Deceit and I popped up at our side of the Border- a foggy, gray plain with a huge glowing line stretching on for what looked like forever- a few seconds later. He landed with no problem. I, however, fell due to my lack of leg use. And let me tell you children, hoo boy howdy did that hurt like fucking hell. Like someone decided to shove a handful of rusty nails in every wound I had. Yeah, I definitely screamed. No denying it. It wasn't even like, a remotely manly yell. I just flat out screamed. And yes, that scream was followed by a lot of cussing. Think of an American cooking show. Ooh, one with Gordon Ramsey in it. If what came out of my mouth after I fell was on one of those shows, the editors wouldn't even bother bleeping it out. They'd cut the whole damn clip out because it would take too long to bleep everything.

Yeah. That bad. A sailor would make me wash out my mouth with soap. To this day, I have not yet lived up to the legendary curses that flew from my mouth. I honestly don't think I ever will. Anyway, on with the story.

I writhed in pain, trying to get air into my lungs. I felt something seep into my shirt and jeans, and I knew wounds reopened. The headache returned tenfold, making my vision flash with spots. 

"Oh fuck!" Deceit dropped to his knees beside me, placing his hands on my chest. "Apologies for this, but it's necessary!"

He pressed down on my chest, and just like that, the pain was gone. Along with everything else. A presence slid into my head, taking everything for its own. I was no longer me, it wasn't my body. I couldn't think, couldn't fight. I didn't know who I was. All I knew was the thing that took hold of my brain, and the single command it left.

"SLEEP."

And with that, I knew no more.

_____________
(Deceit's POV; same memory)
_____________

I removed my hands from Anxiety's torso, breathing hard. I did regret having to seize control of him, but it was the only way I could think of to help him. Although, I have to admit, a fraction of me enjoyed the sensation. A long stretch had passed since I was last able to do that, and it was- relieving to let off a considerable portion of the strain.

I sat back and studied my unconscious ally, his agony-laced scream still ringing in my ears. If we were here to find help for him, then that noise was sure to draw it to us.

Blood steadily blossomed through Anxiety's sweater, as well as in multiple places on his legs. I assumed his wounds were torn open on impact.

"A stupid miscalculation on my part," I thought, peeling his sweater away and lifting up his blood-soaked tee. "I should have remembered that he would fall."

The gash on his chest was indeed reopened, along with several cuts on his hips and arms. I reluctantly tore my cape into pieces to fashion it into makeshift bandages and wrapped those around the biggest slashes.

As I was finishing up, I heard a sound that immediately had me on high alert. Voices.

They were far off, far enough to be out of sight, but I heard them all the same.

'That has to be Lightners. No self-respecting Dark Side would ever make that much racket in such an exposed area.'

I scanned the barren plain, crouched next to my unconscious ally, searching for any sign of movement. The voices rang out again, closer this time. Close enough that I could actually hear the conversation, rather than broken snippets of dialogue.

"-from over here, I know it!" A cheery rendition of Thomas's voice reached my ears, a shiver crawling down my spine at the similarity to another Side I wasn't particularity fond of.

"Mor, I know I've said this like- a bajilion times, but I do not like it here!" Another whined. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Yup!" The first said, popping the "p."

"But what if that was a Dark Side?? Or worse, what if a Dark Side finds us??"

"They won't, and besides, we're still on our side of the Border kiddo, we'll be fine!"

"Do you really think they'd follow the rules?!" The second screeched, the grating sound murdering my sensitive ears. I almost didn't catch his next sentence. "Plus, all of us are accounted for! That was a Dark Side, no doubt! Surely you wouldn't-"

"Wouldn't what, Creativity?" The first's voice hardened, violently strengthening the similarity to another Dark Side, Insanity. "Help someone in need?"

The second, Creativity, let out a long suffering sigh. "Stop making this sound so friggen simple! I know you like to help people, I do too! Heck, it's my job as a prince! But these are Dark Sides, Morality. They hurt Thomas, hurt us!"

"I know."

"Then why-?"

"Because I can't leave them to suffer. It just plain isn't right." Morality's voice dropped to a mutter, so low I couldn't make out what he was saying.

Whatever he said, it seemed to satisfy Creativity. The pair didn't speak much after that, and I temporarily lost track of them until their footsteps grew loud enough to hear. 

Well, actually, I lost track of them until they were almost upon me. I had been debating on what to do with myself, you see- whether I should stay with Anxiety and talk to these two Lightners, or hide myself and let the scenario play out naturally.

Alas, time for debate was quickly running out, and I had to make a decision, fast. My ultimate choice was to carefully move Anxiety across the Border, over to the Lightner's side, as if someone had dumped him there. I also removed some of his crude bandages, to add to the scene. If time had permitted, I would have removed all of them, however the final step of my rough plan took some amount of effort.

I gave myself a moment to breathe, tuning into the footsteps of the Lightners, only a couple hundred feet away. Once their silhouettes surfaced in the fog like ghostly wraiths, I speared my power towards them. It slithered across the plain, slipping into the minds of my quarry. Instantly, I knew who was who.

Creativity's mind was a whirlwind of chaos and idea, clashing immensely with my own and making it difficult to manage. I quickly figured out how to slip an idea, a lie, into the mess, making it seem as if it was his own. The command was simple; 'you do not see me. There is nothing here.' When I was satisfied the notion had taken root, I shifted my focus over to Morality.

As soon as I entered his mind, I was struck with a such a sheer sense of self that I nearly recoiled. It was both black and white, yet murky grey. He knew what was right and wrong, yet questioned if it was. And the power. Never in my time had I come across anything like it, except for once, when I made a stupid mistake I'd never forget.

Still, I took my chance and fed my lie to him. If worst came to worst, I could always order Creativity to obscure me with the illusions I learned he was capable of. Surprisingly, Morality took it. I felt his mind accept the idea of blank space replacing where I stood, and withdrew. And not a moment too soon. As soon as I was securely focused back in my mind, they emerged.

Again, carbon copies of Thomas, like we all were. I could describe what they looked like, but really, would you care? They were pretty much the same as they are now, except Creativity wore a ridiculous, garishly red cape, and Morality seemed to be in a sweater vest phase. There. Are you satisfied?

As sure I was in my abilities, I still found myself holding my breath until both sets of eyes skimmed over me, not taking notice of my presence.

Morality spotted Anxiety's lifeless form, gasping in surprise and horror. Even the skeptical Creativity seemed taken aback at the sight of him. I don't blame them, I had painted an exceptionally convincing picture in the short time frame I was allotted.

His clothing was saturated with blood, nearly unnoticeable against his dark motif. The only tell was the pool of dark liquid slowly inching its way out from under his torso. As many of the cuts and abrasions lay under cloth, it was difficult to discern where it was coming from. The yellow-blue bruises on his neck and forearms stood starkly out from his paling skin. All in all, he looked absolutely terrible. And not quite alive.

I knew he was, but they didn't. Morality rushed to his side, ignoring the liquid soaking into his pants has he kneeled. Creativity seemed more bothered by the destruction of the garment than the Side wearing it did. I could relate. Sides have no regard for the quality of clothing anymore. I mean have you seen Rage's sweatpants?! And don't even get me started on the quality of De- boss's entire wardrobe.

Hmm? What's that? I wasn't- oh. I wasn't supposed to mention them yet. Ah well, they'll enter the story soon enough, so it's totally fine.

Ahem, back to the scene of Morality kneeling beside an unconscious Anxiety, Creativity watching from a weary distance. Morality skimmed his hands over my ally, barely touching his body. I found this quite odd, not sure what he was doing with such a technique. Creativity shared my sentiments, apparently.

"Hey Mor?" He asked tentatively.

Morality didn't bother to look up. "Hmm?" 

"Whatcha doing?"

"Oh, nothing too special! Just figuring out where he's hurt, that's all. Gotta know that before I try moving him." The change in attitude surprised me, considering the panic he was in minutes ago.

"Oh." A beat of silence. "You don't seem worried about the-" he gestured at the general mess of open wounds covering Anxiety's body.

"Trust me kiddo, I am. But just give me a few more seconds, and I'll take care of them."

Creativity just nodded, unable to take his eyes off the battered heap that was currently Anxiety.
Personally, my curiosity- and patience- were running out. I kept entirely still the entire time, thoroughly convinced my ruse would slip. I was starting to entertain the idea of simply leaving when Morality finished his curious assessment.

"Hey Rea, can I ask you to help me move An- him? It would really help me out here, all I need is for you to help me roll him over. And carefully. Okay?"

'Hmm... He was about to say Anxiety. How did he recognize him? Dark Sides aren't supposed to contact Lightners...'

Creativity stared at the blood, nose wrinkled and brows furrowed.
He spared a pained glance at his outfit, but relented. "Fine."

A large coat somehow appeared out of nowhere, laying itself down over the bright red liquid, allowing Creativity to kneel safely.

The two of them made short work of turning Anxiety onto his back, removing his sweater and shirt as they went. The efficiency of their movements suggested this was not the first time they had to do something like this.

Though I had witnessed Anxiety's wounds prior, the sight still turned my stomach. Boss and his band of minions went too far for the transgression Anxiety committed. So far that I knew they were reaching their patience's end with his rebellion.

The pair of Lightners sat back, finally getting a proper look at the extent of the damage. Creativity had to physically turn away from the sight, his face draining of colour. Morality stared in grim horror, whispering so quietly I debated if my own ears dared lie to me.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you?"

While I was pondering that cryptic message, and Creativity backed away, Morality started to do something very curious, the likes of which I had only heard in the whispered tales of our "counterparts." Kneeling, he clasped his hands together in a prayer-like pose, eyes falling shut. His mouth moved, forming words without giving them voice. A low humming filled the silence of the Border, like the buzzing of a thousand light bulbs. As this noise picked up volume, so too did the pace of his inaudible chanting. Light, a faint, blue-white glow, grew in Morality's hands, brighter and brighter by the second. Not a ray escaped, a lightning bug trapped in his hands. The glare burned so intensely, I had to look away for fear of blinding myself. The buzzing swarmed my ears, drowning out every sound, pressure building and building until I was convinced my skull would explode.

Just before the symphony reached its crescendo, on the cusp of the ultimatum, everything stopped, sucked into the center that was Morality's clasped hands, the light they held within. He opened them, revealing a tiny seedling of concentrated energy. Eyes obscured by the reflection on his glasses, Morality leaned forward, pressing the drop of light onto Anxiety's battered form.

The white-blue light hit, the point of impact rippling outwards across his body, colour slowly shifting to my ally's signature purple. Wounds and cuts touched by the energy slowly knitted themselves together, bruises fading every second. Anxiety's skin returned to a normal hue, all traces of waxy, sheet-white gone. His breathing strengthened, the uneasy wheeze returning to a steady rhythm.

Morality slumped forward, Creativity lunging forward before he fell face-first into the now-stable Anxiety. "Woah there sunshine, easy now."

"M' fine, just need a... a second. Haven't done that for a while." The exhausted Side muttered.

"Yeah, it must have been a quick minute if I didn't know you could do that." Creativity teasingly berated. "D'you think you could move so you maybe aren't kneeling in a pool of someone's blood?"

"Haaaah- yeah." Morality chuckled, "Could you help me kiddo?"

"'course."

The pair stood up, Morality shaking with the effort.

'Could it really take that much out of him? I thought he was stronger than that.' I thought, watching them move away and settle down again. The three of us sat- or in my case, stood- around Anxiety's unconscious form, waiting for him to wake up, Morality's wheezy breathing occasionally permeating the silence.

I must say, that definitely not one of the most tensely awkward stretches of time I've ever experienced. I absolutely didn't sweat profusely, and I most certainly wasn't half convinced that my cover would be blown at any moment. Oh hey, look at that! It's that time in the story where Anxiety wakes up (we're still in a memory, remember) surrounded by two Lightners in his own pool of blood. And that means I don't have to narrate anymore. I greatly enjoyed this experience, I certainly hope to do this again sometime.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Anxiety's P.O.V. [memory still folks])

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first thing I remember thinking when I woke up was 'This sucks ass.'

And honestly? If that single sentence doesn't describe my entire existence, I don't know what does. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't feel the insane agony I had been dealing with for the past day and a half. Buuuuut that nice feeling was immediately ruined by the squishy, gross sensation of soaked fabric sticking to my body and the coppery tang stinging my nose that told me the liquid was not sweat or kool-aid.

"Urrgh-" I forced my eyes open, not entirely sure what the soupy grey mist above me was.

"Shh-! I think he's awake!" A hushed voice that I didn't recognize spoke somewhere to my right. I was instantly on high alert, waiting for an attack.

"Hey kiddo. We aren't gonna- gonna hurt ya. Promise. So could you sit up for me? Even just to move, 'kay?" This voice held some familiarity, though I couldn't place it right there and then. In any case, I felt almost obligated to do what this guy asked, he just sounded so damn nice and hopeful.

Slowly, careful of any potential damage, I lifted myself up and looked right. I learned three things from looking that direction. One, we were at the Border. Two, the people who had spoken were both Sides, one of which I recognized as Morality, which raised some questions. Three, I was sitting in a puddle of blood. Supposedly my own. Ew.

Yeah I basically catapulted myself up and out of there, too disgusted to care about much of anything.

"Hey."

I whirled around, the pair of Lightners staring at me with either concern (Morality), or amusement (that other one, who I promptly decided was an asshole.).

"Now, I can't keep you here. You can go back and not talk to me, forget this ever happened. But I do want to know what happened to you." Morality said.

That other one crossed his arms. "It's only fair, he did save your life."

"Rea. Be nice." Morality warned.

"Hmph."

I crossed my arms in retaliation. "What d'you mean, 'saved my life?'"

"Are you stupid or something? He saved you from death" the asshole elaborated, annoyed. "Healed you, repaired you, however you want to think about it. How hard is that to understand?!"

"Creativity! That is quite enough!" Morality said, meeting the asshole's glare with one of his own.

I had seen enough. I was done. I just wanted sleep, and some new clothes. "Yeah, thanks for saving me or whatever. See ya." I turned to leave, walk back over to my side of the Border and teleport back to my room.

"Time to wake up Anxiety~"

"What?" I looked over my shoulder, not sure if I heard that right.

"I said it's time to wake up." Morality smiled pleasantly, not at all concerned that his voice wasn't his own, or that his eyes glowed lilac.

"Uhhhh- what the hell is happening?"

"He said get up, you stupid bitch." Creativity glared at me with blood red eyes, his tone deepening to a raspy growl. A black shadow grew behind them, building and building like a wave about to crest and crash down violently.

I watched in mute horror as the pair stood up simultaneously, robotically. They took one synchronized step towards me. Two. Three. Then the black wave tipped, crashing down on top of me, racing for me. The two not-Lightners ran with it, their features morphing and twisting. I started running as fast as I could, trying to escape the twin horrors chasing behind me. I chanced a glance behind me, and that proved to be my downfall. They lunged towards me, screaming.

"WAKE UUUUPPPPPP!!!"

And right before their hands reached me, the black cloud enveloped us, sending everything into darkness.

When I opened my eyes, I was met with a pair of huge, pastel purple eyes staring right back at me. They stepped back, revealing a freckle-splashed face and the sugary sweet smile plastered on it.

"Oh goody! You're awake~"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello everybody! I am terribly sorry for the month long, unexpected hiatus from this book. Unfortunately, this took a lot longer than expected. But it ended up being over 3000 words long, so maybe that made up for it? I'll try to be better about the next, but apparently I should stop making promises.

Sorry for the graphic stuff too, let me know if you want more warning before a particularity gruesome scene in the future.

Who's seen Endgame already? You have? Well I haven't! So no spoilers! I've heard it's worth the 3 hours though, and I'm super hyped to go.

I was planning on finishing this yesterday during a basketball tournament, but I had no time whatsoever. For one, our team consisted of 6 girls, so we only had one substitute the entire day! What's worse, one of the girls has a joint problem, and her legs locked up during the first 3 minutes of our second game, so we had to play the entire game with no breaks. Annnnd all of our games were back-to-back, so we barely got any time to rest! Yay!

So yeah, I basically got home, had a shower, and went to sleep until my annoying alarm went off in the morning. So blame inconvenient basketball tournaments for delaying the release of this chapter!

I guess that's all that's been going on recently, nothing too exciting. If anyone's got songs that remind them of Thomas or any of his characters, send 'me my way! I've been listening to Thomas's Spotify playlists while I'm writing these, but I'm trying to put together a playlist for songs that remind me of these guys. And hey, if for some reason you know a song that you associate with Insanity, despite him only being around for like one chapter, please let me know what you've got! I'd be awesome to find new songs!

Hold on tight for the next chapter loves, I've got a few new Dark Sides coming your way! See you in the next chapter, love you!