gestured for Anxiety to leave the room before him. 

“Probably. But…all of the other ideas I have are probably worse.”

“Fine.” 

Logan watched as Roman closed the door behind him, and sighed. One thing he loved about his room was the fact that it was soundproofed a few years earlier, meaning that nobody had heard him scream. His throat was still sore, his eyes still a little bit red from the tears, and he was still emotionally drained. Logan couldn't tell them the truth. He couldn't explain to them how he felt, how every time he got ignored or belittled, his entire world shattered. It was like he was invisible, and even though chasing those two Sides away would only increase his solitude, he was being honest when he said that he needed some time to think about and process what had happened. 

He also couldn't tell them about the burn mark in the shape of a scorpion that Pallas had left right below his shoulder earlier, and how touching it would lead Logan through an overwhelming pain and emotional rollercoaster. 

And so Logan let himself think. 

Crossing his legs on the beanbag and closing his eyes, he focused on his body and began to calm himself, relaxing tensed muscles and thinking about his breathing. When he opened his eyes, he was floating. 

Gone was the beanbag, the bookshelf, the bed. All around him, he saw colourful galaxies and shooting stars and constellations. 

Taking in a deep breath, Logan began his self-evaluation. 

“Alright. Let's begin.” He muttered to himself, as if starting a lecture, or explaining it to someone who wasn't really there. 

“First of all. How are you feeling, Logan?” He asked himself in a calm voice, 

“Awful, Logan.” Logic replied, voice cracking ever so slightly with the quiet admission. “I want to continue screaming and rip my hair out. I'm feeling frustrated, guilty, and annoyed. I'm also sensing some anger, and… I believe that may be heartbreak? I'm not entirely sure.”

“Okay. Acknowledge those feelings. Now, why are you feeling this way?”

Logan’s gaze drifted along the constellations, noting their position. He eyed the constellation Leo and watched as lines connected the stars, becoming a celestial lion which stared at the Side with blazing white eyes as Logan continued to speak. 

“I believe it's because of Anger.” He murmured quietly as he watched the lion slowly make its way towards him, one glowing paw in front of the other. “I realise that it is also my doing, as I let my frustration get the best of me, which led to Anger being able to reach me in the first place.” Leo the constellation made it to Logan and purred, rubbing its head against Logic's chest, calming him down. Patton wasn't the only Side that loved cats. Giving it a small smile, Logan ran his fingers through the lion's mane, feeling its warmth soften his emotions slightly, aiding the self-evaluation.

“That's a good start!” It felt like he was speaking to Patton, and Logan felt his chest tighten slightly at the thought. “But tell me, Logz, do you think that's all it is?”

“Well… no, it probably isn't.” He ran his fingers through Leo's mane, focusing on the feeling of the fur gently tickling his skin. “There are other factors, most probably including Patton. I don't like the fact that he's been hurt in this situation, and I'm one of the people that's hurting him. Admittedly, it's Pallas hurting him through me, but I'm still at least partially to blame. I… I'm not comfortable with the idea of Patton hating me.”

“And why's that, Logan? Why is Patton's opinion so important?”

“Patton loves everyone, Logic!” He despaired, wrapping his arms around Leo's neck and hugging the still-purring lion a little tighter, the living constellation glowing in the black, starry sky as it brushed its head against him reassuringly. “And he said that he doesn't want to see me anymore.” He grimaced at his words. “Okay, kind of. He kind of said that. I'm probably magnifying. His main problem was that Pallas was influencing my decisions and also… yeah, he did that yesterday.”

“He did. And…it's probably not the best to admit, but releasing all of that emotion was genuinely relieving. Also, you felt the strength and presence with the chains.”

“Oh, absolutely. The power was almost intoxicating, which… well, it's terrifying.”

“I'm not sure what to do at this point.”

“Neither do I. But let's go back a little further than yesterday. Pallas, through you, revealed that you were annoyed with the other Sides. Why would you say you're feeling that way?”

Logan stayed quiet, as if not wanting to admit the real reason. Which was an odd thing, asking yourself something and not wanting to answer. The lion's glowing eyes looked at him questioningly, and Logan shut his eyes, as if to try to push away the truth.

“Because I'm just trying to help, and nobody cares about me enough to listen to me.”

— — —

Chapter Text

“Roman, slow down!” 

The Prince was running away from his brother, a hysterical laugh slipping from Roman's lips as Remus chased him. The forests in Roman's Kingdom were full of vibrant colours and filled with life, and Remus almost tripped on multiple small roots, the dry foliage crunching underneath his somehow soggy trainers. 

“You'll have to catch me first, brother!” The Prince laughed, running through the forest and skillfully avoiding hitting any branches.

“You still haven't told me where we're going !” He yelled, and he leaped forward, crashing into Roman as they both fell to the ground laughing. 

“It's a surprise.” Roman laughed, green leaves working their way into his chocolate-brown hair. 

“Not fair!” Remus panted, his morning star glinting in the small rays of sunlight penetrating the leaf canopies. “You know this place better than I do.”

“Sounds like a you problem, Ree. Come on, we're almost there!” They wrestled for a bit, and Remus got pushed off. They both stayed on the floor for a few moments, laughing and gazing up at the leaf canopies. 

“Well if we're going to go there, let's hurry up! I'm dying to go there. Well, not literally. Ooh, how cool would it be if it was literally-”

“Don't speak that way, Rem.”

“You’re taking ages, Ro! When are we going to get there?”

“Soon! You just need to be patient, Ree. We’re almost there!”

They laughed and ran, their young voices piercing through the quiet sounds of Roman’s forest. Suddenly, Roman stopped and grabbed Remus's arm. Pulling him to the side, the prince spoke to his brother in a small, mysterious voice. 

“What you’re about to see, you will see nowhere else, brother. You will not be able to unsee it, and you can’t tell anyone about it. Got it?”

Remus giggled at his brother’s behaviour and nodded, eyes wide. The suspense was building up inside him, and he had absolutely no idea what Ro had in mind. It could theoretically be a bad thing that Roman wanted him to help hide, but the excitement radiating off him suggested otherwise. 

“Good.” The Prince nodded, a small smile playing across his face. “Let’s go.” 

As they walked out from between the trees, Remus had to cover his eyes for a second, the sun much brighter than the dimly lit forest. When he opened them and looked around, the Duke had to take a second to process his surroundings.

They were in a clearing - the grass a shimmering emerald green underneath the lethargic, golden sunlight - and beyond that clearing was a lake unlike Remus had ever seen before. It was beautiful , it's surface changing colours like a liquid rainbow as the assortment of hues blended together and shifted in the warm sunlight. On the grass lay a small basket, its contents hidden by a silky red cloth.

“So…what do you think?” Roman whispered, as if afraid to ruin the moment. 

“It's awesome. And I so want to drink from that lake, it looks so shiny !”

“That's probably dangerous-”

“Even better!”

“Ree, I have something better for you to drink. And perhaps just a teensy bit daring, too.” The prince smirked and gestured to the picnic basket. Remus eyed it suspiciously and walked a little closer.

“What is it?”

“Have you ever tried…” Roman began, walking over to the basket and unveiling a pitcher containing a slightly orange liquid. “Spicy lemonade?” 

“Spicy…do you mean alcohol?” The Duke asked, shaking with excitement. Technically, they weren't supposed to drink at 7 years old, but Janus always let him have a glass if he behaved.

“What? No! We're too young for that. I mean literally spicy. There's a bunch of chilli powder in there. It's supposed to be a small competition, to see who'd last the longest.” Roman laughed, pouring a glass for his brother and then one for him. 

“OH! You're so on, Ro.” He laughed, and grabbed the glass, holding it to his lips as Roman did the same. They counted down from three simultaneously and chugged. The liquid sloshed into Remus’s mouth and down his throat, burning his taste buds. It was like drinking fire, and he loved it. His eyes were slightly red as he finished the glass in four seconds, setting it down and coughing a little bit as his mouth continued to burn. Roman, on the other hand, wasn't doing so well. Tears were streaming down his eyes and his face was as red as his sash, his glass only half emptied. They both looked at Remus's empty glass and fell to the floor, laughing. 

“I…I forgot-” Roman burst out coughing as more tears spilled. “Air- hot!” 

Remus howled with laughter and coughing because of the spice, rolling on the fresh grass beneath them.

“I have a higher spice tolerance than you!” Remus laughed and choked on his saliva, which caused the burning to become worse, and they both tried to lie down and stay still, as if it would chase the spice away. Looking at each other from the floor, they grinned. It was so fun , being together. The split had only happened a year before, but they'd been an unstoppable force together, as if they'd been together for eternity. Remus beamed at his brother and looked towards the Prince's still half-filled glass.

“I'm so gonna drink that.”

“Wait, no-”

But it was too late. Remus had already downed the rest of the glass, liquid pain running down his throat. He burst out laughing and a singular tear escaped, not from the spice, but from the excitement. 

“ ¡Estás loco, hermano!” Roman yelled, laughing hysterically. Remus wiped his mouth with his sleeve and held out his other hand to help his brother up, and they stood up and grinned at each other. 

Suddenly, Roman's eyes sparkled slightly, an idea shining behind his colour-shifting gaze. 

“Re, let me show you something.” 

The Duke raised an eyebrow and followed his brother to the edge of the pretty, colour-changing lake. Remus watched as Roman looked at the ground for a second before picking up a small, smooth pebble and showed it to the other. 

“Watch this.” He smirked, and tossed the stone. They'd done this before in Remus's Mindscape, but the lake there was made of liquid fire, so it was a little bit uncomfortable for Roman sometimes. Remus was the tougher brother, and he loved that. Even though sometimes it made Ro just a little bit annoying.

The stone touched the water and exploded. 

Well, not exploded. The surface of the lake erupted in sparks where the pebble hit as it skipped across the surface, tiny fireworks with loud, crackling sounds filling the air. The fire was mesmerising, beautiful. 

“Oooh, six times! I think that might actually be my new high-score, Ree. Do you want to try?” He asked, picking up another pebble from the shore and passing it to Remus. 

The young duke took the pebble, but didn't throw it. Instead, he looked at it for a second, inspecting its small grooves and beige colour before dropping it to the floor. He took a few steps backwards and ran forwards, jumping up and cannonballing into the water. 

“WHOOOO-” He yelled, his yell cut short as his body hit the shimmering liquid. 

When he opened his eyes, Remus saw colours. 

The liquid was more opaque than not, like swimming in a liquid pearl. And it burned . His skin burned, his eyes burned, and as he moved sparks danced across his body, and they hurt too. It was amazing. Painful, and amazing. He tried to swim back up to the surface, but his strength had left him. He struggled against the strangely viscous liquid surrounding him, accidentally breathing out and letting the lake in. He shut his eyes, giving in to the burning sensation. So this was it, he was going to die. His only regret was not saying goodbye to his brother-

Something grabbed him the back of his black tunic and tugged him downwards. He didn't struggle this time, the sparks had taken his strength. His will. Remus gave in to the thing behind him. 

Suddenly, they resurfaced. The Duke could hear someone gasping behind him, could feel the frantic movement of them laying him down onto his back and yelling his name, but Remus couldn't respond. He couldn't open his eyes, he was paralyzed, sinking into the back of his mind.

And then he woke up, gasping, choking out whatever liquid was in that lake and removing it from his lungs. He spluttered and blinked, frantically looking around him until his gaze fell on Roman, who was kneeling beside him, tears streaming down his eyes. 

“Ree! Ree, are you okay?” He whispered hoarsely, and Remus could see him dripping with the lake's contents. 

That. Was. Fantastic. I can't wait to do it again!

“Yeah.” He croaked out.

“Don't you ever do that to me again, understand? I could have lost you! I-” He yelled before bursting out in heart wrenching sobs, hugging his brother tightly. 

“It's okay,” Remus whispered, realising that Roman had jumped after him to get him out of there. “You won't lose me.” 

~*-*~

“Hey, you alright?” 

Remus woke with a start, jumping to his feet and swinging his morning star around frantically. He fell asleep, how could he have fallen asleep? The Duke had plans to fulfil! From his singed-orange beanbag, Pallas was watching all of this with an amused look. 

“You were twitching on the floor, flee-bag. Were you having a nightmare or something?”

Resting his morning star on his shoulder and shifting his weight to one foot, Remus stuck out his tongue at Anger. 

“Nope! I was drowning in a lake with really pretty acid or something. I don't know. It burned, and I loved it ! It was awesome!”

“Sure it was.” Pallas rearranged his headphones and closed his eyes, lying down on his chair and waving, indicating that their little conversation was over. That was fine with Remus, he had other priorities at the moment. 

“ Tschüss , my fiery friend. Don't burn the Angst Hub while I'm gone, do it when I'm there!” 

Before Pallas could react to that, Remus yelled and ran head-first into a wall, using his morning star to tear a sort of green rift open in the stone surface. The rift closed behind him, and he could feel a million hands grabbing him and propelling him forwards to where he needed to go. Oh, this part was always fun. But as he was moving, he couldn't help thinking of the dream he had, or memory he re-experienced, to be precise. He hadn't had fun like that with his brother in a while. But they're on opposite sides of the coin now, unable to see or reach the other side without brutally impairing or ruining something. But he did miss the way things had been with Roman, even though he won't admit it. That'd be silly. And they'd already lost Virgil, Janus would be devastated if Remus left too. 

His thinking about the old Snake was cut short as he was launched through the other side of the rift and into the outside world. There he was, Thomas, sitting on the floor next to that friend of his, Terrance. Final Fantasy XIV, I think. I'll pop in to say hello. 

“HEY THOMAS-!” Remus yelled, jumping in front of him and bending down to look at him. The man's eyes widened and Thomas' voice boomed around the room, even as he didn't utter a single word. 

“ Remus! Please, not now. ” 

Yeah, Thomas could do that. It helped when he didn't want to look crazy in front of everyone around him, except Joan and Talyn. They talked to the Sides too. But using that weird voice, the Sides would still be able to hear Thomas, them being figments of his imagination and all. 

“Oh, I'm not here to annoy you. I'm just checking up on you, seeing if you're busy or not. And you seem pretty busy to me! Have fun, I'm gonna go do something else. See you later-”

“ Okay, no, that's suspicious. What're you going to do? ”

“No one will die.” Remus reassured him. “Don't worry, it's harmless. The most that'll happen is probably me getting a shoe to the head. Hopefully.”

“ Fine. Just… play nice, and let me have a good time with Terrance, please. ”

“Alrighty!” He grinned, and sank out, leaving Thomas to his game and friend. 

Next, he went to the Mind Palace. That was where it was all going to take place. Taking out a small, yellow handkerchief, he threw it onto the ground and waited. Sure enough, a cloud of yellow, lemon-scented fog started to appear. It flowed out of the handkerchief and onto the floor around it, shaping itself into a vaguely humanoid figure until lo and behold, my Scaly friend! Janus stood, surrounded by the lemon-scented fog. 

“Remus.” He hissed, gesturing at his nightgown covered with small snakes wearing tiny Bowler hats. 

“Hi Janny!” The duke beamed, waving at him and pointing at the nightgown. “Nice dress!”

Janus scowled and flicked a still-gloved hand, changing into his regular outfit. Straightening his vest and weird shoulder-cape thing - Remus never knew why he'd wear it: if you’re going to wear a cape, why not just go for the whole thing? - and shifted his posture into the well known “Lecturing Stance”, as Pallas calls it. 

“That wasn't a dress, it was a nightgown. A dress would look drastically fancier than that .”

“It looked fancy enough!” The Duke giggled, and shook his head to focus. “Okay, plan. Are you ready?”

Janus looked at Remus, an eyebrow raised and a small smirk blossoming on his face.

“Now? I'm definitely not ready. They are your designs though. Are you confident in the results you'll achieve?”

“Quite confident, yeah.”

He was basically twitching in excitement, every hair raised. This could go horribly wrong, or really well. Either way, Remus was ecstatic. Buzzing around the room to prepare, he gave Janus one final grin before he used the summoning tactic he had prepared for the rest of the Sides. 

Remus screamed. The room darkened and started shaking, lights flickering as his scream pierced the air and the rest of the Mindscape. Remus's eyes glowed more with every passing second, releasing power with each wavering, blood-curdling note. 

Deceit covered his ears, grimacing as the room shook around him, dust falling from a new crack in the ceiling. He hadn't had to deal with one of Remus's screams since the last time someone had given him coffee around two months ago, even though he had specifically warned everyone not to. 

One by one, the Sides began to appear. A worried and disgruntled looking Patton, Roman and Virgil were next, both with their hands pressed to their ears, with Roman begging for Remus to stop. And finally came Logan, hair messy and glasses slightly askew as he frowned at the screaming Side. 

As soon as they all appeared, Remus halted his screeching and the room settled once again. Janus, wincing slightly and wiping a small trickle of blood from his ears, waved a hand distinctly. The cracks in the ceiling resealed themselves and the blood vanished without a trace. The Duke grinned at each of the Sides present, and before anyone could react or ask questions, he snapped his fingers. 

“FASHION SWAAAAP-”

Everything became pitch black, and one of the Sides gave out an ear-piercing shriek. It was eerily similar to Remus’s. And then the lights turned back on. ( Was that…Roman? )

Remus glanced at everyone, shaking with excitement. It worked! He looked down at his black hoodie with tentacles decorating the sleeves. It was open, revealing a forest-green crop-top that was torn on the bottom, with the words “I'LL BITE” in the centre, with an arrow pointing up at him. And those black sweatpants were so comfortable . The headphones also put together a little Virgil-aesthetic twist to his normal style. And the others faced similar, albeit different changes. 

The first person that Remus could see was Patton. For the little puffball, he'd chosen Janus' aesthetic, but more…fantastical. Morality was wearing a light blue tunic with small paw-prints on the sleeves, and something similar to Janus' little shoulder-cape thing, but brown and with little paw-prints on the edges. Fitted on a brown sash from his shoulder to his waist were multiple small bottles, filled with mystery liquid (he had quite a few ideas, but settled for potion bottles so that things would be easier. Though one of them was filled with gasoline). On his head sat a little brown Bowler hat, two bright blue feathers protruding from the side, and he had a choker with a small, golden bell tied to it, like one would find on cats.

Next, Remus looked at his brother. Roman had unwillingly borrowed Patton's aesthetic, wearing a red cardigan with its sleeves tied on his shoulders, on a white shirt with his emblem on the left side. A white fanny-pack with “¡SLAY!” embroidered in bright red sat on top of his tan-hued pants. Remus's favourite part of this outfit was probably the small crown that hovered above the prince's ever-eloquently styled hair. It was the same crown Roman used to wear when they were younger, and it made the Duke happy to see it back in its rightful place. 

Janus had chosen Logan's aesthetic. Yet somehow he still managed to wear half of that mini-cape of his, one ebony half draped over his right shoulder. A bright, striped yellow tie flashed in front of his black dress shirt, and a black Bowler hat with the words “I THUNK” in bright yellow sat on top of his slightly messy hair. It was a simple outfit change, but it served its purpose, even though Remus would have wanted to go way more over the top with that one. 

It was safe to say that Virgil looked stunning. For this one, Remus had to think about it for a long time. And so the Duke borrowed Roman's style for the Emo’s outfit. Where the Prince usually wore white, Virgil's outfit was as black as night, silver buttons shining like stars. A deep purple sash stretched from one shoulder to the other side of his waist, hiding a few throwing knives. Instead of Roman's strange, fabric shoulder-things, Remus decided to veer a little from the original. Dark metal shoulder-guards sat on his shoulders, each piece made of three separate layers and carefully arranged to give an almost dragon-scale effect. On Virgil's head sat a small, silver wire crown interlaced with amethysts and holding a larger amethyst near the centre of his forehead. A dangling earring with a miniature skull hanging onto it brushed against the Emo-Knight’s neck. The others didn’t know it, but Remus enjoyed seeing the Dark Knight return to his fantastical aesthetic. 

Logan had received Remus's usual outfit, but with his own twist. It was strange looking at someone that tall wearing his black shirt, but it looked hot on Logic. He had a dark blue sash tied to his shoulder by a large Saturn pin. A circuit board pattern was visible on the puffed-area of the sleeves, and the bottom of the shirt itself. A dangling earring similar to Virgil's was hanging from his left ear, but instead of a skull, there was a small atom depiction, which Remus thought looked pretty neat. The Side's hair was messier than usual and his glasses had small, blue rhinestones added to the corners.

There was a moment of silence as everyone gaped at each other, taking in the new changes and looking at their own new outfits. Janus smirked at the Duke and one of his ghostly-yellow arms hit him lightly on the shoulder. 

“So,” Remus grinned widely. “What do you think?”

“I am so confused.” Patton muttered, staring at everyone with a mixed look of uncertainty and excitement.

“This outfit is quite over the top.” Logan started, gently touching his puffed, blue sleeves. “But it's also quite… fascinating.” 

Remus's grin widened and he bounced slightly on the balls of his feet. 

“Ree. What did I tell you about changing my clothes without my permission?!” Virgil snapped.

“‘Never in the history of ever, even if the world was ending’? Eh, I thought it'd be cool this one time.” 

Anxiety sighed and paused,  looking the Duke up and down and finally nodded slightly in begrudging appreciation. “Nice hoodie.” That just made Remus's grin become even wider. 

It took him a moment to realise that Roman was staring at Virgil. His eyes were shining, his lips parted slightly as he gazed at the Knight uniform the Emo was wearing. Virgil noticed Roman's staring and glared at him. 

“What are you looking at?”

“I- nothing.” Creativity stammered, fumbling slightly and moving to straighten his shirt, only to find the white fanny-pack tied around his waist. 

“Oh, come on! I got the fanny-pack?” He groaned. 

“Because you need some place to hold your sword. And a fanny-pack is the perfect place! Also, it looks weird. And sounds weird. Fanny-pack. Fanny-pack fanny-pack fanny-packfanny-packfanny-packfanny-packfanny-pack-”

“We get it.” Janus interrupted pointedly, sighing slightly. Patton was frowning in the background, trying and failing to quietly repeat the same tongue twister that Remus had just demonstrated. 

“This is strangely comfortable. I see why you like the cardigan, Padre.” The Prince mused, tugging at a red sleeve with a tiny crown embroidered where on it. When Patton didn’t answer, Roman looked up to see Patton gazing at Logan, an excited twinkle in his eyes as he actually took in Logic’s new outfit while the logical Side examined the stitching of his indigo-hued sash. 

“Remus, these outfits are awesome! Did you design these yourself, kiddo?” Patton asked, fatherly pride blossoming on his face. 

“Yep!” Remus confirmed, a crazy smile dancing across his face. “Worked myself to the bone, I did. Seriously, I had to fight and seduce at least six brain-demons to get the materials for Virgey’s shoulders.”

Virgil grimaced slightly, turning somehow becoming paler under all of that white foundation. 

“That’s…ew.”

“But they look nice!” The Duke retaliated, throwing a pillow at Anxiety. “Appreciate my efforts, you little ball of angst!” 

Patton nodded in agreement at the first statement and then put on a relatively stern face, or at least as stern as Patton could be. 

“No fighting, you two. Violence is not the answer.” 

“Then how would I protect people from the Dragon Witch?” Roman asked innocently, now holding his small, golden crown in his hands and examining it, momentarily looking up to glance at his brother. 

“I…kindness! Compromise! Cookies!” Patton exclaimed, listing off things that might work.

“Murder! Violence! Torture!” Continued Remus, bouncing to the rhythm of the words. 

“Or one may be able to debate with their adversary, if communication is available. Though there are instances in history where violence and bloodshed could not be avoided.” Logan provided, meeting Patton's gaze. 

“Yeah, that's sad. But we need to try to solve things without all of that when we can!” Patton added, smiling in appreciation at Logan's initial contribution. That smile caught the logical Side off guard and he hesitated for a second before giving a small smile of his own. 

“Oh, get a room, lovebirds. Or not, if we can watch?” The Duke interrupted as Janus used one of his phantom-arms to pick up the pillow Remus threw at Virgil. 

“That is also gross, brother. Say, where'd you get this crown?” Roman intervened. 

“The bottom of my underwear drawer. You can keep it if you want.” 

Roman gagged and conjured an antibacterial wipe and hand sanitizer to clean the crown. Remus just smiled innocently. 

“You know,” Virgil started, his eyes narrowed at the Duke. “This is actually kinda weird coming from you. What's the catch?”

“There is no catch!” Remus said, rocking on his feet. “I designed a bunch of stuff and wanted you guys to wear them. Without your consent. As a surprise.”

“Sure.” Anxiety murmured, an eyebrow raised. 

“Well you know what, this is a really nice surprise from you!” Patton smiled, as if happy that Remus was doing something that didn’t creep everyone out for once.”These are some really nifty outfits kiddo, and honestly I might want to keep this little shoulder-cape-thing. It's so soft and fuzzy! I didn't expect to say this today, but thanks, Remus.”

“It's a capelet .” Janus growled, annoyed that someone else had called it a ‘shoulder-thing’.

“You have no idea how much I love you for that, Pat. Good to know someone else is boarding the shoulder-cape-thing freight train.” The Duke grinned and patted Morality on the back. 

Patton smiled and looked at Logan, who gave him another tentative smile back. Seriously, what was that about? 

“Brother, you need to warn a Prince next time. I could have helped with getting some more materials. Or designs!” Roman exclaimed as he fawned over Virgil's head-piece, tracing the outline and amethysts while Virgil was blushing furiously and trying to push him away. 

~*-*~

Morality walked over to Logic, a small, guilty expression on his face. 

“Salutations,” Logan started hesitantly. “Can you…what's happening? Has something changed between us?”

Patton smiled a little bit, but was fidgeting as he glanced up to look into Logan's eyes. 

“I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I realise that I may have overreacted a little bit. Okay, maybe not ‘a little bit’.” he laughed nervously. “I'm just…I'm sorry that I said all of those things to you, Lo. I still want to talk to you, and see you. That is, if you can forgive me.” 

Logan looked to the side pensively, away from Patton's hope-filled eyes, before turning back to Morality. 

“I understand that the situation is very confusing for the both of us. But I am glad that we're on talking terms again, Patton. I must say, life is quite dry without you.”

“ I know what isn't dry!” Remus belted, howling with laughter. Roman snorted before clasping a hand across his mouth, embarrassed. Logan apathetically glanced at the Creativity Twins before moving his gaze back to Morality, who was frowning. 

“I don't get it.” Patton whispered, and Logan cracked a small smile. 

“I don't get it either.” He lied, not wanting to explain it to the innocent Side, and Patton laughed and hugged Logan, who hesitated for a second before wrapping his arms around Patton and returning the hug.

Things were improving between the two of them, but Logic was still a little iffy. Pallas has done something to Logan, but he wasn't sure what. All he knew was that Anger was toying with Logic's emotions, and there was no way that was going to end well.

— — —

Chapter Text

“I'll see you later, man. I had fun today. Next Saturday?” Terrance asked as he paused at Thomas' front door, turning back to grin at his friend. 

“Yeah, that'd be cool.” Thomas grinned back, thinking excitedly about the hours they had spent playing video games and talking. When he closed the door behind his friend, Thomas leaned on it and sighed, yearning for the days to come. 

“Exciting, isn't it?” Mocked a voice from beside him. Thomas jumped and whipped his head around to look in the direction of the voice, fists raised in self defence at Anger, who was leaning casually against the wall, a small smirk on his face.

“What are you doing here?” Thomas hissed, lowering his hands and retreating back into his home, irritated at the Side's presence.

“Why, I'm here to see you, of course! My dear friend, Thomas Sanders. How have you been?”

Thomas walked into the kitchen, knowing that Anger was going to follow him. Sitting at the counter, he glanced at the door where the Side was standing, waiting for him to answer.

“I've been better, no thanks to you. Seriously, I don't even know why you're here! I'm actually feeling alright right now.”

“Well,” started the Orange Side, walking closer to the counter. “I know that you're feeling ‘okay’ right now. And I was just going to suggest something that might make you feel even better.” He leaned forward slightly, his good eye glowing a bright orange. “How would you like to text that boy, Nico, again?”

As tempted as Thomas was, he stood his ground this time. Last time he did, Patton… Thomas broke his promise once. He wasn't going to do it again.

“No.” He said, feigning confidence. Anger was taken aback and faltered slightly.

“...No? What do you mean, no?” 

The diminishing of the fires in Anger's eyes boosted Thomas' confidence, and he sat straighter in his chair. 

“I mean no. I made a promise to Patton. I'm not going to break it, not again.”

The fires blazed once again and Anger laughed, the tips of his hair alight with glowing embers.

“Oh, that’s adorable, really.” He scoffed. “You care about my little brother so much that you'd give up what you really want ? Well let me tell you this,” Anger went serious and leaned forward, sneering. “Patton is pathetic . He only lets you do what he wants, not what you want, Thomas! And when you do something that he doesn’t like, he makes you feel bad about it.”

“ Don’t talk about Patton that way!” Thomas yelled, slamming his hands on the table, his voice echoing slightly across the room. He then froze, his heart pounding in his chest. “Where are the other Sides? What did you do to them?! ” 

Anger laughed and clapped his hands at Thomas’ sudden outburst. 

“Look who’s getting a little hot-headed! At least I’m not alone this time.” The Side grinned widely before continuing. “Relax, I didn't do anything to the others. They’re just having some fun with a small… activity that Remus planned, one he spent quite a bit of time on.”

Hearing this, Thomas grimaced. 

“That’s not very reassuring.”

“They’re fine, trust me.”

“And why should I do that?” Thomas spat, standing up to make himself a cup of coffee. “I mean seriously, what have you done to make me trust you?”

“Because, Thomas, I'm more than just your ‘anger’.” He laughed dryly, and Thomas raised an eyebrow. “I’m your raw emotion . Little Pat is a mere shadow of what I can make you feel. Of what I feel . Sure, things may get a little intense, but life is just so boring without emotion!”

“Patton is amazing .” Thomas countered, filling a ceramic mug with instant coffee beans and preparing the hot-water. “Sure, the poor guy has made a few mistakes in the past, but he wants what’s best for me. He’s my Morality for heaven’s sake-”

“I want what’s best for you too, Thomas! Why can’t you just believe me?”

“Maybe it's because instead of communicating your problems, you possessed Logan, hurting Patton in the process. That's manipulation! You used people! That's wrong !” He cried, pouring boiling hot water into his mug. 

“Sure it is.” Anger growled, and Thomas saw him get somehow angrier. “And you know what, I don't care at this point! Because anything I do will be disregarded and thrown away as long as Patton's here, in charge of your stupid little morals and your stupid little head. You wouldn't be able to exist without me . ” He paused, and his voice broke a little as he continued. “I want what's best for you, Thomas. And I need you to understand that.”

“All I understand,” whispered Thomas as he set down the dark, steaming brew onto the counter as he looked into Anger's eyes and continued, determined to set things right. “Is that you're an egotistical jerk who doesn't care about anything or anyone else. And for lack of a better way to say this,” He took a deep breath in, the scent of coffee helping to calm him down a little bit. “It's probably best for you to leave. So…go.”

Anger scowled, hair completely catching fire now as his white, misty eye stared at Thomas with contempt and rage. 

“Please.” Thomas added, wrapping his hands around the cup of coffee to keep them from trembling. After another moment of glaring at the man, Anger huffed in a sort of irritated disappointment. 

“Fine. I'll leave . I'll go. But you’ll regret it, Thomas. Trust me.” The Side spat, fists clenched on the table. “You'll regret not seeing me again. Ever. ” Anger snapped his fingers and went up in flames, sparks falling onto the counter and even into the coffee. Overwhelmed with relief and confusion, Thomas lowered his head and took a deep breath to calm himself. That was not fun. He'd have to tell the others about it later, maybe they could help him a little bit. 

~*-*~

“Roman. Do you mind if I ask you a question?” 

Roman looked at Logan, who was standing above him while watching the Prince sketch Virgil in the knight outfit on his sketchbook. 

“Uh, sure, Nerdy Wolverine. What's up?” 

“I have a strange feeling about something. And I'm not entirely sure what it is, but…”

Roman raised an eyebrow and turned to face him, momentarily turning away from Virgil, who was talking to Patton about something. 

“What is it?”

Yet before the logical Side could continue, everyone froze. Roman, Virgil, Patton and Logan tensed, looking at each other as they all felt the familiar tug in their guts. It was Thomas, reaching for them. Nodding at each other, they all sank out simultaneously to answer the call. 

~*-*~

“Oh, guys! Thank goodness you're safe.” Thomas cried out, moving to hug them all before realising that he was talking to figments of his imagination and retracting his arms slightly. 

“Of course we are. Why wouldn't we be?” Roman asked, straightening his crown. 

“Well- wait, what are you guys wearing?” 

The Sides looked at each other in surprise, only to see that they were still wearing the outfits that Remus had given them earlier. 

“Well, uh, Roman's twin back there had planned a nifty little fashion-swap! And I think we look great! ” Patton smiled widely and showed off his tunic and shoulder-cape-thing. 

“Oh.” Thomas said, and relaxed slightly as he looked at everyone else. It was true, they were all looking quite relaxed and at ease at that moment. Patton looked happy again, which was great. It was a relief that what Anger had told him - that they were all okay - was true. Though…that truth unsettled him quite a bit. Why couldn't things just be black and white, to make things easier? 

“Oh? You aren't going to mention these epic designs? I mean, look at Emo-Knight's little wire crown! It looks stunning-” Roman caught Virgil's eyes before stuttering and trying to catch himself. “-ly extra. Uh, stunningly extra. But i-it's okay, I guess. It suits him. Yes.”

Virgil raised an eyebrow at that, but stayed silent. 

“Uh… anyway.” Patton said, a small, secretive smile on his face as he saw the small interaction.  “So, Thomas. Thomathy. Why’d you call? Anything bad happened?” His face turned to one of concernas he wondered for the reason of their summons. 

“Uh, nothing much. Anger showed up and started to threaten me. But he’s gone for now so… that’s good?” Thomas offered half heartedly, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut. 

“Ah.” Logan paused, snapping his fingers and changing into his normal outfit. “That’s… unfortunate.” 

“Unfortunate?!” Patton yelled, face going pale. “He threatened Thomas! This is awful !” Patton cried, putting his hands behind his head as he started pacing, making his hat go slightly askew. 

“Perhaps, but we need to try to keep a level headed outlook and look at this situation from all angles. Thomas, do you mind giving me a moment to process what has happened?”

Thomas nodded and sighed, sitting down and taking a gulp of coffee. Logan stayed silent for a moment as he paused to read Thomas's recent memories. 

“Well, that just happened.” He said after a while. 

“That’s what I’m saying!” Thomas sighed. 

“This… this is less unsettling than it should be.” Logan mused, looking at the rest of the Sides. “Virgil. What are your opinions on the matter?” 

Virgil frowned slightly and looked around the room.

“You know, Logan, you’re right. Something’s off.”

“I have a theory. It may be a little far-fetched-”

“Like the pokèmon?” Roman interrupted with a grin, before glancing at everyone else in the room and falling silent.

“...right. Anyway,” Logan continued. “As I was saying. If we recall Pallas’ words-”

“Pallas? Who’s Pallas?” Thomas asked incredulously. 

“What…?” Roman gasped dramatically, and Logan sighed and nodded, understanding the situation. 

“Right, you were unaware of that. Well, Thomas, Pallas is Anger’s name. Now, if we’re all caught up, may I please be allowed to make my point?” The logical Side ground out. Patton nodded quickly and Thomas stared at Logan, mouth slightly open as he tried to process his words. Roman shrugged and poked Virgil, who raised an eyebrow offendedly at the Prince. Ignoring them, Logan continued. 

“Thank you. Where was I?”

“Pallas. Words. Recalling?” Patton offered, face a little paler than usual.

“My gratitude, Patton. Now, Pallas told you that he was going to leave, correct? And that you'd regret it?” He raised an eyebrow and gestured, as if waiting for someone to put the pieces together as well. 

“Oh God, he ducked out, didn't he?” Virgil asked before standing up from the counter where he had settled. He started pacing around the room, shaking his hands. “This is insane, how could he be so stupid -” 

“Stupidity of the Side's actions aside, Virgil, we must try to fix this. Somehow. Though I'm sure this will be fine, even if we don't fix this for now. Thomas’ll survive. Probably.”

“Can you guys not talk about me like I'm not here?” Thomas said, only to be ignored by everyone in the room. 

“In the name of all things love and Disney, we have a date in two days ! We can't be emotionally compromised during that! ” Roman exclaimed in realisation, following Virgil's example and pacing the room.

“Maybe it's best if we don't go?” Patton offered timidly, a worried look on his face. 

“Well, one observation I'd like to offer is that you all seem to be feeling emotions either way, so either his disappearing act is taking a while to make us experience the consequences, or Patton's presence is fueling some emotions either way.”

“That's not what's happening.” Patton whispered sadly, and the Logical Side turned to look at him. 

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean that Pal is Thomas' pure emotions. His strongest ones. I guess… I do use quite a bit of that energy, but in a slightly more controlled way. My brother is… a little more hectic, wild.”

“ That, Patton, is called an understatement.” Virgil growled, and Roman gave him a confused look. 

“What's that supposed to mean, you Sasuke Wannabe?”

“As in… from Naruto?” Thomas asked, and Roman nodded in confirmation. Virgil hesitated for a second before answering.

“It's just…you've seen how he acted. How he treated Logan, how he treats all of you guys, all of us!” 

“Calm, Virgil. Deep breaths, please.” Logan sighed and sat down. He looked at Thomas, his mouth tightening. “Thomas. What do you think we should do in this situation?”

“I… I don't know, guys. I'm sorry. This… this is kind of new for me. Should we… should we go find him?” He replied tentatively.

“Wow, ‘we’ is far from correct, Thomas.” The Prince scoffed. “You'll stay here and we’ll go explore your mind is probably a more accurate statement.” He said, rolling his eyes. 

Patton froze slightly at this. 

“Is it though?” 

Logan turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

“Elaborate.”

“Well, you know how Thomas has gone to both Virgil's room and mine too already. Maybe we can… you know…?”

“Bad idea, Pat. It’s too dangerous.” Virgil countered, still pacing around the room.

“But it might work- ” 

“Patton. Listen to me.” Roman moved towards him and put his hands on his shoulders. “This is different. It isn't like our rooms, this is the literal Mindscape we're talking about! Our Empire! We cannot do it without the wizards, and I don't think we have enough time to call them either. We can pass into this world, but even when Thomas visits our rooms, all he can see is the outlook that varies with his current physical surroundings, and not the actual thing.”

“Wait, I haven't seen your rooms properly?” Thomas asked, bewildered. 

“No, you haven’t, and it’s a bad idea for you to try to go there. We’ll do our best to handle this, Thomas.” Virgil reassured him before repeating his warning. “It’s too dangerous for you.” 

“I am inclined to agree with Virgil in this case. You need to be conscious in this world, Thomas. Venturing deeper into the Ego is not a good idea when you do not have the proper preparation either.” Logan warned. “As Virgil said, we will be able to handle this.”

“I said we’ll do our best . Not that we’ll be able to.” Virgil muttered. 

“Oh, don’t be such a Negative Nancy! We’ll make a plan to find him. For Thomas.” Roman exclaimed, an excited grin on his face. 

“You’re too enthusiastic about this.” Logan mused, raising an eyebrow. 

“It’s an adventure! Of course I’m excited!” The Prince exclaimed with a grin, punching the Logical Side's arm gently.

"Well… we’ll need all of the help we can get if we're going to travel into the subconscious." Virgil realised begrudgingly, and Roman nodded in agreement. 

"Which means that we must join with the Dark Sides for this one.” Roman nodded in begrudging agreement.

"Uhm, guys?" Patton started. "How are we going to get him to come back?" 

"Whatever do you mean, padre?" The Creative Side frowned, perplexed at the notion that their adventure wouldn't have a simple fix.

"I believe," Logan mused, eyeing Morality. "That Patton is trying to see how we will be able to convince Pallas to return to the Consciousness, even though I can tell that he's still quite reluctant." 

Patton looked towards the floor, ashamed, but Virgil put a hand on his shoulder and began to try to reassure him. 

"It's not your fault, Pat. To be fair, he had it coming." He smiled bitterly, eyeshadow darkening slightly. "Listen, right now, we just need to focus on Thomas. And if we can't get that birthday-candle-on-steroids to come back, well..." 

"Let's not think about that, shall we? Thank you." Sighed Roman. "Now, when are we going to go get the others?" 

"I'm not going." Patton whispered determinedly, walking closer towards Thomas. The Sides looked at Morality, confused, and Thomas looked up from his cup of coffee with a questioning look on his face. 

“Why not, Pat?” 

Patton smiled softly. “Cause someone needs to stay with you for a while, at least to keep you company after all of that. Ain't I right, kiddo?”

“I… I definitely wouldn't mind.” 

“Great! That's settled then.” Roman grinned, clapping Patton on the back. “We ride at twilight, amigos . Thomas, you go to sleep early tonight so that we can have Pat back!” The Prince glanced downwards at his clothes, which were still very dad-like, and he snapped his fingers, transforming his clothes to their normal, regal self. 

“That’s better, my darling pristine baby. I missed you.” The Prince murmured as he hugged himself and by default the outfit, and Virgil snorted, earning himself a death-stare from the Creative Side.

“Patton, are you sure this is a good idea?” Logan asked, moving closer towards him as Roman and Virgil started bickering. 

“Well, I think so. Oh, and I’ll send word for some back up so that we can have some more help.” Patton said, laying a protective hand over Thomas’ shoulder. 

“Is it really going to be that dangerous to get him back?” Thomas whispered, leaning into Patton’s warm touch. “Do we…do we even want him to come back?”

“Not especially.” muttered the Logical Side, but Morality bit his lower lip nervously before begrudgingly disagreeing. 

“We can’t let Thomas become an emotionless… robot . As much as I hate to say this, Pallas, with all of his flaws, is still really important. He… he has a role in this group. Thomas wouldn’t be able to live a full life without him, and what would his friends think of him if he didn't feel anything?” 

Logan nodded reluctantly. 

“So…you’ll send for back up?”

“Yeah, I’ll call my little brother.” Patton smiled excitedly, and Thomas turned towards him heatedly and tried to catch the Moral Side’s eyes.

“ You have another brother?! ” 

Patton shushed him before he could say another word and ruffled his hair in a very fatherly way. 

“You boys go rally up the rest of the Sides, okay? I’ll stay with little Tomathy over here.”

“I’m not little.” Thomas muttered, folding his arms across his chest and glaring at Patton in a way that Roman could explain in one word - “angy” . Logan sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses back to their place. 

“Understood, Patton.”

Yet even as he stepped back to do as Patton had asked, Logan could see how worried the Moral Side actually was. This meant a lot to Patton, didn’t it? The Balance. Pallas’ chaos had broken that, and now that wretched Side abandoned his post. If Logan’s assumption was correct, Pallas had retreated deeper into the Id, Thomas’ psychological and emotional core. It would be dangerous to go there, in fear of getting lost there and not being able to resurface. They had to get him out of there, and what other choice did they have? Thomas could live an emotionless life. Virgil would waste away and Patton, the innocent Side that thrives off of emotions and exists mainly to pass them to Thomas… what would happen to him? Of course, Logan would be relatively alright. No, no. That wasn’t entirely true, was it? Logan did feel emotions, and Thomas as a person was mainly driven by them. So Patton was right. His older brother, as much of a pain as Pallas was, he was important. And-

“Logan? Hello-o-o?” Logan blinked rapidly as Roman snapped his fingers in his face. 

“My apologies. I do not know what came over me.”

“Are you okay?” Patton asked warily, but Logan waved his hand dismissively.

“Indeed, I only zoned out for a second.”

“More like a minute.” Virgil muttered under his breath, snapping his fingers and changing back into his normal hoodie (though it should be noted that he had kept the skull earring). 

“Yeah. Thought process or revelation?” Asked Roman curiously, and Logan raised an eyebrow. 

“The former. Good to know someone is getting used to me.” He gave a dry smile as the Prince held out his fist expectantly, waiting for the Logical Side to return the first bump. 

He did.

“Alright, lovebirds. Let's go, Thomas isn't going to get any younger.” Virgil drawled, rolling his eyes.

“Grinch.” Muttered Roman darkly as he took out his sword and twirled it in his hand, shooting it towards the wall. An explosion of red sparks appeared and flooded the wall, settling in the vague silhouette of a bright red door. “I've wanted to try that for ages .” The Creative Side grinned as Thomas gaped at the door, which was still shooting red sparks. 

“Show off.” Virgil accused as he ran into the door. 

“Hey, wait up!” Roman yelled as he dove in after Anxiety. Logan, however, hesitated before joining them. 

“Take care of yourselves.” He said to Thomas and Patton, hoping for the best outcome.

“We will.” Morality promised, and Logan stepped into the bright red light. 

~*-*~

On the other side, Logic was greeted with the sight of Virgil bent over, retching. Roman was laughing, but trying to reassure Anxiety and see that he was alright. 

“How…” Virgil glanced up at the two sides, his face more pale looking than usual. “How are you two not sick? ”

“You went in first, mi Caballero . And you ran inside .” Roman laughed again before conjuring the Anxious Side a glass of water and handing it to Virgil. He accepted the glass gratefully and drank, standing up normally once more. 

“Next time, I'm going solo.” He muttered, rolling his eyes as Roman gave him a dirty look. “Fine. Thanks, Sing-a-lot.” Virgil sighed. 

“Of course, Brad Pitiful.” The Prince smiled, and Logan groaned. 

“Perhaps it is best to start with the plan, is it not?” 

“Correct-a-mundo, Logic. Time to call Remus and Janus!” Roman exclaimed, but Virgil held out a hand and said that he had someone else in mind that he was going to get, and then sank out into a pool of shadows.

“I guess that just leaves you and me.” The Prince sighed and looked around the Mind Palace. They were in a relatively large room, decorated with things from every main Side's interests, a Rubik's cube here, an empty Starbucks cup there, a Disney poster hanging over a mountain of plushies. A collection of fantasy novels (Janus loved them for the reason of being fiction over fact), Three Day's Grace and MCR posters overlapping on the walls, and even a few different weapons lying around along with some dirty laundry. The room was filled with things the Sides loved, but that wasn't why Logan and Roman were there. Roman walked towards a small bookshelf in a corner and picked up a small, black box sitting beside a stack of comics and cartoon character figures. As the Prince opened the box, Logic could glimpse seven differently coloured buttons: red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, indigo, and purple. A rainbow of colours, each a symbol for a specific Side. Pressing the green and yellow buttons, he put the box back in its place and they waited, hoping that the Dark Sides would at the very least answer their desperate call.

“Is this really necessary?” Logan sighed as Roman began humming a few bars of a dramatic-sounding tune. 

“Always.” He grinned in return as they both looked out to the room, waiting. After what was probably only a few seconds - but what felt like ages - Deceit's theme started playing softly in the background and the Side appeared in the centre of the room, surrounded by lemon-scented mist and raising an eyebrow at the two that had called him. 

“Why is everyone being so dramatic today?” The logical Side asked, genuinely puzzled. Janus ignored him.

“You didn't call?” He announced smugly.

“Indeed I did.” Replied Roman tersely.

“Pallas ducked out?” Logan offered, cutting to the chase. Janus turned towards Logic, eyes wide and disbelieving. 

“ What? ” He struggled to say something else before giving up and pacing around the room. Logan looked down at Roman and frowned, glancing around the room in confusion.

“Where is Remus?”

“Busy,” replied the Snake-man tensely. “I believe he's screaming the intro of ‘All Star’ into Thomas' head until he tires himself out. Once he enters the song loop, no one can get him out of it. You just let it run its course.”

“So… it's just you?” Roman asked.

“ No , it's me and a legion of armed alligators.”

“Crazy Florida man.” The Creative Side muttered, and they all went quiet for a moment, lost in thought. It was Janus who broke the tense silence. 

“Where's Virgil?”

As if in response, the room dimmed and shook slightly, as if there was an earthquake. Grabbing onto Logan for support, Roman looked around the room frantically before his gaze fell onto two new figures. It was Virgil, back from wherever he had gone. Next to him stood a tall figure, weight shifted on one leg in a way that exuded confidence. His eyes were hidden behind tinted sunglasses, a smug smile on his face. The newly-arrived Side was wearing a white shirt under a black leather jacket and tight, grey jeans. In one hand, he held a large Starbucks coffee while holding a tray filled with six other coffee cups, all cloudy from the condensation inside. 

Smirking at the other Sides in the room, he called out to them. 

“Don't worry, threes. The ten has arrived!” 

Roman couldn't remember the last time he grinned that widely. 

“Sleep!” He grinned, running to him and moving to take the tray, placing it on a coffee table near the centre of the room.

“Princey, babes! Long time no see!” He cried, and pulled Roman into a one-armed hug, manoeuvring in a way as to not spill his coffee.

Virgil was watching the exchange between the two Sides in surprise. 

“You two…know each other?”

“Yas, girl! We dated for like a week, remember, Ro?” 

“ What?! ”

Sleep laughed nasally and playfully pushed the Creative Side, who nodded and grinned.

“Horrible idea, really. Interfered with dream making, especially. We're better off as friends anyway.” Roman smiled, but passed a nervous glance towards Virgil. 

“Remy, it's a pleasure seeing you again. Where have you been?” Janus asked curiously, walking towards the tray and picking up a cup with his name written on it in black marker. 

“Here and there, nothing too major. Now, will anyone tell me why I'm actually here? Hoodie over here didn't say anything.” He scoffed, taking a sip of his coffee. 

“Pallas ducked out.” Logan sighed, folding his arms as he looked Sleep up and down.

“Haha, quack.” A voice giggled from a corner of the room, and everyone turned to face the Side that had just joined them. He was shorter than all of the other Sides, wearing a loose brown cardigan over a white button-up and a pastel-pink tie. His hair was a messy chestnut, but still had purple edges like Thomas had chosen a few years before, and brown glasses were perched on his button-nose in front of wide, light blue eyes. He looked around the Mind Palace and at the surprised faces of everyone around him before laughing nervously and waving. 

“Sorry! Didn't mean to intrude, but Pat told me you guys needed some help? I had a patient, but I came here as fast as I could.” 

“You're Patton's little brother?” Roman said incredulously. “Wait, you know what, I can actually see the resemblance.” 

“Oh! Right.” The petite Side laughed once more softly. “My name is Emile. Dr Emile Picani. Doc ‘cause I'm a therapist!” 

“Picani?” Asked Logan curiously, and Virgil walked a little closer, analysing any potential threats. 

“Wait, not Sanders?” Anxiety blurted out questioningly, unconsciously biting the fingernail on his right thumb. 

“ Virgil! ” cried Roman dramatically. “You can't just ask someone why their surname isn't Sanders!”

“Well, I'm different. At least a little bit. I'm not an official Side, or a clear cut division of Thomas' personality. In a very short and not necessarily entirely and solely accurate summary, I'm basically Thomas’ inner child!” Emile smiled and bounced on the balls of his feet. 

“Isn't that Patton?” Virgil asked. 

“Kind of, but no.” Picani disagreed, but before he could continue, Roman conjured a tambourine and shook loud enough to get the others’ attention, and Logan almost cried out in gratitude. 

“Sides. We need a plan . Pallas has ducked out, and if we don't do anything soon, things are going to go badly. Horrendously.” Logic explained, and the Prince nodded. 

“A small recap is probably overdue. I'm assuming this is all we're going to be for the future adventure, other than Patton, who will probably be joining us as soon as Thomas falls asleep.”

“Which brings us to our first order of business,” Logan decreed, and turned towards Remy. “You control Thomas' circadian rhythm, yes?”

“Of course, and I'm awesome at it.” He nodded as he sipped some more coffee, glancing at Picani. 

“Good. Now, when the time is right, I want you to send Thomas to sleep. Preferably one continuous slumber until around six in the morning, if that is possible. Either deep sleep or R.E.M. stages would be best. This way, we will be able to venture into the unconscious with relative ease.” Logan stated, a determined look on his face. 

“One continuous sleep? Hon, are you sure? ” Remy complained, pursing his lips in a small pout. 

“That would be optimal. Now, Roman.” 

The Creative Side turned to Logan, his own coffee cup in hand. 

“Yes?” 

“You're the one Creativity that is actually present at the moment. I need to discuss a plan with you, a sort of battle strategy if needed.” He passed the Prince a notepad and pen. “Those are a few ideas to get you started. You may find them useful.”

“Marvellous. Janus, mind discussing weapons and layout with me?” The Side asked, and Janus nodded, following Roman as he conjured a circular table with a miniature 3D model of the upper layout of the consciousness. 

“Virgil.” Logan called, and Anxiety stopped slouching and turned towards Logic, an eyebrow raised. “As uncomfortable as it may be, it would probably be best for the two of us to attempt to see how things would play out as we descend deeper into the subconscious. The worst scenarios possible and how to avoid them. Are we on the same page?” Virgil nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets, lips tightened. “Good. We will join Janus and Roman soon.” 

“What about me?” Emile asked, his brow furrowed as he ran his hand through his hair.

“You, Picani,” Logan began, looking at the new Side. “Know more about where we're heading than anyone else here. You know the paths there better than we do, do you not? Into the id, at least. We know our way into the super-ego.”

“What's the super-ego?” He asked with a small frown.

“What’s… what do you mean? You're a therapist and you don't know what the super-ego is? ” Logan yelled unbelievably, before calming himself down and taking a shuddering breath in. “Well, let's begin from the basics, shall we? The conscious/unconscious- if taking Sigmund Freud's theories into consideration - is split into three parts. The Ego, the Super-ego, and the Id.”

“Yeah, you've mentioned the last one before. What the heck is it?” Virgil said, and both Roman and Janus walked towards them, listening to see if the information would be important for their journey ahead. 

“Splendid, an audience. You see, the three layers are all in the unconscious, and all work in harmony in normal circumstances. Picture the Ego as the uppermost layer, closest and most affected by the outside world. Processes that happen in the Ego can surface to the consciousness, but processes in the id cannot. The Super-ego is like a sort of bridge between the Ego and the Id, and that's where we'll be going first. Though all of you would know it as the Empire.” 

But Emile frowned, raising a finger and moving to speak.

“Ohh, alright I know where that is.” Roman interrupted, though it was clear that he had zoned out for most of the explanation. 

“We all do, Princey.” Virgil rolled his eyes. 

“And what does Freud have to say about the Id?” Janus asked curiously, taking a sip of coffee and passing Logan his. 

“Thank you,” He accepted the cup and took a sip. “Now, the Id is the innermost layer of the unconscious. That would be where Pallas is residing, and where we'd have to go to get him back. The id itself is Thomas' innermost self, and while the super-ego is a part of the unconscious that is driven by making decisions, and the ego tries to change the outer world around it to satisfy the id and super-ego. Being the innermost layer, it isn't affected by the outside world. One can say that the id is Thomas' true self. Of course, Pallas being Thomas' raw emotions, it would make sense for him to go there when ducking out.”

“Quack.” whispered Emile quietly, suppressing a smile. 

“No, that's a different term that Freud coined in reference to-” Logan began before Emile cut him off. 

"Oh, and, actually - Freud believed that the id is completely submerged in the unconscious, the unconscious' driving force that itself is driven by the pleasure principle. It's the most selfish of the three. The super-ego is more moral-based, you know? Focused on work and all of that, and the ego tries to provide a balance between the two-"

"Yawn, honey. We're on a tight schedule. You think you can continue the lecture on the road?" Remy smirked, amused, but he was probably trying to save Emile from the livid expression on Logan's face. 

“Hold on, backing up a little bit here." Virgil frowned, turning to Logan. "You said that the super-ego and the id are usually in harmony with each other. What happens if they aren't?”

Arranging his necktie slightly, Logic turned to the Side that interrupted him.

“Well, that…that would bring forth what the famed psycho-analysist would call neurotic illnesses.”

“Such as?” Virgil asked, a hint of worry in his eyes. 

“Well…uh... there are three main forms of anxiety-”

“ Oh my goodness! ” Roman laughed. “You're a neurotic illness-” But when he looked at Virgil and saw the Side's glare, he stuttered and tried to mask his outburst. “-but not to us! No no no, no you're our friend. Virgil the Cool!  Not an illness. No. Not an illness. Haha…” He laughed nervously, and Virgil raised an eyebrow. 

“Moving on.” Logan started and turned towards Emile. “Most of the information I have passed on is quite unnecessary for this journey, though I have a theory about how we will be able to locate Anger.”

“A game theory?” Roman asked, grinning widely. 

“Girl, most of the people in this room have no idea what you're talking about.” Remy complained, and Roman winked at nothingness. 

“The real ones will get it.”

“What are you doing?” Virgil asked incredulously. 

“Breaking the fourth wall, like in The Office!” The Creative Side explained with an excited grin, and Logan frowned.

“Roman. There’s, no, fourth, wall, to, break !” Virgil exclaimed, clapping on each syllable to try to get his point through. 

“I do not see your point. All of the walls are clearly still intact.”

“That's totally what Roman meant.” Janus assured Logan, and Remy waved his cup of coffee around for a little bit. 

“Hello? Back on track, people!” 

“Right. Remy, what time is it?”

Closing his eyes behind the sunglasses, Sleep hummed a note before opening them again. 

“Around nine-thirty in the evening now, why?”

“I believe what my nerdy friend is trying to say right now is to make Thomas get a few Z's now.” Roman clarified, and Remy nodded, disappearing. 

“Wonderful, the plan is set into motion. Janus, Roman, you two know the Empire better than anyone else - other than perhaps Remus - but he is not here right now. Please continue discussing the layout and what would be the best course of action to arrive in the id as efficiently and effectively as possible. Dr Picani, you join them and try to find the best entrance to the id. Virgil, you join me so that we can discuss possible outcomes and plans of action. When Patton arrives, we will inform him of our course of action and see where we go from there. If anyone is not opposed to this motion, say I.”

“What is this, Court?” Muttered Janus, but all the other Sides responded to Logan's statement with “I”. “Apparently it is.” 

“Janus?” Logan asked expectantly. 

“Ugh, fine. I.” 

“Then it is settled.” 

A small crashing noise made them turn their heads around slightly, alerting them to the slightly chaotic arrival of Patton and Remy, who was trying to hold the dizzy-looking Side up on his feet. 

“Hey friendos, Pop is back in the house!” Patton grinned, and Emile smiles excitedly and ran towards him, enveloping Morality in a large, warm hug. 

“Patton!” They all yelled, except Janus and the newly returned Sleep, who was standing to the side inspecting his nails. 

“Woah, kiddo, careful! I’m getting older!” Patton laughed, ruffling his younger brother’s hair. “So, does anyone have a plan as to what we’re going to do next?”

“Logan has most of it worked out already, we just need to find a way to actually get to the bottom of Thomas’ consciousness.” Roman explained, and Logan walked over to the coffee table, selecting Patton’s beverage (hot chocolate with a hint of salted caramel, and obviously kitten-shaped marshmallows - Patton’s choice every time) and handing it to him, taking a sip out of his own cup. 

“While the others continue discussing further courses of action, I will attempt to fill you in on what we have decided on so far. Does that sound amiable to you?” He asked, touching his shoulder lightly and pulling his hand away awkwardly. 

“Uh, yeah! Sounds good to me.” Morality smiled, and Logan moved them away to the far corner of the room as the others moved towards the circular table that Roman had arranged, the map an ominous reminder of what was to come. 

— — —

Chapter Text

“So…are we really going to do this?” Patton asked a little nervously, looking around at everyone else. The Sides were all standing around in a messy circle, either glancing at each other or preparing for the journey ahead. 

“Well…I believe so.” Logan sighed tiredly but tried to smile reassuringly at Patton, avoiding the glare that Janus was giving Morality. 

“Alright, but are we sure that this is the right choice?” Virgil asked hurriedly. “I mean, yeah, he's important ‘cause he's Thomas' emotions and whatever. But recently he's done more harm than good, and I really just think that maybe we should leave him alone? I mean, he might come back! What do we have to lose?” 

“How dare you.” Janus hissed darkly, tone stern, like an angry parent. He walked over closer towards Virgil, who stood his ground. “Pallas is a severely necessary part of Thomas' internal balance. He is most in touch with Thomas' centre and someone that most of us rely on. Heck - you, Patton and perhaps even Picani probably wouldn't even exist without him! As chaotic and hurtful as he may be, he is a solid pillar of Thomas' mental and emotional foundation, and I will not stand here listening to you spouting all of that crap about him. We are going to get him back, dangerous as it may be for us. Do you understand?” 

His voice had increased in volume through the fury, something that very rarely happened. All of the surrounding Sides looked at him either in shock or shame, but Janus brushed an invisible spec of dirt off of his tunic, scowling and returning to his position. When everyone finally nodded slowly, he seemed to relax a little bit, though still wary. 

“Oh-kay.” Roman breathed out, attempting to break the suddenly tenser atmosphere. “All I need you guys to do is take out your keys, and then I'll tell you what to do, alright?”

“Where will this take us?” Virgil asked, taking out a silver necklace with a circular disc attached to it. It was made of amethyst, the edge surrounded by the same metal as the chain, and it had a hole inside that was also surrounded by a metallic substance. 

“Well,” Roman frowned, eyeing the necklace and taking out his own - though instead of amethyst, his disk was made of ruby and the metal surrounding it was golden. “I would assume this would take us to the Western Terminal. According to Janus and Emile, that is the closest entrance point when compared to the other Terminals. So… methinks this would be the best option.”

“‘Methinks’? Really, Roman?” Logan scoffed, bewildered. He took out his own disk-necklace, it being a deep-blue sapphire with a silvery lining. 

“Yes, really! Give me a break, things aren't exactly smooth-sailing at the moment.” Shifting his weight slightly, Roman continued watching as the rest of the Sides took out their own key: Remy's being made of a grey quartz, Patton's one a shining blue lace agate, Janus' a polished citrine - ironic that the Side of self preservation would have a crystal that is said to bring good luck, but hey, yellow is yellow - and Emile was sporting a rose quartz disk with a white-gold outline, though how he got his hands on a key was beyond Roman. Glancing at the others and nodding, Roman detached the disk from his necklace (it was probably held together by magnets, though the Prince didn't necessarily care much about science at that moment. As long as it looked cool) and gestured for the others to do the same. When they did, Roman held out his key into the centre of the room. Virgil, following his lead, detached the key and held it above Roman's. Slowly but surely, the others followed in suit.

When all of the keys were stacked on top of each other, Roman placed them in the centre of the circle that they had unconsciously been forming. Muttering something under his breath, he sent a collection of bright red sparks towards the keys and watched as they began to float into the air. They were separating from each other: still stacked vertically, but the space between them was growing. As the Sides took a step backwards, the disk's started expanding, their hollow middle growing and growing until the diameter stretched to about a metre and a half, then to two metres.

“Is all of this grandiose really necessary?” Logan muttered as the keys fell to the ground and clicked together, light with all of their colours seeping into the centre of the disks, creating something that looked relatively portal-like. Roman scoffed offendedly, especially when Virgil nodded in agreement with Logic. 

“Listen, grandiose is always necessary. I mean, look how cool this looks!” The Prince exclaimed, gesturing at the light which swirling together at the centre of the newly combined keys. 

“Sure it is, Princey.” Remy assured him sarcastically, sipping coffee. “So we just… jump in?” 

“Indeed!” Roman affirmed excitedly, but his face fell slightly as Sleep’s face twisted into a slightly disgusted scowl. 

“I don't do jumping .” 

“You don't have to.” Virgil murmured, and it sounded almost… sweet. Suspiciously sweet. And Roman's suspicions were confirmed when Virgil took a discreet step behind Sleep and pushed Remy into the portal, watching him flail around and screeching like a banshee. 

“I'LL GET YOU FOR THI-” 

His yelling was cut short as he fell through the disks, leaving a smirking Virgil behind him. 

“Now kiddo, that wasn't very nice!” Patton chided, fighting back a smile. 

“Any other volunteers?” Virgil called, and in response Emile just hopped in, disappearing into the swirling light. 

“Huh. Thanks, Virge.” Roman huffed a small laugh, watching as Patton grabbed Logan's arm and jumped into the portal, dragging a surprised Logic with him. Janus, seemingly too caught up in his own thoughts to comment, stepped in after them, falling gracefully into the glowing circle on the floor. Eventually, it was just the two of them left. 

After a moment of silence, Virgil coughed awkwardly and shoved his hands in his pockets. 

“So…who's going in first?” Anxiety asked, an eyebrow raised slightly. 

“I have no idea,” Roman laughed softly, running a hand through his hair. “Emo's first?” 

“And just enter the weird swirly light? Hilarious, Princey.” He scowled, and Roman grinned widely.

“So you push Remy in when he refuses to go through the portal, but then you refuse to enter? You hypocrite! ” He laughed, grabbing the emo's arm and embracing him, twisting in the air and falling backwards into the portal and taking Virgil with him. 

“Wait, no-!” He yelled as Roman pulled them both downwards, but his scream was cut short by the loud, orchestra-tuning-esque sounds within the inside of the portal. They continued moving downwards, surrounded by a cascade of flowing multicoloured light. The Prince whooped in exhilaration, looking down towards the slightly visible exit point as they got sucked deeper into the swirling vortex. 

But Virgil wasn't paying attention to the lights and excitement. He was too busy trying to get over the fact that Roman's arms were holding him tightly, or the way that the lights around them accented his features in a way he hadn't seen before, and the fact that he was so close to Roman, who supposedly hated him. It was a miracle that the Prince was looking down and not at Anxiety's flushed face. Virgil…he couldn't remember the last time that he was this close to someone physically. And it wasn't scary. Well, no, that's a lie. It was terrifying, they were in a portal or wormhole or something that was taking them somewhere , and he had no idea where that was -

His thoughts, however, were cut short. They had reached the exit, the momentum of their journey through the vortex propelling them both out and onto the ground. 

“Virgil, Roman! Are you two alright?” Patton's voice called out as Morality ran towards them, checking to see if they were hurt. “... Oh, uh-”

Patton froze, and Virgil knew why. He was lying on-top of Roman, watching the stupid Prince smirk up at him. And he couldn't even get off because Roman's stupid arms were still around him -

“I think we're fine, padre. Don't worry about us!” Roman reassured Patton, loosening the tightness of the hug as Virgil punched him in the chest and stood up, brushing dirt off of his hoodie.

Pretending to ignore Virgil's quiet grumbles as a small smile tugged on the Prince's lips, Roman looked around at their surroundings. All of the sides were standing in an area of what looked like a ruined temple: a cracked, white marble floor with a few columns reaching upwards into the sky, rogue stones scattered here and there. Though when he looked outside of the temple's skeleton, Roman could see acres upon acres of grass and flowers, stretching and leading to grassy hills which were surrounding the valley that they seemed to be in. But…there was something odd. Something very odd. This was the Empire, and Roman knew this place more than anyone else. As familiar as the scene was, it was…wrong. The usual vibrancy of the colours was gone, the hues all slightly diminished, the grass looked slightly dead. Even the air was a little strange. In the past, every breath used to be exhilarating, it was like inhaling the joys of life itself. Now, the air was thicker, denser. It was almost hard to breathe, slightly suffocating. His face fell as Roman spun around, trying to see if there was a source for this… this tragedy . His world! Thomas' world-

“What happened?” Creativity’s voice cracked as he whispered helplessly, like a child who had to witness the death of some poor, adorable animal. The other Sides stood awkwardly, concern flashing on their faces as they watched Roman slowly lose it. 

“I believe we may be seeing one of the effects of Pallas’ ducking out.” Logan said, looking away from Roman's minor breakdown. 

Patton yelped loudly and they all turned to see what had happened, only to see him staring and pointing at what looked like nothing. 

“I… that column just disappeared!” He yelled, panicking. Roman looked very close to fainting. 

“Uhm, guys? Maybe we should actually get going.” Remy suggested, waving a somehow still intact and filled coffee cup. Everyone nodded their agreement and Roman staggered slightly, taking a step outside of the ruins and breathing out a sigh of relief as a cobblestone path appeared beneath his feet. 

“At least that's still there.” He muttered, waving for the others to follow him. 

They started walking, and after some time pacing through the washed-out green fields, Patton broke the silence. 

“So…where to go first?” 

“Well, we're currently leaving the Western Terminal.” Roman began, happy to be distracted from the dying surroundings. “Truth be told, it probably shouldn't take us that long to find our way there.”

“He's right,” Janus interrupted, holding a small map of the Empire in his hands. “We're still in Roman's territory, and the Gate to the id, as Logan called it, is on the border of Roman's territory and a neutral area. If we keep moving-”

“-And don't take any breaks, we should be able to get there in a day and a half of Empire time.” Roman continued, and Virgil gave him a confused look. 

“Empire time? That's different from normal time?” 

“Indeed it is,” Logan said patiently. “You know how in some dreams, they are able to last entire days even though they truly only last a few hours at most?” He waited for Anxiety to nod before continuing. “It works the same way in the Empire, as Roman calls it.” 

“And in this case, it's in our favour. You know, ‘cause Thomas is not gonna be asleep for a day and a half.” Remy added, sipping his coffee. 

Now at the back of their little group, Janus exhaled loudly, looking at the map. 

“What's wrong?” Patton asked, slowing his pace slightly to walk next to him. 

“We'd be able to hurry up a lot more if Remus was here. He has underground tunnels everywhere here, they'd be able to take us to the Gate in half the time we'd manage above ground.” 

“Oh,” Morality whispered, and looked at the small map in Deceit's hands. “ Well, has he ever shown you how to use them? Or where the tunnels are?” 

“Oh, definitely . I absolutely know how to use them.” Janus muttered bitterly, and then sighed, glaring at the map. “Listen, if I knew, I would have suggested it ages ago.” 

“Really?” Patton asked dubiously. “I mean, you aren't always, well-”

“Cooperable? Yeah, I know. But this is Pallas, I can't risk… Thomas needs him. You of all people should understand that, Patton.” Janus said tersely, quickening his pace slightly. 

“I- I understand that!” Patton exclaimed, then lowered his voice slightly. “Things just… get a little shaky, that's all!” 

“You let a few mistakes get in the way of your relationship with your brother-”

“If you call hurting people Thomas cares about a ‘mistake’ then-”

“-you're all about morals , yet you can't even forgive your own brother -” 

“-well, he's my brother! So it's my business-” 

“Guys!” Emile yelled, putting a hand on each of their shoulders, and they both quit arguing, realising that they had stopped walking and that the others were farther in front. “Listen. I know that we all have our differences, but it would benefit everyone to work together! If A Bug's Life taught us anything, it's that ‘Together, even the smallest can achieve the greatest goal’! So…can we try to leave our questionable pasts behind us and try to function as a whole?” 

“...are you calling us tiny?” Janus frowned, but Emile gave him an uncharacteristically stern look. 

After a few seconds, they nodded. Patton extended an arm and after a short moment of hesitation, Janus extended a gloved hand and shook it. 

“Great, now, let's catch up to the rest of the gang.” Picani smiled, and they continued to  walk in silence. 

“Your younger brother doesn't seem to have that much trouble with Pallas.” Janus hissed at Patton under his breath, quickening his pace slightly to catch up. 

“I'll explain after all of this is done with over a cup of tea if you're still interested by then.” Patton whispered back and skipped forward towards Logan, who was glancing at them with a strange look on his face. 

As Morality walked over towards Logan, who had slowed down slightly to let Patton catch up to him, he began thinking to himself. Was he being too harsh on his brother? No, that can't be it. He hurt people, he deserved what he got. But…wasn't it also better to give people second chances too? 

“Everything alright?” Logan asked, a confused and slightly worried tone in his voice. 

“What? Oh, yeah! Everything’s just dandy.” Patton tried to smile, but Logan didn't seem to buy it. 

“Seemed like you and Deceit were arguing. Was it about Pallas?” 

After a quiet second of contemplation, Morality sighed. 

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

“I… not yet.” Patton admitted, keeping his gaze locked on the greyish-green grass. Logic stayed quiet, but kept walking next to Patton.

Janus watched as those two Sides walked next to each other, quietly talking. Emile was right, of course. It would be much better if the two of them decided to work together. Though it wasn't everyday that he could confront Patton about what had happened after the split. But that's something he would be able to think about later. Finally, after so long, they were back in the Empire. Janus wanted nothing more than to check on his section in the South, but alas, he was stuck in Roman's little fairytale-forest.

“Hey.”

Janus turned to look at Picani, who had walked back to join him. The therapist had grown over the years, that was for sure. He was one of the few people in Thomas' Mindscape that actually tried to help Pallas, visiting the Dark Sides quite often. They were his ‘practice clients’, as he called them, but most importantly, he was also their friend. 

“Hey,” Deceit responded casually, watching  the rest of the group. “Actually, I have a question for you.” 

“Oh?” Emile raised an eyebrow curiously and started walking backwards, facing Janus but still moving in the direction they needed to go in. “What is it?” 

“How do you do it?” Janus asked, grabbing onto the therapist's hand and steadying him as Emile tripped on a rock he didn't see. 

“Thanks. Do what?” 

“How do you stand the way that Patton treats your older brother?” He asked, lowering his voice so the others wouldn't be able to hear. Dr Picani shook his purple hair out of his eyes for a second, as if thinking about his answer. 

“I think the issue here is that I don't bear with it. I don't agree with the whole holding a grudge thing that Pat has going on, for sure. But I do understand that what Pallas did goes against everything that Patton stands for, and that affected the guy a lot .” He skipped slightly as he moved and had taken out a small pen from his pocket, fidgeting slightly with it as he continued trying to explain. “My brother - uh, Patton - tends to repress things, or emotions that may not be welcome. Pallas is one of those things. You know, that's actually why I became a therapist in the first place!” He laughed softly, eyes glazed over as he mentally walked down memory lane. 

“I totally understand.” Janus lied, walking a little faster to catch up to the small, purple-haired Side. 

“I want to help people, and in doing so also teach others how to help people too. I'm fairly sure that little Virgil's already slightly taken my place in helping Patton with some of his issues, so that's awesome!” He smiled and looked at Anxiety in question, who was talking to Roman and Sleep. “We'll get through this, Janus.” He said softly. 

“Of course we will.” 

“We will. We all just need some time,  communication, and compromise. Plus, Thomas is re-exploring love, and I honestly think that if this Nico makes him feel good, we should give him a chance.” 

Deceit frowned slightly but agreed. 

“Perhaps.” 

Emile moved further to the front after that, but Janus kept his pace slightly slow, staying at the back of the group where he would be able to think in peace. 

Following the conversation happening between Virgil, Roman, and Remy, it was clear that they had a different kind of tone being set. 

“So…how long have you two known each other?” Virgil asked the other two tentatively, putting an end to their small conversation about what dreams Thomas was having that night. 

“Oh, definitely a few years, for sure -” Roman began, but Sleep cut him off hastily.  

“I think it was when Thomas was like, what? Three years old? Roman and his brother were still one person, remember? Little Romulus.”

“Actually, I don't remember.” Roman muttered under his breath, and Virgil laughed. 

“Oh, but I do. There was this one time when you crossed over to the Dark Sides’ common room, you just stared creepily at everyone who entered in the room as you held a ball of fire in your hands and tried to give it to them. It was honestly hilarious.”  The anxious Side continued to laugh as he watched Roman's reaction to his words. He had gone pale, then flushed red in embarrassment.

“Listen, I wasn't myself at that time! That sort of un-princely behaviour was definitely something brought by the Remus side of whatever we were!”

“Doesn't change the fact that you wanted me to swallow the flames.” Virgil laughed, which made Roman turn even redder. 

“Oh my goodness . I feel like I’m third-wheeling here. When did you two become friends?!” Remy gawked at the two as he took another sip of coffee. 

“A more important question, how do you never run out of coffee?” Virgil retaliated defensively, pointing at the still full cup as he quickened his walking speed. 

“Magic. Now answer the question, Virge. Spill. The. Tea!” 

Roman and Virgil glanced at each other and made eye contact for a second before simultaneously answering. 

“We’re not friends, we’re not getting along.” 

“LIES!” Deceit yelled from the back of the group, and they all flinched and turned to see Janus covering his mouth and staring right at them. 

“My apologies,” he called out, and Emile seemed to be laughing subtly next to him. “I totally know what’s going on with you people and know you’re all definitely being entirely truthful and honest with each other. Please carry on.”

Turning away from him and continuing to move forward at the front of the group, Remy gave both of the Sides beside him a knowing glance. 

“Well, I mean…” Virgil began, and rubbed the back of his neck subconsciously. “I guess.” 

“Yeah, things have changed, haven't they?” Roman sighed, punching Anxiety's shoulder lightly. 

“Yep.” 

Remy's eyebrow was still raised, and it was clear that he still wanted answers, and soon . Roman rolled his eyes. 

“Fine. I guess the connection got stronger when this little emo ducked out. I didn't think it was that bad at first, but Thomas was a downright pain without him. So we went to get Virgil back.” 

“And if I'm being honest, Roman was the rudest one there.” Virgil laughed. 

“Hey!”

“I mean, after the others basically chastised him from being a huge pain in the neck, he said some pretty nice things, so that counts for something.”

“And I try to be less of a jerk to you now! I've apologised before.”

“But I will never stop making your life a living hell for it.” Virgil smiled, and Remy looked like he was about to explode from the excitement of gossip.

“Guys, this is so. Adorable.” He grinned. “I mean Virge, you rarely get along with people. I'm proud of you for finally finding a friend!” 

“What do you mean? I’ve had friends before-” Virgil started, but Sleep cut him off quickly. 

“I meant friends that I approve of, babes.”

Virgil gave him an incredulous look but seemed to give up, and Roman had to stifle his laughter to avoid being elbowed in the stomach.

“ Moving on .” Virgil stressed, glancing at Roman and walking a little faster on the cobblestone path that was growing and appearing in front of them as they continued walking. “What about you two? You guys dated for like a week, right? How'd that happen?”

“Oh, well-” Roman seemed uncomfortable about the topic but Remy jumped right in, eager to take the spotlight for the moment. 

“Yeah, we dated for like a week or whatever. We were getting closer to each other due to the whole ‘dream-making’ thing - they were kinda like our brain-kids anyway, so might as well try - but after some time we realised that there was way too much - well, us - in the relationship, right? Too much ego or whatever, I don't know.”

“ Basically, ” Roman intervened, needing a better distraction from the lone flowers that were slowly disappearing from the dying grass beside them and wanting to get a word in since it had been his relationship too. “We realised that our relationship would be more stable as friends than dating, since us being that close affected Thomas' dreams in a really weird way.” 

Virgil seemed to be almost speechless, listening to both of them ranting about their past. He found it hard to believe that they had only dated for a week. How did that make him feel, exactly? Knowing that Roman had dated Remy, of all people? Not jealous, obviously. If anything, it says something about Roman's taste in people, right? Heck, if the bar is set that low, maybe Virgil had a chance- no. Roman wouldn't want to, especially after… and bedsides, Virgil's wasn't going to think about that right now. He was right there with Roman and his ex-

“-so yeah, that's probably how it all turned out. Does that clear things for you, hon?” Remy was saying, giving Virgil a subtle yet curious glance. 

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” 

They had arrived at a point where the ground was elevating, they were walking up a small hill. It wasn't steep, but it was steep enough that they couldn't see what was on the other side of the hill before they arrived at the top. Virgil was the first one to make it there, the first one to stare at the wide expance of forest on his right and the dim, pearly-looking lake on his left. The lake was shimmering in the sun -  on a normal day the lake would probably be vibrant and brimming with mystical life with different colours and shines - yet in the dying air of this once youthful world, it was bland. Dark. Soulless. Virgil had no idea that it was possible for a lake to look soulless. Roman walked up next to him, and the laugh that had been dancing on his lips a moment earlier quickly diminished as he gazed at that same lake. 

This was the lake. The same one where he used to spend time with his twin brother, with Remus. If Roman had any doubts about bringing Pallas back before, they were all gone now. If one Side's disappearance can cause that much damage on the super-ego, on the Empire, then Roman didn't think he could handle it. They… they had to find a way to stop this. 

To their right, Roman could clearly see what used to be the majestic trees of the Enchanted Forest. Where their lush, green leaves once swayed in the Kingdom’s gentle breeze now stood dead twigs, bare branches of towering trees that had once been a beautiful place where Roman could explore and roam. Behind him, Roman could feel the other Sides pausing too, seeing the dying and damaged near-wasteland. Not many of them had actually visited the Kingdom before, at least not this specific area. The three people other than Roman that truly knew what this place looked like in all of its glory were Remus - who wasn't there, Janus, who was staring at the Forest in mild shock, and Logan, who looked… at a loss for words. 

“Does… did that forest always look like that?” Patton whispered as he stared at their dying surroundings as they started walking down the hill and through the space between the lake and the forest. 

“No. No it did not.” Came the heartbroken response, and they continued walking in a sort of agonised silence. The more they walked, the greyer things became. Branches snapped off of trees and crumbled to dust before they fell to the floor. Roman looked ashen, eyes now grey and grim as they continued walking. 

While Roman had expected the path to lead them in the space between the lake and the Enchanted Forest, he was surprised to see the cobblestone path twist to the right and into the Forest. The trees parted around the path, sounds of bark rustling filling the air. 

“We… wait, we're going in there?” Emile stuttered slightly, grasping an unexpecting Janus' arm tightly. 

“Please say no.” Patton added, eyes wide with horror as he eyed a large spider crawl on the bark of one of the dying trees. 

Roman’s face tightened into a grimace and he turned around to face the rest of the Sides. 

“Alright guys, listen up. This forest may look different, perhaps scarier and a little creepier than it usually is, but-”

“Cut to the chase, Roman.” Janus spat, glaring at an abnormally large centipede crossing onto the path and scuttling over into the other side of the forest a few paces in front of them. 

“Right. As I was saying, I know this forest. Better than anyone else here. So it would probably be best to follow me, and if any one of us gets lost, please just try to return to the path.” He jumped slightly as wolves howled ominously in the distance, but quickly tried to look calm. “Does everybody understand?”

They all nodded, albeit looking severely reluctant to be walking around in the death-trap that used to be Roman’s Enchanted Forest. They began walking, jumping at every sound, squinting in the dim lighting. The air was filled with dust and ash from the decaying trees, which only made it harder for them to see too far ahead.

It was only a few minutes before everything somehow went very, very wrong. 

— — —

Chapter Text

A loud, rustling sound from a clutter of dead flora ahead made them all pause. Logan wasn't sure what exactly to expect, and he absolutely hated that. He hated how confusing everything had become in the past few days, and how nothing really made sense anymore. The forest around them seemed to pause, all sounds quieting save a small rustling of the bushes ahead. What could it be? Logan wondered, actually intrigued this time as he could make out a large shape in the back. This was Roman's section of the imagination, so who knows what could be in his forest? Lions, chimaeras, dragons-

What Logic didn't expect to emerge from the bushes was a man. A tall, muscular one at that. He had striking dark blue hair which they somehow hadn't seen in the bushes, black at the roots and slowly forming a gradient as it flowed dark blue, long enough as to almost cover the man's piercing silver eyes that were so striking they seemed to glow. That was the only thing they could see of his face, as he was wearing a tight black neck gaiter that led to a black uniform of sorts, lightweight gear that was similar to modern militia. But those silver eyes… Logan knew those eyes, and dread pooled in his stomach as he froze. 

The Sides were too shocked to say anything, much less react when the mystery guy moved at inhuman speeds (well, of course that was possible. None of them were actually human, they were all just figments of Thomas' imagination.) and ran towards them. With no hesitation, the blue-haired figment grabbed Anxiety by his waist and covered his mouth with a cloth, towering over the smaller Side and keeping him in place as Virgil struggled against him. 

Something else that Logan dreaded seeing, and yet only strengthened his concerns: wings unfurled from behind the man's back and shot out, beating and flying away, taking Virgil with him. It wasn't abnormal to see people with wings in Thomas' super-ego. It's just that usually, they were under Logan's supervision, and they didn't usually kidnap people. And those wings…they were like the newly revealed Avian’s hair, mainly black but fading into a beautiful dark blue, albeit with the odd cyan feather. Avians usually had a single colour or gradient for their wings, and there was only one that Logan knew that had gone through the process of dyeing his wings, one that Logan had trusted very much… and that was when the memories of where he had seen those silver eyes before had begun to resurface. 

But before he could process this new information that he had gained, Janus screamed. There was no other way to describe it. Watching as Virgil disappeared, the snake-man shrieked louder than anything Logan had ever heard before - other than perhaps Remus's screams. 

No one else said a word for a few moments. Roman was frozen, staring at the sky with a look of horror and disbelief on his face. Emile and Patton were making incohesive sounds of confusion and worry, eyes glued on the newly formed opening in the dead-tree canopy, where a cyan feather fell tauntingly to the ground. Remy… his mouth was agape, a strange look on his face that was… was that concern or envy? Logan wasn't entirely sure. 

“I…what just…what?” Roman stuttered, eyes still stuck on the last place they had seen the Anxious Side. 

“ What did you do?” Deceit spat as he furiously and swiftly made his way towards Logan and grabbed him by the throat, eyes glowing a fierce gold as he pinned him suddenly against a decaying tree. 

“I didn't-” Logic choked slightly, hands grasping and trying to loosen the hand pinning him. Him? What did Janus mean? This wasn't in any way Logan's doing. He wouldn't want to hurt anyone in this group, they were like family they were important to Logan. 

“He didn't do anything!” Patton yelled, running towards Janus and trying to pull him off of Logan. “Why would you even think that?”

“Because,” Janus hissed, eyes glowing even brighter. “Logic here is the one who usually oversees the Avians. Which is what just kidnapped Virgil a moment ago!” 

Logan wasn't in pain, Janus had no effect on him that way, as a Side. It was just… uncomfortable, the way Janus was squeezing his throat, not letting oxygen flow to Logan's brain as his thumb pressed against his jugular. Such a strange sensation- 

“Is that true?” Patton whispered, eyes wide as he looked at Logan, who choked a little more to try to prove his point - the point of course being that Logan could not communicate sufficiently with Janus choking him to a figurative and perhaps literal death. Why were there looks of betrayal in their eyes? It wasn't Logan's fault that Virgil was kidnapped! 

The snake begrudgingly relinquished his grip and Logan fell to the floor slightly, taking a moment to pause for breath. When he looked up, Logic realised that everyone was staring at him. Well, that was awkward. 

“To answer your previous question,” Logan began, rubbing his neck and subtly glaring at Janus, who was not so subtly glaring back. “No, I didn't do anything to Virgil, nor would I wish harm upon any of you.”

“Then how do you explain the bird-man?” Roman countered, his voice cracking slightly. Creativity was beginning to be quite sensitive about Virgil, that was clear. Even if the Prince was one of the Sides who actually knew about his relations with the Avians, this conversation wasn't going as well as Logan would have hoped. 

“I… I'm not entirely sure. I haven't entered the super-ego in a while, so I didn't know that anything was wrong.” 

“But you know him.” Janus countered, trying to compose himself as he saw that Logan was telling the truth. 

“How on earth would you know-?” Logic frowned.

“Shut up and continue speaking, Sanders.” 

“That is a very contradictory statement. But yes, I will continue to explain. Or attempt to.”

“Please, Logan.” Patton murmured fearfully as he stared at the spot where Virgil had been earlier. “We might not have enough time.” 

The logical Side turned towards Roman and Patton. Those were the two that were most likely to believe him and possibly understand what Logan was going through. Probably. 

“Right. It is probably best to start by saying that there is a city in the South called ‘The Capital’. As Roman has his Kingdom, Patton has his meadows and the rest of you have your respective domains. In the Capital, the inhabitants are usually Avians. Avian's are winged humanoids that have the ability to fly a few inhuman abilities, such as increased speed and strength.”

“Cool, great, fun, can you tell us more about the feather brain that kidnapped Virgil?!” Roman exclaimed. 

“I was getting to that part.” Logan said through gritted teeth, but humoured the creative Side. “The Avian in question that kidnapped Virgil is known as Phoenix. That is, if I recognise him properly with the changes of his hair and wings - which, might I add, were originally both bright red - his silver eyes are still present and nearly unmistakable. Phoenix and I were… close, I admit-”

“Close enough for him to follow your orders to kidnap one of us?” Janus spat, fists clenching and glaring at Logan threateningly. 

“ No. ” Logan stressed, but then paused slightly. “Well, not anymore. In the past, that very well could have been the case. Though, and I repeat myself, I have no malicious intent towards any of you.” 

“So… if you two were close in the past, what changed?” Patton asked, his tone hesitantly  curious. Logan was quiet for a second, thinking about his answer. It was only when Janus began hissing impatiently that Logan took a step away from him and answered the question.

“I'm not entirely certain. We had a minor dispute last year, but truth be told that was the last time I had seen him. Before today, that is. And before you ask what the minor dispute was about - which I'm sure one of you was going to - I will attempt to explain briefly about its purpose.”

Emile and Remy, while having been quiet for a while now, looked intrigued by Logan's story and seemed to be listening rather intently. Oh, so it takes a major crisis for people to listen to me. That makes everything so much better. Logan thought bitterly, the sarcasm seeming rather ironic with Deceit present. 

“Phoenix was… stubborn.” Logan began, trying to find the right words to phrase his currently befuddled thought process. “There was a group of rebels of sorts inhabiting an area somewhere beneath the Capital, randomly emerging to wreak havoc on the citizens. Phoe wanted to flush them out, eradicating the threat. His methods were a little direct, perhaps unnecessarily violent. Of course, I would have rather taken a more subtle, effective approach. Perhaps capturing one of these so called rebels during one of their attacks, questioning them-” 

“Lo,” Morality interrupted, his tone not unkind.  “This is a really interesting story that I'd be happy to listen to later, but this is kinda urgent and do you mind maybe possibly getting to the point?” Patton asked, seeming a little nervous. 

“Fine. Well, Phoenix thought that whomever was coordinating these attacks would have had ties to the sea, so he went out against my orders to search for the person my people call the Dark Knight-”

“ Your people?” Janus scoffed bitterly. 

“Heh, Batman.” Laughed Emile quietly as soon as he heard the words ‘Dark Knight’, and that made Roman smile - if the concerned grimace on his face could be considered as such.  

“Yes. Alright. Do you want me to continue or not? This might be valuable information.” 

“Go ahead, Logan.” Patton smiled encouragingly, still sounding a bit worried, but that look on his face was enough to make Logan forget why he was feeling bitter in the first place. 

“Thank you. Now, as I was saying, Phoenix left without warning. Later, he came back with information about the Dark Knight, mainly how he was a covert sort of person that resided in a palace up North, which was submerged deep under the sea. As he didn't consult me beforehand, he was not aware that I knew the so-called Dark Knight, and that he was not the kind of person to do such things.” Logan sighed and fixed his necktie, making eye contact with Patton and trying to avoid looking at anyone else. “Phoenix ignored me. I found him secretly planning an attack on the Knight’s palace, along with around five other Avians, and apparently they also had contact with a fairy, though I'm not sure which one that would be as I am not exactly knowledgeable about those.”

“You said you knew the Dark Knight. Who are they?” Janus asked, his demeanour softening as he sensed that every word that Logan had uttered so far was truthful. 

“Well…” Logan hesitated, and looked at Deceit reluctantly. “Here is where things start to be slowly pieced together and make a little more sense-”

“Spit it out, nerd. We don't have all day.” Remy glared at him, finally talking after a while of unusual silence from him.

“It's Virgil.” Logan admitted quietly.

“ What ?” The rest all cried simultaneously, and Roman collapsed onto the floor, fainting without another sound. 

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Logan sighed and began to help him up with the assistance of Patton and Emile. 

“Is it dramatic, perhaps.” He frowned. “Though, even for Phoenix, randomly kidnapping someone is a quite unusual. But…  another important note is that after I found them conspiring, I did banish Phoenix, he was supposed to live in the Desert of Lies for the rest of his existence.”

“And you regret it.” Patton whispered. It wasn't a question, it was… a statement. Was it that easy to read Logan now? Oh, the faster they find Pallas and Virgil, the better. That way at least things may be a little normal again. 

“Yes.” 

It was then that Logan was struck with a minor realisation. A fairly unsettling realisation, at that.

“Janus,” He asked cautiously, propping the Prince up carefully. “How much time do we have until Thomas wakes up?”

Deceit immediately understood what Logan was referring to, and the human side of his face drained of colour slowly. Checking his watch and the map respectively, he then glanced at the rest of the Sides. “Precisely 23 Mindscape hours.”

Emile and Patton were watching the exchange, confusion written all over their faces. It was clear that they had no idea what was going on, so Logan prepared to enlighten them, in a simple way that he thought would effectively alert them of the problem at hand. 

“We may not have enough time to get both Pallas and Virgil back before Thomas wakes up.”

Their eyes widened with shock and Patton buried his face in his hands, sitting down on the floor shakily to try and process that information. 

“Wait,” Remy asked, taking the lid off of his coffee and just taking an entire gulp out of it. “Can’t we at least get Pallas back and then save Virge?”

“We can’t risk it.” Janus shook his head, glaring at Logan. It was a shame too- Logan thought they had been on decent terms beforehand. “We have no idea what that Phoenix guy is planning to do to him, and we definitely haven’t wasted enough time as it is with Logan’s short and useless information.”

“Rude.” Logan muttered, and eyed the still-unconscious Roman for a moment before sighing and hoisting him onto his shoulders in a fireman’s carry position. “Well, there is only one logical and responsible decision that I am able to think of at this specific moment. We will have to split up.” 

“NO!” Emile and Patton cried out, Morality jumping up from off of the floor and taking a moment to dizzily steady himself before slapping Logan’s arm gently. 

“We are not splitting up.” 

“Yeah!” Emile cried. “I mean, have you ever seen any single cartoon episode ? Ever ? Prime example being Scooby-doo here.” 

“Your point being?” Logan asked, shifting slightly to accommodate Roman in a more comfortable position. 

“ Every time that a group splits up, bad things happen!” 

“...in horror movies. That is fiction, not fact.” Logan stated with a confused expression. 

“Sure. But we’re in a scary forest and the one person that actually kinda possibly knows where we’re going is unconscious!” Emile yelled, pointing at Roman. 

“Picani, listen.” Janus began, and Logan didn’t know when was the last time he had heard such sincerity in his voice. “We don’t have enough time to save both of them. And we can’t risk Virgil…getting hurt. I love the fact that I have to agree with Logan here, but he’s right.”

“Thank you, Janus.” Logan muttered, trying to avoid Patton’s worried expression. “Now…we just decide the teams and how we will divide into groups. I suggest-” He paused for a moment, looking at the others, who looked like they were about to disengage the conversation too soon. “Actually, how about one of you gives a few suggestions as to whom the groups should consist of?” 

“Oh,” Emile sighed, and looked at Patton for a moment. “I’m going to get Pallas. It…it’s probably best that I go.”

“And I’ll join you, honey.” Remy said, putting a dainty hand on the smaller Side’s shoulder. “If your goodie two-shoes methods don’t work, I can always try to bully him into coming back.” 

“Violence is not the answer, but…thank you.” 

“I’ll be going to assist in finding Virgil. I am the one that knows Phoenix the best, so I believe that it would be the most logical option in this case.” Logan offered, then glanced at the unconscious Side on his shoulders. “And I would assume that if Roman here won’t wake up soon, I would probably have to bring him with me.”

“And we can probably agree that he’d want to go find Virgil.” Patton admitted, looking at Roman. He sounded…sad. Why was that?

“Well, I’m going to find Virgil. No offence, but I won’t be trusting you to find him alone.” Janus added, folding his arms defiantly and glaring at Logan.

“I won’t be depriving you of that option if that is what you truly want, but allow me to present a second option. When it comes to Pallas, you might be the Side here that is closest to him. Do you believe it is wise to abandon that post and risk him not rejoining us?” 

“As long as Patton goes to help his brother instead and at least tries to not be a clueless moron, things should be fine.” Deceit muttered bitterly, and moved closer towards Logan. 

“W-wait a gosh darn minute, kiddo-” Patton began, but Janus interrupted him quickly.

“I’m older than you.”

“-I want to go help Virgil too! I love him, he’s - he’s my dark, strange son-” 

“ He was my son first. ” 

Patton turned to Janus, tears forming in his eyes. He bit his lip nervously and looked to Logan for…for what? Help? Consolation? Logan wasn’t sure, but the look on Morality’s face was heart-breaking. When Logan didn’t respond, Patton nodded his head bitterly, opening and closing his mouth slightly, but not being able to find the right words for the situation.

“You know what? Fine. Just…fine.” Patton seemed to accept defeat. Logan…didn’t know how to feel about that. He would be elated for him to join their little side-quest, but…Janus was right. They had a better chance if Patton tried to fix things with his older brother. And truth be told, he wasn’t entirely sure that he wanted Patton to see anything that might happen between him and Phoenix. Or to Virgil. He turned to Janus for a moment before asking him something quietly. 

“Do you by any chance have another copy of the map as a spare? I have a feeling they may have some use for it.”

Janus shrugged tersely and pulled a folded piece of paper out from under his capelet and handed it wordlessly to an unsuspecting Patton. They made eye-contact for a second and - somehow - Janus seemed to communicate with Patton wordlessly, and Morality seemed to calm down and nod, teary eyes returning to their normal selves. How curious. 

“Now. We’ve wasted enough time arguing, it’s probably best to start moving along.” Deceit announced, and began to head out of the forest from whence they came. 

Before Logan could follow him bewilderedly, Patton ran up to Logic and gave him a small, tight hug, which would probably have been more comfortable if he wasn’t carrying Roman on his shoulders. Then, as quick as it had come, it was gone, and Patton was rushing off to follow Remy, who had begun jogging in the other direction. 

What was that all about? At that point, Logan was too tired to try to wrap his mind about feelings, much less about feelings for Patton (or in relation to. Of course.). He smiled softly and shook his head, moving into a better position to carry Roman and lightly jogging to catch up to Janus. 

— — — 

Chapter Text

“Slow down!” Emile called out breathlessly, and Patton paused, turning around to face them. He hadn't realised that he was running, and had actually gotten ahead of both of the Sides with him. 

“Sorry.” Morality apologised when then caught up, and he tried to slow down his pace a little so that they would be able to keep up. Emile and Remy were talking, something about the layout of the forest and what would be the fastest way to get to the Gate, but Patton wasn't listening. He was too busy thinking about Logan. Well, the whole situation in general, really, but mainly Logan. He seemed so…different. Not bad different, just different. The small smiles, the glances, the emotion . Patton had a feeling that emotion had always been there, hidden, but Pallas - everything came down to Pallas now, didn't it? - probably did something to make him this way. But Logan…even though Janus didn't seem to trust him, Patton knew that Logan wouldn't want to hurt Virgil. Ever. It did hurt that Morality couldn't just talk to him more - Logan, that is. And that he had to go on this crazy quest to get his brother back. 

Thinking about Pallas brought Janus’ words to his mind again: “ help his brother instead and at least try to not be a clueless moron ”. 

A clueless moron. Was that really what he was being? 

No, Janus lied. He always does.  

But…he was telling the truth, at least that time. Either that or Janus was becoming a lot better at lying. Neither option was reassuring. 

What if he was right, though? 

Well, one thing that the slippery snake was right about was that perhaps… maybe, just maybe, it was time to forgive his older brother. After all, it had been years since that major incident had happened. 

Sure, but just forgiving would ignore everything that Patton had gone through. All of those hardships, all of the times he had to stop his brother from causing Thomas' to get hurt. 

Or to hurt others. 

Tripping slightly on the cobblestone path and laughing it off, Patton let the other two continue to walk in front of him as Morality continued with his internal monologue, argument, whatever. Why did everything have to be so complicated all of the time? Patton looked at his wristwatch - a Winnie the Pooh themed watch, though he usually tried to avoid thinking much about the yellow since that reminded him a little too much of a certain serpentine-dude - and saw that they still had twenty two hours left. That should give them enough time to reach Pallas, he thought. 

Another thought crossed his mind. Was it possible that he could try to forget the incident? It's been so long since… that happened, but Patton could remember it so clearly. As if it had happened just yesterday…

~~~

Thomas was in a small playground, the laughter and yelling of other children a background noise, not as important as the situation at hand. At the proud age of six, he was doing his best to make as many friends as possible in that playground, even though he knew that he probably wasn't going to be seeing them again. 

The Sides were all much younger that day. It was exciting, Romulus was running around along with the other kids, and even though Thomas wasn't able to see him at that time, he was utterly elated. Patton was sitting on a bench, watching as Romulus argued with himself about how he could help change Thomas' adventure, and what kind of monsters to fight. Logan was sitting next to Patton, looking younger than Pat himself - Patton was older than any of the other Sides there, and he always did his best to try to take care of his boys. The Logical Side was sitting cross-legged, head down and nose stuck in a book. 

“You're gonna hurt your back if you keep sitting like that, kiddo.” Patton said gently, softly massaging Logan's back as Logic stretched a little bit and then continued to sit the way he was before. 

“I am aware. Yet I am also aware that this book is too interesting to put down and therefore I will not stop reading. Thank you for your concern.”

Patton sighed. Kids these days, huh?

Thinking that perhaps Logan would want some peace and quiet, Morality stretched his legs and stood up, jogging towards the young Thomas. There were two kids there with him, a boy and a girl. Listening to Thomas quietly, Patton quickly found out that the little boy's name was James, and the girl's Casey. 

They were playing a small game, where James and Thomas were both princes arguing about who should have the princess, in this case her being Casey. It was adorable, but…something was off. Things weren't going too smoothly. James was…he was threatening Thomas?! That's insane! 

“You know what, I don't even care! This princess is mine and you're too much of a scaredy-cat for her to actually choose you!” James yelled, taking a step closer towards Thomas. 

“Well…well…” Patton's eyes widened slightly as Thomas' hands trembled, not in fear, but something much, much worse. Anger. Pallas had appeared at his side, ignoring Patton completely and glaring daggers at the young boy. He was slightly taller than Patton, his hair messy and brown, both eyes glowing with orange fire. How dare he speak to Thomas this way, Pallas was thinking, his thoughts so strong and so prominent that the entire Mindscape shook. 

“Pal- Pal, relax, please! It's just a game.” Patton laughed nervously, but Pallas ignored him, putting his hand on Thomas' shoulder. The hand glowed with a bright orange energy which was seeping from Pallas and into Thomas himself. In the Mindscape, Patton could see Thomas' eyes also turn orange, even though he knew no human would be able to see it. And then Pallas started talking, his words being echoed by the little boy he was influencing. 

“Well at least I'm braver than you! And if you have any problem with that, I'll fight you!”

“ Woah , woah woah, Pallas, no! We can't fight someone, they might get hurt-” Patton yelled, running to grab Pallas' hand and try to pull it off of Thomas' shoulder, but it just wouldn't budge. 

“Oh yeah? Well maybe I think that you're lying!” James yelled, and punched Thomas in the gut.

Patton's eyes widened as Pallas roared, shaking the Mindscape akin to the way an earthquake might. He tightened his grip on Thomas' shoulder and burst into flames, those flames moving onto Thomas as Pallas disappeared. Did…did he just transfer his being into Thomas? There was no time to think about that. Pallas/Thomas was fighting James, punching and kicking and screaming as Casey cried in the background, yelling and begging them to stop. But they didn't. Little Thomas was encased in orange, furious. Patton, like Casey, was begging them to stop, trying to touch Thomas and begging the boy to listen to him. But each time that he tried to touch him, the fire burned him. His own brother's fire burned him .

Thomas broke James’ nose.

The crack shook the entire Mindscape. Blood was smeared on Thomas fingers and knuckles, the red flowing down the other boy's face. James was crying now, but still punching and kicking wildly. A man had arrived to stop the fight and was trying and failing as they continued to yell. That didn't matter. 

Patton screamed. He pushed his hands into the fire and tried to ignore the burning pain, ripping Pallas' essence out of the figurative driver's seat and pulling him back into the Mindscape. 

Oh gosh, oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh-

This couldn't be happening! 

Pallas' hands were covered with blood, his face bruised. He was panting furiously, his hair still aflame as he practically vibrated with anger. 

“What have you done?” Patton whispered, looking from the blood on his brother's hands to Thomas, who was frozen on the spot, horror seeping into his eyes as he looked at James, who glared back in fear, pain and hatred. The adult that had come to stop the fight was cleaning James’ face, chiding Thomas in the process. Casey, the poor girl, was crying in her mother's skirt, sobbing as her mom dialled 9-1-1. 

Pallas looked at Patton and then at his hands, which had begun to shake. 

“I…”

“Save it.” Patton said, hoarse from all the yelling that he had done. “You hurt that boy. What's worse, you made Thomas hurt that boy. I…I don't know if I can forgive you for this.”

“Wait-” Pallas cried, but Patton was already turning away to try to comfort Thomas. Morality didn't see what else had happened to Pallas, but he knew that the Side had left shortly after that. Logan and Romulus had come to see what was happening, and little Rom seemed utterly torn apart. 

It was only a minute before Deceit arrived. He was confused, but after a while he told Patton to move and take care of the others, softly whispering comforting things in Thomas' ears. They…they were lies, but…maybe that's what Thomas needed at the time. 

As Patton did his best to comfort Romulus, he made a silent promise. To himself, to the others. He would make Romulus and Logan forget that this ever happened. And maybe…maybe even his son, Paranoia. Even though he hated the thought of messing with the little guy's memories, he would make him forget. He'd make them all forget. And he would do his best to not let Pallas hurt anyone again. He wouldn't let Thomas remember. He's a good person, he really is. Pallas changed that. But if Patton erases this memory, then…Thomas would be a good person again, right? Yeah, yes. That's what he'd do. And he'd get Janus to take care of him - if he cared about Thomas, he'd swear to keep Pallas in check. 

With this action, Pallas had revoked his title of Motivity. Because of these choices, he would be known as Anger. 

~~~

Patton didn't even realise that he had tears gently streaming down his face as he was walking, and it only hit him when Emile doubled back and hugged him, wiping the tears away gently and telling him that it's okay. 

~*-*~

“Oh good, you're awake.”

Roman groaned and opened his eyes groggily, feeling the ground move beneath him. Wait, that wasn't the ground. What-

Logan set him down gently, helping to steady him. 

“What…what happened?” Roman asked, memory still a little foggy as he pressed a hand on his head, trying to diminish the growing pain that was there. 

“You fainted,” Janus said impatiently, tapping his foot on the cobblestone path. “And now we need to go find my son and Logan's bird-friend.” 

“Can we please refrain from calling Avian's anything bird related? It's disrespectful to our- their culture.” Logan muttered, letting Roman go as he found his footing. 

Hearing the small exchange, everything came rushing back to Roman. Virgil got kidnapped. He got kidnapped by one of Logan's friends. Logan has friends? Well, he would consider Logan a friend, but other friends? This was too much for Roman. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, practising that technique that he had overheard Virgil teach Thomas. Breathing in for four seconds, holding for seven seconds, and breathing out for eight seconds. Great Golden Goose, it actually works! He sent up a silent ‘thank you’ to that Emo Nightmare, hoping to be able to say it to him again soon. 

“People, if I may interfere slightly, when are we going to go find Virgil?” He asked, still slightly delirious. 

“We're not going to find Virgil, the other half of the group is.” Janus replied grimly, rolling his eyes and turning to walk out of the forest. 

“ What?! ” Roman exclaimed, and turned to Logan hurriedly. “Well then, I'll go join them! I refuse to abandon him, I simply refuse it!”

Logan sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, seemingly giving up while putting a gentle but stern hand on the struggling Roman's back as he led him after Deceit. 

“He was lying, Roman. We're the group that's going to find Virgil.” 

“Oh.” He stopped struggling so much after that. 

“So. Logan.” Janus began, clicking his tongue with each word and eyeing Logic as they all walked next to each other. “You haven’t answered my question yet. Where’s the bird-brain?”

Logan sighed tiredly and motioned for Janus to pass him the map. Deceit did so without another comment, glancing at the map and the logical Side’s finger, which was tracing the small scrap of paper gently. As his finger glided across the page, a glowing blue line followed, settling on a small section a little due south. The compass in the top left corner of the map seemed to come to life, glowing blue and turning to point at the Empire’s geographic North. Logan’s lips tightened to form a thin, grim line. 

Roman happened to glance at Logan’s face at that second, and he was far from pleased at what he saw.

“What is it?” 

“Well,” Logan murmured, arranging his necktie. “I have both good news and bad news.”

“Well then, spit it out, I say! No use moping about. Good news first, though, if you don't mind.” Creativity cried out, and Janus rolled his eyes. 

“It isn't that far away, so that isn't that bad. It won't take us that long.”

“And the bad news?” Janus asked with a raised eyebrow. Tsking his tongue dejectedly, Logan grimaced. 

“It's…underwater.”

“ What?! ” They both exclaimed simultaneously, and Logan jogged a little further in front, looking down at the map. 

“Alright, first off I just want to say that we're in my territory.” Roman informed them as Janus and Logan began sprinting ahead and away from the wilting forest. Looking at the map, he nodded slowly and ran slightly ahead of them, turning to face them and somehow managing to run backwards without tripping. How's that for being impressive, huh? “I also just want to mention the fact that I know where that place is, if anyone cares.” 

Janus' eyes flashed gold for a moment before locking gaze with the Prince. 

“Can you take us there?”

“Only if you let us make a small detour beforehand.” Roman stated defiantly, his hand unconsciously resting on the hilt of his sword. 

“Will it take long?” Janus hissed through gritted teeth, and Roman glared at the snake-man.

“I just want to have a decent arsenal against Virgil’s kidnapper.”

“Woah, we’re not going to hurt anyone! We just need to communicate and make him understand -” Logan exclaimed worriedly, but Roman cut him off quickly.

“This guy took one of our friends. I’m not going to risk not being able to save Virgil, and if you disagree with that, then I’ll tell you how to get to him and I’ll storm in there with an army to save all of your miserable butts, plus Virgil’s.” He was gripping the sword hilt tightly now, knuckles whitening. “Deal?”

They were all still jogging South-West, and as they progressed Janus raised an impressed eyebrow at Roman. 

“As crazy as the words are, I agree with Roman here. We should be prepared, at least to be able to stand our ground if we’re going to be challenged. Don’t you agree that we should at least be prepared ?” He asked Logan curiously, and a little mockingly if Roman was being completely honest. And seriously, what was Logan’s deal with this guy? Sure, they used to be friends, but the foul felonious feather-brained beast kidnapped Virgil! One of Logan’s current friends! Logan in question was looking rather uncomfortable, but sighed and motioned for Roman to show the way. Smiling with grim satisfaction, Roman took a quick look at the map before bursting into a breathtakingly fast sprint, only glancing back to yell at the others to follow him. 

Roman ran. He ran like it was his own life that depended on it, and without knowing entirely why, the Prince swore to himself that if Virgil was hurt, Roman would make the one at fault suffer a much worse fate. And if Virgil was… Roman didn’t want to think about it. He refused to believe that that would happen. Not to Virgil. Not to his Emo Nightmare. 

As they continued running, Logan and Janus struggling a little bit to catch up with the speeding Prince, the logical Side called out to him.

“Where are you taking us again?”

Roman’s face lit up with a strange grin, excitement tainting his dark thoughts as he continued sprinting. After a moment, he looked back at the panting Sides behind him and his grin widened. 

“Well, my dear friends, we’re going to the Lake!”

~*-*~

Janus was sick and tired of Roman’s vague demeanour.

They hadn’t gotten a single straight answer out of the Side since he had awoken from that little fainting episode of his, and Deceit wasn’t entirely sure what was going on inside the young Side’s brain.

Though most of the doubts dissipated as soon as he looked at where Roman had led them. They were standing on the edge of a large clearing, a multicoloured pool of liquid shining dimly underneath the ashen sun. Janus had never visited this section of the Empire before, and his eyes widened in surprise. It was…beautiful. Though Janus knew that he wasn’t seeing it in the entirety of its colourful glory. Partly because of how the Mindscape was dying due to Pallas’ disappearance, but also because Janus couldn’t see colours that well - heck, he couldn’t see that well out of his left eye - probably due to the fact that he was half snake. It wasn’t something that he enjoyed discussing, but the only time that he could actually see the world clearly in all of its vibrant hues was when somebody lied. Oh, how the colours pierced his vision then. It was intoxicating.

His wistful thinking was interrupted as soon as he took a closer look at the Lake. At the pearly sheen. This… Remus had mentioned this before. A long time ago, back when Thomas was…what? Seven? How the years fly by. 

Remus had gotten in trouble that day, hadn’t he? And he came home crying tears of joy, hugging Janus as he told him all about how his brother jumped into a burning lake to save him, how Remus would have probably died if it weren’t for the vain Prince. 

Janus didn’t realise he was staring at Roman until the Side glanced back at him and raised an eyebrow, a questioning look on his face. It… it wouldn’t hurt to remind the Side of the brotherly bond he had shared with Remus, would it?

“You saved Remus here, didn’t you? Jumped into a burning lake to save his life.” 

Judging by Roman’s shocked expression, it was surprising at the very least. How amusing. 

“He told you about that?” The Side asked, nostalgia and pride at war on his face. Janus' small grin widened.

“Of course. He can't exactly keep a secret very well, especially when it comes to me.” 

Roman stayed silent after that, gazing determinedly at the lake before him, and it was Janus’ turn to raise an eyebrow. “What? Does it bother you?” 

“No.” Roman muttered, and Janus' vision changed, erupting in waves of colours. Oh my. The lake really was gorgeous, and to think that it wasn't even at it's full glory- Though as soon as the spectacular moment had arrived, it was gone. 

“Oh Roman, you wonderful liar.” Janus murmured in awe, and he continued to watch the Creative Side curiously. 

The Prince conjured threw flasks from the air around him, setting two of them down on the grass as he knelt in the wilting grass. Seemingly bracing himself, Roman lowered the flask into the water, sparks erupting around his hand as he sloppily filled it up. Janus wondered whether it hurt him at all, but the Prince didn't seem to look phased. 

“Does that hurt?” Logan asked curiously, taking a few steps towards the kneeling Side until he was only a few feet away. Janus saw Roman look over his shoulder for a moment before recorking the now filled glass flask and holding it to the now-ashen sunlight. 

“Not anymore.” The Side admitted, and Janus was slightly disappointed to see that nothing in his vision changed. ‘Anymore’, however, was an interesting keyword to use. Janus could remember Remus mentioning that the lake was like liquid fire, just more colourful. The young Side had burns all over his skin as Janus listened to him explain, in great detail, exactly how it felt to nearly drown in such circumstances. 

Roman went to fill up another flask, and Deceit watched Logic take another curious step forward, kneeling down on one knee to gaze at his shimmering reflection. 

“This… this can be used as a weapon against Phoenix?”

“Against most people, actually.” Roman admitted. “This is what my subjects call Liquid Desire, or Liquid Luck. I’ve worked hard to make my own people immune to its more dangerous properties, and some were never bothered by it at all. Ah, please stand back, curious nerd-” 

Logan’s hand froze, it had been merely an inch from the surface. He retracted the hand just in time to avoid a flurry of sparks shooting from the shimmering liquid. 

“Ah.” Janus could see the logical Side’s face deepen into a confused frown. “Have you always been immune to the Lake’s effects?”

Roman finished filling up the third bottle and sat up, gazing at the colourful liquid below him. His hands were…red. Not magical red, or glowing with some sort of energy - it was the sort of raw-pinkish-red skin one would get from plunging their hands into boiling water, only perhaps it was a little less. The Prince didn’t look at Logan as he responded. 

“No.” He didn’t elaborate. It was the truth, and Janus didn’t like it. Not one bit. The Creative Side’s eyes were a dull yellow - which was probably a bright, deep gold - the same as Janus’ are when he uses his powers. It was strange to look at, watching the yellow fade to red as he continued to gaze at the lake. The blank look on his face was unsettling, and that was coming from someone who had to deal with Remus every day. 

Logan made a small, surprised noise, dragging Janus away from his thoughts. Glancing in the direction that Logan was pointing in, he could see an area in the middle of the lake rise slightly. Something was emerging from the rainbow-liquid, slowly revealing more and more as whatever it was ventured closer. 

“Well, that’s not concerning at all.” Janus muttered, enjoying the brief flash of colour as he managed to spot what looked like a flower crown carved out of obsidian being held up by a head of curly, flaming-red hair emerging from what was then the glowing pink area of the Lake, before the world dimmed once again. 

Risking a quick glance at Roman, Janus could see a look of excitement flash across his face, a genuine smile as the figure edged closer. 

Logan, having quickly recovered, looked at the two other Sides present.

“Should we, as you would say, make a run for it?” 

Roman shook his head and held up his hand, motioning for Logan to wait. Not wanting to miss this, Deceit locked his gaze onto the rising figure in the middle of the Lake and began muttering a string of lies, enjoying the colourful sight before him. 

“The sky is red; Roman is wearing a beige shirt; Logan is wearing contacts; I’m hating this experience; I’m not worried about my poor son-”  

Slowly, more of the figure began to show as a pair of pointy, mahogany-brown ears passed through the opaque liquid’s surface, followed by bright golden eyes. The amount of colour was almost overwhelming, though Janus knew that due to Pallas’ disappearance, this wasn’t the full range of beauty that the sight offered. More quickly than they might have liked, the figure rose to reveal an ethereal-looking figure, clothed in what looked like the liquid of the Lake itself as it rose and fell along her arms and waist to form an ever-moving dress that kept her modest enough. The woman stopped a few feet away from Roman, still submerged in the liquid below her hips. Her lips stretched into a gentle smile as she reached her hand to the still-kneeling Roman, who took her hand and held it gently, a slightly more excited smile on his face. 

“Ember!” The Prince exclaimed, and he turned slightly to face Logan and Janus, who both had equally confused looks on their faces. “Esteemed acquaintances, this is Ember, resident Fire Nymph of the Lake. They live here and create a bunch of cool fireworks every now and again. Awesome stuff.” He grinned at the Sides, and Ember turned to face them and bowed slightly, her hair flowing like molten metal that poured into the lake with every movement. 

“Greetings,” they smiled, and then turned to Roman once again, giving him a look. “You neglect to mention that I am also a weapon-smith, you basta- I mean, my Prince. .” 

“No need for formalities, Em. And I did not want to be any trouble to you, but…” Roman’s face became slightly pained - probably thinking about Virgil - and Janus could see the Nymph nod in understanding. Beaconing the other two to come closer, Ember reached into the Lake and pulled out what looked like a large bundle made of some sort of hide. Walking closer to the edge of the Lake, they put the bundle beside Roman and began to unfold it, revealing two large swords. Roman’s eyes suddenly shone, looking to be bright blue now as he beheld the sight before him. 

“I see that you are in a hurry, so my explanation will be quick. There are three items here, one for each of you. Ro, this is the great sword that you requested earlier-” they pulled out a golden sword that seemed to be about three-fourths of the Prince’s height, which sported Roman’s emblem, designed with gold and a smooth ruby imbued in its elaborate hilt. As the Prince held it in his hands, the sword glowed a soft red before Roman twirled the large sword skillfully and shoved it in the newly-appeared scabbard on his back. 

Next, the Nymph glanced at Janus with a sort of irritated air around them. Janus’ lips curled and he hissed at them before Roman hit him hard on the shin. The Nymph then wordlessly handed Janus the other remaining sword in the bundle, which was a silver longsword with v-marks in the blade (the sides starting at the edge of the blade and meeting at the central ridge). Each side of the cross-guard was adorned with a carved snake-head, its tang carved into the shape of a snake’s tail before ending at the sword’s pommel. Janus raised an eyebrow at the extra craftsmanship, but was still relatively impressed. He grabbed the hilt of the sword and swung it in the air, yelping and letting it go as the blade disconnected in multiple sections at every v-mark, causing the sword to move like a sort of lethal whip.

The Nymph grinned mischievously at his lack of self-control, picking up the sword and handing it back to him. 

“To make it work like a proper blade, you can just think about it and it’ll happen.” They explained, and Deceit could see a barely-visible yellow glow appear around the sword. That’s beautiful, in a scary way. I love it.  

All that was left on the hide was a small wrist-guard that had been hidden by the swords. The silvery metal was engraved in a symmetrical pattern, the design a deep blue colour. Ember passed it to Logan, who wore it hesitantly. Moving his wrist around and admiring just how comfortable it was, Janus could see the logical Side flick his wrist and he saw a dagger made of blue energy appear. The logical Side raised an eyebrow curiously and seemed to nod. 

“This will be quite satisfactory, I extend my gratitude.” he said, bowing slightly at Ember, whose face seemed to flush red as they bowed back. Oh, so Logan makes them blush but Janus makes them annoyed? So that’s how it is. 

Roman pulled the Nymph into a hug and smiled, thanking them. Janus, suddenly worried about the time they had spent there, glanced at the Nymph a little coldly. 

“Tell me, o fiery one, will you be joining us on this rescue mission?” Roman seemed to glare at Janus, but the Nymph just shook their head before looking into his eyes and explaining in that melodic voice of theirs.

“This is my home. I swore to protect it, at all costs. The Death is coming. I must protect my home from it.” Such short sentences. So much truth. They were about to leave before pausing and turning to the Prince again, expression serious. “Oh, and Ro? Be careful. M’s awake.” Before the Sides could reply, Ember nodded their goodbye to the Prince and sank down into the waves, creating small ripples before no trace of them remained. 

“Uh…” Janus broke the silence, glancing at the still kneeling Prince. 

“Right.” Roman stood up and brushed his prince outfit, face a little pale as he looked at the two Sides’ weapons and standing straight. “It’s a six hour walk on foot down South to get to Shadowcrest, but if we get a ride we could take around two and a half hours.”

Janus decided to ignore the comment about this M person - they had too much on their plate at the moment, and Virgil was more important - and Janus gave Roman a grim smile and pulled out a deep black Aztec death whistle. 

“I can get my own ride here quite quickly.” 

Roman grinned and pulled out his own whistle, only his was what looked like a small golden flute with red patterns engraved into it. 

“So can I.”

Logan shrugged and folded his arms. 

“As long as you two have rides, that's good. I don't need one myself.” 

The other two raised an eyebrow and glanced at each other, but didn't bother asking questions. They'd find out soon enough, right?

Janus blew into his whistle and the other two had to cover their ears as the sound of someone screaming escaped its small black form. After Deceit finished making his call, Roman made his own. Placing the whistle to his lips and blowing gently, a melody erupted and spread across the Lake and the clearing, reaching out far and wide. 

“Are you sure you don't need a ride?” Roman asked Logan as he pocketed his whistle. Logic merely shook his head and waited with the others.

Soon, the ground a few feet away shook and erupted in a large explosion of dirt. The Sides watched casually as a giant lizard appeared out of the explosion, an ebony saddle shining on its back as it ran towards Janus and began panting happily, leaning into the hand that Deceit outstretched to pet it. 

“Hello, my darling Felicia.” He muttered softly, and Roman snickered. Logan, the nice - or at least relatively impartial - person that he was, stayed silent. 

Next, a streak of pure white dashed towards the group, stopping in front of Roman. Now that it wasn't moving that fast, Janus could see that it was a pure white stallion, neighing as it lowered its head towards the awaiting Prince, who ran his hand through the horse’s mane. 

“What's yours called?” Janus sneered, and Roman muttered something under his breath as he climbed onto the stallion's back. “I'm sorry, what was that?”

“His name is Flash.” Roman said a little louder, avoiding eye-contact with the now laughing Side. 

“Is everyone settled now?” Logan asked, loosening his arms and holding them at his sides. 

“I mean, I think so.” Roman said, looking at the logical Side worriedly. “How are you gonna get there?” 

“You may leave, but allow me one moment, if you please. I'll catch up with you soon.”

Shrugging but trusting Logan, Roman guided Flash and began riding. Janus followed him, not wanting to lose him. Hey, if Logan didn't want to stay with them, that was his problem. Sure, he said that he had it covered, but really, what was he going to do-

A loud whooshing noise and burst of air from beside him nearly knocked him off of Felicia. Deceit fumbled on the lizard's back and straightened himself, frantically searching for whatever had done that. It was only when he looked forward and further above that he saw Logan in the air. Goodness gracious, he had wings . 

Lying softly under his breath to get a clearer vision, Janus glanced at Logan's giant wings. They were blue fading to purple edges, catching the light and shimmering to the point where it looked like the feathers were a picture of the galaxy. Extraordinary. How did he hide those? Could he just make them appear? Janus suddenly realised that the Logical Side was shirtless, holding his shirt and tie in his hands. Janus wondered what Patton would say if he were there. Shrugging the thought off, Deceit tugged at Felicia's reigns and continued to follow Roman further South of the Kingdom. 

— — —

Chapter Text

“Guys, I’m bored.” Emile complained as they all jogged ahead deeper into the Enchanted Forest. “Is there anything we can do to pass the time?” 

Patton laughed softly as Remy rolled his eyes and smiled, continuing to jog farther away from the two of them. Patton was glad that his little brother had helped him earlier. Honestly, he had no idea what he’d have done without him there. The truth was that the memory had affected Morality quite a bit, but…he began thinking, what if Janus was right? The incident had happened when they were six. Perhaps… maybe it would be better if Patton gave his older brother a second chance. So they could be a happy family, right? Could that happen? Could Pallas forgive him for shutting him out all those years? 

Shrugging those thoughts off for a second and hoping for the best, Patton glanced at his younger brother and began to think. 

“Hey, how about we play a game of I spy?” Patton suggested, and Emile’s face lit up with excitement. They had to do this, changing the subject and tiptoeing over the fact that this situation might not end well. But maybe it would! They just had to stay happy, and things’ll turn out just fine for Thomas and the rest of them. 

“Oh!” Emile cried, and looked around. “I spy with my little brown eyes, something…grey!” 

Patton grinned and started looking around. 

“Is it… a tree?” 

“Yeah! How’d you guess?!” 

Morality shrugged and made a face of pure concentration, squinting at his surroundings as they jogged by. 

“I spy with my big blue eyes, something…pink!”

“Ooh, I know! It’s my tie!” Emile exclaimed, the proud look on his face falling as Patton shook his head smugly. “Wait, what? What is it then? I can’t see anything else that’s pink.” 

“So… you give up?” Patton offered, the smug look somehow becoming even more prominent. Emile nodded and raised his eyebrow curiously, waiting for Patton to reveal the answer. 

“It’s that pin on Remy's messenger bag!”

Hearing his name, the Side turned to face the other two, a slightly serious look on his face. 

“Alright, game over for like, five minutes.” He slowed his pace for them to catch up and then held out the map that was given to him, eyes furrowed in uncharacteristic seriousness. “First of all, this map is so misleading. I mean, this thing barely shows the distance that’s travelled between each section or landmark, and the landmarks are comically large! I mean really, who made these maps?”

“I think it was Roman, but-”

“Okay, that makes sense. Fair enough. Anyway, my point is that we need to hurry up. We have… how much time do we have before Thomas wakes up and the entire Mindscape dies, Pat?” 

Patton gave the Side a worried look and held up his loosely-attached Winnie the Pooh wristwatch, frowning as he muttered.

“Twenty-two hours. You’re right, we need to get there faster.” Emile frowned too, shaking his head slightly. 

“Well… we don’t exactly have a way to speed things up, do we? I mean, we can’t exactly catch a ride somewhere.” 

Remy stopped suddenly, eyes bright as he glanced at the two Sides accompanying him. 

“But maybe we do have a way to speed things up. How didn’t I think of this before?”

He started rummaging in his bag, pulling out some Tupperware with something inside. With a dramatic gasp, Emile’s eyes widened as he glanced at the plastic containers.

“It isn’t…”

“It is.” Remy confirmed, clicking off the lid and placing it under the container, revealing an assortment of colourful desserts on sticks. 

“The Cake Pops?” Emile whispered reverently, eyes shining with excitement. 

“The Cake Pops.” Remy nodded solemnly.

“The Cake Pops?” Patton repeated incredulously, confused as he stared at the two Sides with him.

“Well, obviously they aren't normal Cake Pops, babes.” Remy began, gently handing a pink and blue decorated one to Emile. “Though those are wonderful. These contain a special ingredient that gives the person that eats it an increase of speed, or a way to slow down the time around them. It'll help us get there faster.” He handed Patton a light blue cake pop with dark blue spots, and took a white one decorated with silver streaks for himself. 

Without another word, Remy and Emile took a synchronised bite of their Cake Pop, Patton following shortly after. Morality immediately felt different, energy surging through his body and filling him with more motivation and determination than he had felt in ages. 

Woah. Looking around at the other two, Patton could see… were those colours surrounding them? Like a sort of glow emminating from their skin… Oh! Logan had mentioned something like that once, hadn’t he? How some people believe that everyone has an…what was it? An aurora? No, that was too long of a word. Oh, yeah! An aura, or at least that’s what Patton thought they were called. Emile’s was a soft, cotton-candy pink. It looked like a pretty cloud was floating around him! Ooh, it even smelled like cotton-candy. Patton loved cotton-candy, it was so fluffy and sugary! Turning to look at Remy, Sleep’s aura seemed to be stormcloud grey. Vanilla scented, which was unexpected. Not that Patton knew why it was unexpected. Geez, why were his thoughts so disorganised? It was normal for them to be all over the place, but he was feeling much more bamboozled than avalanche. No, that wasn’t right. Than average. Yes, that's better. 

Looking down at his own arms, Patton was surprised to see a light-blue mist swirling around him, swirling around like a very slow and gentle tornado. His eyes widened and Patton took a gentle breath in through his nose, the smell of a salty ocean breeze and fresh grass filling his lungs. Patton closed his eyes gently and smiled. He felt… at home. 

“Nifty.” Morality whispered, and he could understand why Emile had been so excited a few moments earlier. 

Opening his eyes, Patton could see Emile and Remy waiting for him patiently, and they smiled at him. 

“Ready?” Sleep asked, looking at Patton from above his sunglasses, and his smile widened as Patton nodded. “Great. Now, all you need to do is run. We’ll be right beside you the entire way, got it?” Pat nodded once again, and Remy’s smile became a grin. 

And that’s when he began running. That aura around him became a sort of streak, a flash of silver-light that followed him as he disappeared farther ahead. Shocked, it took Emile holding his hand and pulling him ahead to get Patton to start running, and it was safe to say that the whole experience was exhilarating, if a little disorienting. Patton burst out laughing, enjoying the air blowing in his hair and against his glasses as they followed Remy, the only one with a map. 

Knowing that they’d still end up having a while to go, Patton turned to his little brother, who was busy looking ahead at Remy, a strange expression on his face. 

“So,” Patton began, breaking the comfortable silence. “How do you know the old Sleeper up front?” 

Emile smiled softly and glanced up ahead, then back at his older brother. 

“It’s a long story.”

“We have time while we run.” Patton retorted, eyebrows raised curiously, a knowing expression on his face. Emile blushed slightly and laughed, running a hand in his purple hair. 

“You really want to know?”

“Of course!”

“Well, in that case.” Emile touched Patton gently on the shoulder and the two of them began floating in place, still travelling at the same speed behind Remy, who looked back at them and scoffed in indignation. “It was years ago.”

Patton nodded excitedly, moving in a sitting position and placing his hands underneath his chin as he listened. 

“I have a place up North-East, the Cartoon Cottage? Yeah, I have a lot of clients there and take care of most of my sessions there too. Most of those clients also used to go to a place called the Shop - not exactly original when it comes to names, so you know it wasn’t one of the Creativities that named it - which I eventually found out was owned by one of the Sides. I had no idea who it was, obviously-” Emile sighed, remembering those times. “One day, one of my clients asked me if we could have our session somewhere where they were more comfortable, since they were too nervous to do it in my Cottage. Obviously, I agreed. I chanced up my appearance a bit, you know, to look like a resident? And not a Side? Anyway, I’m going off-topic.” He laughed apologetically, but Patton shook his head and gave him an encouraging smile, motioning for him to continue. “So I did, and this client took me to this place, the Shop. I myself had never actually been there, but I didn’t see the harm in trying! We got there and went to a private booth, so that that client of mine could have some peace and privacy. I finished the session there, and they left, but I stayed. I can’t really explain why, but I could just feel something different, you know?” Patton nodded, it wasn’t strange that a Side would be able to sense the presence of another, especially if they knew that a Side was going to be there. “Anyway, I stayed at the bar, where this guy was serving drinks. He was wearing sunglasses and a baseball hat, so I couldn’t see his face, but then he looked at me. And that’s how I met Remy. That day, we started talking and kinda just became friends. He said I was interesting to keep around, and he was definitely fun to be around. He listened to me when I needed it, so he kinda became a therapist’s therapist!” Emile laughed and Remy looked back instinctively, smiling at the two of them before he continued running. “It helped, having someone. We started hanging out more often, especially since we both felt like we didn’t really belong or fit in with the other Sides, you know?” No, Patton didn’t know. He had always felt like he fit in, even if there were times where he wouldn’t necessarily want to share his feelings with everyone, he still felt like they were all part of a family. He…he didn’t know his brother had felt that way.

“Emmy-” But Emile shook his head, smiling widely as he continued explaining. 

“Eventually, I started having a few sessions either way, even though some of them were admittedly excuses to go hang out with Rem later. Oh, and I have fun news! We’re planning on finding somewhere where we can both work together, a kinda café-therapy place! It’d be…nice, to live a nice and peaceful life.”

“...with Remy?” Patton asked innocently, and Emile nodded. Lowering his voice, Patton raised an eyebrow and leaned closer to his little brother. “ So, you like him? I mean, like like him?”

Emile blushed and looked away from Patton, and at that moment Patton knew. His little brother wouldn’t act around anyone else like that. Wouldn’t talk about anyone else that way. And Remy seemed like such a nice person! Oh, this was beautiful! Wait- Remy dated Roman before though, right? Should this make him feel weird? Is Sleep right for his little Emmy? Picani looked so in love, it was crazy. Not that Patton was an expert, of course, but he’d seen the same face on Roman whenever he was thinking about Virgil-

Oh, Virgil. The poor kiddo must be so scared. Patton hoped that the others would be able to save him, but… Logan was there. Patton trusted Logan, even after the whole experience with Pallas. It wasn’t Logan’s fault. Plus, he couldn’t hate Logan. Logan was just so amazing and smart and nice! And now Patton was mentally spiralling and wow those Cake Pops gave him so much energy-

“-So?” 

“What?” Patton had to pause, having zoned out on his little mental rant. 

“So what if I like Remy?” Emile asked, a stubbornly defiant look on his face.

“Well, do you plan on doing anything about it?” Patton asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Do you plan on doing anything about Logan?” 

Patton froze. What was that supposed to mean? He asked as such, and was a little surprised to hear his little brother’s answer.

“I’m a therapist, Pat. I learned how to see these cues and how people act. Plus, you don’t exactly hide it very well, do you?”

“Huh.”

“Well? Do you plan on doing anything about Logic?” 

Patton was quiet for a second. Will he do anything about his feelings for Logan? He didn’t even know if Logan felt the same way, which he probably didn’t, especially after the whole overreaction Patton had after Logan had been possessed by Pallas. Sure, he apologised, but…did Logan really forgive him?

“I…I don’t know.” 

“Then don’t ask me the same thing about Remy.” Emile shrugged, his small frame shaking suddenly. “I think I’m gonna have to set us down now, I’m overloading!” He laughed it off as a joke, but he did seem to be under some sort of strain. Patton didn’t even know that his brother could do that, much less hold it for that long.

“Don’t worry, we’ll run.” Patton smiled, and Emile set them both down. 

They continued running, catching up to Remy slowly.

“Ah, good. Finally decided to include me in a conversation that’s probably about me, I see!” Sleep smirked and looked at the map once again. 

“We should probably quicken up the pace, at least to try and find your older brother.” Then, Remy gave Emile a sly look. “Say, Patton, has Emile told you about the time that he tried to serve coffee in my shop?”

“REM, NO, PLEASE-” Emile cried out desperately, but Patton shushed him playfully, grinning at Remy.

“No, he hasn’t. But feel free to explain.” 

Remy grinned back mischievously, and Patton knew this was going to get interesting.

— — —

Chapter Text

Roman told Flash to stop as soon as he saw the beach. 

You sure this is a good idea, boss? The horse brayed worriedly to Roman, a somehow concerned expression on his face. 

“Yeah. We’ll be fine!” Roman whispered back, not wanting the others to hear. “Plus, I need to do this.” 

The thing about being a prince in the Mindscape meant that Roman knew how to speak to animals, or at least the animals in Thomas’ head. Which, at most times was absolutely epic , but in other cases it was just a nuisance. Squirrels, for instance, while being absolutely adorable, complained about everything. And since Roman was one of the only ones that could understand them and do something about their complaints, they bothered him . Our trees aren’t green enough; the birds are chirping too loudly; Johnathan keeps yelling profanities at us! That kind of stuff. How bothersome. But Flash… Flash understood Roman, he was Roman’s friend. Someone who cared about the Prince, even when others wouldn’t. 

Do you really need to do this, though? Flash asked one last time, leaning his pristine-white head into Roman’s awaiting hand. 

“Yeah. He’s in trouble, Flash. I can’t leave him alone. I need to avenge him and rescue him!” It was funny how the horse immediately knew who Roman was talking about. After nodding his head slightly, Flash finally neighed and ran off back from where they came, leaving Roman on the beach. Janus and his Felicia - the Prince suppressed another snicker - arrived next to him, Deceit dismounted his reptile with a flourish and landed squarely on his two feet, waving his steed off. Sneering at the Prince, Janus folded his arms as they both waited for the logical Side to land from his high altitude. 

When he did, they both stared at him. Admittedly, Roman could see how that could be considered as rude, but he couldn’t help himself. He wouldn’t have expected the nerd to have such a muscular build underneath that black shirt and tie of his, though when Roman took Logan's wings into consideration, he could understand how that would make sense. Wings were difficult to use: they were a heavy set of extra limbs that you had to carry around with you, and even flying for short distances makes you use muscles in your back that you wouldn’t even realise were there. Of course, Roman knew this from experience. He had spent some time in his teens infiltrating the Capital for fun, just to see how things would turn out and just how long it would take Logan to realise. It was a solid three days before he did, and they were probably the three most physically exhausting days of the Prince’s life. 

“You’re staring.” Logan stated as he pulled his shirt over his gorgeous, galaxy-like blue and purple wings and made them collapse beneath the fabric, the wings virtually disappearing once more. Roman looked up to the cloudy sky to stop, and grinned widely. 

“Well, Logan! Forgive a Prince, but one doesn't just drop a bomb like that and expect nothing to happen. How did you expect me to react?” He looked back at the now shirt-clad Logan with a raised eyebrow, folding his arms. “Say, have you told Patton about the wings?” 

“Why would I…” Logan seemed to frown, but Janus perked up, adapting the same stance as Roman. 

“You know, the Royal Kill-Joy here is onto something. That animal-loving nerd would totally not love to see those wings of yours!” 

Roman grinned, surprised that the snake would agree with him for once. However, as soon as he saw Logan’s face turn scarlet, he gave out a small laugh and turned to face the beach. He hadn’t gone there for quite a while, so it was going to take him a while to re-summon the bridge. 

“You can explain everything as we go along, yes?” Roman called out behind him, feeling his boots sink slightly in the fine golden sands. This, the ocean breeze, the blue-purple sea, the sunset at the edge painting the sky with so many different colours, the Side under those calm waves… this is what he was protecting. This peace. His peace. With all of the adventures that he went on, he still enjoyed it. Arriving at the edge of the sandy beach before the lethargic waves, Roman knelt on the fine sand, feeling the water lap around his knees gently and then retreat again, its rhythm like a second heartbeat. Closing his eyes, Roman put his hands into the water before him, sinking them until he felt the cold waves sting against his wrists. There was so much power in those waves.

Ignoring Janus’ pointed cough behind him and Logan’s questioning remarks, Roman focused on the water. Somewhere below, inside, there was supposed to be… there . 

His hand caught on a string of energy that had been placed there years ago, right before the city beneath the sea had sunk.  Roman grasped it firmly, pulling and stretching the thread as he tugged at it and opened it, making it wider and shaped in the form of a tube. It was merely weaving strands of mental energy, something he had always known how to do. It was how he managed to create most things in Thomas’ head. There was a soft song in the air as he wove, a lullaby from… somewhere. Roman wasn’t entirely sure where. But it always urged him on, a calming and comforting voice to guide him forwards. 

Before the others knew what was happening, Roman had created a tunnel, water swirling in a horizontal-whirlpool fashion, large enough for a group of people to walk through. At the end of the tunnel was a sort of orange glow, the sort one would get from candlelight or a fire of sorts. Roman stood up and brushed off sand from his uniform, glancing at the other Sides to discern their reactions. Janus seemed thoroughly unimpressed - he’d probably seen Remus do something more powerful - and Logan just seemed… like Logan. No emotion to be present. The Creative Side sighed, unaware why he was even trying at this point. Where was Patton and his unwavering excitement when he needed him? Then, determined to save his Dark Knight - no, wait, Virgil - from the bird-men below, he cracked a smile at the others and pulled out his sword, the soft sound of metal running against metal barely audible.  

“Ready to follow me to the light at the end of the tunnel?”

“Indeed.” Logan said, but Janus groaned slightly as he pulled out his own sword.

“Seriously, Morality isn’t here so you make the dad-jokes now? I’m absolutely thrilled .” 

Logan frowned and looked at the Prince. 

“How did he make-?”

“Don’t ask!” Roman exclaimed with a smile, and began walking down the tunnel which was supporting his weight without somehow dragging him with the current of the whirlpool. 

After a moment of silence as they began following him, Logan spoke up softly. 

“I think I forgot just how terrifying being underwater this deep could be.”

Roman turned towards him but continued walking. “You’re scared of water, Specs?” 

The logical Side coughed and arranged his necktie, his silver wrist guard shining in the dim light.

“I am not the largest fan of what happens to be down here, creature wise.”

“Wimp.” Janus muttered, earning him a scowl from the two other Sides.

“Right, anyway .” Janus stressed, changing the subject. “Robert. Tell us more about where we’re going. Lightedge, right?”

“Uh, first of all, it's Roman, ” he corrected, offended. “And second of all, it's Shadowcrest .” Roman corrected him bitterly.

“Of course.” Janus replied with a small smirk. “Now do tell, has it always been underwater, Atlantis-style? Or did something happen?”

“Something did happen.” He had a pained look on his face, and the crown on his head suddenly felt too heavy, as if reminding him of all the lives that had been lost that day. “Thomas was having his first panic attack. You know, the one when he was seventeen?” He asked Logan, who nodded slowly. “Waves rose. They engulfed Shadowcrest, and…I was too late. The Mindscape shook and I let all of those people down. If it weren’t for the water Nymphs, the entire population of the city would have died, but they created a bubble of sorts so that the residents could breathe. Not that people still live there anymore. There’s a fortress up North that they refurbished, so they all live there now. Any more questions?” The Prince asked sarcastically, knowing Logan would probably have a few. To his surprise, the other two stayed silent, watching him. What was that all about?

“Your eyes.” Logan noted, and Roman was taken aback. Really? He tries to have a heartfelt conversation with those two and they’re looking at his eyes? Good Fairy Godmother, he wished Patton was there to be empathetic. He could feel his arm hurting slowly, just listening to that. Stupid bruised-ego. Thank Tinkerbell, he was wearing long sleeves. 

“What? What about my eyes?” He spat, getting more agitated the deeper they went.

“They’re glowing bright purple. They’re luminescent!” Logan smiled slightly, and Roman scowled. Usually, he had that under control. Not in the Empire, however. Sighing, the Prince barely realised that they had entered Shadowcrest, temples and houses surrounding the stone slab streets they were walking across. 

“Woah.” Janus breathed out a sigh of appreciation before catching himself and scowling. Well, at least that gave Roman a sense of satisfaction. He reminded himself that he was on a rescue mission with an evil snake-boy and Logan, Captain Callous. Taking a deep breath in, he looked ahead and his brain froze slightly as the irritation was provessed. What colour had Logan said his eyes were? Purple? Goodness gracious, how could he have forgotten? 

Ignoring the cries of the Sides behind him, Roman began sprinting forward. Purple, even more so glowing purple meant that someone was using an abundance of magic. Purple eyes meant danger, meant pain . And who here was in danger? Who was Roman here to save?

Virgil. 

Roman ran, slowing only as he entered what used to be the plaza, a large area that was now littered with stands and olive-green tents, with a group of people walking around. They all looked at Roman and froze before pulling out an assortment of swords, daggers and ballistic weapons. Right, as if five Avian's we're gonna stop him from getting to his - to, erm, Virgil. 

Seeing another ten bright white energy-figures flicker to life and grab metaphysical weapons was not, however, expected. But it sure as heck was gonna be a fun fight. 

Pulling out the greatsword that Ember had fashioned for him, he grinned and charged forward, met with an Avian and one of those phantom soldiers, wielding twin daggers. Hitting the Avian hard on the head with the pommel of his sword and knocking him unconscious, Roman braced himself as he met the phantom's blow with his sword and avoided being stabbed by the other dagger. Twisting the greatsword in a way that disarmed one of the phantom's hands, he stepped back and kicked its leg, mildly surprised that he felt the impact, before spearing it with his sword. 

Finally, Logan and Janus arrived. 

The fight began, Logan trying to convince the Avians to stop fighting, set on not hurting his own people. Eventually, it became clear that he really had no other choice. 

Janus, on the other hand, seemed to be having fun. He had brought out his phantom-arms, fighting back with his hands and the longsword that Ember had given him, which wrapped around the ghost-like soldier’s’ bodies and ripped them in half, a golden glow enveloping both Deceit and his new toy as he fought elegantly. 

Roman continued to fight, avoiding permanently harming the Avians and doing his best to remember that they were people too. Admittedly, if something happened to Virgil, Roman wasn’t entirely sure that he could be so merciful. The Prince ducked and dodged, weaving and dancing around enemies as he embraced the adrenaline rush, willing to do anything and everything to protect Virgil. He dodged a flying arrow, leaning backwards and feeling a sharp rush of air as he watched it shoot above his head, narrowly missing his gorgeous face. Using the momentum of the lean backwards, Roman let his sword fly loose from his hand, flinging it towards another unfortunate phantom soldier  with twin-daggers behind him. The sword pierced through the glowing white entity, causing it to melt in a puddle of glowing plasma before the sword flew back into Roman’s awaiting hand, the hilt slamming against his palm and causing the Prince to whoop in satisfaction. 

The other Sides were also doing fairly well. Janus’ whip-blade was working miracles, and Logan’s energy-daggers were flying around and defeating the majority of the phantoms. It also became clear that Roman had initially miscounted: there were around fifteen total phantom soldiers, but hey, Roman never claimed to be the Math-Gay. That was Logan. 

It wasn’t too long before the fight was over for that moment, the five Avians lying unconscious at their feet surrounded by the plasma of their fallen soldiers. 

“That. Was. Awesome.” Roman panted in exhilaration, and Janus gave a small laugh at his excitement. 

“Oh, you sound nothing like your brother right now.” Janus lied, and this time, Roman couldn’t help but grin at the comparison.

“He always did love fights and duels. Now,” the Prince said determinedly, wiping his sword with a red handkerchief and watching the glowing white plasma splatter onto the floor. “How about we go get our Virgil back?”

It only took them a minute to find the place where Roman thought Virgil was being kept. Covering his eyes with a hand discretely and noting the strong purple glow reflected on his palm as soon as they got there only confirmed it. 

The venue was a cathedral of sorts, a massive hall where parties, feasts, festivities and meetings used to be held there in the past, and Roman had to admit that the frescos and art there were stunning. The door was locked, of course. No true villain would leave the door open to make it easy for the hero, would they? Never fear, for Roman had the key, of course. Controlled violence: it worked every time. Finding an accurate spot - where the door would be weakest - Roman lifted his foot and kicked the door angrily, bracing for the impact and watching as the large wooden entrance splintered into a million pieces, showering the dusty marble times of the corridor in front of them with the wooden chips. Roman didn’t have to look behind him to see that the other two were impressed by the show of strength. Of course they were, he was a prince! And in this case, the Prince had to take the lead. 

The short corridor, Roman knew, led to the hall itself, and he ran across the dusty floors, scared of what he might find behind the entrance. 

“Halt, Villain! For I am here to-” His words trailed off as he beheld the sight before him, having slowed down for long enough that the others had managed to catch up with him. 

The hall itself he was familiar with. The Great Hall: second only perhaps to the Norse Valhalla, was grand and bright with ever-burning candle light. The walls glistened and shined, crystals arranged to form mosaics and pictures. The hall was bigger on the inside than on the outside, but of course that was a handy benefit of the magic.

Roman wasn't entirely sure what he had been expecting to see, but this certainly wasn't it. 

Three Avians were on the ground in front of them, tied up with what appeared to be sticky cobwebs. They were unconscious, large bruises beginning to form on their arms and faces. In the centre of the room, Roman could recognise Phoenix, the one that had kidnapped his Stormcloud. Wait, no. Virgil . But that wasn't the same determined confident posture that he sported. No, Phoenix was on the floor, his wings bleeding red into the blue dye as the Avian cowered before the hooded figure floating above him, their back turned towards the Sides so that they could not see who it was.

The figure was glowing purple, not unlike the shade Roman's eyes had been a few moments earlier. They turned around slightly to their side, and Roman’s heart skipped a beat as soon as he caught a glimpse of the figure's face. 

It was Virgil, his eyes glowing bright silver as he turned back to the cowering Avian beneath him, not making a single move that acknowledged the Sides’ presence. They barely had any time to react before a loud thunderous noise filled the air, purple strand-like cobwebs reaching for Phoenix and tying him up, lifting him in a floating cocoon, making it near impossible for the Avian to move. Two pairs of spider legs emerged from the deep purple cloak, each of them at least twice Virgil's size. 

A chill ran down Roman's spine as he heard him speak. 

“YOU! YOU TOOK ME AWAY FROM MY FRIENDS, AND THEN TAKE ME TO MY OWN TERRITORY? ” Roman could hear the pain and bitter determination in the Emo's voice as Anxiety laughed dryly. “ OH, YOU IDIOT !” 

Phoenix was struggling in fear, terror and confusion dancing in his equally silver eyes as he noticed the Sides behind Virgil. The fear in his eyes grew, tainted with hatred and anger when he locked eyes with Logan. He was struggling in those webbed bonds, and when the Prince glanced at the other Sides he could see that Logan had a furious expression on his face, but Janus looked like a proud father as he looked at Virgil and the incapacitated Avian. 

All Roman could truly feel was a sense of confusion and admiration as he took in the sight before him. Moving subtly to run his hand through his hair, Roman could see a faint pink glow reflect on his hands. Not… not purple anymore. Oh God, pink ? That was probably worse than purple, but in a different and more emotionally dependent way. To Virgil, of all people? But… was Roman really complaining?

His thoughts were once again interrupted, this time by Anxiety flicking his wrist and causing Phoenix’s cocoon to move closer to him, and the Side formed a sword out of the shadows in the room, causing them to pool in his hand to create the weapon. Virgil held the Avian at swordpoint, and was about to say something before he turned to look at the Sides quickly, silver eyes locking with Roman’s pink ones. Sweet Cora line , those eyes. Roman just couldn’t look away. 

It was Logan that interrupted their little staring contest of sorts. (That’s all that it was, right?)

“Virgil, could you be so kind as to put the sword down? So that we could settle this with him in a civilised manner?” 

“You came.” It wasn’t a question. Virgil was looking at them, surprise seeping into his blank expression. 

“Of course we came, dummy! We couldn’t just-” Roman began, only to be rudely interrupted by Phoenix. 

“How’d you even get inside ?! There were twenty guards just guarding that one entrance!” The Avian yelled, struggling against his bonds. His silver eyes seemed to glow a bright blue-green, but Roman ignored it.

“We came to rescue you, Scaramore!” Roman said to Virgil exasperatedly, enjoying the small smirk that appeared on the other Side’s face. “Looks like you had everything under control.” 

“Not exactly since the beginning. But really, adorable, Princey.” The Side laughed, and Roman couldn’t help but grin back. It was almost easy to forget that they were in an underwater city. Trying to save Virgil. Who was holding his captor captive. Speaking of the captor…

“LET ME GO, YOU HEATHEN!” The Avian screamed, staring daggers at Virgil. They all turned to look at him, and Roman was surprised to hear Logan grunt in annoyance. “I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE PLANNING, BUT I WILL NOT LET YOU DESTROY THE CAPITAL! I MADE AN OATH TO PROTECT MY HOME. ESPECIALLY FROM THE DARK KNIGHT!” 

Logan just about looked like he was going to lose his marbles, but before he could do anything, Janus was there. He was speeding towards the webbed mass, jumping on the struggling body and threateningly grasped a chunk of the webbing, a furious expression etched on his face. He hissed, pulling out his shining longsword and holding its sharp edge towards the man’s throat.

“First of all, don’t you dare speak to him like that ever again. Secondly, you must be really f -” He frowned as he struggled slightly. “Really f- ” Giving up entirely with that line of word choice, he hissed in Phoenix’s face as if it was entirely his fault. “Really stupid and dense to believe that the Rebels - a group of agents of chaos that exclusively wear green like a bunch of evil leprechauns, for Heaven's sake- would be led by a caution-obsessed man who wouldn’t be caught dead wearing anything other than black or purple?!”

At that point, Roman’s only regret was that he hadn’t brung any popcorn with him to watch this beautiful scene. And Virgil’s face? Priceless. Roman could stare at that face for hours if he could, but Janus was continuing his little rant, the human side of his face flushed red with anger. 

“And just as a small note , you pathetic nitwit, the person you’re actually supposed to be looking for is the Duke , someone you don’t even want to try capturing. Do you know why? Because he wouldn’t hesitate to torture and slowly kill you and every single soldier that you have with you, even if he had to-”

“I’m going to have to stop you right there.” Logan intervened, and Roman groaned in annoyance. 

“Logan, you can’t just interrupt someone’s protective monologue.” He chided, and Phoenix’s complexion paled even further, a thin line of blood beading at his throat where Janus was tersely gripping his sword. Roman could see that Phoenix knew he had made a mistake. A very bad one. And as much as the Prince hated to think about it, that’s what you get when you doubt Logan - the brains of the operation. A snake-man threatening you at sword point, making you question your life choices and mistakes. 

Without another word, Virgil hovered towards Deceit and gently pried him away from the Avian, staring at the web-covered man. Silver eyes glared at each other from the both of them, at least until Virgil placed a hand on the Avian’s forehead and knocked the man unconscious, purple magic seeping through his fingers. The green-blue in his eyes was washed back, the iris turning silver again. The colour made Roman's blood run cold, but he couldn't focus on that. It probably didn't mean anything, anyway. 

“And now to send you back where you came from.” Virgil muttered, and he directed the floating mass to a now growing shadow beneath it, watching as the image of a large city began to form there, one Roman recognised as the Capital. 

“Woah, now. We can’t send him back there-” Logan began worriedly, but it was already too late. Virgil had dropped the Avian into the shadow, closing it behind him. Logic sighed in an annoyed manner and Roman could have sworn that he heard the Side muttering something about having to deal with the man later. 

Virgil wasn’t looking so great. He looked pale, paler than usual. Roman was staring, he knew, but the Side looked like he was about to collapse. Which was a horrible idea, seeing as he was thirty feet in the air . 

Roman sprinted and braced himself underneath the anxious Side just in time, watching the spider-legs collapse into Virgil's back, the purple robes rippling in the wind as the Dark Knight fell. Virgil’s eyes were closing due to the strain of using so much power in such a short time, especially after what Roman assumed was quite a while. The Prince staggered slightly as the Side’s weight collided into his arms, but he had arranged his posture to make it a more comfortable landing for Virgil. This wasn’t the first time he’d caught someone, and not the first time he’d caught Virgil. His mind wandered for a moment to that day when they’d become cartoons, remembering the cacophony of feelings as Roman caught Virgil, breaking his fall and staring into those violet-flecked amber eyes. How the words stuck in his throat before he made some snarky comment that he didn't remember. Now, those eyes were closed, and Roman couldn't help but worry a little bit. How much did that display of power cost him? 

Virgil coughed and opened his eyes, looking around frantically. 

“Good, you're awake,” Roman smirked, relief flooding every inch of his body. “You know, this is the second time I've caught you like this. If you want me to hold you, you can just ask.” 

What in all things good and grandiose was he even saying ?

The Prince watched Virgil roll his eyes and turn his head to face Roman. 

“Ro?” Virgil's voice was small, and Roman couldn't help but smile slightly.

“Yeah?”

“Put me down.” 

Oh. 

“Virgil!” Janus was walking their way as the anxious Side snapped his fingers and his clothes changed back into his regular outfit. Deceit seemed to open his arms slightly before Virgil stepped away, and Roman wasn't entirely sure what was happening, but he was pretty sure that Virgil had just tried to avoid being hugged by Janus. Maybe he should give the two some space.  And so Roman stepped a few steps away and glanced behind him at Logan, who was glaring at the space on the floor where that weird shadow-portal had been earlier. 

“Are you…ok?” Roman raised an eyebrow as the logical Side rubbed the bridge of his nose worriedly. 

“I am adequate. Perhaps a little bit concerned about the fact that I'll have to deal with that- ” he gestured vaguely at the floor. “-later. That aside, how's Virgil holding up?”

“Hmmmm?” Roman tore his gaze away from the two Sides talking in the distance and tried to process what Logan had just asked him. “Oh, yes. He seems fine. That little show of power seemed to take something out of him, though.”

“Why don't you go talk to him?” 

“What?”

That look on Logan's face. That always meant that he knew something the other didn't. Curses, Roman despised that know-it-all face. 

“Oh come on, Roman. You know you like him.” Logan wasn't even trying to make Roman feel bad! He was just stating whatever he thought was fact again. 

“No, I don't.” And now he could feel Janus' glare from that much farther away. 

“You both came into my room to try to make me feel better. Don't act like you two haven't been getting closer.”

“Well- what about Patton, then?” Yes, that's right. Let's change the subject to something he might find a little uncomfortable-

“What about Patton?” Logan asked, a frown appearing on his face. 

“What do you mean, ‘what about Patton’?” Roman asked bewilderedly. The Prince could see Logan's frown deepen. 

“I asked you first. What does Patton have to do with whatever we were talking about earlier?”

Roman huffed and turned away exasperatedly, throwing his hands in the air dejectedly. 

Trying to forget the conversation that just took place, Roman moved towards the three unconscious Avians that were still tied up on the floor. Virgil did that, all by himself. 

Woah . Was Roman smiling? Why was he smiling? By the Great Phoenix's tail feathers (the bird phoenix, not the bird man Phoenix. Gosh, that was confusing) - was the Prince proud of the little ball of angst? Nudging one of the men with his boot and crouching down, Roman examined the Avians. None of them looked familiar. It was probably best to get Virgil to send there where he had sent Phoenix earlier, right? That was probably the responsible course of action. 

“You guys gonna stay here, or are we gonna go help the others?” Virgil called out to both Logic and Creativity, and they walked over there, Roman with more enthusiasm than Logan. Janus fell back towards Logan, but the Prince jogged on next to Virgil, running a hand through his hair and using magic to make it nice and fluffy again - no time to fuss about it. 

“Hey.” He said, licking his lips slightly and turning slightly to look at the shorter Side.

“Hey.” Virgil replied, looking tired - and his eyeshadow was pretty dark, too. That was never a good sign. 

“How are you holding up? Everything ok?”

“I've been better.” Roman saw the Side glance behind him, presumably at Janus. Did that mean honesty, or…?

“Do you wanna talk about it?” 

Anxiety turned his head to smirk at the Prince, and Roman raised an eyebrow. 

“Why'd you ask?” 

“Just curious.”

“You're worried about me!” Virgil seemed to be grinning - his face looking less tired than it had been just moments earlier, and Roman sped up slightly and turned around, walking backwards to face him properly. 

“Absolutely not!” That was a lie. 

“Aw, Princey. You do care.” 

Roman grinned at Virgil, pushing his shoulder gently. 

“Only ’cause you can probably use that shadow-portal thing to get us to Pat and the others. But I need to know that you're in good health, that's all.” 

Virgil laughed and pushed Roman back, causing the Prince to trip slightly. 

“You liar .” 

Oh, Roman was definitely blushing now. But it was hilarious, and Anxiety's laugh was contagious, so he laughed with him. 

“But if you really insist,” his Stormcloud said coyly, eyeshadow lightening up slightly. “We just need to get out of here, and by then I'd be strong enough to get us to the others. Does that sound good to you, Princey?” 

“Sounds perfect.” Roman replied softly, and they led the way, walking back to where the others had come in - the bridge. 

Logan watched Roman and Virgil as they led the way. It was odd - Virgil had just been kidnapped, had he not? Why was he laughing? Of course, he was probably experiencing some form of PTSD. It was the only logical solution. But there he was, smiling with Roman. 

Wait- were they…flirting? Mentally searching  for the definition, he could see that it was possible. Another option was that Roman was trying to make Anxiety feel better, and if that was his plan, it was working quite well. 

I wonder if I would be able to experience that level of affection with Patton . 

Wait, what? 

Oh. 

Feelings . 

— — —

Chapter Text

Virgil was smiling as he listened to Roman go on about their mini adventure and Logan’s wings, but his mind was wandering elsewhere. 

The use of so much shadows had drained him. It was exhausting, having used so much magic to drag himself back to consciousness and having taken down those three goons after what they did to him - plus having to fly like that after so long. But really, that wasn’t the only reason he felt exhausted. They were underwater, under the Sea of Paranoia - his sea. God, the power that he could feel. It was running through the veins underneath his now-raw skin, calling his name, begging for him to send the waves crashing down on these ruins, to fight against the fire -

He couldn’t. No, it wasn’t that he couldn’t. He most certainly had the ability to - but it was wrong . Using so much power like that. Remus wouldn’t bat an eye, but he was a Light Side now. At least, he was pretty sure he was. It was tiring, using so much willpower to avoid causing the entire ocean to collapse on their heads. Virgil would be fine, of course. He’d spent his fair share in water, especially after finding out that he couldn’t drown. The water calmed him down. Ironically, it was like a breath of fresh air on his good days. 

Roman helped. Virgil couldn’t believe that he was admitting it, but Princey’s non-stop talking, his random check-ins to ask if Virgil was okay. It distracted him from what had just happened, which was a relief. Roman didn’t even question it when Virgil asked the Prince if they could wait until they got out of here before Virge tried opening another portal. It was weird. Sweet, but weird. 

Something that would definitely make Virgil feel better was going swimming, but that was out of the question at the moment. Janus was right, earlier. Virgil mentioned swimming while they were talking earlier, but Deceit begrudgingly said that it was probably best that they get to the others as fast as possible since they didn’t know how Pallas’ absence was affecting them. 

“Hey, how much further until we can get to the twisty water-bridge thing?” Virgil could hear the snake-man yell out to Roman. “My feet are aching. ” 

“Not too far, my Reptilian Acquaintance!” Roman called out, and Virgil shoved his hands in his pockets, subtly grimacing at the pain of the burns and wondering just how long they’d had this little respect-bit going on, how long it’d last before one of them decides that they’re better than the other once again. 

His sleeves covered the burns, but Virgil could still feel it. He tried to push away the vivid recollection of what the Avians had just done to him, the threats, the… the fire. Torches held to his skin, their hands pinning him to the floor as he screamed before he was blinded by the power of the sea around him just like it did the night he-

He shook his head, squeezing his eyes tightly for a moment. This wasn't the best time. 

Logan and Janus caught up to the two of them, and Virgil saw Roman smile a little bit. 

“Aw, look at us! We’re one step closer to being the Four again!” 

Janus scoffed, offended, and Virgil snorted slightly, happy that he could think about anything else. 

“Yeah, all we need is good ol’ Pat!” Anxiety plastered a smirk on his face, poking fun at Janus and hiding the fact that he was begrudgingly grateful that the Side had come to save him. 

“Well, if you insist.” Deceit said slyly, his eyes glowing a bright gold before snapping his fingers. Sickly yellow mist engulfed him, and in his place stood Patton: the smug, sly look still on his face. 

“That… no.” Logan’s face looked pained, staring at the fake-Patton. 

“Aw, don’t be such a debbie-downer, Logic!” Janus as Patton smiled cheerily. “It’s just a disguise. Plus, I’m getting better!” He had the right energy and everything, and it was seriously upsetting. Logan’s face was kinda funny to look at, though. It made Virgil feel a little better. 

“Now, here’s something that y’all won’t experience ever again!” Janus grinned mischievously and glanced at them, and Virgil had a feeling that Deceit was only doing this to distract Virgil too. 

“And what's that?” Roman said, looking around at the air-bubble surrounding them and the ruined buildings. 

“Foul. Language.” Janus whispered, eyes twinkling with child-like excitement. 

“Woah, woah- no. You’re not using Patton’s face while-” Virgil shook his head vigorously, but Logan interrupted him furiously. 

“I agree! There is no way we’re letting you desecrate our beloved Patton’s reputation!” Logic fumed, but Virgil was surprised to hear Roman’s smug voice pierce through the argument.

“Do it. I dare you.” 

“ Sssplendid. ” ‘Patton’ hissed, before rolling his shoulders slightly. “ F -” 

Virgil frowned slightly as he watched Janus struggle with that singular word. 

“Alright, no, why can’t I cuss?” Janus said furiously, shifting back into his normal self as he glared at Roman as if it was all his fault. “This happened earlier, too!” 

Anxiety, more confused than he had expected to feel, looked towards Logan, the appointed smart one. Sadly, even Logan seemed to be relatively clueless. The only person that seemed to know what was going on was the Prince, who was laughing heartily as he wiped tears of satisfaction from his now sky-blue eyes. 

“Oh, it’s the Author. They made a deal with the real Pat. No swearing!” Roman grinned.

“For the last time, Roman! The Author isn’t. Even. Real! ” Logan glared at Princey, suddenly realising what Roman was talking about. 

“What’s the Author?” Virgil asked, but Logan waved his arms around, a warning look on his face as he glared at Roman. 

“Fine-e-e.” The Prince droned, and Roman stopped them all, eyeing the wall of suspended water before them.

Virgil didn’t even realise that they had arrived at the edge, and the call of the ocean was increasing . Then… Roman shoved his hands in the water. God, did Virgil really think that this was going to be a serious thing? He overestimated the Prince. Though to be honest, as soon as a glowing tether appeared in the water, Virgil had to admit that it was pretty cool. A tunnel began to open slowly, the aquatic walls emanating a soft blue glow. 

“Come with me, and you’ll see-” Roman sang softly, taking a few steps into the suspended tunnel that was slowly rising upwards. Virgil could feel soft increases in the relative anxiety levels of the group, mainly coming from Logan. Ah, that made sense. The bird-wings, huh? Birds and water don't always mix. 

“So, how are we going to know where to go when you open that portal of yours?” The logical Side asked smoothly, casually hiding those soft undertones of fear. 

“It’s not that hard. I just need to focus on Patton’s energy, it’s one that I’ve become accustomed to. So… I’ll get us there.” Virgil responded, focusing on not collapsing the tunnel around them. Anxiety could feel Deceit’s gaze on his back and silently cursed. (Ah, so it’s outward cursing that’s not allowed. Interesting.) Janus knew about the whole… water thing. That wasn’t fun at all. It was weird, knowing that the snake-man could probably guess what Virgil was thinking about right then and there, what he was struggling with.

“Interesting.” Logan stated pensively, and Janus seemed to perk up slightly. 

“Say, we were an awful team back there, weren't we? All of that fighting and sparring. And Roman, your fighting was severely anticlimactic.” The Side seemed to be steering the conversation into a different direction, albeit in his own way. 

“Objectively - assuming that you are, indeed, currently speaking in falsehoods - I must agree. While I do agree with Patton on most fronts about how violence is not the answer-”

“Nah, violence is the question. The answer is yes.” Virgil muttered under his breath, causing Roman to choke slightly on a laugh. 

“ -anyway ,” Logan continued, ignoring Virgil's interruption but finding himself unable to contain a small smirk. “I do find myself inclined to agree in saying that working together proved to be quite the valiant show of skill. Though I wonder, perhaps things may reach a higher equilibrium if all Sides continue to work together-” 

“So what you're trying to say,” Roman interrupted with a small smile. “Is that teamwork makes the dreamwork?” 

Biting his lip slightly in frustration, Logan pushed back his glasses unnecessarily and frowned. 

“I guess that's one way to put it.”.

“Hmm, that sounds like quite an interesting idea.” Roman laughed, and Virgil hissed under his breath. The idea of working together with the Dark Sides again wasn't exactly pleasant. Sure, it'd be… nice… to have his old family back, but they weren't exactly trying to help Thomas. Well no, they were. But the way that they did was more counterproductive, the way Virgil's was before he got accepted. And why on Earth was Roman agreeing to this? 

“You'd have to stop trying to mess things up before that'd happen.” The words slipped out of his mouth before he could even process what he was saying. Deceit's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but it was barely noticeable as his sly demeanour returned as fast as it had slipped. 

“I'll think about it.” 

Virgil knew that Janus wanted Virge back. It wasn't a secret among the Dark Sides, but… if Virgil was being honest, he was more comfortable with the others. And Patton… yeah, Janus was an awesome parental figure, but so was Pat! And Virgil wasn't entirely sure that Thomas being comfortable with deceit as a concept was a good idea, especially since he wasn't entirely sure what Jan's agenda really included.

Their conversation had to be paused, however, ’cause they had arrived. They were walking into the dim sunlight, onto the golden, powdery-sand beach. To Virgil's surprise, they weren't alone. A little farther ahead, just where the gold had started to fade to the brownish green that was the grass on the other side, was a horse. It was a magnificent stallion, coat and mane like fresh snowfall midwinter, eyes a piercing gold that Virgil could see even from there. In the other world, he'd be relatively fine with that. But here? In the Empire? Horses weren't just another animal, populating the land. Horses all reported to the King, and the rumoured Forest Spirit. Well, his sources said that they weren't much of a ‘spirit’ per se, more of a sort of ranger or druid that protected the natural parts of the land. It was like Robin Hood, but… nerdier. Virgil didn't trust him either way, and therefore did his best to avoid horses as best as he could. 

The horse in question, however, seemed to be staring straight at Roman. Its golden eyes were locked with the Prince's light pink ones. It neighed once before turning away from them, galloping into the distance ahead of them leaving Virgil to stare at it in confusion and unease. Strange. He'd have to ask Roman about whatever that was later. 

Before he could dwell on things any longer, Logan turned towards Virgil with a patient expression on his face. 

“Do you think you're comfortable enough to be able to activate that Einstein-Rosen bridge of yours now?”

“...what?”

“The portal. He's asking about the portal.” Janus explained, and Virgil raised an eyebrow. Great, two science nerds. 

“Well, sure.” Virgil shrugged, at the very least relieved that he wasn't entirely surrounded by water anymore. 

Motioning for the others to stay silent, Virgil focused on Patton. This was different with what he did with the bird guy, Phoenix. In that case, he could picture the place. He had been there before. But in this case, he had to focus on a person, on a feeling. At least it was Patton. 

Virge closed his eyes with a small sigh. Patton was always nice to Virgil, or at least tried to be. So it was easy to focus on the nice things: Pat's warm and colourful laugh, all of those hugs he gave. The card, the one that Patton had drawn for Virgil, to put in his room after Virgil had attempted to duck out. And the card that Virgil had then given Patton for that first Secret Santa - how Virgil was terrified, how he thought that Patton wouldn't like it, that he'd think it was too dark, too black, too simple. But that was Virgil, so… he assumed that if Patton didn't like it, he'd have to deal with it, even if it hurt Virge. But Patton loved it. Or at least pretended to. 

Yet Morality wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, no matter how much he pretended that he was. He had fears, negative emotions. Virgil focused on the feeling of darkness and hopelessness that he had felt earlier, when Patton had a panic attack. He focused on that fear, on that emotion, on Patton's energy . 

Slowly tugging on the shadows around him and the power of the waves behind him, Virgil built them up, moulding and shaping them as they bent under his will, forming a dark rectangle in front of him. 

Virgil was used to that darkness, but… was it supposed to be that dark? He wasn't entirely sure, but it was strange to look at. Maybe it was because Virgil was focusing on a person and not a place? It could be. It could also be dangerous, they didn't actually know where it even led -

“I'll go first!” Roman said excitedly, acting like the stupid, reckless prince that he was. 

“We don't even know where that leads. ” Virgil argued, trying to be rational with one of the least rational Sides in the Mindscape. 

“Yes we do! It leads to Patton, right? And that's where we need to go!” Roman retaliated, stubborn as ever. 

“A valid, yet reckless argument,” Logan began, and Virgil shot him a glare. “ But. I do understand your concerns, Virgil. Though I must tell you that I'll be able to take care of Roman if any difficulties arise.” 

Virgil heard Roman scoff offendedly and put his hands on his hips as he looked up to meet Logan's unwaveringly serious gaze. 

“Uhm, I can take care of the both of us, thank you very much! I'm the Prince , remember?” 

Logan crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. 

“Oh, take care of the both of us?” His voice was calm, stoic. “I'm sorry, was this example supposed to be set before or after you fainted and I had to carry you for half a mile?”

“Wait, wait-! When was this?!” Virgil demanded quickly, eyes darting from Logan to Roman as he felt a smile tug at his lips and ignored Janus’ hyena-like laugh.

“Oh, it was when-” 

“NUH UH! IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!” Roman exclaimed, and pushed Logan into the dark rectangle, saluting the other two with a small grimace on his face and jumping in after Logic. 

Yeah, this conversation definitely wasn't over yet. 

Just as he was about to signal for Janus to move in next - he had to go in last, because the portal would probably close in behind him afterwards, and that would be problematic - Janus grabbed Virgil's wrist tightly, causing him to flinch back, internally screaming as Janus’ fingers pressed against his burns. 

Deceit let go quickly and took a step back, but he still looked concerned about Anxiety.

“Vee, listen-” he began, but Virgil cut him off. 

“Just get through the shadow door, Deceit.” Janus' eyes darkened and Virgil saw him clench a fist, as if that controlled piece of extra pressure in his palms was the one thing keeping him sane. 

“Are you sure you're strong enough for this?” 

That was what he was worried about? Whether or not Virgil could handle this? Oh no . That wasn't going to happen. Not again. 

“I'm fine. Stronger than I've ever been, actually.” He definitely wasn't going to tell Janus that he'd started learning martial arts as a means of self defence and stress regulation. 

And he definitely wasn't going to tell him that he wanted to crawl out of his skin and go cry somewhere else, that without Roman there to distract him, he could still feel every place where Phoenix and the others had lay their hands on him, where they had touched his skin and how two of them ripped at his hair and spider-legs, how they burned his skin,  how he was probably going to throw up as soon as Janus left and then proceed to try to shove all of his emotions back down and pretend it never happened so Patton didn't have to be worried again-

“Yes, you totally look fine right now.” Janus chided, and the vertical pupil on his snake eye narrowed slightly, taking Virgil in. God, Virgil hated it when Janus gave him the mom-stare. 

“Just get in the freaking portal, Snake.” Anxiety spat, folding his arms across his chest and stepping back, gesturing towards the dark rectangle with his chin. He knew he probably shouldn't be acting like this, it just made things worse, but… he needed a few moments. To be alone. To be able to process everything, or at least bury it until it resurfaces at some unwelcome moment. But Janus didn't need to know that. 

Janus gave Virgil one last glance, a tentative look on his face. 

“To broken pasts…?” 

God, it had been a while since he'd heard that. Since he was a part of that family, since he had lived as one of them. He didn't want to say it, but he also knew that Deceit probably wouldn't leave until Virgil replied, so after a moment, he did. 

“To better futures. Now, scram. I'll be there in a minute.”

Reluctantly, but definitely a little happier since Virgil responded, Janus stepped into the rectangle, its obsidian-like surface rippling around his shape and form. 

Maybe he could finally get that swim. 

He knew he couldn't take long, but the call of the water was too much to resist (and one of the reasons why he'll never tell Roman is because he's probably gonna compare him to Moana and start singing ‘How Far I'll Go’ while trying to get a flower crown on Virgil's head. Not that he'd complain too much of it happened, but it'd be embarrassing). 

Taking his black leather combat-boots off quickly, Virgil slipped off his socks, closed his eyes, and relished the feel of the warm powdery sand in between his toes.

Grabbing his shoes and quickly walking to the edge of the water, Virgil stood in an area of wet sand, watching the tide rush in playfully and letting the waves wash over his skin, slowly washing away with them the touch of those Avians. 

He knew that he wasn't taking that long, but he let time slow down around him as he thought, just standing there on the beach with his face tilted up towards the sinking, golden sun. This moment. He had to live this moment before he did something that was only going to make him feel worse. The waves retreated back into the sea for a heartbeat, their motions slow and lethargic, unlike his suddenly racing thoughts, his chest tightening. 

What if the others were in danger? What if the portal didn't actually lead them to Patton, or if Patton was in danger and he just sent them all into a trap? What if Roman and Logan left that quickly just so they could stay away from Virgil? What if they never did actually accept him after they first visited his room?

The waves crashed gently around Virgil’s ankles once again, and the thoughts fell into the flow of the water, disappearing just as quickly as they had appeared. 

After a few more seconds of letting the tide rise and fall around his ankles, Virgil stepped back determinedly. He needed to get to the others, to check on them. It hasn't been too long - Virgil glanced at his wristwatch, a tattered old thing with a newly cracked screen - only around thirty seconds. That's good.

Quickly using a sliver of magic to dry his legs and then slipping on his socks and shoes, Virgil looked at the portal and took a deep breath in. 

Now or never, right? 

Virgil rushed in, dragging the shadows with him. It was like running through a corridor of black fabric with a soft blue glow at the end and he had to drag the fabric with him so the corridor could collapse and so he didn't accidentally leave a hole in space time… again. And then the rebound kicked in. 

It was like getting shot out of a slingshot: the shadows that he was pulling with him a moment earlier helped propel him across to that blue glow. It was horrifying but addicting, terrifying, but it got his heart beating faster each time, and Virgil knew this was safe. He didn't do it often though, didn't really get the chance or time. 

The blue glow was getting bigger and brighter with each passing second, until he got so close that the light was pure white, causing him to cover his eyes. 

And then he passed through. 

~*-*~

Everything was so dark. 

Patton didn't know what was going on, but he couldn't see a thing. His head felt like it was suddenly made of lead, tilting forward as a flurry of white static flooded his vision. Gosh, he wished he had some magic-y explanation, or a science-y one, like Logan would provide. But his head was spinning way too much to even think straight, much less process anything on that level. Say, did the inside of his head always look blue? And why did his mouth taste like metal? 

There was something calling him, like a voice he'd known for forever, but he wasn't sure where it was coming from. Maybe he could follow it? It seemed so kind and sweet and loving and warm and-

Patton?

Another voice. Oh, he knew this voice. He loved this voice. The other one called for him, but this one… he couldn't resist this one. This voice was like one of those siren-songs that the voice had mentioned once, in one of those long and interesting rants that he had. 

Can you hear me? Patton, if you can hear me, please respond.

Yes, yes I can hear you, beautiful voice! 

Patton could feel his head lighten slightly and the world returned to a little bit of its colourful self, but not completely. His eyes were still half closed, but Patton could now feel what felt like a hand cupping his face gently, while another was wrapped around his back. Patton was pretty sure he was lying down but…why? 

“Patton? Are you alright?” The voice asked once again, and Patton tried to answer it.

“Mmgrh.” Definitely not one of Patton's more cohesive answers. Nonetheless, he heard the voice sigh in relief. Why did he sound so worried earlier? Surely, there was nothing to worry about. 

Patton couldn’t really remember much of what had happened beforehand, but it was starting to come back to him in bits and pieces. The hand on his face was so warm and comforting… Patton leaned into it and sighed contently, finally feeling safe after what he was sure was a very long time.

“Aw, that's adorable!” Was…was that Roman? 

Patton groaned and attempted to open his eyes, suddenly aware of the massive headache. He tried to lift a hand and attempted to soothe that pain in his head, but his body felt like jelly. Very pain-filled jelly. 

His vision was very blurry but he could see, to some extent. Above him, his hand still on Patton's face, was Logan. That's who's voice pulled him back, wasn't it? 

Groaning again, he tried to sit up, but Logan pushed him back down with a gentle yet stern hand. 

“Don't try to sit up for now, Patton. It's probably best that you rest for a moment.” Logan muttered, loud enough for Patton to hear. He didn't want to, but he complied, resting on what he assumed was the floor. 

“Mmmapenned?” Patton mumbled, still disorientated but trying to understand what was going on. 

“Emile said you fainted. You were unconscious when we got here.” Logan replied, and Patton felt something brush his hair out from in front of his face. Geez, was it hot in there, or was it just him? He was boiling . Wait, he fainted? Why…?

“Logan, do you think our little nugget of news would make Padre feel better?” He distantly heard Roman ask, and Patton tried to sit up once again, his head feeling just a little bit lighter and clearer. 

“What…mmm?” Gosh darn it, Sanders! Why can't you just speak up?

He could vaguely see Roman crouch in front of him besides Logan, who was…wait, was Logan holding him? He felt blood rushing to his face as he scrambled up on his feet before once again feeling his head become heavy.

“Woah-” Patton groaned, and he shut his eyes, waving his hands slightly to regain his balance. “Nope! Nope nope nope, not stable!”

“That totally couldn't be applied to any instances in Thomas’ life.” Another voice butted in nonchalantly, and it took Patton a second to recognise Janus. 

Morality could feel a hand steady him, and he gratefully leaned in and took a moment to breathe. 

Woah, that was better. The gears were putting themselves into their places, so that was good. Maybe breathing would help? Yeah, breathing would probably help. What would Virgil do? Wait, that's for anxiety and panic attacks, not fainting, right? Eh, it doesn't matter. Uh…one? Two…three…four…woah, the world just turned blue again- nevermind. Where was I? …seven? Eight…nine…wait, wasn’t it ‘breathe in for four?  Dagnabbit, hold! Uh, seven, six…what comes before six? Four…three…two…one…and breathe out! Wait, for how long…? Nope, this is all wrong! Might as well just exhale everything. 

The hand was still steadying him, helping to keep him upright. Patton tried to continue breathing, and after a moment he felt a little better. Yes! Nothing could keep this dad down! Using the heels of his hands to massage his eyes slightly, as if to wipe away that fogginess in his vision, Patton attempted to look at the other Sides. 

In front of him, he could see the vague shapes of Roman, Emile, Remy and Janus. Oh, wait! Virgil was hiding behind Roman. Wait a darn-tootin’ minute-

“VIRGIL?!” He exclaimed, nearly losing his balance all over again if it wasn’t for whomever was keeping him steady. “GUYS! YOU’RE OKAY!” 

He wanted to hug them so badly, but where was Logan? He had seen the logical Side just a few moments earlier, had he not? So…where was he?

Patton could see the other Sides smile happily, even if most of them still looked very concerned about Patton’s little episode. Deceit, on the other hand, just looked a little bored. Virgil smiled at Patton from behind the Prince and waved. 

“’Sup, popstar? How're you feeling?” He asked, worry evident in his voice. 

“Aw, I'm fine, kiddo! Don't worry about me! What about you? What happened to you guys?” Patton looked around at the Sides in front of him and frowned. “And where's Logan? I could have sworn he was here a moment ago.”

Morality heard a low chuckle from behind him and staggered slightly, turning to face a smirking Logic. 

“LOGAN!” He exclaimed excitedly, and rushed to hug him, squeezing his chest tightly. It was a moment before Patton could feel a hesitant pair of arms wrap around him too, and he had to smile. Gosh, he was safe. Wait, was he the one helping him up? Aw, that's so sweet of him! Patton squeezed a bit tighter and felt his face flush slightly before reluctantly letting go, scared that it would make Logan and everyone else feel weird. 

“Roman, Virgil! Won’t you hug dear old dad too?” He smiled and stretched out his arms, grinning as Roman barrelled towards him happily, picking him up in a large bear hug. Roman was always happy to hug Patton, and Morality could almost always count on him for a hug. When he let go and took a step back, Virgil walked in closer and put his fist in front of him, indicating that he would very-much prefer a fist-bump at the moment. That’s always fine, he didn’t want his dark strange son to be uncomfortable, and the poor kid had probably been through enough with all of that kidnapping stuff. Patton eagerly engaged in the fist-bump, and did his best to stand up straight, even though his vision was still very blurry. 

“So… what happened?” Patton asked the others, trying to hide the sudden light-headedness that hit him once more. He wondered what that was all about, but it probably wasn’t important. 

“Before we get to that,” Emile interrupted sternly, like a strict doctor with a rebellious patient. “Patton, do you mind explaining what happened?”

“What do you mean?” 

“Pat. You fainted.” Emile said, taking out a pen-light and stepping forward, using his thumb and index finger to open Patton’s eyes a little wider and shining the light in Morality’s eyes, causing him to wince and stagger backwards.

“Did I?” Patton said innocently, trying to ignore that fact and find out what happened to Virgil. He was way more important! He was kidnapped , for Heaven’s sake! His brother moved to check the other eye, and Patton heard Logan’s voice from beside him.

“I thought you were a therapist, not an actual doctor.” Logic remarked curiously, and Emile shrugged and his hand began to glow a soft pink, as did his eyes. 

“I am, though I’m primarily a doctor. If you could just look at this, thank you-” He subtly gestured at the pink glow on his hand while continuing to work on Patton. “That is a small demonstration of the healing that I am capable of doing. Admittedly, I used to work on battlefields when they were still largely in use, but - hold still, Pat - I got a little sick of the blood and wounds there, so I tried to focus on mental wounds, where I can still use my gift to help people.”

Patton squirmed under his brother’s intense gaze. Yeah, Emmy had good intentions and all, but Patton couldn’t just stay still . 

“-water?” Was Emile talking to him? Uh oh, he zoned out again. 

“Huh?” Patton asked, squinting slightly. “I have no idea what you just said. Unrelated note, you look spectacle-tastic with those glasses on, Em!” Morality grinned. “Ha! See what I did there? Well, I didn’t, ’cause I don’t know where my glasses are!” 

He could hear Roman and Virgil laugh while Janus and Remy groaned loudly. The entire scene made Patton grin widely. 

“I mean, really, I used to hate wearing glasses. But now I see things differently!” Patton waved his hands around as if playing the drums, showing the new pun. 

“Patton?” Emile sighed.

“Yeah?”

“Did you drink enough water today?” 

Morality could hear Logan make a small, discontented noise. 

“You believe he’s dehydrated?”

“Or that he might have low iron. Do you see how pale he is right now?” Emile said worriedly, and a blurry Logan shifted into view. Gosh, he really did need those glasses. 

“My doubts in that line of thinking lie in the fact that Patton is a metaphysical being: does he really need those things, or is this something else?” Logan speculated seriously, causing Emile to frown a little. Janus seemed to edge closer to the conversation, and even without his glasses, Patton could see the gleam in Deceit’s eyes. 

“Or, maybe , this has to do with Pallas’ ducking out?”

“Quack.” Both Emile and Patton muttered simultaneously, and Patton had to straighten his back and close his eyes tightly to avoid falling to the floor. Gosh, he was getting dizzier by the minute. 

Roman and Virgil walked closer to Patton and pulled him to the side, away from the other Sides’ conversation. Patton watched Remy join the others as the Prince lay a supporting hand on Patton’s shoulder. 

“Are you sure you’re doing good there, Padre?” Roman asked, and Virgil pulled the sleeves of his hoodie over his hands, looking at Patton with a worried expression on his face. 

“Oh, I’m fine, kiddos! Seriously, don’t worry about me.” He dismissed the question quickly, and turned to Anxiety. “Now, Virgil, what happened? Are you okay?”

“Never better.” Virgil muttered, and he smirked slightly at Patton. “I punched a guy in the face.”

Patton gasped and had to steady himself a little more as he put his hands on his hips. 

“Virgil! What did we say about violence?”

“Hey, Virge said that violence wasn't the answer!” Roman argued before grinning at the shorter Side. “He also said that violence was the question, and that the answer was yes.” 

“Way to throw me under the bus like that, Princey.” Virgil murmured with a small smirk before punching Roman lightly in the arm and then bending down to pick something up. Patton couldn't entirely see but…were those his glasses?

“These yours?” Anxiety asked with a raised eyebrow, handing the smudged glasses to Patton, who grinned widely. 

“Aw, thank you!” He took the glasses and wiped them on the sleeve of his cat-hoodie, which was hanging off of his shoulders. Putting them on, he grinned and took a step backwards, processing the new wave of colour and clarity in his vision.

“Woah, my entire view on life has shifted! It's like I'm looking at everything through a new lens!” Another chuckle from Roman. He was one of the best audiences for dad jokes, that's for sure. Closely inspecting the other two Sides, Patton froze. There, on Virgil's face, was a small gash running down his face near his hairline. His face fell immediately as he stared at the still-drying blood. 

“Virge! Are you okay? What happened?” He asked worriedly, stepping forward and moving Virgil's hair out of the way, examining his face for further injuries. He hoped that was it, but he saw what looked like bruise marks on his cheekbone and the blue-black markings of fingers wrapping around his neck - and that was just what he could see. That hoodie could cover anything? Patton began panicking, eyes wide. Did he know anyone that could help him? Were the others hurt too, especially if they had to battle people- was Roman hurt? Was Logan hurt? And, sure, maybe Janus too? Gosh, what else were they hiding from him? Were they not telling him because he fainted? 

“Hey- Patton calm down, man. I can feel your worry from here. I'll be fine.” Patton could see Roman eyeing Virgil's wounds, a furious glint in his slightly orange-tinted eyes. Yeah, Patton wasn't going to try to overthink that colour. 

“Listen, will it help if we tell you what happened?” Virgil suggested softly, gently pushing Morality’s hand from his face. Oh. That was good, it probably would help. Patton nodded and tugged at the sleeves of his hoodie, playing with them to avoid ripping Virgil's hoodie off of him to check him for more bruises. 

Roman's eyes flashed with excitement and he pulled Virgil closer towards him, causing Anxiety to scowl. Roman was always a sucker for telling a story. Patton was restless, eager to hear about their little adventure but still worried about Virgil. He’d have to get his brother to check out that group later. 

“Okay, so, settle down, Padre!” Roman began, a wide grin on his face. “Our side of the story! Kinda shortened though ’cause the others are starting to look weird. So, Snakey, Bird-man and I-”

“Bird-man?” Patton and Virgil asked, both of them frowning slightly in confusion. 

“Calculator watch. Logan. Anyway-” Oh-kay…? Questions later, as per usual. Roman rubbed his hands together excitedly, trying to pull the information and condense it into a small story for Patton to understand quickly. “So, the three of us, we went to a place I know, a lake of sorts, and an old friend of mine got us some sick weaponry-” He pulled out an enormous great sword from a scabbard on his back, twirling it expertly and holding it towards the sky with a large grin and an excited twinkle in his eyes. “And then we went down to Shadowcrest, where Phoenix - who, we’ve learnt, probably has some crazy romantic drama with Logan-” What?! “Anyway, I opened the tunnel, and down there there were a bunch of these really crazy phantom-soldiers that looked like they were made of this awesome looking white energy-” Oh, like the fairy souls that he used to hang out with in his Meadows down South! “-and they tried to fight us and kill us so we absolutely demolished those miscreants!” They what ? Patton was pretty sure he was getting paler by the minute. “’Course, we might have gotten a few bruises but nothing major. Then, we went to enter the Great Hall, where I could sense a large magic-surge and we saw three, tied up, unconscious Avians! Turns out, Batman here had already begun fighting, and let me tell you it was ho - it was cool.” What was that about? 

“Well, yeah.” Virgil muttered, a smug smile tugging at his lips. “And then the three of them watched as I kicked Phoenix’s butt.” 

Roman shrugged, a strangely proud look on his face as he glanced at Virgil, who was looking at Patton. Something was definitely going on here, but he wasn’t going to try to pry.

“And then Virgil fell out of the air-” Roman continued casually.

“You what ?!” Patton exclaimed, eyes wide. “Wait, you were flying? YOU CAN FLY?!” 

Virgil shrugged, and Patton felt as though he was going to explode with excitement and pride. His son, Virgil, could fly! Wait, and he fell? Oh, that wasn’t good.

“Yeah, and I caught him.” Roman had a smug smile on his face, and those orange eyes shifted to a light pink. Those eyes were so pretty, he rarely got to see them change when they were with Thomas in the surface-world. They were so shiny, so colourful, and they seemed to shift with his emotions - or, at least, that was Logan’s theory. Patton still had no idea what all of those colours meant, though. “Prince to the rescue, once again!”

Virgil’s eyebrow was raised as he pushed Roman, causing him to stagger and causing the Prince’s smile to widen even further. Gosh, those two were starting to get closer! It was adorable, and Patton secretly hoped that Roman could gather the courage to do something about it, since he knew Virgil probably wasn’t going to. 

Good golly . 

Patton staggered a bit once again, his head getting heavier and his vision going black with white spots decorating the vision. So this is what people meant by seeing stars, huh? It wasn’t exact though, stars were much prettier and didn’t move around your vision that often. There was something like static in his ears, a loud buzzing accompanied by an ever constant loud, high-pitched note. Morality could feel a comforting and steady pair of arms holding him up before another set helped lower him down to the ground, gently moving his head and placing it on his knees. That helped a little, but he still felt so woozy . He couldn’t focus much on his surroundings, but he managed to hear snippets of conversation from his surroundings.

“Woah, you okay there-?”

“-happened?”

“-just…blacked out again-”

“-don’t know why-”

“-what to do-”

“-Patton, lie down for me-” 

“-good will that do?-” 

Trying to ignore the suddenly loud voices, he squeezed his eyes tighter as he tried to wish away his growing headache. Letting a new pair of hands guide him slowly, he attempted to raise his head. A smooth, cold surface - the rim of a glass of sorts, maybe? - touched his lips and he could feel it get tilted upwards, causing a cool liquid to rush into his mouth. He forced himself to swallow, glad to feel the refreshingly sweet water slide down his parched throat. Ok, so maybe it had been a while since he’d drank something. 

His energy seemed to be draining slowly. He’d felt it earlier that day, right before their little quest into the Empire began, but he had tried to ignore it. Everything felt so wrong . Like an entire chunk of him was missing, like his mind was covered in some sort of cotton-wool, muffling his thoughts and softening everything, but in a way that made him feel sick. 

“Patton, breathe with me, man. Just breathe with me.” Someone was holding his hands - Morality was pretty sure that it was Virgil this time - and he was breathing loudly, rubbing his thumbs against Patton's palms and trying to get him to calm down. Where had the water gone? Patton wanted more, needed more-

“Move over.” Janus?  

The water returned. Patton could feel a gloved hand brush against his chin as he greedily drank the water, which brought him so much clarity . Janus' hand was shaky, and Patton gently brushed his hand against a section of Deceit's skin and shivered. It was faint, but Patton could feel Janus’... emotions? Situation? Whatever it was, it wasn't good. His worry for Virgil increased by twofold. Deceit seemed to be experiencing minor versions of what Patton was experiencing, but low enough to hide it. Well, if that was the case, both of their situations were definitely tied to Pallas' disappearance. 

The static subsided, and he felt his body calm down slightly. He squeezed his eyes shut a little tighter, taking off his glasses and gently placing them on the ground behind him, trying to just get some good-old oxygen into his system. 

Suddenly, a horrible thought crossed through his mind. If… if this is what happened to Patton every time he stood up for a few minutes, and if Janus was starting to feel the exact same thing… how were they ever going to make it to Pallas before it was too late?

— — —

Chapter Text

It was safe to say that Remy had never had a day like today. 

If he was being honest with himself, Sleep had absolutely no idea what was going on, but he walked over to Emile and the others as they continued talking about the possibilities for what on Earth was happening to Patton. The guy had collapsed randomly, turning all pale and icky like a sickly Victorian child. 

Running his hand through his hair and opening a gum packet that he kept in his pocket, he discreetly put one in Emile’s hand and slipped another inside his own mouth. Chewing slowly, he listened into the conversation, fully knowing that he probably wouldn’t have too many valid contributions to all of the… sciencey stuff, eugh. Magic and romance was so much better. Emile liked the science though. He was the perfect balance, really. An appreciation for things that made ‘sense’, and a magic-loving nerd. What he was, though, was a little oblivious. Not with other people, of course - he was a therapist, being aware of feelings was his job, after all. When it came to himself, however, Emile was a little… dense. Or was he just playing hard to get? Either way, he was adorable, but he definitely wasn’t going to be the first one to get the two of them to be more serious, no no no. Remy, on the other hand, was definitely playing hard to get. Even if it was with the adorable nerd by his side. It didn’t matter that he was planning on pulling Roman to the side and asking that himbo for romantic advice at some point. Well, either way, he and Emmy had lived with each other before and will continue to after this adventure. 

“I’m sure there’s a logical solution to this, there’s a logical solution for everything.” Logan muttered, looking towards Patton with a worried expression on his face.

“Probably. Patton’s never had these kinda problems before, though.” Emile sighed. “Do you think he might have low iron? What has he been eating lately?” 

“To my knowledge, Patton has been on a relatively healthy eating schedule, though due to stress he has been indulging in a few extra cookies.” Logan stated, pushing his glasses back slightly - Geez, he was probably the biggest nerd of the bunch, wasn’t he? 

“You have papa Sanders’ eating habits memorised?” Remy asked and raised an eyebrow. Logan stared at Remy for a second, as if wondering why Sleep was even there. Yikes, you get drunk in front of a Side one time. That was the last time this month that Remy was going to invite Logan to a wine-involved get together: guess it’ll just be him and Janus this month. 

“Yes?” Oh, there is definitely some drama going on there between them. He’d have to get Roman or Emile to spill some tea about those two. 

“‘Papa Sanders’?” Janus said, a weirded-out expression on his face as the words left his mouth. Emile was just laughing softly, glad that something was lightening the atmosphere. Yeah, that laugh was way too freaking cute. “You know what, changing the subject. I don’t think this is a medical situation.”

Logan turned towards Janus and frowned quizzically. 

“Allow me to explain to your feeble minds.” Deceit said patronisingly, ignoring the look of fury on Logan’s face. “Patton is Thomas’ morality and also a part of his emotional centre, is he not? So, when one removes the Emotional hub - in this case being Pallas - from the picture, one would assume that there would be consequences for that, correct?”

Logan seemed to nod interestedly, eyes a little wide as he glanced at Patton once more. 

“Does that mean that others will be affected too?” Logic asked, brows furrowed in mild frustration.

“The Empire and Mindscape are already suffering, Logan.” Janus said worriedly, and he glanced at Patton, who was busy listening to Roman and Virgil explaining what had happened in their little adventure down South. “If we don’t find him and convince Pallas to come back, things won’t improve. Things’ll only get worse.” 

Emile looked extremely worried, and Remy grabbed his arm gently and squeezed it reassuringly. Janny was right, of course. 

“How much time do we have left?” Emmy asked quietly, and Logan turned to face him. 

“Eighteen hours and one and a half minutes.”

What?! Didn’t they have a day and a half, when they started? That’s like…twelve, add twenty four- that’s thirty six freaking hours - girl, what?! They’ve already wasted half of their time and they’re barely halfway towards the stupid cave? 

“Wait, how’d you guys get here? Can we do that to get to the cave-thing quickly?” Remy suggested, his voice slightly urgent. Janus shook his head, and that small action made Remy want to strangle the guy, or go die in a hole and not have to deal with this mess. No, you know what? Remy liked living. Preferably the drama-filled life where he ran the Shop, living a nice, interesting, beautiful life with Emile. But no. 

“We can’t do that,” Janus began, and Remy accidentally squeezed Emile’s hand a little harder before pulling his hand away and taking out a Starbucks cup from his bag, holding it and squeezing it gently instead. “Virgil teleported us here, and I don’t think it’d be a good idea to try to get him to exert himself even more. He went through a lot already, I… I can't make him do this.”

Oh. Remy loosened his grip slightly from around the cup. That… that made sense. But now they were back where they started, and if Patton was going to be acting that way due to the whole Uh-oh-Pallas-has-gone!-situation, well, that probably wasn't going to end well. Though Remy did understand the whole drama-rich stunt, he'd probably do the same if his brother (which he didn't have, thank God) treated him the same way. Not that he had anything against Patton, of course. And Remy didn't exactly know what happened between those two anyway. 

However, before they could all come to a conclusion about what they could do, they heard a yell from the other group. Turning around quickly, Remy's eyes widened behind his glasses as he watched Patton stagger, almost falling onto Virgil. 

“Woah, are you okay?!” Roman yelled, catching him and trying to hold him steady. Logan rushed to their side and held him, directing him to the floor. 

“What happened?” 

“He just blacked out again!” Roman yelled, panicking alongside Virgil. 

“We don’t know why-!” Virgil added, pulling at the strands of his hoodie as he stared at Patton worriedly. The two of them looked at Remy, who raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. 

“Don’t look at me, I don’t know what to do.” Logan, on the other hand, stepped up and walked a little closer to Roman, nodding in gratitude for the fact that Roman was trying to help. Logic looked at Patton and put a hand behind his back.

“Patton, lie down for me if you think you’ll be able to.”

“What good will that do?” Virgil yelled, eyes wide, and Logan glared at Roman, who summoned a glass of water and gave it to the logical Side. Logan gently held it to Patton’s lips, his other hand gripping Morality’s shoulder firmly but gently. God, this was so confusing. Remy had no idea what was going on - all he knew was that whatever was going on between these guys needed to get sorted out, and fast. This was like the fifth all-out panic inducing, life threatening, civil-war-type incident. This was why he had a hard time putting Thomas to sleep. They took the cup away from Moral-Daddio’s mouth - Pat didn’t seem to like that, but he was fading in and out of consciousness too quickly for him to really be able to do anything about it. Remy stood there as Virgil tried to get Patton to breathe with him, but Janus - bless that beautiful snake’s little heart, he gave Patton more water. They were both shaking there, as Patton and Janus sat there on the ground, Patton gripping the glass and Janus’ wrists like his life depended on it. 

Remy glanced at Emile’s baby-pink wrist watch and took a sharp breath in. Time was flying by. Speeding by. Eighteen hours and ten minutes left. Logan made eye-contact with Remy and glanced at Emile’s watch too, realisation flashing across his face as a look of panic overtook the look of… Jealousy? Remy was going to have to think about that later. But… if Logan was panicking, King Emotionless and Calm himself? They really had a reason to worry. The group stayed silent, an unspoken message written plainly in the tension between them as they watched Patton and Janus.

Were they going to make it in time?

~*-*~

Janus sighed heavily as he dipped the bloodstained used-to-be-white cloth he was holding into a basin filled with warm water, wringing the water and blood out a little before moving it back towards Pallas' arm, which was bleeding profusely. 

"I do hope you aren't going to tell me exactly what happened." Janus muttered at the nine year-old in front of him as Anger swung his legs around happily. He was sitting on a chair, arms both bruised and covered in blood, blood that seemed to be both his own and… not suspicious at all - not his blood. After wiping some more blood off the kid's arms, Janus pushed back his glasses slightly with the back of his wrist to avoid getting blood on his face. Taking care of those three was starting to get a little easier than it used to, and he was starting to get used to this single-parent thing. Even though it was things like this - he gave Pallas a stern glance - that were slightly problematic. 

“Where do I start? Ooh, yeah! Remus-” Of course he was involved. “-wanted to test an explody-thing and to see if my fire could make it go boom-”

“He gave you a bomb?!” Janus said incredulously. 

“Yeah! And it did go boom, after a few seconds. Didn't hurt too much after a while, and Ree went to show Vee!”

“Not another bomb, please.” Janus practically begged, and Pallas laughed. 

“Nope. The blood on his outfit.” Wonderful. Just wonderful. Something else that Janus had to clean. He sighed heavily and wiped the younger Side's arms gently with the cloth, revealing the minor injuries on his arm. At least he wasn't too hurt. 

“Hey, Jan?” Pallas asked suddenly, and Janus looked at him from over his glasses. 

“Yes?” 

“Can I go play with Roman and Logan later?” Oh. This again. Janus stayed silent for a moment while he used some magic to close and heal the wounds on the boy's arms - something he picked up after a bunch of little ‘accidents’ regarding Remus. Regarding Pallas' question…it definitely wasn't the smartest idea. Looking into the enthusiastic little Side's eyes, he felt his heart crumble slightly. He couldn't protect him from everything, could he? Patton made him swear that he wouldn't do anything stupid in regards to Anger, and Pallas was getting better at controlling himself around others, but…

“I don't think that's a good idea.” Stupid rules. Stupid oath. Stupid Thomas and his wanting to be a good person. Why couldn't he just let the kid live?! Pallas' face fell slightly and he jutted his lower lip forward, eyes wide as he pouted sadly.

“But why?”

“You know why.” Janus muttered, and he wiped his hands on a dry towel, taking out a handkerchief and cleaning his glasses before sliding them back onto his face. They were one of the only things that made him see properly, but he didn't like wearing them too much. He vaguely saw Anger frown at him and kick at Janus' legs.

“But I'm trying to be better! I've apologised, multiple times.” He protested, and scratched at the scabs on his arms before Janus grabbed his wrist gently to stop him. The kid continued without missing a beat. “Why can't they just accept me? I've tried being nice! But he still thinks I'm a monster, no matter what I do or say.”

Janus froze at that. A monster… looking at the scales on his arms, he knew all too well what that felt like. But perhaps… maybe they could find a way to bend this to Pallas' benefits. Maybe he didn't have to bend to whatever the others wanted him to be. 

“They don't think that,” His vision lit up with colours and he did his best to ignore the surge of happiness that he had gotten. “But maybe it isn't that much of a bad thing if they do.” 

“Huh?” The little boy looked at Janus with a puzzled look on his face, one he'd seen multiple times before. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Janus began, and he magicked away the water-basin and went to hold Pallas’ hands. “You don't have to pretend to be nice anymore. Or at least, you don't have to bottle up all of those emotions. I mean, we've seen what it does to Virgil and Ree-Ree, so why would you be any different? What I'm saying is, we know that you're not a monster, you're way too sweet for that, but you could use your powers and abilities for your own gain. It's good to practice selfishness, and you definitely don't need to do that.” His vision became clearer once again and Janus didn't do anything to suppress his smile this time. If he was going to try to help this kid, Deceit was going to be strong. And maybe… maybe someday, Thomas could learn to accept all of them. Virgil, Remus, Pallas, and maybe even Janus himself. 

“So… I don't have to do what they want me to do?” The idea of freedom seemed to be appealing to Anger, causing the kid's face to light up with hope, and Janus had to smile a little. 

“Well, baby steps. You need to work on yourself first, of course. Maybe Remus and Virgil could help you with that, hon. What do you think about that?” Janus asked tentatively, and his smile widened further as Pallas nodded enthusiastically, energy and excitement practically radiating off of his pale skin. He jumped up with a large smile and looked at Janus with his wide orange eyes. 

“I think I'd like that!” 

Janus smiled slightly and snapped his fingers, causing the red-tainted basin beside him to vanish in a cloud of yellow, lemon-scented smoke. Deceit ruffled the Side’s hair and quickly braced himself as Pallas barreled into him, embracing him in a tight hug. 

“Thanks, Dee-Dee.” Janus scoffed at the nickname but hugged the boy back gently. 

“I promise I'll always be there for you, Pal. No matter what broken pasts we've had to endure, there will be better futures.” His vision increased only slightly in hue for half a second before returning to normal. It wasn't really a lie, was it? There would be better futures, better times ahead. As long as they all had each other. He was telling the truth, and this time…

“Thank you.” Pallas repeated, face buried in Janus' chest. After a moment of silence, he looked up and his bright orange eyes bore into Janus'. “You know, I actually like that.” 

“What?” Deceit asked distractedly, focusing slightly on Pallas' face. 

“What you just said. About broken pasts and better futures? That's actually kinda cool!” Pallas said, an adorable smile on his face. The hope on his face was evident, and Janus nodded, smiling back at him. 

“Yeah, I guess it is.” 

There and then, Janus made his own promise. He would stay there for Pallas. He would do his best to be the best substitute father he could be to those Sides. One day, he'll show Thomas that he needed them. That Thomas couldn't function without them all. One day, Janus'll show Thomas just who he really is. 

But until then, he'd wait. 

~*-*~

Those words echoed across Janus' thoughts as he held the cup to Patton's lips. How scared he was, that day, when everything went wrong. How scared they all were. Perhaps Thomas needs to reevaluate a few things. Morality's grip tightened on Deceit's wrists, and Janus tilted the cup a little higher so the water could flow into Patton's mouth. They needed to stop this madness. It was why Virgil had left them in the first place - to take care of Thomas. Admittedly, everyone had different views about how to take care of him, but… they all wanted what was best for Thomas. They all were Thomas, after all. They couldn't just be ignored, but it felt safer to do so. Janus wasn't entirely certain about what to do. 

He glanced down at Patton and felt his heart twinge. This is what they had come to. Janus' head had already begun hurting slightly, but what hurt most was the fact that Pallas just… he just left. He didn't even tell Janus. He felt a surge of bitterness run through him and accidentally tipped the cup a little higher, knocking it slightly on Patton's teeth before pulling it back. It was empty now anyway, so he might as well refill it. Using magic, of course. He did it almost subconsciously, handing Patton the cup once again, making sure that he didn't drink too much of it. 

You know what, coming to think about it, Pallas didn't even hint about the fact that he was ducking out. That jerk. Janus would give him a stern talking to when they got him back, and then he'd hug Pallas until the Side couldn't even breathe anymore (not that they needed to breathe - they were still imaginary. But it was still a nice privilege). But with only seventeen hours and fifty minutes left…

Janus hoped that they could make it there in time. 

— — —

Chapter Text

If Logan had a nickel for each time he had to carry a Side in this adventure, he'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice, (he was also quite fond of that reference, and quite glad that he got to put it to use). The good news was that at least he didn't have to lug Roman around with him this time. No, the insane news was that he got to carry Patton . 

The rest of the Sides had agreed that - and Logan could remember the Prince's exact words clearly: “You're the tallest one here, Specs. Might as well put that wasted strength to use!” Ah, yes. Roman and his aggravating shreds of ‘insight’. However, all things Roman aside, he wasn't complaining too much. 

Patton was sleeping soundly in Logan's arms, his head resting on Logic's shoulder as Logan attempted to make sure that his gait was smooth and wouldn't disturb Morality. Patton looked so peaceful, with his round glasses and fluffy hair tickling Logan's neck, his eyes fluttering around beneath his eyelids as he seemed to be in a peaceful, dream-filled sleep, courtesy of Remy. Had Logan ever really been this close to Patton? Sure, they'd hugged before - Patton's insistence, though Logan had to be in a downright God-awful mood to refuse - but they'd never been close for this long . What if he was making Patton uncomfortable? What if he was staring at him for too long? What if he tripped and Patton got hurt? His thoughts raced, thinking about any possibility that might happen. He could vaguely see Virgil give him a strange look from the side, but Logan ignored it. 

One thing that Logan was sure about as they exited the Enchanted Forest was that after all of this, if things went well, perhaps…perhaps he'd like to have a conversation about the matters at hand with Patton. 

“So, which one of you dweebs has the map?” Roman asked, inspecting his nails as he walked in front of Logan. Emile frowned at the language but before he could say anything, Remy made an obscene gesture at him, only to have his hand slapped away by Picani himself. 

“I do.” Sleep grinned, teasingly pushing Emile gently. Roman smirked back and returned the gesture, and Logan could see Janus smiling slightly before noticing Logan staring at him and pretending to sneer. 

The exchange sparked something in Logan. What were they all talking about earlier? Before the whole situation that had happened around an hour earlier? Perhaps they could attempt to engage as a group, as a unit instead of separate groups. In fact, they had already seen how ignoring or repression could affect a Side - like what had happened with Virgil a while back, before he had been properly accepted, and now Pallas too. Logan had already been relatively on decent terms with Janus - they gathered as a group together with Remy often to discuss matters, serious or unserious. It was quite refreshing, and Janus was one of the only Sides with whom Logan could actually discuss serious matters with and have a serious debate with. Remus, well, he was irritating. But if he decided to behave slightly, Logan was sure that he could tolerate him. Emile seemed nice, he’d have to attempt to engage in conversations with the man later on. 

Pallas, however… Logan didn’t know much about him. They had started off on the wrong foot (a phrase that Patton had taught him, strangely enough), but he was willing to give the Side a chance if it meant that they all might be able to reach a higher, more peaceful and sophisticated level of existence. 

Logan was already making plans for a form of accommodation, at least for the main seven Sides, if Emile and Remy would much rather they stay as they are. Remy did seem quite content with living together in peace here in the Empire, but without Pallas, there probably wouldn’t be much of an Empire for one to properly enjoy their stay there. 

It would probably have to be some form of apartment - Logan could ask Roman to form an extra branch from the Mind Palace where they could all stay, or at least some form of kitchen or living room or any form of area where a group can, as Patton would say, ‘hang out’. 

There were, however, a few flaws in Logan’s plans. He knew that the other Side’s reaction to his ideas were something Logan couldn’t guess, even if in an educated manner. Emotions got in the way of logical reasoning, and feelings were something that Logic, for one, could not entirely predict. Virgil, for example, does not seem to be too happy to be around Deceit at any given moment, while Patton seems to be improving his relationship with Janus slightly. Logan didn’t know how the Prince would react to having to constantly live with the Duke, and he also wasn’t certain on how Patton’s relationship with his older brother was going to work out. At least, at the very least , there was an infinitesimal shred of hope that this might actually occur. 

Patton sighed slightly and shifted in his arms, his nose now gently touching Logan’s neck and one hand resting against his chest. Logic could feel his face flush red slightly and willed himself to calm down. God, Logan. You’re embarrassing yourself. Regain your composure. Logan shifted the unconscious Side’s weight in his arms gently, allowing himself to hold Patton in a more comfortable manner. He caught Emile smiling at him with a sort of knowing look on his face before meeting Logan’s gaze and turning away quickly. What was that all about?  

“Hey, Pocket Protector?” The Prince called out, turning around slightly to face the logical Side. 

“What do you need, Roman?” He responded, suddenly aware of a smidge on his glasses while being achingly aware that he couldn’t clean them without moving Patton, which was absolutely out of the question, especially since he looked just so adorably comfortable as he rested in Logan’s arms. Roman did a one-eighty turn and turned completely to face Logan properly, once again walking backwards with ease. 

“How much time do we have left?”

Logan gave an exasperated sigh and walked around a small, half-dead shrub. 

“Roman Creativity Sanders,” Logic chided, bouncing Patton slightly as the terrain beneath him changed. “You asked me that very same question five minutes ago .” 

“Geez, mom .” Roman rolled his eyes and turned so that his back faced Logan once again. “I was just curious.” 

Logan sighed and shook his head as he heard Virgil laugh faintly. “We have sixteen and a half hours left, if you must know.”

“Thanks!” 

Time wasn’t creeping forward anymore, it was racing . Logan theorised that it might be due to Pallas’s disappearance, perhaps it did something so that the Empire’s time had somehow begun to match the Outside’s time, hence speeding up here in the Imagination. Understanding it made Logan feel a little better, but it didn’t change the fact that it was an annoying change in their pace. 

Logan could hear Virgil muttering quietly to Roman, walking quickly beside the Prince with his hands shoved into the pockets of his hoodie. He seemed agitated - which, while normal, was also to be expected in this sort of situation. Finally, he turned slightly to address Logan, hazel eyes darting around frantically. 

“So…what’s the game plan?” He began, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets as his eyeshadow darkened further. “You know, ’cause…we’re going to be walking into a weird cave none of us have actually visited before so…we do have a plan, right?”

Virgil looked around at everyone’s blank faces and his eyes widened. “ Right?! ” 

“I’m sure we’ll be fine, Scaramore.” Roman began, giving Logan a look that Logic took to mean: I’m a dumb Prince and I don’t have any plans! Do you, wonderful Logan, have a plan? 

Which…not yet. Logan shook his head subtly and he saw Roman scowl.

“I have a plan.” Janus shrugged, and Roman turned towards him with a grateful expression. 

“What is it?” Virgil asked suspiciously.

“We beat someone up or threaten Pallas to come back-” Janus began, but Emile picked up a handful of dead leaves  from the floor and threw it at Deceit, a stern look on his face.

“No! No violence. We can use our words .” Picani said, and Janus spat out a leaf, wiping his tongue on his sleeve.

“First of all, that was a totally pleasant experience.” Janus lied obviously as he brushed a few leaves off of his clothes. “Second of all, why not?” 

“I would also like to know why not.” Roman and Remy protested simultaneously, and Logan suppressed a sigh. If Patton was here - which he was, but he was unconscious and so couldn’t contribute to the situation - he would be siding with Emile right now. Logan also had to agree that the more passive, though perhaps at least assertive approach would probably be best.

“Violence might do more harm than good in this situation-” Logan began, and he heard Virgil grumbling bitterly under his breath.

“I could probably beat him up.” 

“-We want Pallas to return , yes?” Logan continued, ignoring Anxiety for the moment. Emile nodded vigorously as he looked at his unconscious brother. Roman and Virgil looked a little less convinced, but Janus and Remy seemed to agree. “So perhaps a more assertive and less aggressive approach would make more sense? Being a little persuasive?” Logan suggested, enjoying the fact that everyone was currently actually listening to him. Or at least, they were acting like it. That didn’t happen every day. 

“ Thank you, Logan.” Emile said, a determined look on his face. Janus looked a little nauseous for a moment, but a composed expression quickly replaced that one. Odd, but Logan was going to file that thought away for later. “We need to be able to find a way to convince him to come back. For Thomas.” 

The last two words had everyone’s attention, and they all looked at Emile (except Patton, who continued to lay peacefully in Logan’s arms). Had they really all forgotten what they were all really on this little adventure for? Of course this was all for Thomas. He… Thomas needed them. All of them. And without Pallas, Thomas - the person they were all supposed to protect - he’d be in danger. He’d be vulnerable, and that wouldn’t be a good thing, especially not in the Outside world. 

Patton groaned softly in Logan’s arms, causing Logan to lose his train of thought. Bouncing the Side gently, he wondered if Patton had ever actually done this before. Taking care of someone in this way. Patton was a father, after all. Logan was pretty sure he was Virgil’s dad, and Janus had mentioned that he was the other parent multiple times, though Logan wasn’t entirely sure what the entire truth was. Patton looked adorable like this - even though he was gently drooling on Logan’s shirt. But Logan didn’t care. Patton needed to rest, especially since it looked like he might be the one to have to attempt to bring Pallas back. 

Why was Logan feeling this way? What had Pallas done to him to make him feel this way? Actually, better question, did Logan really like Patton, in the way that he thought he was feeling ? He had done a very good job tuning out emotions in the past, so that he could have a clear and logical solution for any situation. So what did Patton have that made him different ? It was infuriating, yet so intriguing . Logan couldn’t help it as he gazed at Patton’s sleeping face. As he mentally catalogued every detail of Morality’s face, Logan was struck with another, slightly heart-wrenching question.

Did Patton feel the same way about Logan?

~*-*~

Logan was so obviously in love, it was weird to look at. 

Roman turned away from the little scene going on behind him and smirked. He had called it, of course. Padre definitely had feelings for Calculator Watch, and if Roman calling Logan ‘mom’ didn’t convince the guy that Roman knew about the little situation, the Prince didn’t know what could convince him. Though, to be fair, Logan did act like their mom. 

In the meantime, Roman had his own little romantic issues. And those issues were packaged in the tiny, messy-haired Emo with dark eyeshadow all while being nicely wrapped in that large black and purple hoodie of Virgil's. Roman raised a hand to his head and gently touched the crown sitting atop his glorious hair. The engravings were just as he had remembered, the jewels in the right place. Roman had kept it on for the entire adventure, its lightweight structure a relief to have with him. 

The Prince gently kicked a pile of wilted leaves beneath his feet as he continued to walk forward purposely, though he didn’t feel half as confident as he acted. Why would Remus give him the crown? Heck, did Remus still have his? That shoddily-made silver nightmare had fit perfectly on his twin’s head when they were younger, but it had definitely been a while since Roman had seen his brother wear it. 

Say, he missed the little freak. Yeah, he could be a total jerk and weirdo to Thomas - which wasn’t a good thing, but it also wasn’t out of character for him - but Roman missed the guy. He missed their little adventures, their little pranks on the others. Time had passed, though. And with that time came a great distance between the Prince and the Duke, a sort of rivalry growing between the two. 

Roman’s mind travelled deeper to the past, and he wasn’t even focused on where he was walking anymore. When Roman had told Virgil and Remy that he didn’t remember anything from before the split… well, he guessed it was a lie. Not that big of a lie, really. He had no memories of ever being Romulus, and his life very much seemed to have begun during the Split. But he could remember a feeling . A feeling of being whole, of being stronger , more powerful. Is that really what it had been like? To be… King Creativity, instead of a Prince? 

“Hey!” 

Roman felt a pointed, dull pain of a poke on his arm and blinked rapidly as someone snapped their fingers in an annoyed manner around an inch and a half from Roman’s nose.

“Empire to Princey, Empire to Princey. Did you hear anything that I just said?” Virgil asked as Roman rubbed his arm, trying to rub away the pain.

“First of all, ow!” Roman exclaimed offendedly, and Virgil rolled his eyes. “Second of all… no.” He admitted, and Virgil groaned a little bit before he continued walking, hands in his pockets. Anxiety was looking down towards the ground, but was that…was that a smile on his Stormcloud’s face?

“Wait, aren’t you going to repeat yourself?” Roman asked incredulously, quickening his pace slightly to turn and face Virgil as they both continued to move. 

“You didn’t pay attention the first time, so obviously you don’t care.” 

Huh ? What was that supposed to mean? Oh God, what if Virgil confessed his love for Roman and he wasn’t paying attention? What if he ruined the moment? WHAT IF HE RUINED HIS CHANCE OF THEM EVER BEING IN A RELATIONSHIP?! 

Roman could just feel his eyes shifting to a different colour, it was embarrassing. Quick, he had to say something to fix the moment!

“What?! No!” Yes, great! Wonderful start! “I obviously care about what you have to say!” TOO MUCH. TOO MUCH! THE MAYOR OF TOO-MUCH-KIN LAND.

“Ro. You’re panicking.” GREAT GODS AND THEIR MERCY, HELP- “Geez, dude. If you really want to know what I was saying, I’ll tell you.” 

Virgil was raising an eyebrow in such an adorable way, it was insane. Roman, on the other hand was fighting for his life as he willed himself to not blush. 

“I was just asking you if you knew where we were going.” Oh.

“That’s it?” Roman asked, and he couldn’t help but sound disappointed. Then Virgil grinned widely and shook his head slightly.

“Oh yeah, and there’s a scorpion on your shoulder.” 

“What?!” Roman yelped and he turned around to see a small scorpion on his shoulder before scowling at Virgil. “Seriously?”

It was small, sleek and black, with a deep-blue line running from its head to the tip of its spined tail. It was a Little Spike, completely harmless and absolutely delightful to have a conversation with. Though of course, he couldn’t blame Virgil for not knowing that. 

Hey Princey! The little scorpion said, its voice crackling in a high-pitched tone in Roman’s head. 

“Hey there, little guy.” Roman whispered, his voice soft as he held his hand up to his shoulder for the Spike to climb onto it, and he moved his hand so it was in front of him, with the scorpion facing him. 

How’s it going?

“Could be better.” Roman admitted, and he shrugged softly. There was a small noise from beside him and Roman turned to see Virgil, his eyes wide and mouth gaping open in what seemed to be a shocked maybe-smile. Crap. Crap crap crap crap crap, Virgil saw. How could Roman forget that Virgil was there beside him?! 

“Uh, it’s not what it looks like-” Roman began, and he mentally apologised to the scorpion before setting him down on a large rock that was just a foot away from Roman, and Virgil raised his eyebrows further. If that little Emo was going to blackmail him, Roman was going to- 

He was going to have to accept that sad truth and wallow in his misery. Was he going to think Roman was a nerd now? 

“I…I don’t even know if I want to know.” Virgil laughed, and he took a hand out of his pockets and ran it through his hair, causing Roman to follow the movements before shaking his head quickly. 

“Preferably not. Thank you.” What a wonderful turn of events-!

“Nevermind. I want an explanation.” CURSES, VIRGIL! WHY MUST YOU PLAY WITH MY HEART LIKE THAT?

“I talk to animals.” Yes, straight to the point. As straight as he could be (hah, yeah, right).

“And they talk to you back?” Virgil asked, a small smirk on his face. Roman scowled at him and shoved his hands into his own pockets, trying to ignore the grass and sand stains on his white pants.

“That’s none of your business.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

The Prince stayed silent after that, trying to avoid looking at Virgil now. He didn’t want to see the Knight’s reaction - ’cause that’s what he was, right? The Dark Knight. Dark, mysterious, hot- 

“I wonder if you could speak to spiders.” Well, that was definitely unexpected. 

“What?” You sound like an idiot, Roman. An idiot. 

“Just curious. I have two pet spiders. I was just wondering if you can talk to spiders too, other than just scorpions.” 

Roman made an offended noise and stretched out his arms, ready to boast his way through the rest of the conversation. 

“Gerard Gay, I can speak to any sort of animal.” I mean, I’ve had to deal with Remus for quite some time -  that should also count as speaking with animals, right? “So, to answer your question, yes. I can speak to spiders.”

“Uh-huh. Well, I guess I know who I'm going to be bringing to that ‘family’-meeting Logan's undoubtedly planning.” You lost me, Virge.

“...Remus?” Roman asked doubtfully, raising an eyebrow. Virgil burst out laughing, snorting slightly as he put a hand over his face, as if both amused but exasperated. 

“Marcus and Chris.” Virgil got out between laughs, and Roman kept looking at him questioningly. Then it hit him - a few days ago, they had been outside, yes? Virgil had found a spider and said that he named him Marcus? Oh . He was talking about spiders! 

“Chris is a female.” Roman blurted out, and Virgil stopped laughing, giving Roman a shocked and incredulous expression. 

“No.” Geez, he wasn't even trying to prove Roman right. “Besides, how would you even know that? You've been to my room, what? Once?” 

“Once was enough.” Roman muttered bitterly, remembering the amount of swearing and insults he had gotten from that little arachnid, especially with Patton being utterly horrified by the little guys. 

“Once was enough ?!” Virgil scoffed offendedly, and Roman's brain froze slightly.

“Wait, that's not what I meant-!”

“No no, I get it.” The Side spat, and his eyes darkened a little. “My room's too dark or depressing for you, and you'd much rather spend your time in that little dreamworld you call a bedroom, huh? It's not regal enou gh for you-?” 

“No . None of that.” Roman stressed, and he put his hands on Virgil's shoulders. “Trust me, I don't think of your room that way. Or you, for that matter,” Too far? Eh, we'll see . “I just…well, I just meant that-” Go on, Roman. There's no way you can make this worse . “Chris is a foul-mouthed jerk, alright? It has nothing to do with your room, it's that good for nothing, insulting, offensive little demon that I have a problem with!” That might have been too far. 

But Virgil seemed to calm down, his expression shifting slightly as he gazed up at Roman's face. If Roman thought he couldn't fall in love further, well, he'd been proven wrong.

“Your eyes turn lilac when you're anxious.” Virgil muttered, a small smirk on his face. God, that insufferable little-

Roman took his hands off of his shoulders and put them back in his pockets - the physical contact was probably a little too extensive anyway. 

“Oh your eyes turn lilac when you're anxious, blah blah blah -” Roman sneered, fully aware that he was being annoying. 

“You’re an insecure little baby.” Virgil laughed as he continued walking, leaving Roman to the side, shocked at the words he surely hadn't just heard. 

“Excuse me?!” 

“You're proving my point, idiot!” The words were hurtful, but his tone was playful, teasing. 

“I will pick you up and carry you for the rest of the journey if you don't shut up.” Roman retaliated, folding his arms across his chest defensively, fully aware of  his heart pounding quickly in his chest as he stared at Virgil, awaiting a reaction. 

“Good, I've been walking for so long my legs feel like they're going numb.” Virgil replied nonchalantly, and Roman felt his mouth fall ajar slightly. There was no way Virgil just said that. Roman would do it, he knew he would. He'd carry Virgil until the Prince's legs were half worn out and the bone-stubs scraped across the ground as he died of blood loss, he'd walk through fire again and use the last of his power to shield his Stormcloud from the flames-

“Dude, I'm joking. Relax.” 

Why did Roman even bother wasting romantic energy on this beautiful nightmare? Oh, right, his heart didn't give him a choice. 

“Yeah, sure you are.” Ah, yes. Digging his grave even deeper , something Roman was sadly used to doing. 

“Boys,” Janus called out to them, his voice sounding tense. “See, I'd hate to interrupt your mini soap opera, but you might want to pay attention to where we are.” 

“Where we are…?” Roman repeated, slightly relieved that Janus had stopped the Prince from making things even more awkward, but still very confused. 

Looking around definitely didn't make him feel any better. 

There, roughly five hundred yards ahead of them, was the cave. The one they needed to get to, to go find the Flamin’ Hot Cheeto. Great!

Now, unfortunately, three hundred of those five hundred yards appeared to be a large chasm, definitely longer than any piece of rope that any of them owned. And with Virgil still looking a little too much on the pale side, that meant that they wouldn't be able to shadow-jump there either. Not great! 

“I could have sworn this thing wasn't here before-” Roman stuttered, eyes wide as he stared at the large room canyon before then. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Remy put his head in his hands dejectedly and Logan stood, staring at the chasm in horror. This…this was going to set them back by hours . There was no way they were going to be able to make it in time. 

How on earth were they going to manage?

The watch on his wrist vibrated and Roman hesitated before taking a look. There was no way that this was good news. 

Fifteen hours left, the time glaring menacingly at Roman, flashing mockingly as it signalled their ever-nearing demise.

Fifteen hours until they were too late. 

— — —

Chapter Text

Janus was going to break every bone in Roman's body. 

He was furious . The Prince said he knew this part of the Empire like the back of his hand. But no. Instead, they were met with a literal chasm stopping them from actually getting there. Deceit's headache was getting worse by the second, there was no way this was going to end well. Janus thought of summoning Felicia again, but he knew that she probably wasn't going to make it in time. And even if she did, what was she going to do?

As they reached the mouth of the ominously gaping stretch, Janus felt nauseous. He couldn't even see the bottom . There was just a large, black expanse. God, if this just appeared in Thomas' brain, Janus had to try to convince the guy to go see a therapist. And no, Emile doesn't count in this case. 

“We're dead.” Virgil stated flatly, the small wavering of his voice betraying his emotions. 

“No!” Janus cried, and he punched Roman in the shoulder, needing something to take his fury out on. His head was pounding now, and his vision was blurring even further. Had his contacts fallen out? “We're not dead. And we won't be! There has to be a way to get to the other side!” 

His mind was racing against the pain, and he mentally willed everyone else to try to come up with a plan, to think of something that would let them get there, that would let them help Pallas. God, why did Patton have to be unconscious?! Logan probably wasn't even focusing properly! 

“Does anyone have any rope?” Janus looked around frantically, looking at each of the Sides desperately, getting his hopes up slightly as Roman nodded and pulled out a coil of rope. 

But the Prince's face was pale as he held out the rope and uncoiled it, showing the miserably short length - only twenty five yards of rope. 

“Yeah, we're dead.” Roman sighed, and he looked as if he was about to cry. Emile and Remy's faces were ashen, and Virgil looked the same way Janus felt. And Logan…

Janus spun towards Logan, his eyes wide. It had barely been half a day ago, how could he have forgotten already? Logan might be the key to getting them across this obstacle, this death penalty of a chasm!

“Logan.” Janus whispered, trying to ignore the headache that continued to build, like the world's worst hangover. Logic turned towards Janus with a puzzled look on his face, and Janus couldn't believe that he was the one that remembered this. 

“What?” 

“Your wings , you idiot! You can fly to the other side of the canyon!” 

“OH MY GOD, YOU'RE RIGHT!” Roman yelled, turning towards the Logical Side, who was still carrying Patton with extreme caution. 

“I know I'm right, Ryan.” Janus spat, and he ignored Roman's protests at getting his name wrong. Right, as if it was the first time Janus misnamed him. 

“I…could.” Logan muttered, and Janus hadn't seen someone act that begrudgingly since he asked Remus to go sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Patton and act normal for once, at least for thirty seconds. 

“But…?” Janus hissed, feeling the world spin around him. 

“...what about Patton?” The supposedly Logical Side whispered, glancing at the unconscious Morality in his arms. 

“What about him?” Deceit was getting impatient now. Impatient, and sick. 

“It's just…who's going to take care of him while I take people from one Side to another?” Disgusting. Adorable, but disgusting. They were all going to die, and Logic was worried about making that man-child uncomfortable. Well, Janus was getting uncomfortable. Uncomfortably single, that is. Oh, yes. As if he couldn't see the whole Remy and Emile situation, the little situation with Roman and Virgil, and the obvious situation with Logan and Patton. Love was useless anyway. Oh God, he was a seventh wheel . And with Remus pining after Pallas… right, Pallas. 

Janus shook his head, forcing himself to ignore the blurriness around everything and try to focus on the situation at hand. 

“We go by order. You leave Patton here with Robert and take me first. Then you take Virgil, and then move Patton over there where Virgil can look after him. Then take Raymond - shut up, Ray - and then take the rest, I don't know.” At this point, Janus felt like the air he was breathing was way denser than it was supposed to be. He could barely feel the ground beneath his worn-out black leather boots, and he was pretty sure he was smelling salt for some reason. 

Logan still looked hesitant, but Roman gave him a knowing look. 

“Hey,” the Prince whispered reassuringly. “I'll take care of him.” 

Nodding slightly but still very cautious, Logic passed the unconscious Side into Roman's arms and began to loosen his tie slightly, not bothering to fully untie it before shoving it in his back pocket and starting to take off his shirt. The black fabric pulled back to reveal the pale yet surprisingly built physique that Janus had seen earlier. Janus was pretty sure Logan asked Virgil to hold his shirt for him, but he couldn't be too certain. His head was aching now, feeling too heavy for him to actually move properly, so when Logan swiftly picked Janus up, Deceit was not prepared. 

Yelping slightly, Janus held on tight, not enjoying the chasm of darkness hovering beneath him. What if Logan dropped him? No, that wouldn't happen, right? They bonded! Over wine! They gossiped together, Logan wouldn't do such a thing.

But despite constantly trying to mentally reassure himself that he was going to be fine, his mind couldn't help but race as Janus' vision shifted between pitch darkness and hazy pictures. 

“If you drop me, I'll drag you down with me.” He hissed at Logan, venom dripping with every word. He didn't enjoy the entire thing one bit - not the air rushing through his hair, not the wind scratching at his face and wailing around him miserably. And, and - Logan was carrying him. This was probably similar to some weird fantasy of his when he was twenty-something, but he was so much older now, he knew better. 

Oh, and Janus also didn't like the feeling that he was about to throw up every minute. This was what had happened to Patton, wasn't it? Pallas' disappearance must have affected them all in some way. Definitely emotionally, that's for sure. Heck, Logan - the Robot of the Light Sides - was feeling things. And Janus was flying UP IN THE AIR! THEY WERE GOING DOWN. OH GOD, THEY WERE GOING DOWN. NO, WAIT, LOGAN, DON'T SPEED UP YOU BLOODY LUNATIC -

They landed safely, and there would be no mention of the embarrassing screams that came out of Janus' mouth. Ever. On the penalty of the bird-brain’s life. 

Here's to hoping Remus never found out about Janus' lack of appreciation for heights. 

Logan didn't talk to Janus during the entirety of the nightmarish trip, nor when he set Deceit down on the floor and flew back to the other side where the others were waiting impatiently, and Janus was quite grateful for it. But that wasn't important, no. What was important was the cave, its black mouth mockingly wide as it stood there, a mere hundred yards away from Deceit. It would be so easy to just… just run there and get Pallas to come back. So that's what Janus would do. Yes, he didn't need the other Sides. He could go save his friend without the others. Plus, who was to say he'd even listen to the others, or that Patton would even wake up when he got to Thomas’ Core, as the normal Sides called it.

Janus attempted to stand up and immediately regretted it, heaving and retching onto the barren area beside him. He felt awful. His head felt like he was going to explode, and his entire body hurt . Why?! Why did this have to happen to him when he was trying to do something right ?! He was trying to save that kid, for Heaven's sake. Oh, geez-

He threw up again, hands propping himself upwards as he stared at the previously red-brown dirt of whatever sort of new desert he was in. His vision was so blurry, he could barely see the shape of his hands.  Janus was shaking, trembling as he felt his headache spike even further. If he had any pores, he'd probably have been sweating bullets by then. 

Taking a moment to sit down, Janus wiped his dirt-covered hands on his pants and lowered his head between his knees, shivering as he pushed his bowler-hat back slightly. Ah, yes. Things were definitely going according to plan. Janus just… he just needed a minute to adjust, that's all. Yes, that's it. He was going to be fine. Pallas was going to be fine. They'd go back to the Mindscape and they'd be able to have their little family dinners again, they'd be a family again. It'd work out, it had to. And Deceit would find a way to get his son to come back. He would. 

Janus heard a soft thud a few feet away from him and the beating of wings. He didn't even have the energy to look up at whoever it was that Logan had deposited with him. God, if it was Roman, Janus wasn't sure he'd even survive the rest of the journey. 

“You don't look too good.” Janus wasn't sure whether to be elated or devastated to hear Virgil's voice next to him. There were so many things that Deceit wanted to tell him, but he only had the energy to give a half-heartedly annoyed groan. “...yeah, good luck with that.” 

Who raised that kid?! Oh. Right. It was Janus. Well, when he taught that boy about sass, he never thought that he'd be on the receiving end of the stick, especially under these circumstances. 

“You're not the only one feeling nauseous.” Janus heard Virgil admit, and Deceit made a small sound of agreement. 

The sound of wings returned soon after, filling in the silence that had followed. Probably Patton - that was what Janus had told Logan to do, wasn't it? - he wasn't paying attention, he was too busy hurling his breakfast onto the dirt and rocks beside him. 

He could barely raise his head to actually look at his surroundings, much less walk . 

Time seemed to speed up around Janus, and it wasn't much before Logan deposited the final Side - he was pretty sure it was Remy - and asked Virgil for his shirt back, quickly putting it back in and replacing his neck tie. Emile had been trying to help Janus, trying to get him to drink some water. Things weren't looking that good for them. He overheard one of the others mutter about how they had a little under fourteen hours left until they were too late, but…that didn't feel right. No, if they still had fourteen hours left, Janus wouldn't be feeling this way, would he? Patton wouldn't have been that bad, either. Patton probably would have collapsed on the ten-hour mark… right? And Janus would follow an hour or three later. He didn't want to think about that, it only made him feel worse. 

Deceit felt awful. He couldn't budge from the spot they were in, Patton was unconscious, and both Emile and Virgil had begun to admit that they were feeling “woozy”. 

But whatever Emile was doing to the water was working, at least a little bit. He felt less sick, and his head was a little less foggy, his vision less blurry. Remy was doing his best to hold Janus up, along with providing an arm to help Emile if he needed anything. The Prince was offering Virgil an arm to lean on if he needed it, while Virgil rolled his eyes and said that he had worse days. That wasn’t concerning Janus at all . Logan - obviously - continued to carry Patton. 

Everything looked dead. There wasn't a living thing in sight, beside the rest of the Sides. Oh, and a vulture circling ominously above. How reassuring. As Janus continued walking, he tried to focus on the things around him so that he could attempt to stay conscious, at least until they get to the cave and so Janus could at least stay awake long enough for him to be able to slap Pallas in the face. With a glove. Hard. 

One dead fern. One blurry rock. One blurry and weirdly shaped dead leaf. One…rat skeleton? Great, now he just missed Remus. One tree skeleton, or whatever dead trees were called. Why was it so hot here? The sunlight was starting to give him a bigger headache than he had earlier. He was starting to have to squint, too - dust was being blown into his eyes because of the revoltingly warm and humid breeze. Oh, what he'd give to be back in their Common Room, on a couch, sipping wine. Making fun of people. Talking crap about everyone. But no . No, he had to deal with feeling utterly broken and useless because Pallas wanted to prove a point. Maybe Janus was overreacting. 

Uh, no. This was a perfectly reasonable reaction for someone who's probably dying because someone else felt bad about himself. No, wait. It was the Light Sides fault. If those pretentious trash-bags hadn't tried to repress all of the Dark Sides, this never would have happened in the first place! But there was nothing Janus could do about it. 

He remembered the promise he had made to himself when he was younger, and he gained a sliver of clarity once more, if only for a moment. Maybe it could still happen. Maybe, just maybe , they could all just…be one group. They didn't have to all like each other, they just had to be able to tolerate each other enough and do their best to actually help Thomas.

A few more minutes passed, and they arrived at their destination. The mouth of the cave was large, and nothing could be seen inside. Only pitch darkness, with no information as to what actually lay ahead. To Janus' knowledge, none of them had actually ever been to the Core before. So, really, the only thing left to do was go inside. 

As Janus took a hesitant half-step forward, he realised something. This, this entire journey through the Empire - while, yes, they had their disagreements - they all worked together. This was proof . Proof that it was possible, that the Sides could actually work together to accomplish something. 

The group took a brief moment to glance at each other, and after an unenthusiastic nod, they all began to trudge through the darkness of the cave and into the seemingly empty abyss in front of them, barely prepared for what was ahead.

— — —

Chapter Text

As Logan walked into the cave, he was aware of two main things. 

First of all, the cave was much cooler than one would expect a desert cave to be, shade aside. Second of all, anything that could make sound seemed to have been silenced, all smells disappeared, and the darkness around them also seemed to deprive Logan of any sort of spatial awareness that he had possessed. He remembered that one time where Thomas had entered a sensory deprivation tank. This was a little similar, only they weren’t surrounded by water, the air wasn’t hot and suffocating, they were wearing clothes…coming to think of it, there were quite a few differences.

The darkness wrapped around all of them as if it was a living entity, and his grip on Patton tightened slightly as he pulled the still-unconscious Side closer towards him. He knew the darkness couldn’t be alive, but after spending enough time in the Kingdom, or just the Empire in general, Logan wasn’t going to take any risks. That would be stupid. Or something Roman would do, which, in most cases, those phrases would be relatively synonymous either way. 

As he took another slightly hesitant step forward, Logan mentally called upon some of the information that he knew about the Core. He knew that all of the Sides were born of it, at least in some way. He also knew that it was the purest essence of oneself, and according to Sigmund Freud - who wrote numerous studies about the Id - it was also the only part of the personality that is present at birth. Though, coming to think of it, Thomas' Core was also quite different to the depictions of the id. Was it possible that Thomas had built his own system? Or that perhaps it's different for everyone? Either way, it made sense that all the Sides were all connected to the Core in some way. He also knew that even if Thomas found some marvellous solution as to how to actually visit the Empire, he probably wouldn’t be able to visit the Core under any circumstances, seeing as it was buried so deep into the subconscious that even most of the Sides themselves have never actually set foot there. 

Logan inhaled softly, shifting Patton in his arms, and as he took another step forward, he had to stop. His arm burned , the pain ripping into his skin and through his mind as he struggled to keep Patton comfortable. And then he remembered. The burn-mark… he had tried so hard to force it out of his mind, to purge it from his thoughts-

He paused his thoughts, but continued walking through the pain. How hadn't the other Sides noticed its presence? Could they not see it? Did no one care enough about Logan to actually notice…

The pain subsided slightly as his thoughts trailed off at the sickening notion. Though, thinking about it further, it would make sense that they couldn't see it. Didn't he get the burn from that scorpion in Pallas's eye patch?

His eyes darkened bitterly in the blackness of the cave. Even ducked out, Pallas still found a way to make Logan's life difficult. But they had to save him. It was important. 

For all of their sakes. 

Walking in the dark whilst not being able to hear anything around you was quite unsettling, really. Logan wasn’t even sure that the other Sides were still with him. 

“Everyone…?” A small test couldn’t hurt. He continued to walk forward silently, unnerved by how quiet his voice had sounded, his earlier bitterness replaced by an uneasy pit in his stomach. Straining his ears to try to hear something, anything , Logan was slightly concerned to see that no one answered. And if they did, Logan couldn't hear them. Logic continued to put one foot in front of the other as he ventured the darkness, less sure of everything as he steadied Patton. 

Perhaps if he focused a little bit on Patton, he'd feel more grounded - something he hadn't thought he'd ever think before. He couldn't feel anything around him, but he could feel the unconscious Side. While he couldn't see Patton, Logan focused on the areas where his hands and arms touched Patton's clothes or skin, or where Patton's head continued to rest on his burn-less shoulder, his breathing steady as it continued to caress Logan's neck. Or the way Patton's soft and wavy hair was tickling Logan's ear gently, causing him to suppress a smile. Actually, no one could probably see Logan at that moment, so… he let himself smile. An actual, happy smile. It had been a while since he had let himself do that. He inhaled steadily through his nose and focused on that. Weirdly enough, he could still smell Patton's shampoo - vanilla and coconut, because he had run out of the ‘good kind of shampoo’, the cinnamon and nutmeg one that made him smell just like Christmas. Patton had told Logan that Remus had eaten it, and Logan believed him.  Logan could also smell the scents if the Enchanted Forest laced within the vanilla and coconut, giving it a more earthy smell. 

Then, suddenly, as he continued to attempt to ground himself, everything stopped. 

And in the darkness before him happened something that Logan could only describe as a sort of glitch in the Mindscape, where a flash of brilliant white light exploded in front of him and caught him off guard, forcing him to shut his eyes tightly. He could still see the bright light through his closed eyelids, and when he reopened them, Logan could see flashes of light and colour appear and disappear around him in different shapes. The colours eventually started to merge together, forming strands of colours that intertwined together and separated, like a piece of fabric made out of those multi-coloured threads. Some of them were less tangible, instead looking like wisps made out of coloured smoke and glitter. As Logan continued walking, he noticed that the white in the background seemed to shrink away further, instead leaving the colours and smoke. Some of the colours seemed solid, others like colourful liquids rushing below and above them, while a few of them behaved the same way a visible gas would. 

Logan could feel his eyes widen as he glanced at blinking lights in the distance, a few of them even hovering a few feet away from him. Were they… they looked like stars. Dimly lit stars, white, yellow, blue, red, green, the odd purple one. He’d never been here, he knew this, but everything was so familiar . Logan felt as though he was one with everything, one with the colours, with the stars. He could feel the presence of the others, and Logan felt at one with them too. This… this joy. This was what Logan strove for, what he wanted for the Sides. This was what he meant by living at a higher plane of existence, what he wanted for Thomas.  Logan felt at peace. It was so chaotic, but so strangely harmonious at the same time. Everything here was so familiar and beautiful and-

“...Logan?” a quiet voice whispered softly, and Logan looked down, startled. Patton was awake, his light blue eyes peeking tiredly from behind hooded eyelids and lowered eyelashes, Morality's head still resting on Logan’s shoulder. Logic was so startled he nearly dropped the poor Side. 

“Oh, uh, hello there.” Logan stammered slightly, setting Patton down on what he assumed was a strangely solid cloud. 

“ The angel from my nightmares- !” Virgil sang quietly from beside Logan, grinning at Patton as he suddenly appeared beside those two.

“ The shadow in the background of the morgue! ” Roman riffed, continuing the lyric happily. “WAIT, PAT?!” The Prince yelled, running to hug Patton, who’s face had turned slightly red as Logan set the Side down. It was probably due to where they were, of course. It was probably causing him to feel better, the same way it made Logan feel better. He knew they were also getting closer to Pallas, which may have had a revitalizing effect on them. 

“Hey, kiddo.” Patton sighed, hugging Roman with a soft smile on his face. Logan fought to push down the small smile that teased at his lips at the sight of Patton smiling again. 

Logan turned his head to see Janus, Emile and Remy walk in behind them, blinking at the new assortment of colours in their surroundings, and Logan nodded in acknowledgment. 

Now that they were here… what did they do? 

Everyone looked at Logan expectantly, and he realised that he had spoken those words aloud. Well, time to make a plan, then. It was probably best that they actually attempt to find Pallas first, then convince him to reclaim his position as one of Thomas’ Sides, where Remy could then wake Thomas up and Logan could possibly get him to have a productive day. 

Either way, nothing was going to get done if the Sides didn’t go find Pallas.

“I have something to ask you all.” Logan began, and Roman interrupted him quickly. 

“Yeah, I feel the connection too. I’m not sure what it is, though.” Well, that answers that question. Logan nodded and pushed back his glasses slightly, needing to do something with his hands since he wasn’t holding Patton anymore. 

“Well, about that connection. I’m assuming that everyone else here can sense it, so I would like to propose this: If we’re connected together, then we could hypothetically sense Pallas’ presence here in the Core if we focus hard enough.” 

“That… that’s a good idea.” Patton nodded, and Logan felt his heart swell with pride at Morality's words. The smaller Side looking around at the colours surrounding them. Of course they would distract Morality. What else would Logan expect? His innocence was a breath of fresh air in the light of these terse circumstances.

The others nodded as well, staying silent as they all tried to focus. Logan joined them, closing his eyes and searching deep inside of him for a feeling, or something  that could reveal Pallas’ location to him. A few seconds passed, and nothing happened. Until…. There. A faint tug at Logan’s chest, similar to what he had felt when Pallas would take over Logan. He opened his eyes to see a faint orange trail on the ground, leading to the right. Logan pointed towards it, silently putting his hand on Patton’s shoulder and gesturing towards the path, causing Patton to gasp.

“Yeah… that’s him alright.” Morality whispered as he kneeled down and touched the orange mist beneath their feet. 

“Should we follow it?” Virgil asked quietly, looking at it nervously as he tugged at the sleeves of his hoodie. 

“No , that’d be insane .” Janus muttered, looking around him before walking quickly down the orange path. 

“I guess we follow the Orange Mist Road.” Roman shrugged, putting a hand on Virgil’s back and leading him forwards gently. “Come on, Toto.”  His name was obviously Virgil, but Logan ignored it that time. 

Emile and Remy followed them silently, and Patton looked up at Logan before silently holding out his hand, what looked like a mixture of fear, worry and hope swirling around those bright blue eyes. Logan frowned slightly, confused, before realising what Patton might want. Logic held Morality’s hand and nodded slightly. Emile seemed to look back and smile, causing Patton to given him a dirty look. What was all that about? 

As they walked on the orange path, Logan glanced at their intertwined hands, Logan’s one being quite a bit larger than Patton’s. Logic couldn't help but think about how it felt to have that surprisingly calloused palm brush against his own. How the way Patton's thumb gently caressed Logan's own made his chest tighten slightly, causing Logan's breath to hitch embarrassingly. Now was not the time to think about that. Patton was probably scared and needed some physical support to help him focus, Logan told himself. It wasn’t personal. Probably. How could it be? 

He hoped that Patton didn't mind Logan returning the gesture. 

The colours around them were shifting, changing shapes quickly. Bright greens rose for a moment, collecting over golden trunks and making it look like a forest before it dissipated and shifted once again. There - a large humanoid figure lying down in the distance on what looked like a bed, made of a multitude of colours. Was that… was that Thomas? It disappeared quickly once again, the colours shifting to form a giant version of Roman and Remus fist bumping. Logan caught Roman staring at it as well, eyes wide as a look of forlorn sadness bloomed on the Prince's face. 

There, shooting next to them. A large black column horizontally stretched out beside them, rising upwards and to the side as a sort of purple vine grew around it, twirling around it and bending it, causing the black column to change direction once again. Logan could feel fear radiating from it, so tense that he could figuratively slice through it with a knife. He looked down momentarily and was surprised to see the orange mist falter, fading in and out of sight quickly. That… that couldn’t be good. There was no way that that could be even a remotely good sign. 

Logan could feel the group’s agitation as they sped up slightly, Virgil’s panic settling over the rest of the group. 

~*-*~ 

Patton was pretty sure he was going to burst into tears at any moment. 

This was all his fault, all of it. If he hadn’t been so set on taking care of Thomas, if he’d have tried to at least help Pallas and listen to him instead of pushing him away, this never would have happened. Watching the orange path underneath them disappear momentarily made Patton want to collapse on the floor in tears. Was Pallas going to… no. Patton wasn’t going to think about that. They were going to get to his older brother in time, and Patton would do his best to make them all work like a family again. He wasn’t going to make the same mistakes again. That would only hurt Thomas. 

Trying to distract himself slightly, Patton glanced up at Logan, taking in that pale face and dark-blue eyes. Patton couldn’t believe what Roman had told him a few moments earlier: that when Patton had collapsed and Remy helped him fall asleep to soften the pain, Logan had carried Patton the entire rest of the way to the cave. Gosh, that Side was just so sweet. And… cute? Not the best time for this. Patton squeezed Logan’s hand gently and Logan squeezed back, turning to face him. 

“Are you doing alright, Patton?” He asked, and Patton gave him a forced smile and nodded a little bit. But deep inside, they all knew that they weren’t really alright. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. They were supposed to work in harmony, for Thomas. Not leave and abandon him. But either way, Patton still had something to say to Logic.

“Thank you.” He whispered softly, and Logan frowned slightly. 

“What for?” 

“Helping me actually get here.” Patton murmured, and he took note of how Logan was gently brushing his thumb against his own, feeling blood rise to his face at the gesture. “Roman told me you carried me the rest of the way here from the Forest.” Logan shrugged it off, but Patton wouldn’t take it.

“I’m serious. Thank you.”

“Well…” Logan shrugged once again, sneaking a glance at their intertwined hands. “As Roman would say, don’t mention it.”

Logan turned away once again to look at the changing colours surrounding them, and Patton felt a small surge of panic as the other Side stopped brushing his thumb against Patton's. What if Logan wasn’t comfortable with holding Patton’s hand? What if Patton misread the situation at that moment and doesn’t actually think of Patton in that way?

He shouldn’t be panicking right now. Time to focus on something else. On anything else.

Patton looked to his right and examined the colours on that Side. There were so many bright ones and so many little star-thingies, but there were also dark colours too. What did those mean? Patton didn’t want to touch those. But there were others, like a brightly-glowing teal one that looked like a giant piece of spaghetti just swimming in the air. Patton reached out a hand and grazed it, smiling slightly as his hand touched the warm, soft light. Woah. He glanced at the other Sides, right hand still touching the spaghetti-light. They were all glowing slightly with their signature colours, the same way Patton, Emile and Remy did when they ate the magical Cake Pops that Remy gave them. His misty, light blue aura returned, and Patton took a deep breath, once again taking in that salty-ocean smell. Emile was once again surrounded by the cotton-candy pink, and Remy with that stormcloud grey. 

Taking a peek at the other Sides, Patton could see their auras too. Janus had an aura that looked like a lemon-yellow ribbon curling around him and his limbs, slithering around him like a snake. It was accompanied with a flurry of black stars, blinking in and out of existence around Deceit. Roman’s was like a bright red suit of armour, more collected and solid than anyone else’s that Patton had seen. The Prince also had what looked like a bright gold cape, flowing behind him as if it was caught in a gentle but firm breeze. Virgil, that adorable little bat-winged cherub, had a purple aura. It looked like lightning, shooting across Virgil’s body and crawling over him quickly, black and white swirls of mist spinning around the lightning as it appeared. All of them looked just so cool!  

Patton looked up towards Logan, planning on telling him about all of what he had just seen. Instead, his mouth gaped open slightly, his eyes wide. 

Logan looked… what was that word that Roman had used once? Yeah, ethereal . Logan was surrounded by what looked like liquid space, blues and blacks and golds and purples, all swirling around and dotted with millions of shiny stars as Logan walked besides Patton. He caught Morality staring at him and raised an eyebrow towards Patton questioningly.

Morality in question was about to have a heart attack. 

Logan’s eyes . Oh gosh, those eyes. They were already beautiful before, but with the aura, they glowed . A dark blue that was still somehow bright, and something that Patton could only describe as slivers of dark-blue mist trailed away from those gorgeous eyes. At that moment, Logan looked more than human. He looked like an angel. 

“Patton?” Logan asked, and Patton snapped out of his bewitched state, pulling his hand out of that strand of colour and shaking it quickly. Morality shook his head slightly, and looked at Logan again. He looked just like he normally did, but… Patton could still see that aura faintly, stirring feelings inside him that he hadn't known existed.

“...Pat?” Logan asked again, and Patton smiled awkwardly. 

“Sorry, don’t know what came over me.” 

“Mmm.” Logan hummed suspiciously but looked away, the ghost of a smile on his beautiful lips. 

Patton looked down embarrassedly and his thoughts froze slightly as he stared at the ground beneath him. The orange path was fainter than before. This can’t be good. Something’s wrong, so very wrong. 

He was getting even more worried as he walked forward, and he bit his lip anxiously. Patton saw Virgil look back towards him with a worried look on his face before his gaze shifted towards Patton and Logan’s hands, and he raised his eyebrows with a strange look on his face. Patton could still see small bolts of purple electricity and sparks shoot around Anxiety, and he saw one shoot towards him quickly, and Patton could hear Virgil’s voice in his head. 

You okay, Pop-Star?

Yeah.

Pat.

Okay, fine. Not really. 

You’re holding Calculator Watch’s hand.

Oh, that’s what he was focusing on, huh.

Yeah.

Patton could see Virgil grinning slightly and turning towards Roman, whispering something into his ears as the purple lightning bolt rushed back towards Virgil. That was weird. Could… could everyone else see those? Or was it just Patton? He sighed heavily and kicked what looked like a dark green vine on the floor in annoyance. 

Patton could see Logan glance slightly at him and hesitate for a moment. That was fine of course, Patton wasn’t expecting any help. But as Patton’s thoughts began to spiral slightly once again, he felt Logan’s thumb brush against his hand again, and Patton focused on that touch, relief flooding his thoughs. Gosh, Lo was awesome. Yeah. They could get through this. 

The group continued to walk across the Core and Morality looked around as the colours around them began to darken, the spaghetti-lights and random shapes and stars began to become more angular, their edges sharper as they continued to progress. This… this was scary. 

“Where… where are we?” Patton asked the rest of the Sides, tightening his grip on Logan’s hand. Virgil seemed to frown as he turned backwards to look at Patton again. 

“I…I think this might be a darker corner of Thomas’ Core. I think this is where I might have come from… maybe?”

“But… what would Pallas be doing here ? Why this place of all places?” Patton stressed, staring at the dark spikes rising up from the floor and looming from the ceiling…? Was that even a ceiling? Were they just floating up there…?

Janus looked agitated, glancing at the fading orange path. 

“This isn’t right.” Janus muttered, his face pale. “We’re too late.”

Patton could feel his face pale as well, while Remy and Roman glanced at Janus with a confused expression on their faces. 

“...what do you mean?” They asked simultaneously. Janus looked at them for a moment, and Patton could see that yellow ribbon swirl around the Side even more quickly, shrouding the obsidian-like spikes in Deceit’s lemon-yellow light.

“We wasted too much time. Time sped up faster than we all thought it would.” He looked into the distance and an expression of panic overtook his face. Then Janus ran, and Patton followed him, unwillingly ripping his hand out of Logan's grip. It couldn’t be too late. They had to have time left, they had to be able to get Pallas to come back. They couldn’t just… they couldn’t fail-

Patton was still feeling a little shaky, and he could hear the others start to catch up to the two of them. He rushed forwards, dodging a large, deep purple column as he turned around, following the barely visible orange path as it twisted to the left. Janus slipped for a moment and Patton grabbed his hand, pulling him upwards and dragging him forwards. Patton felt something like his soul being stabbed as he heard loud, heart-wrenching sobs come from behind a large dark wall, like an enormous, coal barrier. As they turned around the large wall, both of them froze, and Patton let go of Janus’ hand in shock, eyes wide as he stared at the confusing and terrifying scene before him. 

The others caught up with them and froze behind both Morality and Deceit, and the orange trail on the floor disappeared completely, leaving them to try to understand what was going on beforehand. 

But Patton knew one thing at the very least. 

He was pretty sure they were too late. 

— — —

Chapter Text

Virgil chased after Janus and Patton, chest aching as he felt the anxiety oozing from the both of them. He couldn’t see what was going on, but Anxiety could hear the ugly sobbing ahead, and shoved Janus aside for a moment. He couldn’t believe his eyes as he saw Remus, kneeling down on the floor with his back towards him as he trembled and screamed, begging towards something Virgil couldn’t exactly make out. 

Why was he crying? Remus didn’t cry. Or at least, he rarely did. 

Virgil took a few steps to the right to take a proper look at what Remus was looking at. It took Virgil a moment to recognise Anger, his head bowed forward as his hands were stuck wrist-deep into two columns of dark energy on either side of him, leaving him pinned there in the middle. Pallas's hair was drenched with sweat, and his leather jacket lay discarded on the floor a few feet away from him. Virgil had to look at him for a moment to realise that the Side’s legs were stuck in the ground, anything under his knees stuck under a shining block of deep black obsidian. 

Virgil was stuck watching two of his old friends in that position, but he felt Roman run from his side and rush towards Remus. The Prince hesitated slightly before kneeling beside his brother and putting a gentle hand on the Duke, who flinched before leaning into Roman’s touch, collapsing into him as he cried.

Patton and Janus continued running after that moment, rushing to Pallas. Virgil barely registered Emile running after them, this… this place, it was too overwhelming. He could feel his heart pounding inside his chest as he started to shakily walk over towards Patton, who was now standing a few feet away from Pallas, tears in his eyes as he trembled with each step. Janus was a few feet away from Morality, but Virge ignored the snake. Virgil felt bad for Patton and really just wanted to be there for him. Eugh, this place just gave him the heebie-jeebies. Sure, Virge loved the dark aesthetic, but the energy in the air here was awful. 

Roman was moving Remus away gently, pulling him to the side and starting to ask him a couple of questions. After the entire ordeal he had to deal with for the past few days, though… he was probably going to continue putting off having to deal with Remus for now. 

Anxiety put a hand on Patton’s shoulder gently, his hand shaking slightly as he felt all of those confusing emotions coming from the guy. It was only a moment before Patton started speaking, shakily addressing his older brother. 

“Pal? What… what happened to you? Pallas, please, if you’re controlling this, please stop. We… we just want you to come back. We can’t… Thomas can’t function without you.” 

Virgil was pretty sure he threw up in his mouth a little. Not because of the emotional moment, though he did think that Pallas was probably overdoing this. He should just come home with them, it would make everything so much easier .

Pallas spat at Patton’s feet, blood very visibly mixed in with his saliva. Virgil hissed at him reflexively, yanking Patton back a couple of inches. 

“ Did you really think ,” Pallas panted, fury dripping with each word as he tilted his head upwards. Virgil had to bite the inside of his cheek to stifle his yelp. The scar on Pallas’ face had reopened, blood seeping into the crevice of his blind eye and watching the blood spread across the eye after he blinked. The other eye, the one Virgil had been so used to looking at to avoid the other one, was milky white. Gone was the bright, fiery orange. “ That if I could leave, I wouldn’t have already left? ” 

Wait… he… he couldn’t even leave ? Oh, this was bad. This was very bad.

“Why would you people even want me back anyway?” Anger rasped, his teeth stained red with his blood. “You made them forget me.” Virgil knew that if Pallas could yell, he probably would. Could he even see them…?  

“It was a mistake! ” Patton’s face was red, tears spilling down his freckle-covered cheeks as he stared at Pallas, horror written all over Morality's face. “I shouldn’t have done that. I should have acted better. Pallas, I’m sorry! ” 

Patton was sobbing now, but Pallas only laughed bitterly, shaking his head before wincing in pain as he shuddered.

“Oh, Pat. It’s too late to be sorry now.” 

Remus was screaming behind them at this point, and Roman was struggling to keep him back, trying to let Patton talk to his older brother. But Remus wouldn’t have it, Virgil could see the tears and fury on his face. 

“ PALLAS MOTILITY SANDERS, YOU CAN’T DIE ON ME RIGHT NOW. I WON’T LET YOU DIE LIKE THIS, I REFUSE IT!”

“WOAH, DIE?!” Virgil yelled, turning towards Pallas. “WHADDYA MEAN, DIE?! ” 

Oh God, no, please. Please no . He wasn’t the guy’s biggest fan, but they had still been family at one point. Patton was sobbing now, covering his mouth with his hands as Remus continued to fight against Roman, who was staring at Pallas with wide, horror-filled eyes.

“THAT IDIOT’S BEEN IN HERE FOR TOO LONG! THE CORNER’S CONSUMING HIM AND HE’S GOING TO DIE .” Remus wailed furiously, choking on tears, and Virgil was pretty sure he was going to have an anxiety attack any time soon because of this. 

When he looked back at Anger, Virgil saw the Side’s form flicker slightly. Pallas screamed in agony and Patton sobbed louder, crouching down and hugging his knees tightly. God, everyone was panicking. Everyone was panicking so much, it hurt Virgil. Physically. 

Remus and Pallas continued to scream, a sound Virgil could feel resonate in his bones, in his soul. And when Virgil went to look at Janus, who hadn’t made a single sound since they had arrived in front of the pained Side, he could see two tear lines. No sobbing, no begging, just… tears. But those eyes, God, those eyes. Virgil wasn’t sure he’d ever seen so much pain in those eyes before. 

“Why?” Deceit whispered hoarsely, and tears began to spill out of Virgil’s eyes too. “Why would you do this to us?” 

When Pallas had calmed down slightly - and by ‘calmed down’, it was more of a ‘pain has subsided momentarily’ moment - he laughed dryly as he raised his head to the direction where Janus’ voice had come from, though the direction was still a little off. 

“I had to teach Thomas a lesson.”

Remus screeched as he heard that, clawing at Roman before just collapsing in his brother's embrace once again as the Duke continued to sob, eyes bloodshot. Janus didn’t even say anything else, he just stared at Pallas with a hard-to-read expression on his face. Emile was sobbing quietly a few feet away from Virgil, and Anxiety saw Anger's expression soften slightly as he tried to focus on Janus, and Virgil's heart clenched as he saw tears spill from Pallas’ eyes before the flickering Side addressed Janus quietly.

“I’m sorry, Dee-Dee.” Anger whisperer hoarsely. “Tell Thomas I’m sorry too.”

NO, THIS COULDN’T BE IT! IF PALLAS DIED, THOMAS WAS DONE. IT WOULD BE GAME OVER. THIS COULDN’T BE IT, IT JUST COULDN’T-

“I might know how this could be fixed.” Logan muttered quietly, and Virgil jumped back in shock. Holy- Logan just… just showed up behind Virgil. He clutched his chest, trying to soothe his nerves silently, breaths shuddering as everyone continued to panic. Hearing Logan, Remus began to yell again, screaming at the logical Side to get on with whatever it was that Logan was going to do, that he should do anything that could help Pallas.

Logan stepped forward, and Virgil could feel panic radiating off of him, even though his outward expression was calm, if a little… sad. 

“Logan…?” Patton whispered, looking up at Logic with a confused expression on his face. Logan seemed to ignore him, but Virgil could feel his panic evaporate as Patton spoke, replaced with bitter determination. Logan seemed to spare a glance at Morality, even… was that a smile ? A small and sad one, sure, but still. And just as fast as it had arrived it was gone, replaced with tight lips set with determination as he faced Pallas.

“Pallas Motility Sanders,” Logan began, his voice calm and steady as he spoke. “If I commence, you will no longer have that body. You will no longer have privacy, it will no longer exist. This is the only way that you would be able to survive, and the only way that Thomas may be able to remain complete after this ordeal. Your consciousness will be shared, no longer just yours.” His voice wavered slightly at that, and Virgil didn't understand the grieving look in Logan's eyes. “Please take all of these points into consideration before you accept.”

Virgil was confused, but a look of understanding and peace washed over Pallas’ face, and Anger looked into the direction of Logan’s voice, nodding slightly as he gave Logic a bitter smile.

“Well, if this is the only way. Yeah. I accept.”

“Wait, what’s happening?!” Patton called out to the two Sides before him, and he stood up shakily, fixing his glasses slightly as he stared at Logan in confusion and worry.

Anxiety could see a heart-broken expression on Logan’s face as he turned to face Patton momentarily, and that look made his very soul ache.  

“I’m sorry, Patton.” Logan's voice broke, and he muttered something under his breath after that, something Virgil couldn’t hear. But Patton heard. He heard and screamed out after that, a grieving look paired with one of denial on his face as he stared at Logan, frozen in place. Remus also seemed to understand what was happening, because he started screaming at them to stop too, once again fighting Roman to get to Pallas. But Logan only shook his head, turning around and raising his hands slightly as he faced Pallas. 

Virgil couldn’t look. He closed his eyes and gripped a Side’s - he assumed it was Remy’s, since the Side had walked next to him a few moments earlier - arm tightly. But no matter how tightly he closed his eyes, he couldn’t shut out those screams.

~*-*~

“Please forgive me, Patton. I wish we had more time.” 

Logan turned away from him after murmuring those shaky words to him, and Patton was so scared - scared that he could never look into those eyes the same again. Because he knew what was going to happen. Logan was going to attempt to Join with Pallas, so he could save him. Patton saw Logan’s stars merge with Pallas’s orange flames, their auras mixing as Logan raised his arms to put them on Pallas’ shoulders. Patton screamed. He screamed and cried, because it wasn’t fair . 

Morality watched as Logic absorbed the fire, the deep-colours of space around him exploding in a myriad of colours, bright orange flames spreading and shooting around him until they circled around Logan like rings, one snaking its way to his head and just sitting there, like a crown of flames. Patton sobbed as he saw Pallas’ eyes close for what could be the last time, watching as the love of his life collapsed to his knees in pain, screaming as the flames contorted and dragged him down, and Pallas screamed with him. It was only a moment before Pallas disappeared, leaving only Logan, still on his knees as he trembled. 

But it wasn’t Logan anymore. 

It would never just be ‘Logan’ again, would it? No, it would be Logan and Pallas. Always. But Patton couldn’t think about that now. 

Janus ran towards Logic and Patton followed him, trying to ignore what looked like orange cracks in that once beautiful space-like aura of Logan’s. He tried to ask Logan - and Pallas , he had to remind himself - if they were okay, but he didn’t respond. The Side’s body trembled and Logan’s eyes were closed, he looked so hurt -

Patton put a hand on Logan’s shoulder and had to yank it back, repressing a scream. It burned . Not just physically. Patton momentarily felt what Logan was feeling - confusion, emotional conflict. But so. 

Much. 

Pain. 

That…this is bad. This is so very bad. 

Patton felt someone touch his shoulder and he flinched, only to see Emile, eyes red and puffy with tears. 

“Guys-” His voice was hoarse, and he coughed slightly to clear his throat. “Listen, it’s probably best if the two of you take a breather. I’d like to do a small medical check-up on the guy, at least to see if everything’s okay in that field. Mentally and emotionally… I’ll try to help with that eventually, but now is not the time. But please, you two. And try to rest.” He pleaded to Patton and Janus, and Deceit stood up unwillingly, glancing down at Patton and giving him a stern look before holding out his hand. Patton grabbed the hand and pulled himself up, muttering his gratitude quietly as he wiped his tears away with his forearm. 

They walked over to Remus and Roman, followed by Remy and Virgil. Remus was staring at the empty space where Pallas had been earlier, eyes darting from the small puddle of blood that remained on the ground to Anger’s jacket, which lay there, discarded on the floor. 

Patton didn’t wait to talk. He didn’t want to. But he needed to know one thing, just…just one. To see just how bad of a brother he actually was. 

“Remus?” He whispered, and the Duke’s head snapped towards him. It took Patton a moment to find the right words, but… “How did you get here that quickly? And how long… how long have you actually been here?”

“An hour.” Remus spat, and he gripped the handle of his morning-star, knuckles whitening. “I took the Backdoor of the Mind Palace, something I made a couple of years ago.”

They… they wasted all of that time. For nothing . Pallas could have been saved if they’d just taken the stupid back door! Logan could be normal . It was Patton’s fault. He knew that much. If he hadn’t pushed his brother away, if he had tried to at least give him another chance, to show him more love , not make the others forget him… this never would have happened. Patton didn’t know how, but… this had to stop. This conflict between the Light and Dark Sides. People just keep getting hurt, and it was all Patton’s fault. Tears continued to stream freely down Morality’s face, and Patton squeezed his eyelids shut for a moment.

The other Sides present were staring at Remus - Roman, Remy and Virgil’s mouths gaped open in horror-filled disbelief. Janus’ head was bowed, a gloved hand rising up to cover his mouth. 

“So…Logan’s never going to be the same again?” Patton whispered, voice cracking slightly, and Janus slapped Morality’s shoulder angrily, causing Roman and Virgil to start retaliating angrily, but Janus just turned to Patton with a stern look on his face. 

“How could you be so shallow ? Pallas almost died and Logan saved him. You should be grateful your stupid boyfriend was even brave enough and smart enough to remember Joining. Otherwise, none of us - except probably Remy - would even still be here.”

That… that was a lot of truth in one sitting, coming from Janus. But again, it was also true. Logan… he was a hero. 

“He’s not my boyfriend.” Patton muttered, and his heart broke into way too many pieces to count. It was true, and it probably wasn’t going to happen either way, since Logan now had Pallas sharing his mind, his consciousness, his body .

Remy excused himself from the group quietly, moving towards Emile to help him with Logan…Pallas… whatever that unholy fusion wanted to be called. He was probably going to put the poor guy to sleep, so they didn’t have to deal with that pain that Patton had felt earlier. He shivered slightly at the thought, feeling bad for Logan.

Roman and Virgil moved to the side slightly, talking to each other in hushed voices. Janus stayed a little quiet, staring at Remy and Emile hovering over Logan, and Remus…he wasn’t handling this well. There was a large, coal-like pillar beside them and Patton could see Remus shaking slightly as he walked towards it, sizing it up for a moment before putting his morning-star behind his back and punching the column. 

Patton heard a sickening crack and flinched, seeing Remus’ hand change shape slightly. That…that was definitely broken. But it also wasn’t the most concerning thing that had happened. There was a crack in the pillar, quickly spreading with loud, horrifying noises before it collapsed and disintegrated, black dust crumbling downwards. The entire Core shook, and an enormous, ugly looking spike fell from the ceiling around twenty yards away, followed by another one slightly closer on the other side of them. 

Oh no. Oh no, nonono nonono -

Roman yelled out and grabbed Virgil, eyes glowing gold as Roman pulled him close to him raising his hand towards the shaking ceiling. Patton saw the Prince’s aura shift, the reds and golds rising up defensively and forming a large, tangible forcefield around all four of them, shuddering under the impact of a spike that fell onto them and split into millions of tiny pieces, spreading away. He probably couldn’t continue doing that for too long.

The Duke stared at the scene in mild horror, realising what he had done. He yelled out and his eyes glowed green as he stretched out a hand towards Emile, Remy and Logan, and Patton saw green tendrils wrapped in silver reach out and cover them just in time, grimacing and wincing under the pressure as a large spike fell onto them too. 

Patton felt Janus grab his wrist tightly and turned towards him. Deceit was saying something, but Patton couldn’t hear him over the sound of spikes falling and the corner of the Id around them collapsing.

“WHAT?” Patton yelled, and Janus rolled his eyes in a somehow both annoyed and urgent manner. 

“WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!” Deceit yelled, and Patton nodded in agreement. Virgil was hyperventilating, and Roman was trying to calm him down slightly. Remus was focusing on that forcefield around the others, and they could hear Remy yelling to them.

“GUYS! THOMAS IS WAKING UP. HE’S WAKING UP AND I CAN’T CONTROL IT, NOT FROM HERE.” 

Oh, that was bad . That was so bad, Patton was going to start to cry again. 

“REMUS,” Roman yelled, knees buckling momentarily under the weight of the shield. “CAN YOU GET US OUT OF HERE?!” 

Remus looked at Roman and nodded, clasping his hand tightly and Patton saw them both close their eyes. Their aura’s colours shifted, and Patton could see as the sickly green joined itself with Roman's crimson red, swirling around each other and forming stretching, wrapping around their group and the others - and Patton could just barely glimpse a green strand wrap around Pallas' jacket. Golds and silvers got brighter, causing everything in Patton's line of sight to become shiny and sparkly, and he felt something along the lines of being deconstructed and reconstructed… atomically? Whatever it was, it felt way too weird. Patton closed his eyes and shuddered, not wanting to know what was happening. 

After today, he just wanted to go to bed and sleep for the rest of eternity. 

That’d be nice.

~*-*~

Logan felt so much pain . Everything felt like it was on fire, but he couldn’t ignore the new sensation taking over his brain, as if his very code was being erased and rewritten, or as if he was a sort of… a sort of Mediaeval tapestry, and his fabric was being unravelled and frayed, another string being added to the entire piece. It was strange, new, alien. But his metaphysical body still hurt , though Logan did understand that Joining was not usually accompanied by sensations of pain. The burning and feelings of pain were probably because of Pallas - he had been so close to being gone, and all of that pain that he had felt before they had Joined-

‘WOAH, MAN!’

‘ME-EQUALS-MC-SCARED !’ Logan mentally yelled, wincing as he pressed his fingertips to his forehead, as if pushing down the pain. Would you mind being a little less loud?!

‘I'VE NEVER JOINED WITH ANYONE BEFORE!’

Pallas continued to yell excitedly in Logan's head, and Logic could vaguely feel Emile doing something to him on the outside, but Pallas was being too loud for him to focus. 

‘Pallas, please stop yelling .’ 

‘HOLD ON, YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON MY BROTHER ?! EW.’

Oh, that's it . Sharing Logan's body? Fine. Rummaging through Logan's memories? Scandalous. And, of all things, Patton ? Oh, this was going to get infuriating very quickly. 

‘I can still hear you, jerk.’ 

‘Well, sure. And about Patton, you're overreacting. ’

‘I’m not overreacting! You have a crush on my brother of all people!’

Halfwit.

‘I heard that. Woah, this is gonna be weird, huh?’

That… that was one way to put it. It was a rare occasion, but Logan didn’t put all possible thought into this situation. And Pallas was right, his relationship - platonic, of course- 

‘Sure.’

‘Stop. I’m having a soliloquy, get used to this.’

‘Eugh.’

Where was he? Ah, yes. His platonic relationship with Patton could be compromised. 

‘Oh, crap.’

‘What now?!’ He thought bitterly, head still feeling like it was being split in half with pain. 

‘Since we’re sharing the same body, how’s the whole Light Sides/Dark Sides thing going to work? Are you going to just randomly swap places to hang out? ’Cause I can not give up those idiots.’

He had a point. This may be an issue, but if they listened to Logan and paid any attention to the plan he was going to propose -

‘OH MY GOD.’

‘What?!’  

Logan was getting pissed now, but he could feel Pallas continue to rummage through his memories. Why couldn’t Logan do the same to him right then?

‘MERGING BOTH LIGHT AND DARK SIDES? THAT’S AWESOME! I THINK JANUS MIGHT HAVE MENTIONED THAT A COUPLE OF TIMES TOO, SO YOU MIGHT HAVE SOME SUPPORT ON THAT FRONT-’

‘PLEASE JUST STOP YELLING-’

‘AND WE CAN ALL LIVE TOGETHER! Of course, Patton has to approve of that, and that isn’t exactly something we can count on. But, if it works, I WON’T HAVE TO MISS THEM ANYMORE!’ Anger yelled excitedly, adding another surge of agony shooting through Logan's brain.

‘Someone kill me, please.’ Logan mentally groaned.

‘I can get Remus to arrange that, if you’d like?’

‘I believe I would rather text with more grammatical errors than letters in the alphabet in each text than that, but thank you for the offer.’ 

It was reassuring, however. Finding out that there were other Sides that might agree with Logan’s ideologies, that is. Not the idea of Remus attempting to murder him. Pushing the pain that he was still feeling in that moment aside, things… they might be alright. 

That’s when everything shifted, the world seemed to collapse beneath his feet as everything turned orange.

~*-*~

Logan felt the ground shift into place beneath him, and the pain was gone. He had to put a hand over his eyes to adjust to the newer, more intense set of bright lights. But when he had adjusted, he was relatively surprised to see the Courtroom. The courtroom where Janus had attempted to get Thomas to go to the call-back instead of Lee and Mary Lee’s wedding.

The one where Logan was shoved to the side, majorly ignored. 

“It sucked, didn’t it?” Logic hadn’t seen Pallas, sitting there at the back of the courtroom on one of the seats, quite close to where Logan had been unwillingly seated before. 

“I don’t know what you mean.” Logan replied calmly, wondering whether they were actually somehow here, or if this was a memory of sorts. 

“It is a memory.”

“Yours or mine?” Logan wondered, taking the seat next to Pallas’. Logan briefly took in Pallas’s new physique, how he looked so much better than he had earlier. Much healthier, less… in pain. He could also feel confusion from him, or at least uncertainty.

“Possibly both, I think.” He nodded towards the front of the courtroom, where a Side had just made an appearance. It was Logan, or at least a younger version of the Logical Side. 

“Wait, what do you mean, both?” Logan asked incredulously. “Were you watching me?”

Pallas shrugged but put a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture. 

“Shut up and just listen, nerd.”

“We’re sharing the same body-”

“-but not the same mind. Yeah, I’m not sure this is how Joining is supposed to go either. But just look at yourself.”

Logan shook his head slightly and gazed at the younger version of himself, the obviously frustrated Side’s hands clenched. Logan knew when this had happened: it was only a short while after the courtroom scenario had taken place, the first time that he had come here to express or examine any feelings . At least, before he had started doing so in that space-area that Roman had built him when he was much younger. 

Past Logan stared at the courtroom in frustration before looking at the Judge’s seat and moving towards it, sitting in that chair and holding the gavel in one hand, clenching the other one tightly. His eyes were shut tightly, and Logan heard Pallas make an uninterested noise from beside him. 

“Well, that’s one way to deal with feelings.”

“Just leave it alone, this was before I had found Leo. He helps.” Logan admitted, not entirely sure why he mentioned that fact.

“Who’s Leo? As in Thomas’ friend Leo?”

“What? No. Leo’s a lion, he’s a sort of ‘emotional support animal’ as Patton would call him.” Logan sighed softly, missing the large, starry animal. “Perhaps I’ll introduce you some time.”

Pallas was staring at Logan with a crazy expression on his face.

“You can't just randomly mention the fact that you have a pet lion and not even elaborate. That's like…just, no.” 

Logan shrugged, and the courtroom began to blur together slightly. 

“Wait, are we shifting? To another memory?” Pallas asked, and Logan nodded after a moment of consideration. 

“Apparently so. I wonder where…” He left his thought unfinished, gazing at the stars and galaxies popping up and fading in slightly before completely overtaking the area. Ah, zero gravity too. Logan appreciated that. He had begun to feel a little too heavy due to Pallas' new overwhelming emotions. 

“ WE'RE IN SPACE ?!”

Logan nodded and glanced to his left, mentally directing himself to turn in that direction. 

“Ah, look. There's Leo and I there right now.”

It was indeed true. They were both there in the distance, Logan embracing the astral-feline in his arms while he cried. Perhaps it was not the best way to deal with emotions, but-

“WAIT, WHERE? I CAN'T SEE!” Pallas continued to yell, and Logan sighed as he turned his head to face Anger, only to see the Side facing the other direction. While floating upside down. 

“How did you even manage to get yourself in this situation? This isn't even real space. You can re-activate the mental gravity for yourself.”

“I CAN?” Logan heard Pallas crash into an invisible floor and frantically turn around to face Leo. “WAIT, IT'S A SPACE KITTY?!”

How Logan had ever missed how this Side and Patton were brothers, Logan had no idea. 

“Yes. Any other questions?” 

“I had a pet once, too.” Anger sighed forlornly, the tone mildly dramatic. 

“That isn't a question.”

Pallas opted to ignore Logan, which was infuriating since they were both in Logan's head.

“He was just a little baby.” Pallas began, and - to Logan's utter disappointment - the space scenario faded away, blades of grass sprouting from the stars beneath their feet while the stars above faded to form a beautiful, light blue sky. 

“Mmm.” Logan hummed disappointedly, but the fresh, crisp air and beautifully coloured flowers were something that he wasn’t too sad about. There, a few feet in front of Logic, sat a much younger Pallas. Both of his eyes were a bright orange, and he was reaching a hand out to the grass, letting a small scorpion climb onto his hand. The little boy seemed unphased by the small arthropod on his hand. In fact, he seemed… happy. Pallas looked to be around thirteen years old here, and it was strangely refreshing to see the Side enjoy moments like this. The whole scene was just… strangely adorable. 

Logan turned to his side to see Pallas' reaction to all of this, but Anger wasn't there. He spun around, searching for the Side, but Logan was alone with the younger Pallas.

This… this was fine. There had to be a reasonable explanation for this. A sound, preferably non-creepy explanation. 

But as Logan turned to face the younger Side before him, Logic saw young Anger staring back, orange eyes brighter than they had been earlier - as if filled with the rage of a million sunsets. 

“They'll never love you, you know.” Pallas told Logan, and he had to take a double-take. This was supposed to be a memory. What was going on?

“They'll never actually listen to you, Logan.” The young Side continued, and Logan stepped back in shock. Anger's pupils were gone . His eyes were both just an orange iris each. “You will always be ignored. Just Logan, the teacher, never to be taken seriously.”

“Wait-” Logan protested, and he saw their surroundings begin to lose their colour as they turned ashen, a tree or two catching fire. The child before Logan stood up, staring up at Logan - he was about half Logic's height, but it was unsettling nonetheless.

“But don't worry,” his voice changed, and Logan's heart sank as Anger's eyes gained a cyan rim around the centre. He was seeing that colour too often these days. Yet… it was no longer Pallas' voice, it was… that was a woman's voice. Each word seemed to be comforting, soothing, yet so sharp and horrifying, the most subtle hint of an accent of sorts. Had Logan heard that voice before? “I'm going to help you, Logan.”

The woman's voice coming from Pallas' mouth continued, and Logan took a shaky step backwards.

“Who…?” He began, but the woman's voice interrupted him. The voice was layered when it spoke next, and Pallas' eyes turned a bright aquamarine. 

“I'm going to help you be listened to, Logan.” The young boy smiled unnaturally. “It'll all be over soon.”

Wait, what? What was that supposed to mean? 

Everything went black for a quick second, green-blue and orange lights flashing quickly before the scene returned once again, and everything was on fire, and Pallas' figure was replaced by…Logan, wings unfurled to reveal streaks of what Logan was used to seeing, only accompanied by a flurry of orange, black, and bright cyan feathers. One of the lenses of the Logan in front of him’s glasses was cracked, and behind those lenses stared out one orange and one bright, blue-green eye. There were smudges of dirt on the other Logan's face, his hair was a mess and there was a feral grin on his face. The necktie - good God, not the necktie - was wrapped around the man's waist like a belt, and the rest of his clothes were singed and tattered. 

The fake in front of the real Logan stepped towards him, grin somehow widening further before Logan once again heard the woman's voice come out of his mouth too. 

“We'll help you, Logan Sanders. And you'll help me.” 

~*-*~

Logan woke up in cold sweat, panting heavily as he sat up. Where were his wings? Why was he sleeping with a shirt on? He never slept with a shirt on, his wings cramped up. Heck- he could feel them doing exactly that right now. How was he even here?   Logan patted himself down in a confused daze before gazing at his hands and yelping quickly, rushing to his feet. His hands were on fire! On fire. How-? He clamped his hands shut, closing his eyes tightly and willing the fire to go out. This was weird. And probably bad. 

The events from earlier finally caught up with Logan and he froze. How could Logan momentarily forget something like that? Oh God, Pallas was still in his head, wasn't he? And it was permanent this time, ’cause Pallas had no actual body to return to. 

“I'm going to regret this, aren't I?” Logan whispered to his room and to Pallas, but there was no answer. Only a bad feeling in Logan's gut, and the overwhelming feeling that he had made a mistake. Even though this was the only way he could save Thomas. Logan vaguely remembered Patton's screams of desperation, begging for him to stop. 

But he didn't, and now Patton probably hated him. 

Logan put his head in his hands and shuddered as he remembered the woman's voice. Whatever that was, that was evil. It wasn't good. And Logan would try his best to stop whoever they were. 

But for now, Logan needed to breathe. 

— — —

Chapter Text

Roman wasn’t entirely sure what he was feeling at the moment, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t good.

All of the Sides excluding Logan - and Pallas, since they were now a cursed buy one get one free deal - were in Thomas’ living room, where Patton had called a meeting. Thomas had finally woken up and was sitting on the sofa with a tired but crazy look in his eyes. He looked like an utterly embarrassing mess . His hair looked akin to a person who’d just stuck a finger into an electrical socket, half of it flattened at the side where Roman would have assumed was the area where Thomas had laid his head on the pillow. Speaking of pillows, Thomas had pillow and bed sheet creases all over his skin and half of his face, and boy , it wasn’t a very flattering look. Roman wanted everyone else to leave just so he could explain everything that had just happened in the Empire - admittedly with a little more grandiose and perhaps more of painting Roman as the hero. And definitely not mentioning the time he fell unconscious.

Virgil was nervously pacing beside the staircase and Roman couldn’t help but remember that first time where Anxiety had shown up in front of Thomas. They had come so far since then, hadn’t they? But now was not the right time to think about that. 

Thomas kept taking confused and not so subtle glances at Emile and Remy, which Roman had to admit was quite understandable. He didn’t know they were also there, after all. But that was probably a story for another time, when things weren’t so… chaotic. Roman turned to take a quick glance at Patton and Deceit, tightening his lips awkwardly as he met Patton’s eyes. Those two were being really quiet. Roman felt bad for them, if he was being honest. After all, Patton seemed to have lost both his brother and someone he was extremely close with, all in the same day. That couldn't have been good. Well sure, they weren't dead, but the Sides still weren't sure how things were going to turn out. And Janus… Roman wasn't entirely sure what the guy's relationship with Pallas was exactly, but it was still a change that was going to take getting used to. 

Remus, on the other hand… Roman frowned, turning to look behind him. There he was, his brother. His twin, his other half, the rest of the power to King Creativity- wait, was he making… was that fried deodorant? Deciding that asking questions about the makeshift camp-stove, oil, and empty deodorant…what were they called again? Flasks? Containers? Logan would know, but he wasn't there. Would he ever be? Would they ever just have their nerd back? 

Thomas was the one who finally broke the agitated silence. 

“Alright, guys, can someone please explain what the heck happened back there?” 

Roman saw Emile give Patton a strange look, and Patton took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Geez, that kinda made him look like Logan. 

“It's… that's a long story, kiddo.” 

Thomas gave everyone a crazy look and raised a very confused eyebrow, it was almost comical, and would have been utterly hilarious if the situation wasn't so… weird. 

“Well…okay then. Where's Logan?”

“That's also a long story.” Roman admitted, folding his arms across his chest as Patton covered his eyes with a small hand. Thomas gave Roman an exasperated sigh and leaned back onto the couch. 

“Is…is there anything that isn't a long story?” He said in a small voice, hiding his face in his hands and seemingly pushing the palms of his hands into his eyes gently. 

“You need therapy?” Janus suggested, raising up a tired arm. 

“Not helping, Snake.” Virgil muttered, and Thomas shook his head. 

“Thank you, Janus.” Thomas started in a tired and hoarse voice, taking his hands off of his face and letting them rest in his lap. “But I have a feeling that this-” he waved around, gesturing at what Roman assumed was supposed to mean ‘everything’. “-might be a little bit… I don't know, out of their hands? What about Anger, then? Pallas or something, right? Is… is he okay? Did you guys find him?” 

“Well…yes. To the last one, at least.” Roman sighed, and sat down on the floor, crossing his legs criss-cross-applesauce. Thomas gave him a confused look, but… Roman wasn't entirely sure he had the energy to elaborate. Janus, however…

“... he's fine.” 

Roman could basically feel Virgil and Remy's annoyance at those two words. Remus was glaring at Janus quietly, pulling his knees to his chest and putting one of his arms close to his face. Was that…was he wearing Pallas' jacket? Oh God, had those two really been that close before? That… yikes. 

No one really believed those two words, and Thomas gazed at Janus with a sad and tired expression etched onto his face. 

“Man… I don't think anything you've just said was any sort of convincing.” Thomas yawned, wincing. 

“Remy, can you keep this guy awake? We're losing him.” Virgil called out across the room, and Remy gave him an ugly look. Now hold on a second, only Roman could give his Stormcloud that look-

“You think I wouldn't if I could? Girl, I'm still trying to process this Mindscape shift after the Joining, I can barely function right now.”

Oh, well…in that case, that kinda made sense. Come to think of it, everyone looked tired. Even Thomas, after a normal, decent night of sleep. But… was it a normal sleep? They entered the Core, right? And broke that thing, the dark corner area? Logan would probably have some good explanation for this, and whatever they had done back there. Huh, maybe Thomas does need to go to therapy. Eh, Emile could probably fix that. 

“Listen, everyone-” Speaking of the Mini-Pat, Emile spoke up, frowning slightly and giving Thomas a nervous glance. “Why don't all of you go to the Mind Palace and try to rest? I can try to explain what happened to Thomas, but… I really think that it’d be beneficial for everyone if we all took some time to rest before making any rash decisions or explanations.”

Remy shook his head, taking a step closer to Emile and placing a hand on his shoulder, and Roman saw the smaller Side blush slightly. It was admittedly quite nice to see those two together.

“I’ll stay too, you need someone else to filter through the nonsense you’re probably about to spew, babes.”

While Thomas seemed a little sceptical, the others definitely seemed to like the idea of a small break. Roman heard Patton take in a steadying breath and nod as he put his hands on his hips and gave the rest of the Sides a look that was both exhausted and stern. 

“Alright, everyone, Mind Palace. Now. If anything, we can also try to discuss some things and leave poor Thomas here to deal with all of that new information.” 

Weirdly enough, Janus was the first to leave. Remus followed soon after, and Roman glanced at Virgil quickly to see what he was going to do. He seemed to shrug at Roman, and the Prince couldn’t help the twinge of concern that came over him as he saw the emo’s eyeshadow look darker than the average shade. Anxiety saluted Thomas once and faded into the shadows surrounding him, and Roman nodded towards the tired man sitting on the couch, running a hand through his hair as he sank out. 

Why was everything so complicated ? Sure, Roman loved drama. It was one of his many wonderful reasons for existing. But this… this was weird. As Roman arrived in the Mind Palace, that one room that acted as a sort of Common-room between all of the Sides, he was greeted by silence, the other Sides staring blankly. This would usually be the part where Logan would gather everyone up for a sort of meeting, right? To brief everyone and tell them all what the next course of action would be. Would he ever be the same again? Logan, that is. With Pallas sharing his body… wait, what did that mean for the whole Logan-Patton thing? Roman winced slightly and conjured up a chair, leaning back and setting his feet on the coffee table. Poor, clueless nerd. He wasn’t going to be able to deal with this, was he?

Roman let his mind wander slightly to what had happened half an hour earlier, when they all appeared back in the Mindscape. Logan was lying down on the floor, hair and clothes singed, but… he still looked like Logan . It was hard to believe that there were two Sides Joined together, and to be fair, they weren’t entirely sure that the Joining really had been successful. Roman had to carry Logan back to his room, and it was difficult . Not because he was heavy or anything, no. Roman took pride in being able to lift plenty of things in the Mindscape, and Logan was no exception. But Logan had been struggling in his weird, coma-like state, to the point where he kept almost falling out of the Prince’s arms. He also punched Roman in the face at one point, which Roman was going to repay eventually. Probably not in the same way, but it’d happen. To be fair, Roman just put him on the bed and left. He wasn’t entirely sure he’d handle being able to look at the former logical Side - or perhaps did he still count as the logical Side? - without sinking into the same mental rabbit hole that Roman was going down right there and then. 

Virgil was right behind him, and Roman tilted his chair a little further back, placing a foot under the coffee table to stop him from falling. He tilted his head as far back as he could and looked at Virgil, who seemed to be shaking his head at Roman disappointedly. 

“You’re going to fall, and I don’t have any popcorn with me to eat while I watch you and laugh.” Roman grinned and dared to tilt himself backwards even further, and he felt his chair tremble slightly as it balanced on only two of its legs. He wasn’t going to fall anytime soon, he knew that. 

Huh, Virgil’s face is cute upside down too. Who would have guessed?  

As soon as the thought crossed his mind he choked on his own spit, falling off the chair. 

“OH COME ON -” He yelled as he scrambled up onto his feet quickly, continuing to choke as Virgil burst out laughing. Patton appeared then, glancing at the rest of the Sides with a Dad Look, which is what Roman called the worried but still determined look on Patton’s face when he was about to make an important decision that he wasn’t entirely sure about. 

Dios mío , Roman wasn’t sure this was going to end too well. 

“This needs to stop.” Patton and Janus finally said together, and Roman had to blink for a second, trying to process what they’d just said.

“...Geez, I’m sorry. I’ll try not to fall off the chair next time.” Roman could hear Remus snort and felt a small jolt of happiness before having to bite the inside of his cheek at Patton’s horrified expression.

“We’ll… we’ll talk about that in length later, kiddo. But what I mean is that-”

“We can’t keep fighting this… this war between Sides.” Janus interrupted, and Roman saw him look at Patton and nod when Morality seemed to agree. “Listen, if this continues, Thomas is only going to end up worse. We’ve just seen how this whole thing can badly affect him, we just… this can’t keep happening.”

“No.” Roman looked beside him to see Virgil with his arms crossed, shaking his head. “No, we have a way of doing things. That… whatever you’re suggesting is probably too big of a change.”

“Kiddo, I understand that.” Patton said softly, and Roman saw Morality start to fidget slightly with the sleeves of his cat-hoodie, which was tied around his shoulders. “But I think it might be a little better if we all work together , you know? Or at least try to.”

Roman glanced at Janus and raised an eyebrow. Those two? On the same page? This was either revolutionary or horrifying. Or both. 

“Hey, don’t look at me. I’m just as shocked as you are.” Janus held up his hands in surrender, and Virgil hissed at him.

“No! We’ve had this method of dealing with things from the very beginning , we can’t just throw that all away!”

“But… is it really helping Thomas?” Roman asked quietly, picking at his nails with uncertainty. 

“No, wait, not you too-” Virgil began, but Remus interrupted him quickly. 

“I don’t think this method is helping anyone.” He stated matter of factly, taking out his morning-star and inspecting it before pouring some of the fried-deodorant onto it. “My point is, everyone here is tired . Breaking. And if this keeps going, Thomas is just going to continue mentally picking himself apart until he physically starts to pick himself apart.”

Roman and Patton winced at the comment and Virgil glared at the Duke, flipping him off. Patton made a concerned squeaking noise before shaking his head, sitting down on the floor with his back against the wall. 

“This is my fault.” Morality whispered, but it was still loud enough for everyone to hear.

“No it isn’t!” Roman and Virgil yelled simultaneously, and Janus shook his head, fixing his gloves slightly.

“Yes, it is.” Deceit retorted sternly as he strode over towards Patton and crouched down, using his index finger to gently lift Patton’s chin and look him in the eyes. “But it’s also not entirely your fault, Patton. You can still fix this.” Patton’s blue eyes were wide, and Roman’s grip tightened on the hilt of his sword. To be fair, he wasn’t entirely sure what was going on. Did Deceit know something that the others didn’t? About Patton? 

Morality looked at the other Sides for a moment and nodded, his face determined. 

“ We can fix this. We can all be a family again.” 

Janus nodded and a smile seemed to tug at his lips as he stood up and held out a gloved hand.

“We don’t have to be nice to each other all of the time. We just have to cooperate.” 

“Well, preferably we’re still nice to each other.” Patton countered with a tentative laugh, and took Janus’ hand, using it to haul himself up. 

“So… we just… work together. Like… a treaty of sorts?” Roman muttered, and his grip on the sword hilt decreased slightly. The idea of being able to hang out with his brother again… he had to admit that while it was weird, it was kind of appealing. Could this actually work? They had nothing to lose anymore, right?

“I really don’t like this.” Virgil muttered, and Roman let go of the sword’s hilt, letting it rest in its scabbard as he walked over to Virgil and ruffled his hair to annoy him. 

“You don’t like anything, Stormcloud.” 

…In hindsight, that response didn’t make too much sense. Oh well.

“Should we…  put it to a vote?” Patton asked, looking around the room. “You know, the usual way.” 

But before anyone could respond, there was a small, crashing noise from behind a door to Roman’s left, and it opened to reveal… Logan. 

His hair was messier than usual, an orange streak running through the dark brown like a reminder of the past day’s happenings. One of his eyes was also bright orange, while the other remained Logan’s deep blue. His glasses were on his head, but even that wasn’t the weirdest thing about him. He was wearing a sleeveless denim jacket . With pins . Pride, Three Day's Grace, pi, a book, and fire being some of the many stuck there. The jacket was being worn over a black, long-sleeved dress shirt and Logan’s deep blue tie, now adorned with the odd orange stripe. However, the new style seemed to still use Logan’s skinny jeans, which Roman wasn’t entirely sure what to think about.

“Salutations, dweebs. What’s going on?” 

Everybody stayed silent for a moment, and the Prince knew that his mouth was slightly ajar, but he couldn’t stop himself. He was quite sure that the majority of the people present didn’t know how to react, either. 

“Hey, Hotstuff. You still in there, or…?” Remus raised his eyebrows and let the head of his morning-star rest on the ground, using the handle as something to casually lean on. Logan - Roman was going to keep calling him Logan at this point - winked at Remus and nodded, shoving his hands into his jeans’ pockets and leaning his shoulder against the doorframe, casually glancing around the room. Roman took a quick glance at Patton to try to discern his reaction, only to see a confused and scandalised expression on his face. To be fair, Roman couldn’t exactly blame him. It was all so weird to look at. 

Remus, on the other hand, seemed ecstatic, and also just a little bit relieved. Roman’s brother picked up the morning-star and twirled it around excitedly in one hand, resting it on his shoulder as he grinned at the new arrival. 

“Oh! We were just about to vote on whether or not the Lights and Darks should Merge!” 

Logan seemed to perk up slightly, and Roman saw an intrigued twinkle in his eye. 

“As in connecting both parties to make one singular group where we can all attempt to reason things in a way that is both democratic and effective?” Logan’s eyes shone with excitement, and the Pallas-side of him seemed to be equally excited. “Please, yes. Just… yes.”

“Aaaaaand now you’re boring.” Remus sighed disappointedly, but nodded his head slightly.

“We also have no idea what you just said, but we’re glad you’re awake, Specs.” Roman added, grinning and holding out his hand. Because screw it, it was still Logan in there. Sure, someone else was sharing his body, mind, whatever. But Roman didn’t even know this guy existed three days ago, so he wasn’t going to let that get in the way of whatever Patton was planning for them. 

Logan took Roman’s hand with an excited grin, and… it was weird, seeing so much emotion on Logan’s face. But maybe he could get used to this.

“Likewise, Princey.” 

“How are you feeling, Lo?” Virgil asked sceptically as Logan folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against a wall again. He shrugged and looked around the room for a moment before replying. 

“Weird. Emotions seem to be heightened too, but containing them is slightly easier, somehow. I still don’t think this specific Joining is… well, too stable.Quite the opposite, in fact.” His gaze landed on Remus once again and his eyes narrowed. “Sweetheart, is that my jacket?” 

Roman and Patton choked on their own spit, and Remus grinned. 

“Maybe. Why’d you ask? Do you want it back?” 

Logan thought for a moment and seemed to think about it, and suddenly both his eyes turned blue again.

“No, you can keep it.” His eyes quickly both turned orange again and there was an expression of rage on his face before they shifted back to blue and Logan seemed to calm down again. 

Ah, so that’s what Logan meant by unstable.

“Okay, uh, I’m going to interrupt you all right there.” Patton called out to those two, and Roman nodded, happy that the conversation was changing from whatever he had just witnessed. “So. Vote. Whoever votes yes, yes meaning that the Mindscape should become united or whatever, say I.”

Roman called out his response, the ‘I’ echoed by everyone else in the room other than Virgil, who was glaring at them all, eyes flashing silver for a small moment. God, those eyes were beautiful. Eventually, when he saw that he was outvoted, Anxiety hissed and reluctantly acquiesced. 

“Fine, I.”

At that, the Prince let out a sigh of disbelief. So…this was it? Their two-sided almost-war was…over? Wait, if they were going to be one group, did that mean that they were going to need new living-quarters and things? Which meant that Roman might be able to design more rooms?! He knew the Mindscape needed a new theatre, finally! A decent excuse!

“Absolutely marvellous.” Logan grinned, and glanced towards Roman. “I already have some plans for some new accommodations. Would you mind assisting me, Roman?” 

“I THOUGHT YOU’D NEVER ASK!” Roman grinned, and held out a hand, grasping Logan’s one in a flurry of excitement. Geez, this new Logan was so much nicer than the old one! Wait, that was wrong. That was probably wrong, right? Roman coughed once and attempted to regain some composure. “I mean, uh, sure. I’d love to.”

“Nerd.” Virgil whispered from beside Roman, and the Prince rolled his eyes. 

“Will you be okay if I go, Batman?” The Prince teased, and Anxiety rolled his eyes back at Roman.

“Of course I will, doofus. Go play build-a-house with Calculator Watch.” 

Well, this was absolutely wonderful ! Roman was grinning widely, but admittedly he felt just a little bit hesitant due to Virgil, since he wasn’t entirely sure whether he actually was comfortable or not, but-

“Can I come too?” Remus asked excitedly, giving Logan a pouty-face that usually meant bad news when it involved Roman. Logan, however, with his weirdly-calm new style, shrugged and nodded at the Duke. 

“Sure. Now, unless there are any other matters we should be present for, I’d like to get started as soon as possible. Roman, Remus, follow me.” 

Roman had to take a second to process what had just happened as Logan and Remus left the common-area, and blinked a few times as he waved his arms around questioningly with a confused expression on his face. Okay, the new guy was giving orders now. Roman wasn’t entirely sure he liked that, especially with ordering him around. He wasn’t Roman’s mom . Wait, Logan was the mom-figure. Did that mean that- no, that wouldn’t count if Pallas was doing the ordering. 

This was getting really weird really fast. 

And so they walked down a corridor, just the three of them. The four of them? Eh, it didn’t matter. 

Roman jogged forward, catching up with Remus and moving to the Duke’s right, since he was using his left hand to swing his morning-star while humming a familiar tune that Roman couldn’t place. 

“You seem happier.” Roman started casually, and Remus bounced slightly on his feet, scratching his moustache quickly. 

“Yeah. Things kinda sorted themselves out. Not entirely, mind you, but-”

“-it’s enough.” Roman finished, and stopped to think for a moment. It had been a while since that happened. Being able to finish each other’s sandwiches. Sentences. Sandwiches? Anna knew what she was talking about. 

“So…” Remus began, turning his head to glance at Roman with a large grin on his face. “Virgil, huh? You two seem to be getting closer. What’s all of that about?” 

Roman glanced forward, avoiding eye contact with his brother as a small smile tugged at his lips at the thought of Virgil.

“It’s nothing.”

Remus definitely wasn’t buying that.

“Oh my God, you like him?!” The Duke exclaimed with a large grin on his face, shaking his head at the craziness of it all. 

“Shut it.” Roman warned, but he knew it was kinda obvious. Plus, he’d been flirting with Virgil for a while now. And he’d started flirting back, right? That was considered flirting, right? Unless he just hated Roman with a passion. Remus was chortling, pretending to wipe a tear from his eyes as he bent down slightly, his silver bangs falling onto his face. “Yeah, yeah, keep laughing, you lunatic.” 

“Oh, I can’t- Oh geez, if you hurt him, Dee and I will end you without hesitation, you know that right?” Remus wheezed, and finally stood up normally again. 

“As if I’d try to hurt Virgil. Unless it’s in sparring. Also, since when have you been able to beat me in a fight?” Roman asked, punching his shoulder with a fist. It was playful, of course. Not too strong, but strong enough to push him to the side in a play-fight way. 

“Since last Tuesday’s blood sacrifice. That was so fun!” His eyes glowed a bright green and Roman’s eyes widened momentarily. 

“You really think you can beat me in a fight?” He scoffed, shaking his head before frowning. “Okay hold on, how long is this corridor?!” 

Logan looked over his shoulder and glanced at the twins with sunset orange eyes, and Remus sighed. 

“I must admit, I’m a little new to this corner of the Mindscape, and Logan isn’t exactly helping with the information right now. Is there a suitable room with a table anywhere near?” 

Roman frowned and glanced at his surroundings before his gaze landed on a smooth wooden door with a single symbol engraved into it, one that looked like a flower with its loose petals being blown away by a playful spring breeze. Walking towards it, Roman put a hand onto the doorknob and watched as the door changed form, turning into a deep, ornate mahogany. 

“Will this work?” Roman asked, relishing the power that surged through his veins as the threads of the Mindscape bent and wove themselves in and out of each other under Roman’s will, the same rush of power he had felt when he entered the Core and everyone else could see the same threads that Roman was so used to seeing. As he twisted the doorknob, the door opened to reveal a large room with multiple drawers and cabinets against the wall, and a large mahogany table with planning materials organised onto it. Floating candles lit the room, ones that Roman had to admit were probably inspired by Harry Potter. Remus waved a hand and the walls shifted, what was once olive-green paint transforming into depictions of eyes and eerily realistic organs, along with the odd demon or rat. 

“...huh.” Roman muttered, but Logan seemed to nod. 

“Yes, this is adequate.” The Joined Side walked over to the table and put both palms on the wood momentarily, staring at a blank sheet of paper ready on the desk with deep blue eyes before waving a hand around and causing multiple blue-prints to appear. “Now, I have some plans for rooms and settings that I'd like you to look at, but otherwise you can have creative liberty, though please keep in mind that some of the other Sides might like to customise their rooms or at least manage to shift the rooms into the positions of the new set up. But as long as you keep the basics, I'm sure things'll be fine.”

Remus was staring at the blueprints with an excited twinkle in his eyes, and Roman was sure that his brother had heard the same words that Roman had heard, the two words that were still echoing through the Prince's head as he looked over the plans with an enormous grin on his face. Creative liberty . Oh, Logan would not be disappointed. 

“This is freaking neat , Hot Stuff! Can't wait to get started.” Remus leaned over Roman's shoulder to take a better look at the plans, and the Prince shivered slightly. 

“Dude, you really need to stop calling him that. It's weird.” 

Logan winced, but nodded. 

“Indeed, especially as I am mainly Logan at the moment.”

“Oh, I'm sorry. Is Baby-buns better?” Remus winked at the logical Side, and Roman snorted slightly, covering his mouth quickly as Logan gave Remus a pained look. 

“Somehow worse.” 

Remus shrugged and took one of the plans from Roman, glancing at the details and flipping the paper the other way round to see if there was anything on the back. 

“Hey, give that back!” Roman complained, moving to try to take the paper once again. 

“Uh, no. You have your own.” Remus pulled the paper back and stuck his tongue out at Roman. 

“Give it.”

“Make me.” Roman attempted to grab the plans back, but Remus jumped backwards, pulling them even further away from the Prince. 

“I swear, I’m going to punch you in the face.” Roman warned, and Remus perked up slightly.

“Ooh! And then I’ll hit you with this mace!” 

Logan seemed to frown and look at Remus’ weapon in confusion. 

“...That isn’t a mace, though. That’s a morning star.” 

“Respect the rhyme, not the accuracy.” The twins responded simultaneously, and Roman grinned widely. Geez, it had been a while since those two acted like this around each other. 

Logan shook his head and straightened his denim jacket, running a hand through his hair and pushing it back, momentarily phased as he realised that it had previously been a mess. Snapping his fingers quickly, Logan’s hair gelled itself back smoothly, the orange streak still visible. Yeah, Roman was going to have to try really hard to get used to this new aesthetic. 

“Well, either way, you can both take turns looking at the plans, and discuss what you’d think would fit best.” 

Roman nodded slightly and frowned. 

“Hey, random question.” Logan turned towards Roman and raised an eyebrow behind those glasses of his, waiting for the Prince to continue. “So, like, the two of you are Joined together, right? And Joined Sides have their own special function. What are you guys?” 

Logan tilted his head to the side and his left eye became orange again as he looked Roman over.

“We are what you’d call Clarity. Understanding. Certainty. Precision. A Core Being and Logic, Joined together to form a higher level of existence.” 

“...So we can call you ‘Clare’ for short, or-?” Roman started, raising his eyebrows as Logan shot him a dirty look.

“Do not. Ever.” Remus let out a dreamy sigh at Logan’s warning, eyes half-closed as he gazed at Logan. 

“Or what, Baby-buns?” 

Logan gave Remus an equally warning look, and Roman had to grin. The mom-stare was back. After another minute of analysing Clarity’s plans, Logan cleared his throat and nodded slightly at the twins.

“Well, I need to go check on something quickly, but you two can start whenever you feel that you’re comfortable. Play nice, we don’t need another all-out war.”

Roman waved, looking up from the plans to glance at Logan as he stepped away. And it was probably the Prince’s imagination, but he could have sworn that Clarity’s eyes had flashed a sort of greener-cyan, almost aquamarine, before both eyes turned orange again as Logan walked out of the room. He froze, that colour bringing with it too many bad memories. It… it wasn't possible. But it was probably just the tiredness, Roman was still relatively exhausted from everything. Yeah, that had to be it. 

“So…” Remus began, jumping onto the table and lying down on it, kicking an assortment of papers onto the floor while holding up a plan to the candles floating from the ceiling to try to see better. “Just you and me now, little bro.” 

Roman rolled his eyes and waved a hand, causing the papers on the floor to reappear on one of the drawers in an organised pile.

“We both know I’m the older brother, Ree.” 

Remus tilted his head to glance at Roman, feigning offence. 

“Oh, the lies you utter with that weaponised tongue of yours!” 

“Actually, you’re right. None of us are older. The split means that we’re both the same age.” Roman mused, walking over to Remus and snatching the plan out of the Duke’s hands. 

“Hey!” 

Roman hushed his brother and examined the plans, raising an eyebrow. 

“You know, this is actually a pretty nice kitchen.”

“Needs those alphabet magnet thingies.” Remus nodded his head, sitting on the edge of the lengthy table and swinging his legs in the air playfully.

“Ooh, that’s not bad, actually. Wait, what are you planning?” Roman asked sceptically, lowering the plans to look at Remus, who shrugged with a small smirk.

“Nothing.” 

“...okay.” This was going to take a lot of energy for Roman to do by himself, especially right now. But he wasn’t by himself, was he? “So…teamwork?” 

“I’LL GO DESIGN A DISMEMBERMENT CORNER AND A LIMB-RACK TO HOLD SEVERED THINGS!” Remus yelled, and conjured a disgusting black-leather-bound notebook, opening it and scribbling something inside of it as he ran towards the door. 

“REMUS, NO-” Roman yelled and shoved the paper back onto the table, running after Remus. 

Well, this was going to be an interesting - and most probably tiring - day. 

— — —

Chapter Text

Patton, Virgil and Janus stared at each other for a minute after Logan had gone, taking the twins with him. Morality couldn’t help but feel uneasy, feeling a little overwhelmed with everything that had happened. But…Patton had to focus, if anything for the other Sides. That was his job, his duty as a father, even if it was an honorary one for the majority. 

“This was a bad idea, wasn’t it?” Virgil asked suddenly, breaking the tense silence. Patton was just about to shake his head when he saw Janus wince and glance at the door.

“ Definitely not.” Oh. Well, he was surely over reacting. This was going to be fine, right? With the new truce thing and everything, they’ll all just be one happy family. They’d get their happy ending, they had to. His little brother would get his happy ending with Remy, Roman and Virgil would sort out their issues and get their happy endings, Janus and Remus would…well, they’d get happy endings too, Patton guessed. And him and Logan… Oh, Logan. Patton was going to be sick.

“I think I need to lie down.” Patton muttered, staggering as he sat on the chair beside the coffee table. Virgil looked at him worriedly and took his hands out of his hoodie pockets.

“You okay, Popstar?” 

“I just… I'm good.” Patton said, waving his hand around dismissively, and he tried to ignore the obvious eye-roll coming from Janus. “I’ll be fine eventually.” That was probably more true. At least, Patton hoped. 

Could… could they even trust Logan anymore? Or at least, that Joined version of him? Patton didn’t like it, he hadn’t liked the way that Logan’s aura seemed to look like it was being caged by the flames, each calm and beautiful star being surrounded by that violent and chaotic fire. And he didn’t like those green-blue shadows hovering behind each of those flames, even… even if he didn’t exactly understand what those were. Patton just didn’t like them.

“We should all get some rest. It’s been a long day.” Janus told them, and Patton looked up to see faint bags under his eyes, the golden snake-eye looking a little less bright, less… mischievous than usual. 

“Maybe.” Patton agreed tiredly, taking off his glasses and staring into the distance, leaning forward in his chair. Patton was too tired to look at the world properly, and the severely blurry surroundings calmed him down a little bit. It was less overwhelming like that, if a little weird. 

Virgil, conversely, had other plans. He shook his head at Janus’ words and folded his arms on his chest, and Patton vaguely saw Anxiety glance at the door. 

“I’m not resting. Or sleeping, or anything. I’m waiting here.” Oh Virgil, what am I going to do with you?

Patton turned his gaze towards Janus, who was staring back. He gave Deceit a tired look and Janus seemed to shake his head, taking off his bowler hat and running a hand through his hair. 

“Virgil-” They both started at the same time, and Patton huffed a small laugh and gestured for Janus to take the lead, happy to rest and not have to lecture his son for a moment.

“I would like you to remember the fact that in the past day, you’ve been kidnapped, emotionally and physically drained, along with magically exhausted.” Janus began, gesturing at him with his bowler hat before continuing. “And then, you entered the Core and… well, you saw what we saw.”

Virgil seemed to hesitate slightly, turning towards Patton, who was slowly putting his glasses back on. Morality gave him a sad smile and raised his eyebrows, trying to convey that Janus had a point. 

“I’ll go make you some hot chocolate.” Patton said, smiling gently. Anything to get his mind off of all of this. Janus, however, seemed to disagree. He shook his head and made a sound of disapproval, raising an eyebrow. 

“Uhm, no you aren’t. You need to sleep too, Pat.” 

“Wait, no-” Patton complained and stood up, tired but determined. He had to take care of the others, that was his job-

“Need I remind you what you went through, Patton?” Janus sighed and put his bowler hat back on. The tone reminded Patton that… well, Janus was a parental figure of sorts too. He took care of the Dark Sides, all of that responsibility placed on him… that was Patton’s fault too. “Pat, you fainted. Logan is going through whatever it is that’s going on, and none of us really know if things are going to get better. And after today, I’d just love for you to exhaust yourself until you pass out again.” 

That was… weirdly sweet, by Janus’ standards. But he couldn’t stay alone, he couldn’t rest . It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but Patton knew that if he was left alone with his own thoughts -  even though he wasn’t entirely sure how things would turn out - 

 they probably wouldn’t be too good. 

“Jan, I’m fine. I’ll just make us all something to drink to calm down a little, that’s all!” Patton smiled, mentally begging Janus to shut up for the moment. Janus gave him a strange look, obviously not believing him, but Patton didn't care. He needed to do something. 

“Pat-” Virgil began, but Patton cut him off quickly.

“Go to bed, kiddo.” 

“What?” Anxiety asked incredulously, looking from Janus to Patton in disbelief. 

“I said go to bed, please, kiddo. Just rest.” Morality sighed tiredly, and gave Virgil a small smile. “I'll still get you that hot chocolate, unless you want something else?” 

Virgil took a moment to respond, as if mentally arguing with himself about what the best course of action would be.

“I’ll take some hot chocolate. But the kind with coffee. I don’t care if I have to rest, I might as well have some comfort energy-juice” Virgil muttered, casting Janus a cautious look. 

Okay, so… maybe Virgil wasn’t too happy with how things are turning out. He saluted Patton bitterly and took a step back, quickly being embraced by a bunch of shadows and disappearing. 

Did… did Patton handle that correctly? He felt awful, but that didn’t matter. Well, yes, it did, but not right now. Patton stared into the corner where Virgil had been a few moments earlier and closed his eyes, trying to take a calming breath in. 

Janus coughed pointedly and Patton flinched in surprise, having forgotten that the other Side was there. 

“Are you done lamenting miserably, or should I give you some privacy?” Janus asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“I’m not lamenting.” Patton mumbled, tugging at the sleeve of the hoodie on his shoulders.

“Oh of course, I apologise, is moping a better description for that look on your face?” Deceit raised an eyebrow, and Patton sighed heavily. He knew that with this new… treaty and all, they were all supposed to work together, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have some privacy, right?

“What are you still doing here, Jan?” He wondered, slightly regretting the small edge to his voice. Janus gave Patton a knowing look and folded his arms across his chest. 

“I know you’re worried about Virgil.” He began, and Patton turned towards him slightly. “I am too. But at least he’ll actually listen to you. That seems to be over for me.” 

Patton’s face fell slightly and Janus seemed to shake his head. 

“Don’t look at me like that. We’ll see about that issue later on, when it resurfaces. You, on the other hand, need to rest so that you’ll be able to take care of the others too. Don’t overwork yourself, and don’t beat yourself up on things that you can’t control. Got it?”

“Well… okay.” Patton sighed. Maybe sleep would help. “I’m still going to make Virgil that drink.” 

“Well I’m not entirely sure I can convince you to do otherwise, so go ahead. But rest.” Janus advised and gave Patton a small smirk. Morality returned it with a tentative smile, still unsure about what he was going to do.

“You… you rest too, Jan. You’ve had a rough day too.” Patton added, nodding at him slightly. Janus scoffed lightly and gave Patton a pointed look.

“Oh, honey, that was never in doubt. I’m going straight to bed after this. I need my beauty sleep.” Patton bit his lower lip slightly to suppress a small laugh.

“ Straight to bed?” Patton asked, raising his eyebrows. Deceit rolled his eyes and chuckled.

“You know what I meant.”

Patton smiled back and sighed, and Janus rubbed his hands together for a second a little awkwardly. 

“So… I’ll leave you to it.” Deceit said finally. “I do hope you collapse onto the floor.”

“Thanks Jan.” Patton smiled gratefully as Janus sank out, leaving Patton to his own devices. 

As soon as Patton was alone, he let loose a sigh and sat down on the chair before standing up again, not wanting to get lost in his thoughts just yet. Conjuring an old Walkman and headphones, Patton slid the strap across his shoulder and pressed a button to open up the small door. He conjured his Comfort-Cassette and slotted it in, closing the door and pressing play, moving towards the Mindscape’s current kitchen. As the opening guitar riff for ‘Sweet Child O Mine’ by Guns N’ Roses started playing, Patton gave himself a small smile. That’s better. Virgil and Roman thought the Walkman was weird, but Patton loved it. It reminded him of the old, happy days. Where Thomas was so innocent and full of life. 

Morality made his way into the kitchen and prepared Virgil’s drink, focusing on the song and its music and lyrics so that he could keep his mind off of his own thoughts. 

Coffee and hot chocolate. How would that even work ? Or taste? When Patton was finished, he took a spoon and used it to take a small sip, eyes widening. That was weird . Patton wasn’t sure whether he liked it or hated it. Shrugging slightly, Patton danced slowly to the music, making his way towards Virgil’s room and using a free hand to remove one side of the headphones to free one of his ears, knocking twice on the door. 

“If it’s Patton, knock twice again and just leave the drink outside on the counter. Thanks.” Called out a tired voice from inside the room, and Patton smiled softly, knocking twice again and glancing at the small counter beside the room as he conjured a small paw-shaped coaster to put the mug on. Leaving it there, Patton returned the headphones to their original position on both ears and hummed along to the music as he walked over to his room. 

He barely registered the walk over there, opening the door by muscle-memory alone and shutting the door behind him, snapping his fingers and feeling as his clothes transformed into his cat onesie. That… that was already better. Now all he had to do was rest. 

Patton stared at his bed for a few moments, not really wanting to rest, just wanting to do things. Clean, or… ooh, cookies. He quickly shifted to pull a box out from under the bed, still humming to the song as he looked at it, eyes wide. He had almost forgotten the box of cookies that Logan had given him earlier, the one they had bonded over, or at least Patton liked to think that it was bonding. Before he chased Logan away. Well, that's something else that was Patton's fault, but he didn't want to focus on that. 

Crawling into bed amongst the insane amount of plushies that he loved, Morality conjured a glass of cold milk. Yep, he was pulling out all the stops for this emotional overload. He took a bite of one of the cookies and chewed slowly, enjoying the chocolate and focusing on that taste. Such a nice taste. Did he thank Logan enough for these cookies? He wasn't entirely sure. Logan, right. Patton swallowed and took a sip of the milk, trying to focus on anything and everything other than that. Other than him. Things were going to be different, but Patton didn't want them to be different. At least… not like this. Chocolate chip cookies. Those were Patton's favourites. And Logan knew they were his favourites. Patton wasn't entirely sure anyone else knew him better than Logan. 

They… They had something special, right? Something good . Patton hated to think that it was all going to change now that his brother had entered the picture. Heck, Logan had changed. Flirting with Remus like that, or at least Patton was pretty sure that was flirting… Morality shivered slightly. 

Patton snapped his fingers again half heartedly and felt the pressure of the headphones leave his ears as they vanished, and the song continued to play on an old Boombox that he kept for this kinda scenario. Pulling the hood over his head and pulling a couple of plushies in close, Patton got under the covers and stared at the ceiling, apologising to the plushies for holding them just a little too tight. 

Janus was right, Patton did need to rest. He fell asleep only a few minutes later, mind still attempting to focus on the music in the background instead of his confusing thoughts. 

~*-*~

Virgil woke up with a start, panting as he felt something grab at him. He wasn’t entirely sure where he was, but it was dark . Anxiety kicked at whatever was grabbing him, his mind immediately going to Phoenix and the other Avians that had grabbed him earlier that day. He struggled until he fell, hitting the cold floor and groaning in pain. 

The lights turned on after that, and Virgil squinted at his surroundings, his chest feeling tight as he looked around frantically. He… he was in his room. That… what?

He took a moment to try to grasp his situation, belatedly registering that he had fallen off of his bed. His Nightmare Before Christmas mug lay on the floor, empty and unharmed. Virgil picked it up, still trying to regulate his breathing and attempting to connect with his surroundings. So… he fell asleep, probably after drinking that mug of coffee-hot-chocolate that Patton had made him earlier. Virgil had stayed up listening to music and trying to understand what had happened, maybe to find a way on how to deal with the whole situation. He must have dozed off after that, yeah. Virgil stood up and placed the mug on his desk, dragging a hand through his hair, which was slightly tangled. Yikes. 

Groaning slightly, he let that hand rest on his forehead. Exactly what he needed, a massive headache. Absolutely perfect . Virgil walked over to the area where he had fallen earlier and picked up the blankets on the floor, depositing them back onto the bed with a yawn. He moved over to a mirror that was attached to his closet door and looked into the eyes of the tired-looking man in front of him. Virgil's hair was a mess, and he was still in his hoodie, not having changed when he had fallen asleep earlier. His eyes were silver, magic shining off of them, and Virgil took a staggering step backwards. He… Those eyes. They were so similar to… Virgil had seen eyes like that glare into his own, Phoenix's glare piercing into his soul as he yelled at Virgil, his hands grabbing at Virgil's wrists and legs before they brought out the fire-

Virgil closed his eyes and pressed the palms of his hands over them, not wanting to remember that . He took a deep breath in, slowly, holding it for a few more seconds before exhaling for a while and then repeating the process. 

It had been at that moment in that horrible event, that Virgil had let himself lose control over the shadows. He was usually able to keep them under control, to keep that magic buried , because it scared him. But it exploded, fighting its way out to defend Virgil. 

But he didn't want to think of that. Of the water. Of the ocean. 

He needed to distract himself. 

Brushing his hair slightly and reapplying his make-up - heavily darkening his eyeshadow - Virgil did a quick inventory check. Knife for defence, yep. Wallet, there. Keys, definitely. Headphones and phone, in his satchel. Gum… Virgil grabbed it off of his desk. No underplaying that item’s importance. He wasn't entirely sure why he kept doing that, him being a Side and all, but… it helped. At least today. 

And so Virgil looked at the door and unlocked it, opening it and walking out, locking the door again. Touching the handle twice, Virgil nodded and began walking towards their little common-area. The door-tapping was something Logan had told him about once, it helped to lock in the memory of him locking the door and helped him worry less, or at least, as ‘less’ as Anxiety could worry. 

When he entered the common-area, Virgil wasn't alone. Roman and Remus were there, arguing about something as Janus sat on an armchair, reading one of his fantasy-novels. Huh. 

Roman was the first one to notice Virgil's arrival, and the Prince smiled at Virgil excitedly, waving him over. Virgil couldn't help but return that grin, saluting Roman as he walked over, popping some gum into his mouth and chewing. 

“Looks like Sleeping Beauty’s finally woken up, huh?” Roman smirked at Virgil, and he had to roll his eyes. The guy was getting cheesier by the minute . 

“I'm surprised you didn't go get some beauty sleep.” Virge began, sitting on the shelf behind Roman. “You've been working on that new living-space that Fake-Logan planned, right? You look exhausted .” He grinned, knowing Roman would probably take that personally. And the Prince's reaction did not disappoint. 

Roman frantically conjured a hand-held mirror like the one from Beauty and the Beast, scrutinising his reflection as Remus began to cackle with laughter, looking equally tired. 

“Great Scott .” Roman gasped, examining the bags under his eyes and his messy hair in shock. He turned to Remus with a furious expression on his face. “I've looked like this the entire time and you didn't tell me?! ” 

Remus continued to laugh, wiping tears from his eyes. Virgil smirked slightly, ruffling Roman's hair further only to get swatted away offendedly by the Prince himself. 

“Yeah, yeah, hello to you too, mi Caballero .” Roman muttered, ruffling Virgil's hair back. 

Yeah, this was a good distraction. 

“Oh no you don't.” Virgil swatted Roman's hand away too, laughing slightly. 

Roman rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair, glancing over to Janus. 

“And you told me I looked fine. How dare you?” Roman accused, placing a hand on his chest in disbelief. Janus rolled his eyes at the Prince, shrugging. 

“I lied. Is that so hard to believe?”

Remus hadn't stopped cackling, doubling over at Roman’s expense. The Prince looked at the others with an annoyed expression on his face and conjured a hair-brush, brushing his hair back while muttering bitterly. Eventually, Remus' laughter died down, and he leaned back on his chair with a smirk before turning to Virgil. 

“By the way, it isn't ‘Fake-Logan’. Their name is Clarity.” 

“What?” Clarity? What sorta dumb name is Clarity ? “Can we call him Clara from now on?” 

“He actually forbade that kinda stuff.” Roman added with a smirk, his hair looking flawless again. “We already asked that question.” 

Virgil snorted slightly at that. 

“Fun.” Looking around, he couldn't help but frown a little. “Where's Patton? And that crazy Joined Side too?”

Janus sighed a little and closed his book, leaving a finger between the pages so that he'd be able to get back to it soon. “Patton's still asleep. Things took a lot out of him. As for Clarity…”

Remus shrugged and stood up on his chair, stepping on the back and balancing. 

“The guy said that he had to go check something, and right before we started designing the new space, too!”

Virgil frowned at that and leaned back a little on the shelf and let his head gently hit the wall behind him. That was… weird. Probably not good. Virgil didn't like that. 

“Have you seen him since then?” He asked suspiciously, and felt his lips tighten as Roman shook his head.

“Nah, the guy just gave us a few plans and told us to do whatever we want, as long as those plans are still relatively followed. So that's what we did.” He shrugged and the hairbrush popped back out of existence, probably returning to Roman's bedroom or something. Remus nodded and took out a small knife, looking at the leather cushion on his chair and beginning to cut into it carefully.

“Yeah. We took a few creative liberties, though.” The Duke shrugged and looked at the newly-cut piece of leather in his hand before biting into it and ripping it with his teeth, chewing thoughtfully. “I still think we could have gone with some more pizzazz.”

“Your version of pizzazz is not appropriate for the new living-space, Ree.” Roman rolled his eyes, and Janus let out a small hum of amusement. 

Virgil wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know what Remus had planned. 

“So when can we see the new joint anyway?” Virgil raised an eyebrow, crossing his legs on the shelf as he looked down at the twins. Remus continued to chew on the chair cushion in his mouth as he shrugged, but it was Janus who answered. 

“We're waiting for Patton to wake up. And to see if Clarity shows his face here again.” Janus flipped a page in his book, never looking up. Virgil nodded slightly and let his head fall back against the wall again, scanning the messy room. So this was the last time that they were gonna live in this place, huh. Anxiety wasn't entirely comfortable with the change, but a new start was starting to sound kind of appealing. 

“Why don’t we just wake him up?” Remus complained with a mouthful of chair-bits, and he started to carve into the wooden frame impatiently. “So we can show you the place already?”

Virgil was just about to start arguing that Patton needed to rest when he heard light footsteps in the corridor from where Virgil had come in, and he raised an eyebrow as he recognised them as Patton’s. Awake, then, huh?

Anxiety nodded at Patton as he walked in with a groggy look on his face, a cup of tea in one hand and a teddy-bear in the other. Patton smiled tiredly at Virgil and nodded back, scanning the room and taking a seat on an armchair close to Janus’.

“Hey, kiddos. What’re you talking about?”

Roman and Remus seemed to glance at each other and grin. 

“The new place.” Roman grinned at Patton, leaning back in his chair. Virgil rolled his eyes at the smug tone and lifted his leg, placing it on the top of Roman's chair, holding it in place. Doesn't matter if it was hilarious last time, he probably shouldn't let Ro fall off of another chair. 

Patton nodded slightly and smiled, taking a sip of tea and wincing slightly at what Virgil assumed was the heat. 

“Oh, okay. How are you guys faring with that anyway?” He asked, leaning back into his armchair and glancing at the twins with a tired smile. 

If Virgil was being honest, he lost track of the conversation at that point. Patton didn't seem too okay - his gaze flitted around and he had dark circles under his eyes, as if the sleep he got wasn't exactly sound. Morality was nervous about something, and even though Virgil wasn't entirely sure about what, he was starting to get a little worried for him. 

Lost in his thoughts for a moment, Virgil let his foot slip down from Roman’s chair, hanging limp against the shelf he was sitting on. He hated that he couldn’t make Patton feel better, and that whatever Patton was worried about was probably valid and that he wouldn’t be able to fix whatever it was. Morality had done so much for him in the past couple of years, and that look on his face-

Roman crashed onto the floor again, having leaned a little too far back during his conversation with Patton. Virgil winced at the loud sound, covering his mouth with a sleeve-covered hand as he stared down at Roman for a moment. That was so much louder than last time. Was he okay? This was because he took his foot away, wasn’t it? What if he got a concussion? And even worse, what if he blamed Virgil for it because he took his foot away from the chair and Roman had trusted him? What if that took them back a whole bunch of steps that they had made in their relationship?! Not that they had a relationship, it was completely platonic, but-

Patton was sitting upright in his armchair, tiredness gone as he asked Roman if he was alright, but Virgil could barely hear him, or Remus laughing in the background. As Virgil looked down at Roman from his position, he heard the Prince groan in pain and watched as his eyes stared at the ceiling, as if regretting his choices. 

He was probably also regretting trusting Virgil. 

To Virgil’s horror, Roman blinked and shifted his head so that he would be able to look at Virgil properly. Surprisingly, however, the Prince rolled his newly-pink coloured eyes and stretched out a hand towards Anxiety while still lying down on the floor. 

“Mind helping me up, Emo? Or are you just gonna stare at me all day?” 

Virgil rolled his eyes back, but he could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he started panicking slightly. But he hid those concerns, looking into those dark pink irises and firmly grabbing Roman’s hand, helping him upwards and forcing out a small laugh. There was no way Roman wasn’t pissed at him, just… no way. 

But when he had finally helped Roman up, all the Prince did was brush off some dust off of his white uniform - insane, that someone with that reputation would choose white clothing as their norm - and run a hand through his hair, picking the chair up from the floor and assuring Patton that he was fine. He turned to look at Virgil and smirked, and Virgil felt his thoughts get clouded by what felt like fury and agitation. 

“You really need to stop doing that with your chair, Princey.” Virgil muttered to him, raising a leg and letting the other one dangle off of the shelf. Roman shrugged.

“But it’s so fun.” Roman retorted with a smirk, and Virgil felt all of his worries evaporate. 

Roman was such an idiot. 

“Fine. Get hurt, for all I care. I warned you.” Virgil leaned his head back on the wall gently and used his dangling leg to softly kick Roman in the shin. Patton let out an incredulous squeak at Virgil’s words, but Roman only smirked again, shaking his head. 

What the heck did those pink eyes even mean? 

And why was Remus looking at the two of them like he knew something?

Janus interrupted the small exchange with a pointed cough, raising an eyebrow at the twins. 

“Well, we’re mainly here now. And I’m not curious at all as to what the new area is going to look like. Especially since I trust the two of you so much .”

Patton shook his head, a small smile tugging at his lips as he heard Janus. 

“I wouldn't have necessarily worded it that way, but I think I speak for most of us when I say that I'd love to see what you boys have prepared.” Patton smiled softly, but Virgil was pretty sure that trust was directed more towards Roman than towards Remus. 

Virgil shrugged and chewed gently on the piece of gum in his mouth having almost forgotten that it was there. Spearmint, a weird but likeable flavour. Hah- that should be their slogan or something.  

The twins glanced at each other and shrugged, nodding. Roman sat back on his chair and turned so he'd be able to see Virgil along with Patton and Janus, turning his back towards his brother. 

“Just saying, we also have new room arrangements. But if you'd prefer, I could move your rooms to the new settings. It's kinda like a dorm-room setting, you know?”

Patton nodded excitedly and took a small sip of tea. 

“That's awesome! Uh, can you just move my old one, please? I think I'd prefer that, if it isn't too much of a problem.”

“Oh, I'm sure it won't be.” A voice replied from the door, and they all turned to see Clarity leaning on the doorframe, one eye Logan's blue and the other one Pallas' orange. There was a small smirk on his face as he looked at the other Sides. Virgil put his hand inside his pocket and wrapped his hand around the knife he brought, gripping the hilt while not letting his eyes off of the newly arrived Side. Patton choked on his tea and spilt it over him accidentally, yelping and coughing. 

Virgil turned to look at Patton worriedly, and was about to get off before Janus shut his book with an irritated huff and went to help him, placing the mug on the wooden coffee table. 

“Cee-Cee!” Remus grinned and took some stuffing out of the chair, throwing some at Clarity. “You're here!” 

Clarity gave Patton a concerned look and was about to move to help him, but Virgil saw Janus give him a warning look. That was… odd, to say the least. Virgil's grip on the knife loosened slightly and he watched Roman conjure a small towel and kneel to wipe some of the tea from the floor, snapping his fingers to clean Patton's clothes. The Prince was cleaning the floor, that's something he didn't think he'd see today. 

“Where were you?” Virgil asked Logan cautiously, wondering if the Logical Side had most of the control at the moment. 

“Checking on some of Roman's creations, and the new arrangements.” He looked at Roman and nodded in acknowledgement. “The library is absolutely wonderful, by the way.” 

Roman looked up, surprised. Virgil had to agree with the Prince on this one, he wasn't used to hearing Logan's voice say anything that positive about anything before. Other than maybe Crofters, and Patton when Morality wasn't there to hear. After a moment,  Roman grinned, standing up and sending the towel back to wherever it came from. 

“I know. But thanks.” 

“Janus, Jan, I'm fine - thank you.” Patton was mumbling as he tried to regulate his breathing and stop choking on his tea, and he looked up towards Clarity. Virgil saw Morality force a smile, or at least a relatively awkward one. “Lo- I mean, Clarity, right? Uhm, welcome… back?” 

It was still Logan's face, but it was so weird to see those eyes soften as he looked at Patton and smiled. 

“And it's a pleasure to be back. I couldn't help but overhear your conversation before my arrival. You haven't seen the new living quarters yet?”

Patton looked so confused, Virgil wasn't sure what was going on through Popstar’s head at that moment. But Morality shook his head at Clarity's words, and Virgil could feel Patton's emotions sour slightly. 

So it wasn't just Virgil that didn't really trust Clarity. 

Logan's eyes seemed to flash orange for a fraction of a second, and his expression seemed to become sad before quickly attempting to hide it with a tentative smile.

“Perhaps we should show them to you, then. It'll be good for all of us, to get used to these new surroundings and get comfortable with each other.”

They were already getting comfortable with each other, and Clarity knew that. Virgil could tell. Anxiety had a feeling there were a lot of things that Clarity knew that he wasn't telling the others, but he wasn't entirely sure what they were. 

Patton was too nice to say no, so he nodded awkwardly, turning away from Logan right as Clarity outstretched a hand to direct him to the living quarters, and he could see Clarity's face fall as he pulled his hand back. He couldn't help himself but feel bad for the Joined Side, even for a moment. 

Roman and Remus didn't seem to notice, however, and they stood up, stretching slightly.

“Might as well. Let's go!” Roman grinned, and held out a hand to Virgil, an invitation to help him get off the shelf. That was…weirdly sweet. And the small grin on Roman's face made Virgil want to bury his face in his hands, especially at the way his deep-pink eyes seemed to shine with excitement. So Virgil did the only option he could see that made sense. 

He ignored Roman's hand entirely and slid off of the shelf with a grin. 

It took a bit more chatting for them to actually move out of the room they were gonna inevitably abandon, but with a small nudge in the right direction, they managed eventually. 

Even if that small nudge was Remus picking  Janus up and throwing him out of the door. 

Roman led them all through the door and stepped over a hissing Janus, turning around and spreading his arms out as he glanced at all of them, a huge grin on his face. 

“Welcome… to the Common Room!” 

It was huge . Maybe not as big as the Great Hall back in Shadowcrest - at least a fourth that size - but excessively large for a common area. Heck, there was a ladder . Leading to a floating island of sorts with what looked like a sofa. A sofa. On a floating island. Virgil didn't even know how to feel about that. The walls were white for the most part, but there were two areas that seemed to be coloured. They looked like murals of sorts, one red and one green - probably spray painted by Roman and Remus respectively. 

The room seemed to be a little empty, but Virgil was pretty sure it was so that the Sides would be able to fill it and be able to be more comfortable with it at their own pace, without  having the area chosen for them. 

Janus stood up and brushed some dust off of his clothes, grumbling under his breath. But after looking around, even he seemed to begrudgingly take a liking to the room.

Morality's eyes were widened as he took everything in, and Virgil couldn't help but smile at the lessening of worry coming from Patton. Patton looked at the murals on the walls and then turned back to Roman, who still had that proud grin on his face.

“You… you guys painted that?” Patton whispered, sounding like a proud dad. Roman nodded and gestured towards the blank spaces on the walls. 

“We left those empty just in case you guys wanted to spray paint them yourselves. If you don't, though, you can always ask me to draw it for you.” Roman explained, eyes shifting to a more red colour, the kind he usually got when he was proud of himself. Figures. 

“You can ask me too, you know!” Remus added, conjuring his mace and swinging it around happily. “I'll make sure to be extra graphic with it.”

Virgil shook his head and grimaced, not wanting to think about what that might look like. 

Patton smiled widely and turned to Roman, not looking as tired as he did back in the common area. Roman already looked like he had a couple of ideas for Morality's section, but Virgil wasn't gonna let the Prince have the satisfaction of drawing his part. 

“I'll do mine, if that's okay.” Virgil smirked, already envisioning how he'd use the space and what colours to use. He could see that Roman had added a few purple roses to his, but he wasn't sure what that meant. 

Or if it was an invitation to mirror them. 

“Oh, well- uh, sure!” Roman seemed to be a little stuck on his words, surprised by Virgil's choice. But Anxiety knew how to draw, and he'd appreciate another distraction. 

Janus raised an eyebrow and glanced around, a small smirk on his face. 

“This is all you did in the eighteen hours you had?”

Wait, they'd been out for eighteen hours?

Remus snorted and shook his head. 

“Your lack of confidence in us is hilarious, Jan-Jan. You haven't even seen the dismemberment room yet!” 

The colour drained from Patton's face and Roman dragged a hand across his face, sighing heavily as the Prince piched the bridge of his nose. 

“I couldn't stop him.” He told Virgil, and then he seemed to perk up slightly. “Oh! And I made you- I mean, I designed a sensory-deprivation room just in case you ever get too overwhelmed! It changes with the needs of the person inside it though, so it can just have snacks and some TV show on day but then have one of those water-filled pods and stuff, like the one Thomas went into that one time.” 

Virgil had to take a second to process what he'd just heard. That- that'd help. Maybe not entirely, but it'll still help. And Roman made it… for him? 

“That… huh.” Was all Virgil could say, but Roman grinned nonetheless. 

“I'll take that as ‘Woah, Roman! Thanks so much! You're awesome!’” 

“More like ‘huh, that's interesting.’” Virgil retorted, rolling his eyes, but he had to admit it was a nice addition. “I'll have to see when I test it out.”

Roman grinned widely and then turned to the others. 

“Now, as you all can see, there are eight corridors. The one we just came through will lead to our new rooms, or just the old ones moved to that position. Pick another corridor, and we'll go look at that section!”

“Eight corridors? Just how vast is this place?” Janus asked curiously, and Remus giggled. 

“ Huge . This is larger than anything I've created in years !”

…Geez. 

Patton pointed to the one on the other side of the room, with a large set of plain double-doors blocking their view from what the inside held. However, there was a small sign behind it, one that Virgil could barely see.

“What about that one? And then we can see everything else!” 

“Oh, I think you'll like that one, Padre.” Roman grinned, and began to walk over there, beckoning the others to follow. Virgil wasn't entirely sure why they couldn't just give them a map of the place, but he followed Roman anyway. 

Moving in closer, he could see that the small sign said ‘Kitchen’, and Roman pushed the large double doors to reveal a cosy-looking kitchen: a round, wooden table with a white sheet on it, warm lighting. It was spacious, yet somehow home-y at the same time. There was a counter facing a window, which gave them all the ability to see a sunset at a beach, waves gently crashing into the powdery sand. There were small plants on the window sill, and by the look on Patton's face, Virgil could tell they were probably used for cooking. 

Patto looked like he was about to cry, staring at everything in awe as he took a shuddering breath in. Virgil remembered that the old kitchen was less… Patton- y. More generic, the kind of thing that you'd see in some store displaying a kitchen. Even though Patton's eyes were tearing up, Virgil could tell that they weren't tears of sadness. No, the hand covering a wide smile of excitement said otherwise. Morality tackled Roman and hugged him tightly, and the Prince hugged him back, smiling softly. 

“Thank you, you have no idea-” Patton was whispering hoarsely, barely audible. 

“I took some creative liberties.” Roman interrupted softly, and he looked at Clarity, who looked… conflicted. 

That… wait, Logan was the one who had designed the plans for the space in the first place, right? So…he would have thought to add the new kitchen. 

He would have had some part in the designs. 

That explained the looks of pride and sorrow, both of his eyes a deep blue. But Clarity looked away, Logan's usual stoic demeanour returning as he eyed the fridge and letter-shaped magnets spelling out ‘WELCOME!”. 

Janus and Remus were talking to each other quietly, and Patton and Roman continued to chat softly as the Prince explained the different plants. 

Virgil wasn't entirely sure who to talk to at first, but… he found himself drifting towards Morality and Creativity, 

“You haven't even seen the storage area yet!” Roman grinned widely, pulling away from Patton gently, excitedly moving to the door to their right, opening it and turning the lights on to reveal shelves upon shelves of ingredients, art supplies, notepads - Virgil didn't know who would ever think to put those kind of things together, but it kind of made sense, with Roman and Remus taking care of all of that. 

Patton sniffled softly and wiped his eyes with the back of his wrist, smiling widely as he walked into the storage room after Roman. Virgil was about to follow them in, hands in pockets, before he heard it. 

Outside, the soft crashing of waves. The window - it hadn't been open before, right? How- 

The power of the water begged for Virgil to go there, to let it loose, to let it be free -

Anxiety walked over to the window and shut it, locking it and turning, trying to avoid the crashing of the waves ringing in his ears. He knew he had to stay there, to…well, continue with the tour. But it was all too much, the water, the new scene, nothing felt the same , everything was different, like the way the sand isn't the same after the tide crashes in-

He shook his head again, Virgil couldn't listen to it, he couldn't give in. 

Not after Shadowcrest. 

Virgil knew just how good all of that felt, all of that power coursing through his veins as the water cascaded around him, making him feel lighter than air and yet more grounded than the heaviest metal. He also knew that all of that energy, all of that fear, that panic , brought with it so. Much. Pain.  

People had died, back in Shadowcrest. When Virgil flooded it. They weren't real people, sure, but… they had their own lives, their own feelings and opinions and parents and kids , and they were Roman's creations, the city was one of Roman's proudest creations and Virgil sank it because he gave into the power.

No, no. He couldn't do this. Not today. He needed something, anything that could help. But- wait, the sensory deprivation room, or whatever Roman had called it. He could use that, maybe it could drown out the waves, well, not drown, but-

He took a deep breath in and tried to think of anything but water. Fire, fire. Yes. Fire. Phoenix. Nope, not going there. Fire. Burning. Passion. Love. Roman? No, fire. Actually, yes. Roman. He knew where the room was, right? Wait, no. He'd ask too many questions. And Virgil didn't want to answer any of those, not right now. Especially not to him, about Shadowcrest. Remus might also know, but… he was worse than Roman, for entirely different reasons. Which left…

Clarity. 

And there he was, looking at Virgil with a knowing look on his face, a folded piece of paper in his hand held out to Anxiety. How…?

Virgil yanked the piece of paper out of his hand, taking a quick look inside. It was a simplified plan, showing only the direction to the sensory deprivation room. He was about to thank him, since he looked like Logan and all, but… those eyes. They were orange. 

But they weren't filled with any sort of malice. No, there was understanding in those eyes, the same look he got from Pallas in the past after Shadowcrest. The look of someone who understood what Virgil went through. 

He nodded his gratitude and left the room without a word, avoiding Janus and Remus in the back. The waves were getting louder, more powerful. 

He looked at the map as soon as he entered the Common Area again, frowning as he saw the words ‘Bouncy Room' appear in fancy red calligraphy on the room before the sensory deprivation room, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know before he got there. 

And if the red cursive didn't give it away, the eccentricity of the idea probably meant it was Roman's addition. 

Virgil rushed over to the door that was supposed to take him there and swung the door open, stumbling slightly and bouncing off of the floor and onto a solid path at the side. What the-

The walls were brightly coloured, like a kid's bouncy castle or something. There were foam shapes everywhere, and bubbles travelling from one side of the room to the other. Anxiety started speed-walking down the path, moving to the dark wooden door on the other side of the room. The waves somehow seemed to be getting stronger, asking Virgil to join them, to become unstoppable-

He opened the room and shut it behind him, leaning against the door and closing his eyes for a bit, letting his head rest against the smooth wood. 

After taking a deep breath in, he opened his eyes to take in his surroundings. It… wasn't what he expected, that's for sure. 

The black walls seemed to have wooden plates on them, the kind of patterns on them the same type that one would find in a soundproofed room. There was a small table to one side, a small box of chocolates sitting on it next to a white noise machine. Virgil immediately went to shut that off, the sound too similar to that of a waterfall, and it wasn't exactly helping. There was a comfortable looking chair next to the table, and a corner filled with pillows. There was a TV on the wall opposite of the pillows alongside a horizontal speaker hanging beneath it, but that wasn't what caught Virgil's eye.

There, in the remaining corner, was a classical guitar being held up by a simple black stand. No, there was no way Roman could know- 

But what was it that he had said? That the room changed with the occupying Side's needs, right? So… it was the room that knew, not Roman.
Why did things have to be so complex?

He paused for a second, but the waves in his head were getting louder, and he knew he had to do something to make them stop. So Virgil walked over to the guitar, picking it up gently and moving to the pile of pillows. He sat down slowly, taking a deep breath and taking out a small pick that he carried on a necklace - it was a thin, black triangular piece of plastic that had the outline of Virgil's storm cloud on it in purple. He detached it from the necklace slowly, getting into a more comfortable position to hold the guitar properly and placing the pick onto the strings. He didn't know what to play, he just needed something, anything to help him. 

And so he began to play. 

It was just simple chords at first, testing the guitar out and humming softly - it was perfectly in tune. A miracle if he'd ever seen one. An F chord, maybe A minor- 

He strummed softly, letting his mind connect to the music, and before he knew it, the chords had tentatively slipped into the opening for ‘The Light Behind Your Eyes’, by MCR. 

Good. Anything was better than the call of the water. 

He started humming softly, the melody nearing with every passing note. 

“ So long to all my friends, every one of them met tragic ends -” Slowly, the waves faded to white noise in the background, his heart slowly beating in time with the song, eyes looking only towards the position of his fingers and the pick as he continued to strum. He watched the pale fingers press along the nylon strings, black nail polish dimly reflecting the warm lighting of the room. 

“- what I would say if I, could be with you tonight, I would sing you to sleep, never let them take the light behind your eyes -”

As he sang, he began to see something else, a different pair of eyes. How those eyes never stayed the same colour, changing and shifting. Red, blue, lilac, pink… those pink eyes looking into Virgil's while smiling, smirking, talking.

“ -as we fade in the dark, just remember you will always burn as bright. ”

Or those two times that he looked into those eyes while their owner held him, catching him as he fell. 

“ Be strong and hold my hand; Time, it comes for us, you'll understand-”

How could a song with such a sad meaning remind Virgil of him? How could those dark pink eyes change the meaning of the song for him?

So Virgil continued to play, to let the waves fade to the back of his mind.

And with those eyes taking over his thoughts, things didn't seem too bad anymore. 

— — —

Chapter Text

Remy wiped the counter in front of him with a dish rag, sighing heavily as he looked around the Shop. It wasn't a very busy day, there was some meeting going on in the Capital that was hogging a bunch of his customers. Emile sat on the other side of the counter, using one hand to prop his chin up as he stared at the menu tiredly. 

Sleep hung the rag on one of the pegs in the back and sat on a stool in front of Emile, still behind the counter just in case anyone came in to get a drink. 

“Hon, are you gonna order something, or are you just gonna stare at the menu until the stress breaks the lenses in your glasses?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at the other Side. 

Emile sighed and shook his head, lowering his hand and folding his arms on the table. 

“You know that's not how stress works, Rem.” Picani sighed, and he took off his glasses, gently lowering them onto the table and running a hand through his purple hair. “I just… Rem, do you think it was a good idea to just leave Thomas like that? I mean… he didn't look too good. I feel bad.”

Sleep shook his head and took out a cup, fixing himself a pumpkin spice latte (who cares if it's February?). 

“Em, he needed some time to process everything. If we stayed, we probably would have made things a little worse.” 

Emile hummed softly, burying his face in his hands tiredly. He lowered his hands a moment later and gave Remy an exhausted look which radiated concern. 

“Patton didn't look too good.”

“Babes, no one looked good back there.” Remy scoffed, shaking his head and using a manicured hand to pick out a few different spices. Emile hummed softly in agreement and sighed heavily.

“Do you think that things'll get better?” Remy asked quietly, knowing that Emile always felt better when he comforted others, or helped them. It's why he became a therapist in the first place, along with wanting to heal the rift between his brothers. It took Emile a moment to respond, but when he did, he seemed confident in his words. 

“Yeah, I think so. As long as the others learn to get along, things should go… well. Unless some unforeseen circumstances change everything.” His brows furrowed slightly, and Remy had to admit he looked cute when he worried. The guy was adorable. “But… well, ‘the past shouldn't be feared, because it guides our future’, you know?”

Remy nodded and then frowned, gesturing at Picani with an empty coffee-cup. 

“Moana?” 

Emile grinned and nodded, miming using a hook to mark a point for Remy, just like mini-Maui did in the movie. 

“They're going to have to get used to having a new Joined Side in their ranks too though, right?” Remy asked, pouring some oat milk into the pumpkin spice latte. Emile tightened his lips for a second and then nodded. 

“Well… yeah.”

Sleep nodded and placed the cup on the counter in front of him, sitting in front of Emile again. 

“Hon, doesn't Thomas' friend know a little about those?” Remy wondered, taking a sip from the latte. Emile frowned slightly and leaned forward, giving Remy a confused look. 

“Which one? And what are ‘those’?”

Remy paused and a smile tugged at his lips. 

“First of all, those are my crocs . And I'm extremely proud of you for that one, doll.” Remy replied, taking another sip, and Emile grinned widely. 

“Thanks, I watched all seventy six vines you sent.”

“You absolute Queen. Anyway, about the Joining. As for the friends, the… uh, the orange-beanie kid, and the one who kept changing their hair. The cool ones. The wizards?” Remy frowned, not remembering their names.

“Oh. You mean Joan and Talyn?” Emile raised an eyebrow, nodding slightly. 

“Sure.”

“I guess so. But… Thomas does need rest. So not yet.” Emile added, shaking his head slightly.

“But-”

“Rem, he does.” Emile interrupted, and shook his head. “Everything that the Sides have experienced in the past couple of days has an effect on Thomas himself. Any injuries, grief, even the fact that Logan isn't exactly okay right now - which will hopefully get better eventually - Thomas can feel all of it mentally. He needs to rest.” 

Picani was right. Of course he was, he was a therapist. He understood this kind of thing much better than Remy would. He sighed and took another sip of the latte. 

“Whatevs. But they all need to deal with all of that Joining drama eventually.” Sleep shook his head slightly and glanced at Emile, lowering his sunglasses slightly to look at him properly. “You sure you don't want anything while you're here?” 

Emile gave Remy an apologetic smile and the fingers in his left hand gently tapped the counter. 

“Actually, can I get some hot cocoa? If it isn't too much trouble, of course. I think it's time to treat myself a little after the past day.”

Remy grinned and nodded. 

“Sure, no problem. You deserve it, hon.” He stood up and placed his cup on the counter, winking. “If you get impatient, feel free to drink some of mine.” 

Emile laughed quietly and leaned his chin on his hand again, looking up at Remy. 

“Thanks, Rem. But I think I can have a shred of patience. Heck, I work with patients. Every day.” The therapist grinned, and Remy rolled his eyes with a small chuckle, moving to get the ingredients for Emile’s preferred version of hot chocolate. 

For some reason that Remy got but… didn't, entirely, Picani liked his hot chocolate minty. Sleep prepared boiling water and put some hot chocolate mix at the bottom before adding some mint-syrup - which he reserved exclusively for Emile, since no one else seemed to ask for it. He also added a cube of white chocolate to melt with the beverage’s heat, along with a few fresh mint leaves and a bunch of whipped cream on top.

An interesting choice for an interesting man. And as he watched Emile smile at him while he prepared the Side’s drink, Remy knew he made the right choice when he chose to stay. Wherever Remy was, if Emile was with him, he'd be happy. Even if Picani was too oblivious to know that Sleep felt the same way. 

He placed a straw inside the cup and slid it to Emile with a small smirk, and watched as the therapist caught it and grinned. 

“You remembered!” 

“Of course I did, what do you take me for? Roman?” Remy scoffed, even though he knew Roman always did his best to try to notice things about people he cared about. The Prince just… lacked the knowledge. 

Emile shook his head, tutting slightly.

“Rem, be nice. But thanks.” He took a small sip and gave a hum of appreciation. 

Remy chuckled quietly and shrugged, watching Emile take another sip of his hot chocolate before smiling up at Sleep again.

“You know, it was really nice of Roman to ask us if we wanted to stay with them in their new Mind Palace.”

Remy nodded, taking a sip of his pumpkin spice latte thoughtfully. 

“I have to admit, asking him to make guest rooms instead was an absolutely delicious idea.” He nodded, smiling and leaning towards Picani, who nodded and rolled the straw between two fingers absentmindedly.

“Aww, thanks. I prefer it here, it's… calmer, without the others constantly at each other's throats.” He smiled shyly, and Remy snorted softly.

“Yeah. Like, please . I have a shop to run. I can't get caught up in their petty squabbles.” 

“And I have patients to take care of.” Remy raised an eyebrow and smirked at Emile’s casual tone. 

“Oh, please . You know you'd miss me if I stayed and you went with the others.” 

When Picani gave him that soft smile, his light blue eyes staring into Remy's soul, Sleep could feel his heart flutter ever so slightly. 

“Yes. Yes I would.”

Remy was interrupted from replying to that adorable statement by the bell attached to the Shop's door, alerting them of new customers. Even though the woman who came in wasn't exactly a new customer. 

The lady smiled, black hair going down to her upper back and shining green or blue when the light hit it at the right angle, her green-blue eyes glinting as she smiled at Remy. Her sun-kissed skin was covered in freckles, the black aviator jacket covering the old scars along her arms, which were from some attacks in the past. Sleep raised an eyebrow at the Nirvana shirt, but his eyes travelled to the pigeon on her shoulder. It was Emile's idea to make the Shop pet-friendly, but he had to be honest when he said that the pigeon wasn't the weirdest thing that had ever been brought into his Shop. 

A mini-kraken in a fishbowl just happened to be one of them. 

She walked over to Emile and ruffled his hair gently, taking a seat next to him. 

“What's up, doc?” She smiled, and Emile laughed softly, seemingly forgetting all of the pain that they'd witnessed in the past day. 

“Mor!”

“If it isn't my favourite regular.” Remy grinned, and winked at her behind his sunglasses. “What can I do for you, Collins?” 

Morgan smiled and leaned on the counter, tilting her head to the side. 

“Just the usual pick-me-up, Rem. To go. Thank you so much.” Sleep grinned and walked to go get some things for her usual, and she continued to talk to both him and Emile. “So, how's everything going with you guys? Is everything okay?” 

Emile smiled and nodded sweetly, taking a sip of his hot chocolate, but Remy made a small noise of disagreement. 

“Things have been better.” Emile shot Remy a look that said ‘ why’d you say that? ’, but Remy just shrugged as he found the caramel and doused the walls of Morgan's cup with it, instead opting to continue with a question to Collins. “By the way, is that a new jacket?” 

She nodded and let out a small hum of pride at the jacket, and Remy could see the pigeon on her shoulder dig its claws into it slightly as it hopped excitedly. 

“It’s cute. Didn't think it was your style.” he shrugged, and added a small amount of coffee into the cup. 

“Thanks, Remy.” She smiled, and Emile's eyes were stuck on the pigeon, a smile tugging at his lips. 

“Do you want something for the little one, too?” 

Morgan lifted a finger to the pigeon's beak and he pecked at her finger, cooing impatiently. She laughed at the gesture and nodded. 

“I think that'd be a good idea. Thanks.” 

Emile smiled and went to go get the seeds from the back, leaving Remy and Lacy alone for a bit. 

“Liquid Campfire Night, extra caramel.” Sleep smirked as he placed a lid and straw onto the cup and expertly slid it to the woman in front of him and grinned as he leaned onto the counter. “Girl, you must take really good care of your teeth. ’Cause I've never seen you put anything other than sugary things in your mouth.” 

Morgan laughed and took a sip of the drink, shaking her head. 

“I have a good dental plan. And I don't see why you're complaining, you get paid every time I buy one of these.”

“Valid, but it's still crazy.” Remy grinned. Morgan Collins’ usual was the equivalent of liquid s'mores - a caramel latte with chocolate drizzled along the cup, marshmallows inside and extra whipped cream with chocolate chips on top, along with Graham cracker crumbs sprinkled along the top. 

Emile walked in again with a small bowl filled with barley and sunflower seeds, placing it next to Morgan and sitting back down again, watching with a smile as the pigeon hopped off of her shoulder and started eating.

“Hey Mor, are you still working on that project of yours? How's it going?” 

“Yeah, I am. And not bad. I had a couple issues to sort out, but I think I can smooth things out soon.” She smiled, watching her pigeon pick at the seeds and eating them. 

“You ever gonna tell us what it's actually about? You still haven't explained yet.” Remy raised an eyebrow and sat on his stool again, taking another sip of his latte. But all he got from Morgan was a mysterious smile and a shake of her head. 

“Not yet, but you'll find out eventually. This drink is delicious as always, by the way.”

“Of course , babes! Only the best from the Shop.” Remy grinned, winking at Emile and watching him chuckle softly. 

Morgan toyed with the straw for a moment, a smile on her face, and then she looked up at Emile. 

“Hey, I heard there was some… asunto, uh, what was it? Oh yeah, issue. Some issue up with your people at the top. Does it have to do with the meeting at the Capital? What's that all about?”

Emile gave Remy a small look, the one that usually meant that he was a little uncomfortable with the following conversation, and he looked back at Morgan and shrugged, plastering a smile on his face. 

“Oh, uh, don't worry about it! Things got a little complicated, but it's a little better now. I'm sure things'll be better soon.”

Morgan nodded slightly and her brows furrowed slightly in what Remy assumed was suspicion, but she didn't ask too many questions. 

“Oh, okay. Well, in that case… I'm sure you two will be okay, and safe. That's for sure. I mean, you have to. You guys are like the nicest ones there.” She smiled, and Emile placed a hand on his chest in appreciation. 

“Aww, thanks. Here's to hoping. ”

“You're too cute, hon.” Remy smiled, but he wasn't exactly as sure as she was. 

“Trust me,” Morgan smiled and brushed a rogue strand of hair behind her ear. “Things'll get better. All will be as it's supposed to be.”

The woman took another sip of her drink and glanced at her watch, and her eyebrows raised slightly. 

“Oh, look at that time! I should probably be going, busy day today. As always, it's been a pleasure seeing you two again. Adios , loves, and keep the change.”

She smiled and stood up, reaching out a hand to her pigeon and letting it hop onto her arm, and it looked content after eating all of the bowl's contents - it was insane how hungry that bird could get. She waved at the two of them and winked, placing some money on the counter for the drink and walking out. She always tipped, the kid was an absolute angel. 

After she left, Emile and Remy were quiet for a moment before Picani took a sip of his hot chocolate and smiled up at Remy.

“I missed that kid.”

“Same.” Remy smiled, and took the money and placed it in the register, sending a receipt straight to her pocket. Magic always came in handy. 

There were good people in the Mindscape, in the Empire. 

Remy just hoped the Sides could see that and spare them from their future conflicts, treaty or not. 

— — —

Chapter Text

Thomas was staring at the ceiling as he lay on his bed, his twelve year old self bored out of his mind. His day was uneventful, and he needed to go to sleep, but he didn't know what to think about, or feel tired enough to actually go to bed. 

Roman watched from afar, equally bored. And what does one do when one is bored? One creates things, of course! The Prince snapped his fingers, entering the Empire and taking a deep breath in, sighing as he inhaled the rich scent of nature. He'd tell Thomas a story, that's what he'd do. Stories were always his forte, he loved them, but the Prince had to admit they were always easier as Romulus. 

Where to start, where to start…? 

Creativity closed his eyes, focusing on the Northern Lands - if he was going to create something, he might as well keep it away from civilians. 

“Once upon a time…” Roman hummed softly, looking at the now-empty clearing of the Northern Lands before him. “There was… oh, a dragon!” Roman grinned, nodding slightly and holding his hands out, watching as the air shimmered in front of him. 

“Yes, yes! A big dragon, as big as an island! And this dragon, it looked like a mixture between a bird and a lizard, with both falcon wings and talons and also scales and dragon wings! It had a beak too, so I guess it kinda looked like a gryphon, but it wasn't one, because of the lizard part.” Roman frowned slightly, but watched as the dragon he described began to materialise in front of him, and it released a blood-curdling screech. “This dragon was evil, and hungry. So hungry, in fact, that it wanted to eat the sun and plunge the world into darkness!” 

The Prince looked up at his new creation in awe, watching its muscles flex as it towered over him and flew upwards slightly, the force of the air beating off of its wings uprooting some trees in the area, and causing Roman to fly backwards. 

“Ow! Well- yes! And it didn't only want to eat the sun, no, its hunger wouldn't be satisfied if it did. In fact, it probably wouldn't stop until it ate the moon too, and it'd probably go to attack the Earth!”

The dragon shot upwards, ground shaking beneath it as it opened its beak wide and gulped down the sun in one sitting, and the whole Empire went dark. Whoops -

“Okay, big guy. Let's do this.” Roman grinned and summoned a sword into his hand, the one he was going to call the Dragon Slayer. He took a deep breath and whistled, calling out to his stallion. 

Flash appeared quickly, neighing loudly in panic as he saw the enormous Dragon. 

Boss, what in the name of sugar cubes did you do?  

“ Don't worry, Flash. I've got this. I do need your help, though! Every Prince needs a noble steed!” He grinned, and swung onto Flash's back. “Just fly, and trust me on this one. Let's go!” 

Got it. Ready for take off, boss!

The horse reared back and started galloping forward quickly. Roman whooped excitedly, not taking his eyes off of the dragon as he stretched out his energy and mentally tugged on the Mindscape's threads, combining them to create a glowing red path beneath Flash's hooves. The horse gained speed, and they spun around the dragon quickly, the path acting as a sort of barrier around it. Roman laughed, adrenaline coursing through his veins as he patted Flash's side and leaned forward to talk to him. 

“Keep spinning around it, and tighten the path when I tell you too! I'll go take care of things a little closer!”

Ya sure, Princey? That looks a little dangerous, even for your usual stunts.

“I'm sure! Now…three…two…one…GO!”

Roman jumped off of Flash's back and somersaulted forward, landing on some of the dragon's softer feathers, only a few feet away from a large horn protruding from the dragon's back. He hung on for dear life, climbing the fur… feathers, whatever they were called, and trying to avoid the scales. They'd be hard to penetrate, even with his sword. It'd make more sense to stick to the fur-areas. 

Now, where would be best for him to attack…? 

He heard the dragon release another ear-piercing screech and hung on as it started flying towards the moon, and the red path - which now looked like a growing ribbon being led by a white speck against the dark, star-speckled night - continued to grow as Flash kept running. That screech gave Roman an idea - he'd go for the face, maim it, and then finish it off on the ground so it wouldn't swallow the moon, and he'd be able to retrieve the sun to give the world light again. 

And so the Prince continued to climb up the dragon's neck quickly, knowing that he didn't have any time to waste. The fur got even longer over there, the tan fluff getting into Roman's face as he continued to climb upwards, spitting some out of his mouth. Bitter Poisoned Apples, this dragon was bigger than he expected! But no match for Prince Roman, that's for sure!

He grabbed onto a long feather and pulled himself upwards, onto the dragon's head. Good, now, if he could just get up there and land onto the beast's beak-

His muscles were sore, aching as he heaved himself onto the dragon's forehead and lay there for a second, eyes wide as he saw the moon getting closer and closer. Flash was still spinning around the dragon, waiting for the Prince's order. Curses, he had forgotten!

“FLASH, NOW!” He yelled, and stood up shakily, stumbling slightly as he slid down to the area between the dragon's eyes. He felt the beast open its mouth wide, causing Roman to falter as it screeched again. Flash had tightened the path around it, binding it in place and causing it to fall back to the ground, away from the moon. 

The Prince held on tightly and then jumped to the side, sliding down the side of its beak and shoving his sword into the fur behind it, causing the beast to squawk in pain as he used the embedded weapon to hang on. If he could use his sword to spear the thing in the eye.

He'll find out how to get the sun back later. 

“C'mon, Roman. You've got this.” He grunted, lifting himself by his hands and grabbing a fistful of the dragon's fur, pulling the sword out of its flesh. 

“And then, the brave Prince grabbed his sword in one hand.” Roman ground out, narrating, his muscles screaming at him as he continued to dangle from the beast's fur, and began to swing himself, bracing his weapon in his left hand before shooting it into the dragon's eyes, watching as the weapon glowed red and shot through its cornea and pupil. “And the dragon was no match for him, no match for the hero!” 

He watched the eye twitch and cloud with red, watery black liquid seeping out of the now gaping wound. The Prince’s sword flew out from the other side of the dragon's head, falling to the ground somewhere. He'd find it again eventually. 

The dragon plummeted, and Roman hung on for dear life, looking down to see a raging sea beneath him. The Sea of Paranoia? Had they really gone this far south? He couldn't let the sun inside the dragon touch the water, especially with the monsters that live in there that would love the chance to quench its light. 

The dragon's beak was open, so Roman pulled on the Mindscape's threads and used his energy to form a sort of lasso, swinging it down the dying dragon's throat and visualising the lasso grabbing the sun, pulling it with all his strength. 

The sun, in all of its bright glory, shot back to its rightful place in the sky, taking Roman with it. 

He tied the lasso around his waist and let the sun lead him upwards, watching as the enormous dragon sank into the vast sea, its fur and scales shifting to transform into an island (and this island would later become the Isle of Secrets, ruled over by Deceit). 

Woah.

When the sun reached its place again, the glowing red lasso dissipated, causing Roman to plummet headfirst towards the island. That wasn't good. 

He spread his arms, using his focus to create a paraglider to slow his fall onto the newly formed island. It was… quiet, barren apart from a small mound in the centre. He wondered what that could be, walking over to it curiously. 

As he got closer, he felt his heart sink, a feeling pulling at his gut as he glanced at the egg-shaped mass. He soon found out that it wasn't just egg-shaped. 

The dragon had been a mother. 

“Oh- oh no. ” The Prince muttered, staring at the glistening black shell. 

That…that was bad. Really bad. He couldn't… he couldn't do anything wrong to that child - it was still innocent, unlike its mother. But… it's not like he could take care of it, either. He had to find someone, to get someone to take care of the baby. To raise it properly. 

The Prince let out a small breath and his hands hovered over the shell. 

But then again… why find someone, when Roman could create someone who had the perfect qualifications?

So he began. 

Twisting and manipulating the threads to form a girl, a substitute mother. Someone kind, caring, exciting. Someone who had some knowledge on magic, someone who had an affinity with birds and lizards, someone who could teach the baby dragon to be good. 

And as quickly as he had begun, it was done. 

There, sitting in front of him, blinking and covering her eyes at the bright sun, was a ten year old girl. Her sun-kissed golden skin and blue-lagoon eyes shone slightly in the light, Roman's red magic still surrounding her as he created her. She had freckles all over her skin, and her chestnut hair was woven into a braid. 

The Prince looked at the younger girl and crouched down, smiling softly at her. He knew the sudden awakening could be extremely overwhelming to someone, so he didn't want to scare her off. 

“Hey, niña . Are you okay?” 

She looked up at him and squinted her teal eyes, blinking in the sun. 

“ Yo... eso creo. ¿Quién eres? ” She muttered, and Roman smiled. So… she was alright, at least. 

“I am Prince Roman, ruler of the Kingdom and conqueror of the Enchanted Forest. Maybe even future friend, if you'd let me.” He grinned, and she raised an eyebrow, pausing for a second as if to think about her words. 

“Conqueror? You… You are… twelve? You are no conqueror.” 

Roman laughed, sitting in front of her and shaking his head. 

“Things work… a little differently around here.” 

She nodded and smiled, as if that made perfect sense to her. 

“So… friend?” She seemed to ask hopefully, her speech not arriving fully yet. Roman was still exhausted after the fight with the dragon, but he couldn't leave the baby alone. He had to do this. 

The Prince nodded and held the little girl's hand, smiling. 

“Indeed, a friend.” 

The girl smiled widely and squeezed his hand gently, looking around. Her gaze fell onto the dragon egg, which was about a third her size. 

“Is that… ¿ Qué ?” Her brows furrowed slightly, and a spark of teal magic sparked on her fingers. 

“Woah, careful with that.” He held her hand and laughed softly. Geez, already using magic? That was gonna be fun. “It's a dragon egg. The poor thing’s all alone, just a little babe. It hasn't been born yet.”

“¿ Madre ?” She asked quietly, eyes sad. Roman felt so bad, just so awful , but the only reaction he let out was a small shake of his head, eyes softening slightly.

“No. Not anymore. It's alone.” 

“He.” She whispered, a hand drifting to the dark shell. 

“What?”

“ Es un niño ." It's a boy. The baby dragon is a male. 

“Oh. How… how can you tell?” 

The girl shrugged, placing a hand on the shell and gently pulling the egg towards her, hugging it softly. 

“ Es un niño .” She repeated, confident in her words. 

“Okay.” Roman replied quietly, staring into the matte-black shell. 

“I… will take care. Del niño .”

Roman's gaze snapped to the little girl. That… that was it? He thought he'd have to gently coax her into taking care of it - him - but this… Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. 

“Really?” The Prince asked quietly, looking into the girl's eyes. “Are you sure you're up for that kind of responsibility?” 

She looked at the egg with a look of determination on her face and looked back up to Roman, nodding. 

“Okay, then. Be good to him, okay? Let's go find you two a home so you can live nicely. Would you like that?” 

Her eyes widened and she nodded, standing up and holding the egg in her hands, her expression full of love and affection towards the unborn creature. 

“Splendid. Let's go!” He smiled, and put a hand on her shoulder, walking them to the edge of the island, where he'd then take her to a Northern area in the Kingdom. 

He was really excited to have a new friend. 

~*-*~

Two years later, Roman walked on a moonlit path, walking under the stars to a cliff's edge in the Northern Lands. After a few minutes of walking, he saw the person he was looking for. 

“Hey, chica .” Roman grinned, and sat down beside her. 

The girl was looking up at the stars, her hair dyed as black as midnight, and there was a wide brimmed hat on her head. The baby dragon was sleeping around her shoulders, snoring and releasing a teal cloud with every exhale. 

“Hey, Princey.” She said, looking over towards him with a smile. Her teal eyes shone slightly in the light of the moon. 

Under closer inspection, he could see that she was wearing a dress - grey and brown at the bottom rising to a deep black with blues and greens. Weirdly enough, akin to a pigeon’s feathers. 

“So how are things going?” Roman asked after a moment, looking at her with an apologetic smile. “I'm sorry I haven't been able to hang out as often as usual. Things have been a little chaotic with the others. Thomas is… going through some stuff.” 

She nodded, smiling softly. 

“Don't worry about it. I've had a lot of time to learn, to grow. And so has Mino here. He's doing really well, hermano .” She ruffled some of the dragon's fur gently, giggling as it purred in its sleep. “Who's a well behaved dragon? You are, you are! He can get pretty hungry sometimes, but nothing we can't handle. Plus, he's growing. He needs to eat.” 

Growing. Growing like his mother had? To the side of an island? To the point where she became an island in her death? That… probably wasn't good. 

“How big do you think he'll get, M?” He asked quietly, looking at the innocent dragon child. 

“Bigger. Little Mino’s gonna get all big and strong.” She cooed softly as she petted the dragon again before looking up at Roman. “So… what about you? How’s everything going with the other Sides?” 

“Things have been better.” Roman sighed, shaking his head. That Para- that Anxiety bloke keeps bothering Thomas now. But the music out there is great. I need to show you a bunch of the theatre productions too at some point.” He grinned, looking up to the glowing moon. “But I didn't come here to talk about the other Sides. I came here to talk to my favourite witch.”

The girl rolled her eyes and huffed a small laugh. 

“ Chico , you know I hate that word. I prefer… sorceress. It has a nice ring to it.” 

Roman snorted, shaking his head. 

“There's a difference?”

She frowned for a moment and then shrugged. 

“I'm pretty sure there is.”

Roman grinned widely. 

“So you're just a fancy witch, then.” 

“With a very fancy hat!” She laughed, and the dragon - Mino, she called him - snored loudly, sneezing in his sleep and turning into a pigeon. He began to fall off of her shoulder and she caught him carefully, gently laying him on the grass. “He does that sometimes. It's much easier to take care of him when he's in pigeon form.”

“Oh, wow.” He said softly, and watched the pigeon sleep peacefully. It didn't look dangerous. 

They were quiet for a moment, looking up in the night sky to gaze at the stars. It was peaceful. Quiet, with the faint sound of crickets chirping in the distance, and the odd owl hooting or wolf howling. 

M broke the silence after a bit, humming softly and then tilting her head towards the Prince. 

“Hey, are you still friends with the bird-man?” 

“Who?” Roman frowned, looking at her in confusion. 

“You know, the smart one. With the glasses.” She raised an eyebrow at Roman's still confused expression. “The one with the tie?” 

“OH! You mean Logan?” He asked, and then laughed when she nodded. “Yeah, of course I'm still friends with that nerd. And it isn't bird-man, by the way. They're called Avians.” 

The girl beside him nodded in understanding, looking out to the cloudless sky. 

“That's really cool, you know? Having wings. Being able to fly.”

Roman raised an eyebrow. 

“Who said you can't have wings? You know magic, don't you?”

Her eyes widened and the little girl's head snapped towards Roman. 

“ I can make wings?!”

The Prince laughed at her excitement, and stood up, spinning slightly as he turned to face her, the moon behind his back. 

“I have faith in you, niña! And of course you can make wings with magic, I do it all the time to sneak into the Capital! Wanna see?” 

She nodded, eyes wide as she looked up at Roman. He took a deep breath and shook his arms, grinning. He loved this, even if the wings got a little heavy sometimes. 

He pulled at the energy threads in the Mindscape and slowly built up the bone and muscle on his back, quickly adding the feathers and letting them stretch out behind him. He based his structure designs on falcon wings, ’cause he thought they were really cool. They were red fading to gold at the tips, with the odd white feather here and there.

M looked up at his wings, eyes wide in awe at the glowing red energy around them as they spread out, and her mouth was ajar. 

“Woah. Just… woah. One day, I wanna be able to be as good as you are with magic, hermano .” 

Roman laughed and shook his head, releasing the energy in his wings and allowing it to return back to the Mindscape and back into him, sitting down again. 

“Probably not. You're not a Side, after all.” He chuckled, gently punching her shoulder. “But I have a feeling you'd get close to it.”

She snorted softly and held his hand, before lying down, and Roman lay down next to her, both of them looking at the constellations in the sky.

“I can be better.” She smiled confidently after a short while. 

“Sure you can, amiga . Sure you can.”

~*-*~

Their laughter echoed across the walls of a cave in the Northern Lands, a broken sound of past memories. A plastic coffee cup lay crumpled on the floor as a pair of teal eyes glared at the image before them, the scene vague in the mists of the mind. Two children laughing. 

A Prince and a Witch. 

They should have known it wouldn't last. 

But she would get what she wanted. No, she would get what she deserved . 

Running one hand through her raven black hair, she waved the other one through the mists as the pigeon screeched angrily at the laughter. It was no good looking back on past memories. 

She would get what she deserved. She would rule this Empire better than any Prince, than any King. She would rule what was taken away from her.

The Prince would pay for all of the pain he'd caused her, for all the people and power that he'd taken away from her. 

The Sides were regrouping, trying to calm down after their little adventure. But this wasn't the end, no.

Oh, no. 

This was only the beginning. 

And no one could stop her. 

— — —