Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Things had settled down again in the Mindscape after Thomas’ last moral quandary which had revealed Deceit to him. It had been tense for several days, all of the Sides waiting for him to rear his scaled head again but he had failed to do so. Roman, Logan, and Virgil had also been paying close attention to Patton and doing more of what he wanted to do. That was how they ended up in their current situation: all sitting on the floor of their shared living space playing The Game of Life.

Patton thought it was fun to play such a game since many of the milestones in the game, getting married, buying a house, having kids, were events they would never experience themselves. Thomas would, so they would experience it through him if those ever happened, but they could not do so. Because of that he liked to pretend to be the colored peg he had placed in his car token and make his peg have the best life. There was also a house rule that whenever you started the game, you did not get to pick out your colored peg. Instead, you had to reach into the bag that held them all and blindly draw one out. He claimed this was because you didn’t get to pick what you were born as. The same thing happened when you got married or had kids unless the board specified which color to pick out.

This time, Patton had a pink peg in his car with so many colored pegs to represent her children that he had taken another out another car token to place the second pink peg into so her wife could drive around the kids who didn’t fit in the first car. He had named his starting peg, her wife, and all the kids and continually referred to them when something happened. Plant a tree. “Oh that must have been Daisy! You know her love of gardening!” Learn sign language. “Michael is so smart! Just like you Logan!” Have a family game night. “Look at that! That’s like what we’re doing right now!”

The others weren’t a fan of the game but were willing to do whatever kept Patton happy and safe.

Roman had two blue pegs in his car with one pink one. He had also chosen the performer career to no one’s surprise and was rolling in fake currency. He was playing along with Patton, pretending their colored pegs were friends, setting up fake playdates between their kids, and saying he would get them tickets to his next show.

Logan had drawn out a blue peg at the beginning of the game and a pink one when he was picking his spouse. There were no other pegs in his car to his delight. He was weaving in between baby spaces, barely missing them, and explained that having a child is incredibly expensive. Childcare alone usually costs a parent one third of their annual income and he could not afford that on his meager policeman salary.

Virgil was the only character to have a single peg in his car. He had drawn a pink one but when he reached the spot where his peg was supposed to get married, he argued that his peg had no attraction to others and should not be forced to get married. The others agreed, partly so that he would keep playing the game.

Roman finished the game first and started taking victory photos to post to Instagram. Logan was second, followed closely by Patton. Virgil brought up the rear and finally finished about seven turns after the others, having been only halfway across the board when Roman finished. As banker, Logan calculated their total worth and determined that Patton had won. He himself had actually won but while the fatherly Side was setting up the board the other three had decided that no matter who the calculations say wins, they will say Patton did so instead.

The quartet talked for a bit before Logan consulted his phone and saw the time. He bid them good night and walked off. Roman was next to leave, saying that his room had better lighting. Virgil curled up on the end of the couch under a thick blanket. Without saying anything, Patton came to sit next to him, bringing him a cup of hot chocolate with three marshmallows.

“Tell me what’s bothering you,” he requested kindly, putting his hand on the younger’s knee after receiving permission to do so.

“Nothing, Patton,” he replied, sipping at the comforting drink. The other smiled at him.

“Now I know that’s just not true. You’re normally the first to leave after we finish. You aren’t exactly a fan of that game.”

Virgil let out a tired sigh and leaned against him, closing his eyes. Patton began gently petting his hair, knowing it would calm the anxious Side down.

“I guess I’m just avoiding going to my room. I haven’t been sleeping well.”

The older Side pursed his lips into a frown.

“Is it because of what happened?” He felt a nod against his shoulder. “Listen, kiddo, no one in the Mindscape is going to take my place again. I’ll always be here when you need me.” Feeling like something was watching them, Virgil gazed around the room. He thought he saw a shadow disappear under the door but it could have been his imagination. “Would it make you feel better if I walked you back to your room?” Virgil nodded again. “Okay then.” He stood up and helped Virgil to his feet. Together they walked back to his room. When they were standing in front of his door, Patton whispered, “Remember, I’m right down the hall if you ever need me.” The bright and cheerful look in his eyes was replaced with a rare seriousness. “I don’t care what time it is, you can always come to my room.”

“Thank you, Patton,” the other replied, feeling immensely grateful to have him around.

“You’re welcome, Virgil.” Patton hugged him tightly, trying to transfer all of his joy into the younger so he would be able to get a good night of sleep. He pressed a soft kiss into his hair and released him. “Good night. Sleep well.”

Virgil smiled slightly at him.

“I will try. Get some rest yourself.” With that he turned and entered his room. He closed the door behind him and let out a shaky breath, waiting until he could no longer hear Patton’s footsteps.

* * *

The three bright Sides were sitting in the shared space again in the next afternoon. They looked up as a new person entered the room.

“Oh you’re up!” Patton cried excitedly, clapping his hands. “Did you sleep better?”

Virgil looked at him with a tiny smile.

“Yeah. I guess our talk is what I needed.”

“Good! I’m glad to hear that!”

The newcomer walked over to the couch, taking the same spot and position as the previous night. His headphones were slipped over his ears and he watched them talk and go about their day in front of him. None of them noticed the sly smile under his hood or the way his left eye gleamed yellow when it caught the light.

Chapter Text

When his eyes opened he had to blink a few times to realize that his eyes were, in fact working. The problem was that almost no light was filtering in through the cracks in the wall causing the room to be almost pitch black except for a few pools of light on the floor. He reached forward to rub his eyes, feeling exhausted for some reason. Or, he tried to. His wrists would not move and when he noticed the cold metal around his limbs he could figure out why. He peered around the dim space and suddenly recognized the gloomy surroundings. Oh no. No no no. He did not want to be back here. He thought he had gotten away and was safe. There was no way he could be back here unless-

“Virgil, Virgil, Virgil,” a voice crooned out of a dark shadow, heading toward him. When the voice seemed to be right in front of him, it materialized into a person that he definitely did not want to see. One of the beams of light fell across half of his face and kept the rest of him hidden. “I thought we were friends. After all of our history together you go and betray me like that?” He pouted and turned his face into the light, the movement warping his face unnaturally and causing his yellow eye to shine. “In front of all those other, useless Sides? They are the ones standing in our way. They are the ones that pushed you around and never liked you.” Virgil started to open his mouth to defend his friends, furious, but his doppelganger spoke over him as if he did not matter. “I was so mad when you turned your back on me, you know,” he said as he began to remove his left glove, gripping it tightly in his right hand. “I was the one who was always by your side-” A twisted grin spread across his face at his own joke. “When the others forgot about you. And then you just walked away from me like it did not matter to you. I was angry for such a long time. Such a long, long time.”

The smile vanished and he turned away completely, stepping back into the shadows so the younger Side couldn’t see him. Peering through the darkness, he attempted to locate the trickster to no success. Suddenly he reappeared in front of him, his expression dangerous, eyes narrowed into slits and black, as he slapped him cruelly across the face, snapping his head to his right shoulder. Virgil’s breath became labored and his head dropped to his chin.

The older Side watched him with hidden glee for a few moments before deciding to speak again. “Ah.” A new smile slid back onto his face, making his scales gleam. “But then I realized what you were trying to do. I realized that you had never abandoned me. You made my presence known to poor Thomas who had been suffering without me. And you convinced the others to let me in. You made them convince Thomas to open the door so all the other Sides could come in as well.” He lifted the other’s cheek to meet his odd eyes while fondly stroking the anxious Side’s cheek as his eyes grew wide and terrified. “I knew you were still one of us but I did not realize just how much. You know that I am not the worst of us, there are others that are far, far worse. You are the weakest but able to go between and only you were able to open the door. Now all the others will be able to have their fun too.” He sighed, pretending to be sad. It was an eerie look on the deceiver as the snake half of his face stayed the same as it always was, not having the ability to form the emotion the other half of his face was currently displaying. “Unfortunately you will have to stay here since you have been spending too much time with the wrong sides and they have corrupted you from your true purpose.”

The door to the side of them opened but Virgil was unable to turn his head to see who was entering since the Side in front of him had yet to release his face. “You are lucky however, Warren agreed to help you regain your original intent.” A mocking kiss was placed into his hair, over where Patton’s had been, before his head was freed. The other started toward the door, moving past another double who was clearly much stronger. Pausing at the door, he turned back to the pale faced figment in purple restrained to the wall. “Oh and don’t worry, darling,” he trilled. “If Thomas has one of his little...dilemmas...and needs you, you will be there.” He winked and the door slammed closed behind him, screams ringing down the corridor around him.

Chapter Text

Most of their waking time was spent in the shared living space over the next few days. Sometimes it was spent in silence with Patton baking, Logan reading or doing a puzzle, Roman daydreaming or Instagramming, and Virgil relaxing with his headphones. Other times it was loud and chaotic such as when Patton convinced them to play Pictionary. To no one’s surprise, Logan was terrible, both at drawing and guessing. Roman also was not the best which was a surprise. He despised the time limit, wanting to make intricate pieces of art. Unfortunately for both, they had been paired together. Patton and Virgil were crushing them.

“That’s just embarrassing, Prince Moron,” Virgil taunted with a grin as the other failed to guess Logan’s picture of a lion correctly. Roman glared at him but did not reply, watching as Virgil easily guessed Patton’s drawing of a bulldozer after only a few seconds. The anxious Side simply shrugged, still grinning.

* * *

He was tired, so tired, and he hurt all over. He had no idea what time it was. Warren had left recently, but was it recently? Did he leave five minutes ago or five days ago? He had no clue. Suddenly there was a slight pressure on his chest. Focusing, he could tell someone had their hand over his heart. The pressure continued, the person not moving. It must be Del, he realized. Warren would not simply stand in front of him. He would have already gotten into it. Del on the other hand liked to toy with his prey. He liked to come by with or without Warren.

Colors started swirling in front of his eyes, faster and faster until he was back at home. He could see Logan sitting on the couch with his back to him.

“Logan?” he called.

The other turned around, eyes icy and hard.

“Oh, I see you’re back.” He stood up and walked over to him. “Why did you come back? Thomas was doing well without you. We were all doing well without you. I realized that your anxious thoughts cause Thomas to make poor decisions in his life. Not only that but you try to override me when we try to help him. Thomas hasn’t had a single dilemma since you left.” He glared. “I despise you.”

Logan walked away while Virgil’s heart broke.

Roman appeared in front of him.

“You dare show your face here again?” he demanded. “I knew you were bad from the beginning but you tried to make the others think you weren’t. You got to them and they got to me but I broke your trance. You’ve always been a Dark Side. I could tell and I should have trusted my instincts.”

Virgil closed his eyes, trying to keep his sobs quiet.

A warm, familiar hand was placed on his back.

“Come now, friend,” Patton’s kind voice crooned into his ear. “What’s going on? What’s got you so upset?”

“L-Logan and R-Roman,” Virgil gasped out. “They hate me and said that Thomas would be better without me.”

“They’re just upset, don’t worry. You know they would never hate you after everything we’ve been through together. And don’t forget that I will always love you.”

“They said they can’t trust me anyone since they found out that I’m a Dark Side.”

The hand that had been rubbing soothing circles into his back paused.

“What?” The hand was retracted. “You’re a Dark Side?” Virgil nodded and peered through his fingers at the older Side’s face. He froze. There was disgust written clearly across his face. “I can’t believe it.” The kind voice was cold. “I can’t believe I looked after you. You’re not like us. You’re not my son.”

Virgil began sobbing again at the harsh words.

The other two popped up in front of him and continued to berate him with Patton.

* * *

Virgil suggested that the group watch a movie and the other three agreed. Apparently it was Logan’s turn to pick and, unsurprisingly, he chose a documentary, He loved to learn whatever and whenever he could and if he was able to teach the others something as well, he would jump on the chance.

The oldest Side made buckets of popcorn while Logan set up the movie. Roman used his time before the show started to make a pillow fort for the four Sides to enjoy.

Virgil watched them all work.

“Not going to help this time?” Roman called, sticking his head out.

“I don’t want to get in the way,” he replied.

“You usually make the hot chocolate,” Patton said, eyes confused. “Not in the mood today?” The younger shook his head and Patton ruffled his hair. “Okay, kiddo.”

By now Roman had finished making his fort, blankets covering the entire room and encapsulating the television so they could still see it. He held open the flap so the others could join him. The floor had been transformed into a mass of pillows and blankets so that every spot was comfortable and had a great view of the screen. Logan had the disk in and advertisements were quietly playing in front of them. He had already chosen his spot, far to the left with a beige blanket covering him and matching pillow under his head. Patton crawled across the lumpy floor to lay close to him while Roman took the spot closest to the flap in the fort. The last Side chose to lay across the couch instead, the blanket above him inches away from his face.

“Aren’t you going to lay down here with us?” Patton asked, looking up at him.

Sighing, Virgil climbed off the couch to lay next to Patton who smiled and wrapped him up in the blanket he was covered in. Now Virgil was forced to stay next to him as they shared the warm, blue blanket. The documentary began and the group watched it, occasionally asking questions but mostly staying quiet respectfully. They may not be a fan of the genre, but Logan was always quiet during their movies so it was only fair to do so for him as well.

Slowly they all fell asleep in their fort with Patton hugging Virgil to his side.

Chapter Text

To their dismay, the Sides noticed that Thomas’ anxiety was slowly starting to worsen. There were some days where he refused to leave his room, not even to eat. Instead, he stayed in his room fighting off panic attacks or distracting himself on his computer. Virgil also started excusing himself more to go to his room, not reappearing for hours or days. Patton tried to talk to him about it but the other only brushed him off, saying he was trying to fix it.

Their main concern started making more poor decisions than usual as well. His temper seemed ready to fire up with a moment’s notice to the point he actually expelled Joan and Talyn, his two best friends, from his home. The Sides tried to figure out where it was coming from but anytime one appeared before Thomas, he refused to speak to them. He gradually stopped sleeping and began to see things that did not exist. The hallucinations became so real that they had to stop Thomas from leaping out the window to chase a giant ice cream cone.

They expected him to start yelling and dismiss them but instead he broke down into tears. They had no idea what to do to comfort him. Normally they were aware of what was causing Thomas distress but he had not disclosed it to them. Thankfully, he listened to Logan explain that something was wrong with him and he needed to figure out what it was. He nodded and allowed Patton to tuck him into bed to get some rest for the first time in nearly a week. None of them refused to leave his room until they were confident that he was actually asleep and allowing his body a break from the stress.

* * *

Thomas paced around his living room. He felt like he was losing his mind and finally decided that he needed to talk things out.

“Logan, Roman, Patton, Virgil,” he called in a tired voice. “Can you come here please? We need to talk.”

One by one his Sides popped up in front of him. Patton was first, always close by in case Thomas needed him. Logan arrived soon after, wanting to solve this mystery. Roman took a little longer but couldn’t wait to help. Last to arrive was Virgil who did not appear for nearly ten minutes.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you at first.”

Thomas sighed.

“Guys, I think I know why I have been acting so strangely.’ He fiddled with his hands. “As Virgil already knows-” The other Sides looked at the anxious Side who pulled his hood over his face. “I have been considering moving.”

At the last word, all the other Sides froze.

“M-Moving?” Patton asked. “But you’ve settled in so well here!”

Interested, Logan turned to Virgil.

“You are supportive of Thomas moving?” he inquired with a raised eyebrow. “That seems to deviate from your usual ideology. You have said before that you like to stay within your bubble where you feel safe.”

Virgil shrugged.

“Normally I wouldn’t be but I’ve been talking to Thomas about why he wants to go and though it may be upsetting at first, the rewards will make it worth it. I spent a lot of time trying to change his mind but then I started listening and it seemed less…scary…”

“What are some of the upsides?”

“Well…” He took a deep breath. “Thomas is thinking of moving to Los Angeles to increase his chances of breaking into Hollywood. There he will be able to improve his acting ability and learn all sorts of new things from all the museums around which will create all sorts of new memories.”

The Sides thought about what he said.

Roman was overjoyed at the thought of moving to California. His deepest desires could be fulfilled there while he was getting nowhere in this silly town. He could already see Thomas’ name on billboards, playbills, and screens. Not only that, but he could barely imagine all of the adventures that would come with moving.

While Roman was starry eyed at all the possibilities moving could bring, Logan was a little less convinced but still captivated by the idea. There were plenty of museums, libraries, and other educational facilities in Los Angeles that Thomas could use to enrich his life. As it was a much larger city than the one they currently resided in, there were far more opportunities for Logan to persuade Thomas to return to his schooling and find a stable profession.

The oldest Side was far less convinced than the other two. He liked his home and the town they lived in. He enjoyed having Thomas’ friends and family nearby if he ever needed them. It was a comfort that he would not have if he moved. It would throw all of Thomas’ emotions into turmoil and that thought was not even remotely pleasant. Though it would be nice to see new places and make new memories. He swayed a little on his feet as he bit his lip. He could not decide if going or staying would be better for Thomas and the Sides.

Chapter Text

Virgil watched them all debate. Roman and Logan appeared to be all but convinced. However, Patton seemed to be wavering as his emotions pulled him in different directions. He needed to persuade him before Thomas would decide. If his heart and his brain were butting heads, he would just decide to stay where he is to make things easier and Logan would deal with it.

“Pat, I know it’s a big change,” he began. “But the more I talked to Thomas about it, the more I can tell how badly he wants to go. I think we should listen to him this time.”

The paternal side turned to face him.

“Virgil, you hate to leave your room. Why would you be so supportive of Thomas moving? You’ve said how much his friends being around calm you down so wouldn’t leaving them behind cause you to be even more anxious?”

Shrugging, the younger responded, “We can always make new friends.”

Patton was beginning to feel confused and a little wary of his friend. Meeting new people was nearly terrifying to Virgil but he was acting like it was no big deal. There was no way that he was putting Thomas’ possible happiness ahead of his own so much that he would sacrifice his own comfort.

At that Roman also started to suspect that something was wrong and snapped out of his starry-eyed daydreams. Virgil thought acting was frivolous and going to auditions or being on stage made him anxious so he couldn’t see what would make him change his mind. He always preferred to stay home where he knew what to expect.

“Yeah and why would you suddenly want Thomas to be an actor? You’ve never approved of that before, Wednesday Addams.”

Virgil let out a huff, hating being put on the spot.

“You know that I just want what’s best for Thomas. If I don’t push him towards his dreams, aren’t I just holding him back?”

The logical Side decided that this was his moment to jump in, seeming to have also broken out of his own trance.

“And we haven’t even started looking for a place to live. How do we even know if Thomas can afford to move? Moving is not free and housing options in Los Angeles are incredibly expensive. We would not even have a means of income to support ourselves like we do now. Thomas’ online displays would have to be put on hold while we found a place to live, moved, and then tried to restart his life in a new place with no one to support him.”

 “But he wants to and we should be there for him,” Virgil tried to protest. “I don’t know why you are all so against this. You liked the idea five minutes ago. We all know Thomas is a great actor and could definitely make it in Los Angeles. That is why I am not worried.” He turned to look at Roman. “He would be fine, right Gayest Showman?”

The wheels were turning faster and faster in Roman’s head. He had called Virgil a nickname only for the other to completely ignore it which was strange. The other Side has also used a nickname on him. Virgil had stopped creating nicknames for him a long time ago. When he was still using them, he never used a kind one. Not on purpose anyway. What was going on?

Suddenly everything clicked into place and he raised his head to meet Virgil’s eyes.

“Hey Virgil, how do you feel about being the odd one out?”

Patton gasped in shock next to him. The other should have known better than to say something like that.

“How could you ask-?!”

Virgil’s words caused his own to falter.

“I love being the unique one among you all,” he replied with a self-satisfied grin.

Before anyone could stop him, Roman had lunged across the room and punched Virgil in the face as hard as he could. His face was the picture of fury as he growled, “Get out of here!”

“Roman!” Patton screamed, not believing his eyes. Asking a rude question was one thing but attacking the younger Side because he didn’t agree with him? That was a new low and he would not stand for it. He started to march over to Virgil, reaching out to force Roman out of the way, when Logan grabbed his arm and dragged him back. “Let me go!” he cried.

“I do not believe that would be wise. You would go hurt Roman instead of letting the truth sink in.”

It was heartbreaking for Patton to watch Roman pinning his Virgil to the ground. Virgil suddenly turned his head and he could see a burning red mark on his cheek and tears in his eyes.

“Patton!” he pleaded. “Get him off me! He’s hurting me!”

And Patton truly tried to go to his side but Logan would not let him.

“L-Logan! Logan, let go! Please!” Tears were starting to slip down his cheeks. “Roman has gone crazy! I need to help Virgil!”

The pressure around his arm did not falter.

“No he hasn’t,” Logan calmly replied, trying to make the other understand. “That isn’t Virgil.”

Roman was still keeping Virgil down.

“You are not going to use your tricks on me, you lying snake,” he hissed.

The Side under him stopped calling to Patton and turned his head back to Roman, a smirk on his face.

“Why not?” Virgil mocked “It worked perfectly well last time!”

Again Roman’s fist made contact with the other’s face. The force of it knocked a lamp onto the ground, its light spilling across Virgil’s face. When he opened his eyes, they could see that his left was yellow and slit down the middle. Patton’s jaw dropped. Deceit. Deceit had stolen his Virgil’s appearance and tried to deceive them again.

“Go back to wherever you came from,” Logan’s stern voice brought him back to the present.

“That’s just what you want, right Canterbury Fail?” Deceit cooed through Virgil’s mouth. It made Patton shiver and snap.

“You think you can just come in here and pretend to be our Virgil? And what, we just wouldn’t notice? We know our kiddo better than that and no matter how hard you tried you weren’t going to be able to pull the wool over our eyes!” He tried to take a step towards Deceit, eyes on fire, and this time Logan released him. “No!” He crouched down next to Deceit, glaring into his face. “Now tell us where Virgil is.” His tone was ice cold.

The twisted grin that appeared on Virgil’s face looked extremely out of place.

“I would but that would make the game too easy.”

With those last words, he sank out of sight. The other four looked at each other fearfully.

Chapter Text

Logan, Patton, and Roman popped up in the other side of the Mindscape; a place they were not familiar with. It was filled with swirling shadows and constantly changing ground and walls. Nervous, the bright three stepped closer together and looked around themselves, feeling as if unseen eyes were watching them.

“Th-This is where someone took our kiddo?” Patton asked with a shiver.

They had searched every inch of their side of the Mindscape, including all of Virgil’s usual hiding spots, but had found no sign of him. Roman even spent an entire day searching Thomas’ Imagination in case he had somehow gotten lost inside. No further clues had been discovered so they had agreed that he had to be somewhere in this part of the Mindscape.

“Unfortunately,” Logan replied. “Thomas’ anxiety is heightened to an unnatural level, even for him, and some of his other functions are out of balance so he must be here somewhere.”

The shadows around them shifted to create a building. Glancing at each other, the trio decided that the best course of action was to enter the structure. Roman took the lead and Logan took the rear, keeping their marshmallow safely between them. The interior of the building only had one twisting hallway that eventually led them to a gray, unmarked door. Taking a steadying breath, Roman pushed it open and stepped inside, only to freeze when he saw the interior of the room. The other two followed and Logan let out a quiet gasp, quickly covering Patton’s eyes.

Their missing friend was being held against the wall with chains around his wrists and ankles. His clothes were torn and dangling off his skeletal body which was covered in open wounds and blood that was both dried and fresh. When they peered closer at him, they noticed that his hair had been cut brutally short but that was not the most concerning discovery; covering his eyes was a thick blindfold and deep in both of his ears were a pair of earplugs.

“They…deprived  him…” Logan whispered, eyes blown wide and stunned.

“How could they do that?!” Roman demanded, shaking with barely suppressed rage.

Patton tried to pull Logan’s hand away from his face.

“What happened? What did they do to our special boy?”

The other two bright Sides shared a look.

“Maybe you should go home, Patton,” Roman replied, still looking at Logan for support. “We can take care of Virgil and get him home. You can get one of our rooms ready for him and make him some food, he will probably be hungry.”

Patton laughed warmly.

“You guys, I can’t leave you behind to take care of our kiddo! You know how important he is to me.”

“Yes, we know,” Logan replied. “But we do not need three of us to get him home. Go on back and we will be there soon.”

“Let me see my son,” Patton said, warmth leaking out of his voice and becoming stern. “Stop trying to hide him from me.”

The two silently debated about what to do as Patton continued to attempt to remove Logan’s shield. Finally they took a deep breath and agreed.

“Patton, I need you to listen closely to me before I show you,” Logan began speaking firmly. “You know what happens when you…lose control…of your more negative emotions and if you do that, you will hurt Virgil. He has been hurt and you do not need to call him into this because it is highly doubtful that he did not have something to do with how our friend came to be in the state his is currently in. Do you understand?” Patton nodded solemnly. “If you start to feel too overwhelmed, go home immediately, otherwise you will hurt Virgil.” He waited for the older Side to realize how severe the situation was and be serious about it before slowly pulling his hand away.

Patton gazed around, eyes adjusting to the darkness, and spotted his favorite boy on the wall. His jaw dropped open and he started to cry earnestly. He stepped forward while tears poured down his cheeks, overcome with the need to comfort his child, and that’s when he saw the objects cutting off his senses.

“No…No…No!” the last word was screamed, eyes flashing dangerously and tears freezing on his face. “They used sensory deprivation on my Virgil?!” He began shaking, rage flowing through his body. “No one should ever do that to him!”

The walls starting quavering and heavy footfalls could be heard echoing down the labyrinth of a hallway.

“Patton!” Roman shouted, fighting to be heard over the furious Side. “Get out! You are calling him!” He ran over to him and shook him, trying to force some sense back into him.

It seemed to work long enough for Patton to pull himself together and sink out of the room.

The two remaining Sides stared at each other in terror, waiting to see if the footsteps were going to bring them a new visitor or not. Several tense moments passed after Patton disappeared and finally the footsteps stopped and the walls stopped shaking. Both of the Sides waited a little longer before agreeing that he had left.

They each took a deep breath and stepped over to their friend, Logan expertly unbinding him and Roman supporting his body. Once the final restraint was opened, Roman carefully cradled his body. Logan adjusted him a little to make sure his body was properly supported in order to not injure him further. They sank out, taking one last look around them and hoping that none of them, Virgil included, would ever be in this place again.

Chapter Text

Logan and Roman popped up in the shared living space, Roman still holding Virgil.

“Where do you think-?”

Roman’s question was cut off by Patton jogging into the room.

They started to step away from the oldest Side, Roman turning his body to place himself between Patton and the weakened Side, when Patton threw his hands up.

“Wait wait!” he cried. “I promise I calmed down. I want to help my boy.”

The other two looked at each other and agreed after a few moments.

“All right,” Logan agreed. “Roman, bring him into my room. It is the most neutral of all of ours and will be the best place for him to recover. His emotions are already reeling and he does not need them being tampered with more.” The romantic Side nodded and carried Virgil into Logan’s room, Patton following closely and fretting. Logan instructed the other to carefully lay the injured Side on his bed and pulled a chair close. “Some of these wounds are fairly new but others are much older. I am not sure how time works in that part of Thomas’ mind which may distort my ability to determine how old they are. We also are unaware of just when our careful companion was taken from our midst.” He summoned a first aid kit and inspected him. “Now, we have to think hard about this. They deprived Virgil of two of his senses but we cannot be sure how long ago they did so. We have to hope that it was not so long ago that he could be rendered temporarily deaf or blind or even permanently so. We have to be careful when we bring him out or we will drive him from sensory deprivation into sensory overload.”

“Bring him out?” Patton asked, confused. “He’s right in front of us.”

Logan turned to the other two.

“When one is deprived of their sight and hearing, they are put into a state of suspension. They have no perception of time or anything around them. We all know that sensory deprivation is incredibly dangerous for Virgil since it heightens his anxiety even more.” His eyes narrowed. “But suspending him is a heinous act. By keeping him in a state of suspension and physically harming him, in addition to anything else they could have done to him that we have yet to learn, his anxiety was intensified to a near deadly level.”

Patton whimpered and grabbed Roman’s arm.

“Can’t we just put his headphones on him and drag his hood over his eyes?” Roman suggested, waving his arms about spastically as he tried to think of a way to help.

Pausing, the logical Side placed his chin in his hand.

“The headphones might actually be a good idea but the hoodie will not be secure and can still let quite a bit of light in. Virgil is currently experiencing an extreme level of anxiety and with his current state we are not able to coach him through it using most of his normal methods. However, we can try to ground him.”

The oldest Side gasped.

“Logan! He hasn’t done anything wrong! Why would you think of punishing him?!”

“I am not thinking of punishing him, I want to help him. Grounding simply means that we will help him come back to his reality. His vision and audition have been blocked so we will have to rely on his gustation, somatosensation, and olfaction.”

“Could you repeat that again in a language we all understand?”

Letting out a sigh, Logan explained. “I said his vision and hearing are unavailable but his touch, taste, and smell are not. They are what we will use.” Roman grinned to show that he now understood. “If we use things that are familiar to him, it will help him become grounded more easily and those items you suggested can also be used to keep him away from sensory overload.” He turned in his chair to Patton. “Patton, I need you to make Virgil some dinner. Make something simple since his stomach will not be able to handle much, but also something familiar to also help him ground. Furthermore, I need you to bring me the blanket off of your bed.”

The emotional Side tilted his head, eyes confused.

“Why do you need my blanket?”

“Get it and I will show you.” Patton started to press the subject but when his eyes caught sight of his precious boy laying nearly still on the other’s bed, he decided to let the issue rest and do as he was told. “Roman, you need to get Virgil’s headphones and his cell phone. After you gather those items and bring them to me, keep Patton distracted for as long as you can.”

“Why do I need to distract Patton?”

Logan faced the occupant of his bed.

“I need to dress his wounds but Patton will become quite distressed if he sees me doing it. You know how he fawns over Virgil.” Nodding, Roman left the room only to hurry back in a moment later with the supplies he had been asked to bring. “Can you help me with this little bit? We have to work quickly so I need more hands than I have.” The other agreed and closely followed Logan’s instructions. He held open the headphones and as soon as an earplug was removed, slipped them over the top of his head and one ear. The other earplug was removed as well and the headphone was laid on top of the other ear. “Now you will remove the blindfold and I will wrap his eyes. Sources explain that if one has trauma to the eyes, they should be wrapped with bandages which will be secure and still allow for his eyes to heal. I need you to hold my blanket over him once the blindfold is removed so I can wrap his eyes without them being further distressed by the light.” The two worked together and soon the blindfold was lying next to the earplugs on the bed. “I can manage the rest from here. Go distract Patton.”

Chapter Text

Roman was very good at distracting Patton. He talked endlessly about the different foods they could make the youngest side to make him feel better. Nearly half an hour later Patton was finally able to convince him that he just wanted to make him some plain chicken noodle soup like he was planning to in the beginning. It is light on his stomach, easy to make, and he had made it plenty of times before when Virgil had needed him after a panic attack or simply a hard day. It took close to an hour to make the soup with Roman’s constant checking if everything was being prepared correctly and ‘accidentally’ spilling ingredients a few times.

Eventually it was finished and some was poured into a bowl that was placed onto a tray along with some crackers and a glass of water. Together, the two walked back to Logan’s room and knocked politely before being allowed to enter. Virgil’s body was now covered in bandages and his tattered clothes had been replaced with new ones. He had also been adjusted so he was carefully laying in a supine position with two pillows supporting his back and neck. With the bandages covering his eyes and the lights dimmed, no one in the room was able to tell if he was awake or not.

Taking a breath, Roman carried the tray over to Logan’s desk and set it down. Patton followed him, carrying the blanket he had retrieved on his way to the room.

“I have been thinking,” Logan began.

“Not surprising,” Roman cut across him.

Glaring slightly, Logan continued.

“Right now there is no way for us to communicate with Virgil. His ears are still being blocked as well as his eyesight.” He picked up something on his desk and held it out. “However I believe I have discovered a solution to that problem.”

“Your cell phone?” the other replied, completely confused.

“Exactly. If we plug Virgil’s cell phone into his headphones we will be able to communicate with him. He will still be out of touch with the rest of the world, one could say, but at least this way he would not be lost in a void on his own. And, we can slowly build his auditory sense back up.”

Roman shrugged but Patton beamed.

“I like your idea, Logan! It’s neato!”

“Thank you, Patton.” The logical Side reached forward and connected the auxiliary cord into the end of Virgil’s phone after turning the volume setting down to the lowest above being muted. He then used the phone to call his own and answered it immediately. “Now we can just leave the phone on and the call going and if we need to speak to him or he needs one of us and we are not around, we can communicate.”

Patton held up the blanket in his hands.

“Can you tell me why I needed to bring this now?”

“Yes. I need you to cover Virgil with it and make sure it is close to his face.”

Not sure what the other was hoping to accomplish, Patton did so. He gently laid the blanket down on his son and tucked him in, mindful of his injuries, then stepped back when he was satisfied that his boy was as snug as a bug in a rug.

Sighing, he turned back to the others and saw them quietly discussing how to properly take care of and watch over the injured Side.

“P-Pat…?” a voice strained from disuse creaked from the bed and all three immediately ceased their conversation and spun to face the bed.

The occupant did not seem to have changed but Logan still picked up his phone and held it out to Patton.

With shaking hands, he took and whispered as softly as he could, “You up, kiddo?”

All three held their breath and waited for a response, any response, hoping they had not imagined the voice.

It was quiet for a long time and as Roman deflated sadly, opening his mouth to resume his conversation with Logan, they heard the voice again.

“I…I don’t know…i-it’s all dark…” Patton’s eyes welled with tears. “A-Are you really there…? Y-You were there…so m-many times before…b-but you were never r-real…”

The father figure walked over to his distressed child and sat next to him.

“I am going to hold your hand,” he warned quietly. “You tell me if you think I’m real or not.”

Slowly, as if he was trying to pick up a china doll, he reached forward and grasped the pale hand in his own and squeezed it briefly.

The other two watched, hopeful, but not interrupting. They knew that this was Patton’s moment. He wasn’t there when his child had needed him but he was there now and he was going to make it all better.

A broken smile inched across the youngest Side’s face.

“Y-You’re here…y-you’re real…y-you didn’t l-leave me…”

Silent tears ran down the cheeks of both Sides by the bed but the other two did not think to mention it.

Chapter Text

Days passed in much the same way. Virgil laid motionless in Logan’s bed with Patton at his side almost constantly. The only times he was dragged away was when Roman forced him to get some rest under Logan’s orders. Logan himself would also stay close to Virgil, usually writing in a notebook or looking something up on his computer when he was not cleaning the many wounds. Roman had taken it upon himself to be bodyguard and errand boy of the other three and follow any command that Logan would give. Normally he would turn his nose up at the idea of doing something simply because he was told to, but he knew that this was not the time to let his ego stand in the way. The phone was always clutched in someone’s hand, ready at a moment’s notice to talk to Virgil.

Currently Patton was sitting at Virgil’s bedside, helping him to slowly sip at a glass of water and cooing encouragement to him. Logan was watching them closely. A thought had been tugging at him for a while now and after doing some research he had decided to act on it.

Virgil closed his mouth tightly, signaling he did not want any more water, and Patton set the nearly full glass on the tray next to the bed.

“You did so good, kiddo,” he praised quietly into the phone. “You got so much down this time. You’re going to get better in no time.”

The other nodded weakly.

“Patton,” Logan began, addressing the caring Side. “Can you go retrieve Roman for me? I believe he laid down for a little bit.” Patton quickly left to get the fanciful Side. As soon as he walked in, Logan instructed him to close the door and sit. He addressed him with a more serious voice than usual. “I am worried that after what Virgil has undergone, he has developed a Conversion Disorder.”

“What is that?”

“It is a type of disorder that can be developed after psychological stress or trauma to the person in question. It causes altered vision, hearing, and touch as well as weakness or paralysis in limbs, difficulty swallowing, and so on. The body develops the disorder in order to deal with an overabundance of anxiety and well…” They both turned to look at the other Side. “His anxiety is already higher than average and if pushed farther could easily transform into a form of this disorder.” Logan pulled out the notebook he had been keeping his findings in, passing it over to Roman. “From my observations, he has been showing signs of these symptoms.”

• Day 1 7:45 PM
  • Subject responds to others while they speak in hushed tones on lowest volume setting. Subject never asks for the volume to be raised, the speaker to speak louder, or the speaker to repeat themselves.

• Day 1 7:48 PM
  • Subject says that the world around him is too dark. The room is dimmed but with only bandages around his eyes, the Subject should be able to see patches of faint light.

• Day 2 11:04 AM
  • Subject was attempting to talk with another when his voice gave out. Was not able to recover it until next day.

• Day 2 3:12 PM
  • Subject refuses water. Claimed it was too hard to swallow once his voice was been recovered.

• Day 2 6:30 PM
  • Subject was being fed dinner when the soup was spilled on his hand. Subject failed to react to the hot liquid on his skin. Also claimed it was hard to swallow during a later conversation.

• Day 3 2:37 AM
  • Subject manages to drink 2 ounces of water. At this time, Subject explains things have been hard to swallow.

• Day 3 4:55 AM
  • Subject was mid-conversation when he lost consciousness. Did not wake up until 12:34 PM.

• Day 3 1:44 PM
  • Subject attempts to feed himself but was not able to move his arms or legs without assistance and had to be fed. Subject is still having trouble swallowing.

• Day 3 8:13 PM
  • Subject still has yet to ask for the volume to be increased and keeps mentioning how dark it is around him. Attempted an experiment and turned the lights back to their normal level. Asked the Subject if that was better and Subject replied that nothing had changed.

Roman could not read any more and closed the book even though there were still several pages he had not seen yet. He handed the book back to Logan, worry on his face.

“What do you think that we need to do?”

The logical Side rubbed his temple.

“I have been researching and the best solution I have discovered is that we need to lower his anxiety and the problems will start to sort themselves out.” He paused and worried his lip between his teeth, a sign that he was stressed. “I need to check something to help confirm this diagnosis. Can you hold the phone for me so I can speak to him while I work? I require use of both my hands unfortunately.” The other agreed and held the phone up for him. “Virgil,” he called softly. “Are you awake?” A slight nod. “Alright. I am going to check on your eyes. If it hurts, tell me immediately and I will stop.”

He began to carefully unwind the bandages around his eyes until they were curled on the bed.

They both gasped and Virgil asked, “When are you going to take it off?”

Chapter Text

A flashlight was fished out of Logan’s desk and shone into Virgil’s eyes. They failed to dilate or even water. The scholar leaned to the side but the other’s eyes continued to stare forward blankly at nothing. He turned to Roman with wide eyes.

“That is what I was worried would be the outcome.”

Roman’s face mirrored the more intelligent Side’s and he fumbled for words.

“S-Surely he can’t be…h-he’s not…blind…right?”

As Logan opened his mouth to reply, someone else’s voice caused his own response to falter on his lips.

“Blind?!”

The two slowly turned to see a white faced Patton standing in the doorway, hands trembling and pale faced. At his feet was a new tray of food and water.

“Bibbidi bobbidi boops…”

* * *

They managed to keep Patton from exploding again. Barely. Logan explained how the blindness should only be temporary. Once Virgil was back to his usual level of anxiety, he would start healing. He also described how the other was suffering from a Conversion Disorder. The notebook was shared with him to corroborate his thoughts.

“Logan…?” Virgil’s shaky voice asked, feeling around for the logical Side.

“I’m here,” he responded into the phone, touching his hand and attempting to make his voice soothing.

“I thought you were going to take the bandages off…?”

“I already took them off.”

“But I can’t see anything.”

There was a note of panic overlaying his words.

“Logan just has the lights off to avoid hurting your eyes,” Roman answered, also trying to reassure Virgil. He understood how important it was for his stress and anxiety levels to be kept down.

“Oh…it must be hard to work in the dark.” He smiled a little, feeling grateful. “Thank you, Logan.”

Roman watched Logan explain that he had finished and rewrap his eyes, processing what he had just done. He had jumped in to calm Virgil down without even thinking about it. He had simply heard his anxious tone and acted. Months ago he would have just ignored it, uncaring if the other was upset. And even a few weeks ago he would have said nothing, letting Patton fall into his usual role.

Things were changing faster than he could dream possible.

By now Logan had finished rewrapping Virgil’s eyes and was checking his other injuries. Patton had yet to see the Side’s current state but reined his emotions in and even helped Logan clean him up. It seemed as though his external wounds were healing well under Logan’s care. The bruises were fading, the slashes were shrinking, and the burns were starting to scar. Only his internal injuries were stagnant. Did that mean that his anxiety was not being lowered? He seemed so calm lately and someone was always there to talk to him. Or was there another underlying reason that his eyes and ears were not healing?

He waited until Patton had been led out of the room to get some rest before raising his worries to Logan, not wanting to upset the other more than he already was.

“Logan, have you noticed any changes in Virgil’s sight or hearing?”  He tried to keep his tone light and looked at his nails, making it sound like he was just throwing the question out. “I know you are keeping very detailed notes on his how he is healing.”

The other sighed in frustration and made sure that the phone was moved away from them so that Virgil could not hear them but they could still grab it if he needed them.

“From what I have noticed, there has been no change and I am not quite sure why. He is safe now and his anxiety has been much better than it was when we first brought him back so there should be at least a miniscule change in his vision and audition.” He pinched between his eyebrows. “Unless there is something else still causing him anxiety that we do not know about.”

Something Virgil said when they first spoke to him suddenly popped into his head. “You were there so many times before but you were never real…” Could Deceit have recruited him as well…? Surely he had not worked with both of them together. That would be overly cruel, even for the deceiver.

But he also remembered Thomas’ many hallucinations. The times where he was left so anxious afterward that he could hardly tell if he was real anymore or if he was truly sane. Occasionally they had come during one of his fits of anger, such as when he removed his friends from his house. During that interaction, he had claimed that they only wanted to be around him to share in his spotlight. A sane Thomas would never even consider that his best friends would only be at his sides for their own profit and fame. And a few days later he had imagined that his parents were at his home, berating him for where he was in life. They had declared that he needed to pull himself together. He needed a real job, not this frivolous hobby, he needed to go back to school, and he needed to find himself a wife. Until then, he would not be allowed back at their house. They all knew that Thomas’ real parents had completely opposite thoughts on all those matters but for some reason, that had been what his mind had conjured.

Taking a deep breath, Roman began, “Logan, I might have an idea about that.”

The older Side turned to face him properly.

“I am always interested in hearing your non-fantastical notions.”

“Do you remember how Thomas had all those hallucinations before we realized Virgil was missing?” Logan gave a short nod. “I am not sure that those were created completely on his own…”

Trying to process what the man was saying, Logan paused. Not on his own? What on Earth was he talking-? His eyes widened as he understood.

“You are positing that Deceit did not only seek the help of Wrath but also Delirium in order to subdue and torment Virgil?”

“Yes.”

Chapter Text

The two stared at each other as they tried to process that thought. It was concerning that Deceit could have sought the assistance of Delirium as the latter was completely out of control when unleashed. All of the Sides tried to avoid him for fear that he would turn on them. Anyone who had experiences with the unbalanced Side were left reeling for days and still had the occasional panic attack even years later. The pair were lucky to have evaded him for as long as they have. But Virgil had spent an unknown amount of time with three Dark Sides and come out barely a shell of his former self. They needed to bring him back as soon as possible to put this horrible time behind him.

“How do we fix this?” Roman asked.

“You know that the truth can defeat both Deceit and Delirium, that’s why they work so well together,” Logan explained. “They both have the same goals and weaknesses. They both adore chaos and all the confusion it brings.”

“So we just need to figure out what fantasies they told Virgil and enlighten him with the truth? Then he will be able to heal?”

“It would appear so.”

* * *

Without any past experience with Delirium, they had tried to use what they knew about Deceit and Wrath to craft possible solutions. It was difficult with that missing piece of the puzzle. If it had only been Deceit and Wrath, they could have come up with a few, concrete solutions but with the added enigma, they could not be sure any of them would actually work. The best they could do was try to plan and experiment.

The two talked about possible lies their friend could have been told for hours before Logan retired to the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of water and sat at the table, head down. He didn’t know how much time had passed but he could hear someone else entering the room. Looking up, he saw Roman pull a soda out of the fridge and turn. The younger Side jumped, not expecting to see the other, and almost dropped the phone he was holding in his hand.

“Don’t scare me like that!”

“I, quite literally, did not move therefore it would be implausible that I was attempting to alarm you.”

“Whatever! Just don’t do it again!”

Logan began to respond but shook his head and let the subject go. He was glad as the other came to sit with him instead of departing for his room and the conversation could have gone on for hours. The two sat in comfortable silence instead as they were both tired and slowly fell asleep, phone forgotten between them.

They woke up with a jolt half an hour later, confused by their surroundings. Both rubbed their eyes and faces, trying to wake up again. Neither had planned on their impromptu nap. Around them the kitchen was just as dark as it had been when they had fallen asleep. Everything seemed to be where they had left it, including the many pictures on the fridge. Quiet words could still be heard coming from the phone on the table and everything seemed peaceful.

“We should return to our rooms. It is not wise to fall asleep at the table as it can cause several health problems and it is rather uncomfortable.”

“Yeah,” Roman admitted. “And one of us should probably go relieve Patton so he can sleep as well. He has been with Virgil for hours and deserves a break.”

The pair stood, grabbing their drinks, and walked further into the kitchen. Roman tossed the empty can into their recycling bin and Logan placed his glass in the dishwasher. They nodded to each other and started for the door when Patton walked through it, wearing his onesie and yawning. The two froze, not understanding what they were seeing.

“Patton?”

The older’s eyes blinked at them for a moment before grinning.

“Oh hiya, Logan! Fancy meat-ing you here!” The other two simply stared at him causing his grin to falter a bit. “Sorry if that wasn’t my best joke but I’m still half asleep.”

“P-Patton? What have you been doing for the last few hours?”

“Me? Well I’ve been asleep since sunrise, moonshine! I spent all night with Virgil and was just plum, tuckered out.”

“I-If you are here,” Logan stuttered as they all heard soft words continue to come from the phone. “Then who is talking to Virgil?”

The sleepiness vanished as all the color in Patton’s face drained.

“I-I don’t know…” he confessed quietly.

With those three words, Logan and Roman darted out of the kitchen, sprinting for Logan’s room. Patton followed them closely, all three hoping that they were not too late to help their friend.

‘If he is missing…if they took him away again…I’ll never forgive my carelessness…’ they all thought as they ran.

The door was closed tightly but Roman threw it open, stopping short just inside the door as he saw the person who had been talking to Virgil. The other two halted at his side, staring in quiet horror.

The other phone was no longer plugged into Virgil’s headphones and was tossed carelessly to the other side of the room. Sitting at the injured Side’s bedside, smirking, was a familiar man dressed in yellow and black.

“Welcome to the party,” he purred, eyes full of delight. “You ended ours by taking the guest of honor so we had to crash yours.”

“We?”

“Of course,” a different voice called from behind them as the door slammed shut. “We all had to come for this moment.”

Turning around, they found two others: one quite muscular and dressed all in red while the other was taller with a black and blue mask over his face. They were trapped in a nightmare: Wrath, Deceit, and Delirium were all in the same room.

Chapter Text

“Y-You don’t scare us!” Patton yelled at the seated Side, voice shaking.

“Oh happy go lucky Patton,” Deceit cooed. “Lying is not something you do well. It does not suit you.”

Roman glared, pulling his sword out and pointing it at the fraud.

“Do not speak to Patton like that. He is a better figment than you are!”

The smile never left the other’s face as he twisted his fingers into a fist. The creative’s hand started to move but Logan grabbed it and held it firm.

“Stop that,” Logan simply said, releasing Roman as the gloved hand dropped sadly back into a black lap.

“Why?” Deceit asked, eyes mischievous and tone playful. “I know that you hate his flowery language. You cannot hide the lies you tell from me. Or the ones you don’t.”

Roman turned his head to look at Logan but the older shook his head.

“Attempting to pit us against each other will not work.”

The words caused Deceit to pout.

“Maybe not but my friends still want to play too.”

The three Sides peered over their shoulders at the two by the door. Wrath had taken his red leather jacket off and thrown it to the floor. Without his jacket, his large muscles were prominent and menacing. Next to him, Delirium grinned at them from behind his two-toned mask, twirling a blue cane in his hands. He wore a cloak similar to Deceit’s but it fell all the way to the floor and was made of a color none of them could determine. It seemed almost as if the cloak was constantly changing from black to blue to gray and back.

“We are evenly matched,” Roman whispered to the other two. “We need to pair off with one of them. Logan, Delirium’s tricks should be nothing to you with your logical mind. Patton, you are full of love and truth so you face Deceit. I will fight Wrath but Patton,” he paused and gave Patton a serious look. “Keep your emotions under control. We do not need him gaining any energy from you.” Patton nodded. “Good.”

Roman darted toward Wrath, swinging his sword fiercely. The other Side saw him coming and cracked his knuckles. Dodging the swing, Wrath ducked and attempted to punch the prince. Scowling, Roman thrust his sword at the other again, nicking his shoulder as he tried to move out of the way. Wrath felt blood running down his arm and his smile disappeared, becoming twisted and full of hatred.

“I will get you back for that,” he threatened in a low voice. “Tenfold!”

He launched himself at the whimsical Side and started punching furiously, all games forgotten. Roman was able to dodge or parry several but many still found their mark causing him to groan slightly in pain.

As the two fought viciously, Logan approached Delirium.

“Good day, scholar,” he greeted.

“It is currently evening,” Logan replied. “So good evening, deceiver.”

“Deceiver?” Delirium asked, interested. “That is not me. You must be thinking of the one over there.”

He pointed at where Deceit was still sitting next to Virgil.

“He is also a deceiver but not in the same way.” The logical Side moved closer. “He distorts the truth whereas you distort reality and knowledge. Both of you change the mind in subtle ways that greatly impact a person’s psyche.”

“That is true,” the masked man agreed. “Which means that it is most dangerous for you to be near me.”

“Correct. But that also means that I understand the most how you function and how you can affect someone else which means that I am also safest around you.”

Delirium was delighted.

“Oh that’s a paradox!” he cheered. “You do know how to speak my language.”

“I do. So I am not likely to fall into any of your traps.”

“Perhaps not but not all of my tricks are spoken. Many are instigated through contact as well.” He twirled his cane again, eyes narrowing dangerously. “Of any kind.”

Without warning, Delirium leapt at him, jabbing the long cane at Logan who jumped back, out of reach. The other was not deterred and kept coming until he landed a hit on the logical Side.

Thick, brick walls sprang up from the floor, ending at the ceiling and trapping Logan inside.

* * *

Letting the others walk away from him, Patton took a step nearer to Deceit.

“So we fall together. Again.”

“Yes. I do not know why you hurt Virgil but I don’t need to. I forgive you.”

Deceit laughed.

“That was too cliché. Even for you.”

Patton shrugged.

“Just wanted to try it.” He suddenly frowned. “Now move away from Virgil.”

“We both know you can’t make me do that. You can’t even stop me from doing this.”

He grabbed the headphones on Virgil’s head.

“Don’t!”

And he ripped them off.

“But he needs to hear this. You can’t shield him forever.”

The headphones were snapped in half and dropped to the ground.

Patton stared, not believing. His breathing started to increase until he was nearly hyperventilating.

“You…you…”

“Can’t even make jokes anymore?” Deceit taunted.

The oldest Side’s head snapped up to glare at him.

“You keep hurting him and I will not stand for it.” He took a threatening step forward. “You will pay for it!”

Behind them Warren felt power flow into his body and he threw Roman to the ground.

“P-Pat!” Roman cried weakly. “S-Stop!”

“No, Pat,” Deceit sing-songed, eyes charged with malicious enjoyment. “Keep going. Defend your ‘boy’. Defend your Dark son!”

Chapter Text

Logan peered through the darkness that suddenly surrounded him. It was absolute and there was nothing he could make out without a light source. He kept calm, knowing that panic would enhance Delirium’s tricks and his power. There had to be a solution, Delirium was never able to make a trap without an escape. No matter how hard he tried.

Blindly feeling around him, he felt the cold bricks that were keeping him. They all felt solid and real, too sturdy to push any out. What was the hoax?

‘Think about this, Logan. You can figure this out. There is always an answer.’ He pondered his situation for a while before a stray thought slipped into his mind. ‘If he put the energy into making the illusion feel and look real, is it possible that the wall isn’t actually there?’

Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward. He met no resistance and continued.

* * *

Still laying on the floor, Roman watched the scene around him. Delirium had trapped Logan in a tiny brick room and Deceit was fueling Patton’s rage which was all being passed on to Wrath. He felt too weak to be able to do anything but watch as the tide turned against them. Wrath picked him up like a ragdoll and threw him into the wall on the other side of the room. He hit it and fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, too tired to get up again.

Wrath laughed and taunted him, trying to coax him into getting back on his feet and resuming the fight. The harsh words drifted into his ears but they did not make sense. He could hear the noise but was unable to comprehend any of it.

Seeing that he was not going to keep fighting, Wrath approached Delirium to plan their next move. Roman saw him go but his vision was blurry, shapes, colors, and rough outlines all he could understand. Slowly the world started to sharpen around him and he was able to see that Patton was calming down. Not sure why, he looked around and saw Logan walking out of the room he had been confined in. The scholar walked through the bricks as if they did not exist and came over to him.

He knelt next to him and checked his injuries.

“You have quite a few gashes and will have some bruises later but luckily none of your bones appear to be broken.”

Roman wiped some blood off of his face.

“H-How…?”

“Delirium has many tricks he can wield but there is always an answer to his riddles,” Logan explained as he helped Roman to his feet. “I will tell you more about it later. Right now we need to focus on defeating our opponents.”

They turned to face Wrath and Delirium, faces set.

“Your tricks will not work on us. We will see through them every time.”

The masked man was panting slightly, worn out from creating such a strong illusion and Logan breaking it so quickly. He decided to back out, too tired to create any more illusions and no longer amused by the situation. He sunk out and Wrath suddenly disappeared from next to him. Confused, they saw Patton inches away from Deceit. There was a bright smile on his face.

“You know that I would do anything to help my friends,” he said kindly. “You can’t make me change my mind about Virgil. He is my friend and always will be.”

Deceit took a step back, slightly intimated by how close the other Side was. The other two in the room came to stand beside Patton, determined to get rid of the deceiver as well.

“Your so called friend is one of us!” Deceit shouted, glaring. “He is a Dark Side!”

* * *

The silence around him was something he had grown used to after so long. Someone had been speaking to him recently but had since grown quiet, leaving him in his silent state again. A while later, someone grabbed his headphones and ripped them off his head. His world did not change, still on mute.

Why had they taken his headphones? And if someone took his headphones away, why couldn’t he hear anything? He shouldn’t still be surrounded by silence. He started to panic, breathing quickening. He wanted to hear. He desperately wanted to understand.

Small whispers began to reach his ears but at first he didn’t notice. The sounds slowly became more distinct, as if the volume was being raised around him.

“You can’t make me change my mind about Virgil. He is my friend and always will be.”

That was Patton’s voice. Who was he talking to?

“Your so called friend is one of us! He is a Dark Side!”

He froze. Deceit. Deceit was talking to Patton. Deceit was back and he was talking to Patton. Why was Deceit back?

The words Deceit had said abruptly knocked aside his other thoughts. His secret. The most important thing about him. The thing he had tried desperately to hide from the others once they had accepted him. They knew. They were going to leave him now. They were going to send him back to the others, the ones he had run away from. They were going to-

“And?” Roman’s voice asked in a bored tone, distracting him. “You think we didn’t know that?”

“What?!”

‘What?’

“We have always known where Virgil came from,” Logan’s voice said calmly. “We were wary at first, of course, but it was clear that he was going to do us no harm. We trusted him then and we still do.”

‘They knew the whole time. And they trusted me? I never gave them a reason to but they did.’

“And you can’t turn us against him no matter what you do.”

Yelling in fury, Deceit shot up and spun on his heel. He pulled small knives from inside his cloak and leapt at Virgil, slashing at him.

Realizing what he was about to do, Roman dove between the two Dark Sides. He felt the knives tear at his back as he landed on top of the other. Using his arms, he held himself off the injured body.

Logan and Patton were amazed and outraged by Deceit’s actions and jumped into action. Logan summoned a thin knife of his own and pointed it at Deceit while Patton shoved him away from Virgil and Roman.

“Oh you have a cute little blade,” Deceit teased, holding four knives between his fingers. “But can you really stand up to me?”

“Leave now,” Logan warned. “We will not hesitate to fight you back or even call some of your friends back to help.”

The deceiver regarded their faces, set and not going to back down.

“Fine.”

With that, he vanished.

Chapter Text

Logan quickly pulled Roman off of Virgil and made him sit on the edge of the bed. He helped Roman remove his jacket and undershirt, careful of the deep gashes on his back. Four, long cuts ran from his left shoulder diagonally across his back to his other hip. Dark red blood dripped onto the beige bedding, leaving spots behind.

“Patton, please go retrieve my medical kit.” He addressed the other without turning around. The older Side had just finished checking that Virgil had not been harmed and had helped him sit up. Hearing his name, he looked at the other and stood to get the kit. “Roman, I will have to wait to help you. I need that medical kit first.” His watch started beeping. He silenced it and stated, “I need to change Virgil’s bandages.”

The younger nodded and allowed him to attend to the other while they waited for Patton to come back.

Slowly, he unwrapped the bandages around Virgil’s eyes. As usual, he let them pool in the injured Side’s lap. He pulled a fresh roll out of his desk and was about to rewrap his eyes when Patton returned, medical kit in hand. Logan paused, setting the roll down, and focused on Roman once again as his injuries were more severe and needed more attention.

* * *

Light was pressing on his eyelids. How long had it been since he had recognized light? His world had been just as dark as it had been silent but now he was surrounded by sound and light was trying to force its way in. Gently he opened his eyes the tiniest bit before being overwhelmed by the light and squeezing them tightly closed again.

Wait.

He could see light. That meant he must be able to see something.

He tried to open his eyes again and saw fuzzy shapes. Not letting the light deter him again, he let his eyes gradually adjust to new sensation. There were three others in the room with him. He squinted, trying to force his eyes to clear faster.

A familiar shade of periwinkle jumped out at him so he focused on that until the worried face of his cardigan-clad friend was easily visible.

‘Why is Patton upset?’

Turning to see what Patton was looking at it, he saw Logan sitting next to him. Logan seemed to fine so that most likely wasn’t what was making Patton frown so he continued peering around and noticed another person at the end of his bed with their back to him.

“Roman will be fine, Patton,” Logan reassured Patton.

'Roman? What was wrong with Roman?'

His breath caught as he noticed the bright red streaks over the Prince’s back.

‘Was Roman hurt because of…me?’

The creative Side hissed as Logan pressed a cotton pad doused in antiseptic against one of the deep gashes across his back. Logan quietly apologized and continued disinfecting before wrapping his back tightly.

Sighing, Logan finished and turned. He jumped when he saw Virgil looking back at him.

“Virgil!” Sliding over to him, Logan stared at him with the other two. “C-Can you see me?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“Follow my finger.” Logan held up his pointer finger and moved it around, closely watching Virgil’s eyes track it. “Good. Very good,” he muttered as he thought.

Something Deceit had said to him when they had been alone suddenly struck Patton.

‘You care for him? Ha! You don’t even know when I replaced him! You’re not that concerned about him!’

“Virgil, what was the last thing we did together?” he asked gently, not wanting to hurt the other.

The anxious Side tried to remember, head tilting to the side.

“I think we played that game…the one you like…? And then we talked for a while..?”

The other three stared at him in shock, unable to believe what Virgil had said. That meant that Deceit had managed to live with them, undetected, for over a month. It also meant that Virgil had been tormented by the other three for the same amount of time without anyone attempting to help him.

“It may be difficult, but could you tell us what you remember from before Deceit came back?”

“I…I will try…”

He closed his eyes as he tried to remember.

* * *

Patton hugged him tightly, trying to transfer all of his joy into the younger so he would be able to get a good night of sleep. He pressed a soft kiss into his hair and released him. “Good night. Sleep well.”

Virgil smiled slightly at him.

“I will try. Get some rest yourself.” With that he turned and entered his room. He closed the door behind him and let out a shaky breath, waiting until he could no longer hear Patton’s footsteps. When the other was out of earshot, Virgil opened his eyes.

“You can come out now. I know you’re there.”

Deceit stepped out of a shadowy corner with an innocent smile on his face.

“How did you know I was here?”

“Do you really think you can hide from me after all this time?” he replied in a bored voice. “I knew you were there the whole time.”

Ignoring the yellow-clad man, Virgil walked over to his bed and picked up a book that Logan had loaned him. He was used to the other breaking into his room when he felt the urge. He speculated he should have anticipated him doing so sometime after he became more friendly with the other Sides.

“Well then you should have expected this…” he heard Deceit whisper to himself.

Confused, he started to turn around but the world suddenly went black.

Chapter Text

Over the next several days, Virgil’s hearing and sight steadily improved to the delight of the others. They no longer had to communicate through a cell phone and were able to speak face to face. The other three had been able to pull a bit of information from Virgil about what he had undergone but not much. They asked Patton to speak to him about the sensitive topic as he was the one that Virgil trusted the most.

The little information they had learned was difficult to stomach and explained why the Side had been so traumatized and slow to heal. They also were uncomfortable with the idea that Virgil was keeping the most traumatic parts of the puzzle to himself. Any scenario they imagined only made them shiver and hope they were mistaken. The torture he had gone through had left him nearly paralyzed but under Logan’s care he had healed quite a lot but he had spent a long time in bed and his legs had begun to deteriorate again due to disuse.

Whenever Virgil needed to be moved from the bed or wanted to leave the room to go to another or do something, Roman would carry him there. At first Virgil had protested vehemently. He knew about the deep gashes on the other’s back and did not want him to strain himself and possibly cause the wounds to worsen. He also despised being carried like a helpless child and was determined to heal as fast as possible so he did not have to rely on the others as he had done for the past few weeks.

At his insistence, Logan began giving him physical therapy for his arms and legs. Every day he listened to the scholar’s lesson and tried his hardest to do what was asked of him. Some days it was simply curling and uncurling his fingers or hands while others had him trying to lift his arms or legs off of the mattress a few inches. It seemed that Logan always knew how much he could handle that day and did not push him too hard while not being too easy at the same time. As his vision grew stronger and the therapy progressed, Logan and Patton started taking short walks with him to regain his mobility. They carefully supported him so he would not fall and if he grew too tired to continue, they called Roman to take him back.

Roman was also a frequent patient of Logan’s while his back healed. Each day after lunch he would find himself sitting on a stool while Logan tended to his back, removing soiled bandages, cleaning the wounds, and wrapping him in new bandages. Virgil tried to apologize for his role in marring the prince but Roman had just shushed him. The creator said that the wounds, which were going to scar, did not bother him. Instead, he could say that they proved how strong he was and that all heroes had scars they were proud of.

* * *

“Come this way,” Patton encouraged warmly as he helped Virgil walk slowly. “You’re doing great! Just a few more steps!”

Trying not to show how much of a toll the walk was taking on his body, Virgil let out a bored sigh.

“Can you please tell me why you’re showing me my own room?”

Patton smiled brightly and shook his head.

“You’ll see!”

They reached the door to Virgil’s room and Patton knocked, not letting go of the younger. Within seconds the door flew open and Roman grinned at them. He held the door open as wide as it would go while Patton led Virgil into the room.

“Okay I’m here. What did you want to show me?”

“This!” Roman yelled in excitement as he danced over to stand next to Virgil’s bed.

Except it wasn’t Virgil’s bed. His bed was a small, messy twin bed that was covered in clothes, plates, and small items. The clothes from before were hanging neatly in his closet while the dishes had been removed and the various items seemed to be stored in a new black nightstand next to the bed. This new bed was clean and neat with fresh, purple sheets on them that he didn’t remember owning.

The biggest change though was the bed itself. It was large, a queen bed at least, and had four thin, gunmetal gray posts rising up from it. Hanging on those posts were thick, violet curtains that reached to the floor. The posts met several feet from the floor to create a canopy over the bed. Small fairy lights were wrapped around the two poles at the end of the bed and even more were concealed inside the canopy to light the bed in a soft, comforting glow. Pasted on the wall behind the pillows were dozens of pictures of the other Sides with Virgil while lying on his bed was a new pair of headphones.

“W-What is all this?” Virgil forced out, staring at the bed.

“Well,” Logan began, making Virgil jump because he didn’t notice him near his closet. “You have healed enough that you no longer need to be under constant supervision. Because of this fact, I decided that you might be more comfortable in your own room. However, when I instructed Roman to prepare your room for your return, he created a scene about the state of your bed.”

“So we got you a new one!” Patton cheered. “It’s super comfy and you’re going to love it!”

Stepping over to the bed, Logan started explaining why they chose this particular bed and set up.

“As you deal with heightened anxiety that often prevents you from sleeping, or restful sleeping.” Virgil looked away, unaware that the others knew that. “This bed will help calm you when you are troubled. The bedframe and posts are made of metal which will keep cool due to how cold you prefer your room. As such, you can lean against one to help you cool off or to ground yourself. Also, if you are overwhelmed you can grasp the post while you try to sleep which should ease your mind.” He took a moment to catch his breath before continuing. “These curtains can be pulled to enclose the bed and block out anything stimulating you and keep your, I believe Patton calls them ‘demons’, at bay. They also darken your surroundings which makes it easier to sleep. Roman added those small lights to the poles and the inside so that if you start to feel trapped, you can turn them on and clear your mind.” He pointed to a small knob that was secured to the wall near one of the posts. “And Patton of course plastered all of those pictures to the wall above your head.”

“So you remember how much we love you if you start to get sad!”

“Do you like it?” Roman asked, a touch of unusual nervousness in his voice.

Virgil was speechless. He had no idea that the others would put so much thought into helping him calm down and manage his emotions. After all they had done for him lately, he thought they would want to have some space from him. And with all that he had put them through with Deceit and the others, he thought that they would definitely want be rid of him. But no. They had created a safe space for him that had small touches of their own feelings for him. Roman with his lights, Patton with his pictures, and Logan with his meticulous research. All for him.

“Th-Thank you…” was all he could manage.

The others understood what he couldn’t say and gave him a hug, Patton starting it with Roman quick to join though Logan was moments behind after a sharp look from the oldest Side.

Chapter Text

Their world had settled down once again to everyone’s delight. Roman’s back was nearly healed and he now had four long scars on his back that he had proudly displayed to Thomas. Virgil also had healed and his tension had eased with his new bed, his friends, and his return to normal.

Thomas had been relieved to hear that the other was doing better. Logan had, of course, supplied him with updates on his healing and warned him about certain behaviors or thoughts that could affect him while the Side healed. Life had definitely been a rollercoaster for Thomas from the moment Deceit replaced Virgil to his rescue and all throughout his healing process. He hadn’t minded as much because this time he knew what was causing him stress and was able to predict and prevent many outbursts  or intrusive thoughts.

He had also informed his friends about the possibility of behavior issues or mood swings. They had understood and stood by him while he dealt with any problems since he had warned them in the beginning. He had also deeply and repeatedly apologized to them for his behavior while Virgil was missing and while he was healing.

Now he was resting so the four were having a meeting in their shared kitchen. Roman was pacing slowly while Patton sat cross-legged on a counter and Logan stood rigidly next to the table that Virgil was sitting at, elbows on the table.

“We want to make sure that this can never happen again,” Roman explained, turning on his heel to face the others. “So Logan and I believe that we should make up some sort of code phrase to use if any of us think that Deceit has replaced one of us.”

 “What if he figures out the answer?” Patton asked, head tilting to the side while he pondered the idea.

“Then we will make up a new one but until then we should be able to subvert at least one of his illusions. It is a system that we will always have in flux and requires us to have solid trust each other. If one of us truly is under the impression that he has joined us, then it is imperative that we speak up. It does not matter if we are in the middle of watching a movie, having dinner, or even helping Thomas film a video for his career. If we think he has infiltrated the group, we must immediately focus on that and work together to either force him to reveal himself or prove that the person in question is truly that person. If we are erroneous, understand that we only accused you to keep ourselves safe.”

“We could also apologize, Logan,” Patton gently chastised. “It’s always nice to apologize if you make a mistake.”

“Of course, Patton. But the point is that we are trying to make sure that this never happens again. We should have noticed Virgil was not himself dozens of times but we did not say anything and we allowed him to undergo such villainy!”

“We are truly sorry, Virgil,” Logan said solemnly, eyes on the floor. “We are to blame for what happened to you. We should have spoken up and come sooner.”

Patton quickly wrapped an arm tightly around the youngest Side’s shoulder and beamed at him.

“But we did come in the end and we stayed with you while you healed and we didn’t let Deceit hurt you again and…” He continued rambling until the scholar silently put a hand on his shoulder. “Oh right. We really are sorry, Virgil. We promise not to let it happen again.”

For the first time in the meeting, Virgil spoke up.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” he said quietly. Patton’s mouth opened slightly and he took a step back. Raising his head to meet the older’s eyes, he replied, “I know you didn’t do it on purpose and I truly appreciate everything you all did for me afterward. You can’t promise that he will not try again. But next time…” He paused and a familiar smirk graced his face. “Don’t take so long! And if he tries to go after any of you, I’ll help you get him back!”

The other three stared at him in shock for a moment before bright grins appeared on two faces while a soft smile made itself known on the last.

“Of course, Cinderfella!” Roman cried. “We will not stand for his treachery again and this time you will be there to assist us! You know all his tricks and will not fall for them ever again!”

Roman led Patton and Virgil out of the room, chattering wildly about their plans in case Deceit tried to unsettle them all once again. Logan watched them leave, a thought spinning in his mind.

‘For what reason had Deceit wanted Virgil back?’

Unbeknownst to him, there were two people that knew the answer to his question. One was currently seething on the other side of the Mindscape while the other was following Patton who was loudly discussing what game they should play that evening.

Virgil knew exactly why Deceit had wanted him to return. It was the same reason he had left. His power to influence Thomas’ decisions was something Deceit craved. It was something that none of the others had quite as strong a grasp of as they knew all too well. Fear could stop a plan, no matter how thought out, or force another one into action, no matter how risky. Deceit wanted that power for himself and chained tightly so that only he could control it.

Because Virgil’s power was the only thing he was truly afraid of.