A quick note before this chapter - I switched the episodes slightly because I needed it to fit the timeline. This chapter was one of the first ones written for the story, so it's one of the oldest. It's probably why the writing is actually good.

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Wreaking havoc was so goddamn fun. Why Remus hasn't done this earlier was beyond him, because he'd never enjoyed himself this much. Being out in the open, being recognised and confronted just so he could turn it around and flood Thomas with some truly twisted thoughts.

No wonder Deceit had liked to play games with them. They made it so easy.

And Virgil...oh Virgil. Remus did his best not to address his fellow side directly, because that's what Virgil was expecting and so he would have his defences up. 

What a sensitive soul Virgil had become in his time with the Light Sides. How amusing and utterly pathetic. If he'd just stayed where he'd belonged, with the sides that were the scary ones, Virgil wouldn't be so vulnerable and weak and...disgusting. 

"Creativity is about butterflies and magic," Thomas said hopelessly, throwing his arms out. "That's not you, you're..."

"Stinky?" Remus offered.

Thomas just drew his hands close to his chest again. "Scary."

Oh, that wouldn't do at all. Remus wasn't the scary one. He wasn't around to elicit fear. No, no, no, he was creativity, just like Roman. "Me? Scary?" He said, feeling just slightly offended. Surely Thomas didn't know that little about himself. Surely the others hadn't kept him so sheltered and ignorant. "No, no, no, no. That sounds like a you problem." He pointed at Thomas then at Virgil, who shifted uncomfortably and scowled. "Or a him problem."

"Thomas, like it or not, the Duke does encompass a portion of your imagination," Logan said calmly, and Remus wondered whether the logical side could be counted as a Light Side at all. Surely, he wasn't a Dark Side, no he didn't have enough of an agenda for that, but he seemed fairly...neutral. Perhaps he was neither. If that were so, Remus would have to keep an eye on him. No good having loose canons lying around where people could trip over them and snap their own necks.

Patton said, "Imaginative sure is a...a kind word for him." Remus didn't bother much with Patton - Deceit had laid claim to that one. Not like that did anything for the traitorous snake. 

No Remus was more fond of Logan and his strange neutrality.

"I agree," he said though, despite himself. "How about...demented."

And then the miraculous happened, and Remus almost squealed in victory. Virgil turned to Logan and asked dangerously, "Why are you defending him?" What a fun, fun game. I simply must congratulate Deceit for his wondrous idea. Perhaps I can bring him and Virgil both back to us.

"I'm not," Logan said, despite the suspicious looks he received from both Virgil and Thomas. "I'm just trying to be intellectually honest with Thomas."

"Eh, sounds like bullshit to me," Remus said flippantly, just to add some more chaos to the mix. "This dork's Deceit in disguise." Spoiler alert - he wasn't.

It was ridiculous how easily they all fell for it. It was all so simple and Remus was loving it. Minimal effort on his part, plus the added bonus of setting Virgil so on edge that he was turning on his own 'friends'. Perhaps there was hope for him after all. Shadows, if they stayed too long near the light, would burn away. Remus hoped Virgil knew that, because that's what was happening. He was burning away, and Deceit would not be content to just let it happen. Virgil belonged to the shadows. He was the shadows. He would return to them. 

And if Virgil returned to them, Deceit would follow. They would be whole again.

After Logan had assured everyone that yes, in fact, he was Logan, and Remus admitted to lying just to mess with them, Virgil once more turned on his fellow side. "Then why are you lying?"

"Lying?" Logan repeated. Remus almost wanted to take him back to the others, just to see what they could do with that brain of his, those cool ambitions. Logan would flourish under their care, his neutrality nurtured and honed. Remus almost itched for it.

"You just said the Duke is Thomas's imagination!" 

Patton said something that agreed with Virgil; honestly, Remus wasn't listening to Morality. Patton was too emotional and boring and soft. Remus preferred Logan and Virgil.

And so they went on, Remus messing around with Thomas's thoughts, monitoring the dynamics between the Light Sides. It was humorous, because according to Deceit, they worked together seamlessly, but as soon as Remus himself showed up, they seemed to split down the middle. It was interesting, but not as interesting as Logan's continued calm and measured thoughts or Virgil's aggressive denial of literally everything as well as his panic. He was so on edge. The Duke was thriving.

"You made me this way, Thomas," he purred to his host. "I was the unloved brother from the Genesis. Roman and I...are Cain and Abel." Ooh, Remus liked that. How very fitting. How very unnerving. And then of course, he had to throw in some butt stuff, mock Thomas's work.

Strangely, that seemed to get Logan's calm to break slightly. Interesting. Remus tucked the knowledge away for later, for after Virgil and Deceit had come back to them and he could claim Logan as a Dark Side as well. 

"Oh I'm sorry," he continued haughtily, after Logan's little...disruption. "Did you forget the part where I'm your creativity? Obviously I have opinions on the matter."

"But are they opinions that matter?" Virgil asked snappishly. Remus just smiled a little wider because Virgil was doing it to himself. Was he truly so worried about Thomas finding out about his past? Were the others so fragile in their friendship security that one wrong work, one acknowledgment of the wrong thing would break them apart.

How pathetic. Honestly, Remus didn't envy them one bit.

Push, push, push. How far could he push them before one of them broke? Push, push, push some more. Suggest things, let his inner rottenness out. Add some pressure to Thomas. Make them remember those thoughts. See how much they can take before they crumble.

"I just did what I do as one of Thomas's sides," he said. "If I am awful-" he blew a kiss "-then so is Thomas."

And Virgil, oh Virgil, got agitated once more. "Not all thoughts have some profound meaning behind them. Some are worthless."

Remus sighed, pouting ever so slightly. Time to push a little harder then. "Virgil, you've never been one to soften the truth." Anxiety recoiled. "Why would you aspire to be so...boring?"

You've changed, is what he was really saying to his fellow Dark Side. Come back to us, Virgil. We want you back. You're coming back. We're going to get you back.

The last push worked, and Virgil was the first to fold, surrendering to the thought that Thomas wasn't necessarily a good person. It was amusing, to hear such hopelessness, such defeat, in a voice that had once been so bitter and proud and strong. Virgil had been away from them for too long. 

"He can act like a good person, just like Deceit can act like you. But we've also seen that doing what he thinks is right can be pretty difficult for him." 

"You two are blowing this way out of proportion."

"Logan, I'm sorry, but Thomas can't logic his way out of this one. Facts are facts, and the fact is...Thomas had twisted thoughts that a stable person would never have."

How delightful. They were all caving, and Remus couldn't be more pleased. They were all caving...except Logan, and Remus watched in fascination as the collected side simply reasoned his way forward. He never stumbled, never faltered. Remus desperately wanted to see how far that balance spread, and how he could break it.

Then....the most glorious thing. Logan barely stopped himself from calling Virgil paranoid. 

Oh, the old Deceit would have killed to be there for it, and Remus made a mental note to brag about it to the others when he got back. The look of hurt on Virgil's face, the sting he must have felt. Oh, Remus basked in it. This was all brilliant.

Regardless of whether he won this or not, whether he got banished or not, Remus had gained something so very precious.

(He was irritated by Logan's ability to land blows, and prevent Remus's impact. Even when Remus stole his teeth, threw a ninja star, did everything, the side was unaffected. That was quite frustrating, yet still so intriguing.)

The Lights encouraged Thomas to get some rest, and Remus knew that one last push would undo that iron-grip Virgil had on his memories. He'd have to admit it, after the pressure from Remus and the breaking of the Wall combined, Logan's gentle scolding, his own paranoia. The Dark Sides were winning and they were winning by a long shot.

(They weren't, they weren't and everyone seemed to know it except Remus. They weren't because Deceit had left them, just like Virgil had left them, and it was all going to fall down eventually.)

"You know what's funny," Virgil said to the Duke, voice calmer. "You used to really unsettle me. I thought you were some terrible illness. Now I can see that you're just a common cold, a mild inconvenience that's...gone before you know it."

Remus just had to laugh, because oh Virgil. The anxious side couldn't win this anymore. Once he admitted it, they'd come for him, would swarm him like flies. The Duke didn't unsettle him anymore? Fine. There were more to come. "Oh, you tickle me, emo." He clapped. "Well! I enjoyed this! Good seeing you again Virgil! Oh, it was just like old times!"

And then he sank out. (Not without leaving a small connection open through Thomas. He needed to know if his meticulous planning had paid off.)

He listened through minutes of boring drivel, feelings, ick. He listened until it was only Virgil, and he heard the blessed words they'd all been waiting for.

"Because I was one of them."

"You still are," Remus breathed, and something stabbed through him when there was no snake hissing in his ear.

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AH

That's it.

It's all over now.

Let me start by apologising for how this book seemed to fall to pieces halfway through. I lost interest in the series, lost interest in Sanders Sides and lost motivation to write much of anything. And then the writing quality dipped and the chapters got shorter and I'm really sorry for that. I feel like I've let you guys down and that wasn't my intention at all.

But it's all done now. This story is over, and the series has concluded. I'm so incredibly grateful for all your continued support and ideas and it really means a lot to me that you're all bonding over these books. When I started them, five years ago now, I really didn't have high expectations for them. I was just a girl scratching away in her HPE notebook in a pen she stole from her friends.

I love you all - a million hugs from me! I'm so emotional now that it's over. Each of you, my constant regular readers and everyone that's just joined. Even everyone that reads it and enjoys it and then goes on with their life. All of you mean so much to me. I'm so truly grateful for each and every one of you. Thank you for having the patience to put up with my writing phases and sometimes shaky writing. You're all angels and I adore all of you very much.

So thank you for the ride, and hopefully I'll see you again in other books, in another life <3

As always, leave your thoughts in the comments!

Bekka