Major Trigger Warning: mentions of abuse, blood and gore, self-harm, suicide, suicidal thoughts and pretty much everything that could trigger anyone. This is going to be a very long chapter full of all the bad stuff. It was very difficult to write. Smiley pictures of the sides at the end to help cheer you up if you need it :)

Screams.

That's all Logan could hear in the blurry void around him.

He was confused. He thought he'd used his ability to get into Prestons mind but as he looked around he couldn't see anything that he usually saw in a person's mind.

He cautiously ventured towards the screams as there seemed to be nothing else to do and found himself in front of a large grey wall that was covered in cracks and had a couple of holes in it.

He peered through one of the holes and saw a figure on the ground clutching their head. This was where the screaming was coming from.

Logan hesitantly reached a hand out and pressed it against the wall which shuddered before crumbling to dust.

When the dust cleared Logan found himself staring down at someone who could have been a teenage Preston but before he could get closer an enormous roar came from somewhere and the person who'd been screaming suddenly stopped.

Scanning the surrounding area with wide eyes Logan wondered what had made that sound but brushed it off in favour of approaching the person on the floor.

As Logans hand made contact with the persons shoulder they looked up, their dark brown eyes full of fear and worry.

Then Logan felt the familiar sensation of falling into a memory.

He looked around and noticed he was in a mindspace. His eyes locked onto the person he'd just seen, who was sitting on a couch with three others who looked almost the same as him but with different clothes and style.

"Are you sure he's going to be OK if we're not watching what he's doing?" one of them asked, wringing their hands in a nervous way.

"He'll be fine Liam and we have alarms set up just in case. Just relax a little." One of the others who appeared to be wearing some sort of school uniform had placed a comforting hand on the worried ones arm.

Liam sighed "I'm sorry, it's just after what happened last time it's difficult to stop myself from wanting to keep watch over him all the time."

The one in uniform smiled and placed a peck on Liams cheek. "There's no need to apologise."

"Get a room you two." The one Logan had assumed was Preston suddenly said, a smirk on his face.

Liam rolled his eyes and stuck his middle finger up at him while the one in uniform groaned "Shut the fuck up Cayden."

"Liam! Hugh! There is no need for that sort of language." scolded the one who'd been quiet this entire time in a stern voice which he ruined slightly by giggling.

Logans eyes widened as he realised these must be Tristans sides. He quickly identified Hugh as the logical trait and thought back to what Preston had said to Jacob.

Something about love making him weak and give up so easily?

Logan focused back on the scene in front of him as the giggling trait turned to Preston.

"They're so adorable!"

Preston grinned "Yep! Adorable, soft little lovebirds."

"ugh! Paxton how many times do I have to tell you? I am not adorable! And Cayden I swear to god I will burn all your posters if you don't stop encouraging him." Liam said, sending a mild glare at Cayden.

Caydens eyes widened and he fell silent which made Hugh chuckle slightly. "Not so brave now are you Cay? Imagine being scared of Liam."

Liam raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend "Excuse me?"

Hugh cleared his throat and smiled at him "I meant... Uh... I love you?"

Liam snorted and muttered "Good save."

Logan felt awkward and a little sad watching all this because he knew that this happy little moment was rare and something bad had obviously happened to make Cayden become Preston.

Sure enough, as the traits focused back on the TV where they'd been watching something, a loud alarm started ringing and Liam immediately jumped to his feet.

"Paxton get to the emotion room just in case, Hugh and Cayden come with me." he said and sunk down, presumably to the real world.

As Cayden followed Logan found himself in a basic looking bedroom that had seen better days.

The walls were faded, the floor wasn't carpeted, there was a single small window that looked out at a tree and the bed appeared to be poorly repaired.

The thing that drew Logans attention the most was a figure crouched on the floor shaking.

Liam dashed forward and sat in front of the teen, worry in his voice as he spoke.

"Tristan? Can you hear me? It's Liam."

"I... I can hear you." came the smallest of whispers and Liam let out a small sigh of relief.

"What you need to do is get into bed and pretend to be asleep. It's almost time for Him to get home and you know what he's like."

Cayden suddenly crouched next to Liam and attempted to put a hand on Tristans shoulder only for it to phase through him.

Logans eyes widened in shock. Surely as a teenager Tristan should have been able to make physical contact with his traits? Unless there was some odd reason why he couldn't.

Cayden had a sad expression on his face as he watched his hand phase through Tristans shoulder but shook it off with a smile. "Listen, get into bed, shut your eyes and let me show you all the wonderful things you can do in the future. You'll be able to get far away from here to somewhere safe, with people who'll care about you and..."

There was a loud bang from elsewhere in the house and all the people in the room jumped, including Logan.

A loud thumping that sounded like feet stomping up the stairs followed and Tristan quickly dived into his bed while his traits whispered to him.

"Even out your breathing, that's it, now add a bit of a slight snore sound so he thinks you're asleep." Cayden whispered in a calm voice, his eyes wide with fear as they locked onto the bedroom door where the handle was starting to turn.

Logan backed away, even though he couldn't be hurt as it was only a memory.

The door burst open to reveal a tall angry looking man with cold dark eyes that reminded Logan of present day Preston.

He stalked into the room, glaring down at the seemingly asleep Tristan.

Hugh was whispering quickly, helping Liam to convince Tristan to keep up the act that Cayden was helping him with.

"If you're asleep he can't hurt you. You've done nothing wrong. He can't punish you for being awake if you keep this up. You'll be fine." Hugh was saying.

Logan watched hoping that Hughs logic held up but as the man reached a hand out and grabbed Tristan by the arm he knew that poor Tristan wasn't going to be left alone.

"Wake up you little freak!" the man growled harshly tugging the boy out of the bed so he landed on the wooden floor with a loud thud.

"No! This isn't supposed to be happening! Logically he should have just walked back out!" Hugh exclaimed, looking angry and upset.

Liam shook his head "He's been drinking. There's nothing we can do if he's been drinking, no way to placate him."

The man was staring down at the boy on the floor with a nasty grin and glazed eyes from where he'd been drinking. "I heard some rumours while I was at the bar. Very interesting ones about you."

Tristans eyes were wide in confusion and fear and Liam whispered "Don't say anything. If you speak he'll get pissed off and lash out, remain silent and wait for him to explain."

"Apparently one of the men there has a son in your class at school who's told his father a lot of things involving you. This boy, this Striker kid, has apparently been getting into quite a lot of trouble for 'picking on' you." the man said, his grin still in place.

Tristan seemed about to open his mouth to defend himself but Liam quickly interjected. "Tristan! No! Don't say a word! He's trying to get you to say something so he has an excuse to hurt you!"

Tristan stayed quiet, looking up at the man, waiting for him to continue.

"Apparently this boy seems to be under the impression he's noticed you staring at someone in your class with an odd little smile on your face." the man continued, his nasty grin becoming a sneer.

"Oh shit." Cayden whispered with wide eyes as Liam gasped and Hugh spluttered in disbelief.

"Apparently this someone is another boy." the man snarled, making Tristan flinch.

Logan could feel his own heart pounding in fear for the boy in front of him. This was a bad situation.

"what have you got to say for yourself?" the man roared and Tristan had tears in his eyes.

"Don't.... Don't say anything...." Liam said, his voice coming out almost too quiet to be heard as he started gasping for breath. "it's... A... Trick question."

Tristan was going to listen but the man before him snarled "Answer me boy!"

"I.... I...." Tristan stuttered in terror.

Liam had fallen to the floor, trying to shout but nothing was coming from his lips as he tried to tell Tristan to remain silent.

Hugh and Cayden were both almost in tears as they tried to help Liam up but their hands phased through him.

"spit it out boy!" the man shouted, looming over Tristan with his fists clenched.

"It's not something he can control! He can't help who he falls for!" Cayden cried out, tears slipping down his face.

"I... Can't help it." Tristan whispered and Caydens face filled with horror. He hadn't meant for Tristan to say that.

"You unnatural little freak! You tarnish this house and family with your filth! I've been lenient with you so far, perhaps it's time I show you the real meaning of pain!" the man roared, flecks of spit flying everywhere.

Logan let out a cry as the man suddenly kicked a leg out and caught Tristan in the face.

All three of the traits that were present let out loud screams and clutched their faces, Caydens being the loudest as he also represented the ego.

Tristan fell back with a shriek, hands over his now bloody face as his entire body shook. A foot suddenly stamped down on his stomach, knocking all the air out of him and making him gasp desperately.

Logan turned away, unable to watch as the man, who was presumably Tristans father, savagely beat him. It reminded him too much of Preston and he shook his head in disgust as he realised this was where he probably learnt it from.

The scene suddenly changed and Logan reasoned it was because he was in a different memory.

Looking around he recognised it as a school and he noticed Tristan standing by a classroom door which was cracked open slightly.

Tristans face seemed to be heavily covered in foundation to conceal bruises and it was probably only because no one wanted to notice that Tristan hadn't been asked what happened.

Logan approached the door and his eyes widened as he heard a familiar voice singing the song Reflection from the Disney film Mulan.

He looked through the crack and, sure enough, there sat Thomas sitting at his desk, leaning back in his chair and singing to himself.

He glanced over at Tristan and noticed him mouthing the words along with Thomas, a soft smile on his face.

Behind Tristan stood Cayden who had his eyes shut and a small smile on his face as he also sang along, slightly louder than Tristan in a voice that caught Logan by surprise.

As the song drew to an end Tristan slowly slipped away from the door and into a bathroom where he looked in the mirror and sighed.

"This is getting kind of ridiculous now and I wish I could do as you say and just walk in and tell him how amazing he sounds but... I don't want him to suffer through what I do. He's so sweet and kind, I'd end up causing him too much pain." Tristan said in a sad voice.

Logan winced at his last statement because he unknowingly had. At least Preston had anyway.

"I guess but that still doesn't mean you can't talk to him once in a while. Say hello in the corridors and smile at him whenever he looks your way. It doesn't have to be something grand or elaborate if you don't feel up to it." Cayden said encouragingly.

Suddenly the door banged open and Logan recognised the boy who walked in as Huxley Striker. He watched as Tristan started shaking and tried to blend in with the wall.

Cayden was glaring at Huxley furiously and muttering under his breath "It's all his fault! If I could run him through with my sword I would and then maybe we'd be free from pain at school."

Huxley walked right past where Tristan was, not noticing him, so Tristan made a mad dash towards the door.

"Was that a little mouse I just saw?" Huxley suddenly said, and Tristan moved quicker, running towards the classroom he'd just been peering into.

He darted in and collided with a desk in his haste to get away from Huxley.

He didn't even glance at whoever was sat there as he ran to the back of the classroom in terror, desperately wishing he could make himself invisible.

"aw, did the ickle mouse try and find a nice safe hole to hide in?" mocked Huxley as he walked into the classroom.

Logans eyes widened as he remembered how this scenario went. He had seen this exact memory from Thomas's perspective.

As he glanced over at Thomas he could see him sneaking glances over at where Huxley had cornered Tristan.

"Hey freak, running away from me was a big mistake." Huxley said, grabbing Tristan by the shirt. "Do I have to give you another reminder of why you should listen to your superiors?"

Logan watched as Cayden let out a low angry growl and suddenly Liam appeared.

"Cayden, no! You know we can't! Paxton is trying his best to keep Tristan from crying right now as it is. We'll just have to let this happen."

Caydens angry face fell as he let out a sigh "One of these days they'll get what they deserve."

As Huxley swung his fist towards Tristans face, both Liam and Cayden closed their eyes, bracing themselves for the pain but it never came.

"Mr Striker!" a teacher shouted from the doorway. "Come with me, this will be the third time this week I've had to tell you about leaving Mr Mallory alone, I'm taking you to the principals office."

Cayden and Liam let out sighs of relief at Tristan getting away without injury and Cayden muttered "That's what I call payback you little shit for brains."

Liam smirked at that and was about to say something when suddenly Tristan was approached by Thomas.

"Oh my god." Cayden breathed, his eyes wide while Liam had his mouth open in shock.

"Tristan, right?" Thomas asked "My name's Thomas. I saw what happened and if the teacher hadn't come in I would have done something to help."

Tristan opened his eyes from where he'd braced himself for Huxleys fist and heard Cayden and Liam voices encouraging him to speak to Thomas.

"D.... Don't worry a... About me. I.... I can handle it." Tristan stuttered out in barely a whisper.

"Yes! Well done Tristan! Maybe not the best choice of words but you actually spoke to him! I'm going to scream." Cayden said rapidly, clapping his hands in excitement.

"Cayden! Calm the fuck down." Liam said, placing a hand on the creative traits shoulder to stop him bouncing.

Logan found it strange watching this memory from a different point of view and had to keep reminding himself that it was Caydens/Prestons memory.

"Wow, you can talk? I mean, I heard people say you were mute and so I thought they were right because you never seem to say anything and oh no I'm rambling, sorry." Thomas said and put a hand over his face.

"Tristan! Please, you have to keep talking to him! Look he's worried about embarrassing himself in front of you!" Cayden practically squealed before Liam physically put a hand over his mouth.

"calm down or you can go back to the mindspace. The last thing we need right now is you getting over excited and making Tristan cause a scene. Leave this to me."

Tristan had a faint smile on his face as he listened to his traits argue and took in the sight of Thomas trying to hide behind his hand.

"Like I said, don't worry about it. I can handle myself." Tristan replied, still barely above a whisper but loud enough for Thomas to hear.

Thomas pulled his hand away from his face and opened his mouth to say something but suddenly the teacher walked back in.

"Mr Mallory, your father is waiting for you in the reception, he seemed to be in a hurry so let's not keep him waiting."

"For fuck sake! We were doing so well!" Cayden exclaimed as Thomas walked back over to his desk and Tristan began to follow hesitantly after the teacher.

Liam had a frown on his face as he started thinking out loud. "Why is He picking Tristan up so early? This is completely out of the blue. What sort of thing required him to pick Tristan up? Some sort of appointment maybe? Or a family emergency? Or it could just be an excuse for him to have access to Tristan to take his anger out on and he's given the school some bullshit excuse about an appointment and really he's just going to take him home and lash out and then...."

Logan had witnessed Virgil having panic attacks often enough to recognise Liam was on the edge of having one himself.

Hugh suddenly popped up in front of Liam and said "Liam, it's me. Focus on me and my voice OK? You're close to having a panic attack and I need you to copy my breathing. Everything you said is irrelevant in this moment and all that matters as of now is that you breathe."

Liam fell silent as he matched his breathing with Hughs and after a short while he pulled him in for a hug.

"Thanks Hughie, you're a lifesaver." He muttered.

Hugh went slightly red at the nickname but replied in a calm voice "No need to thank me, you'd do the same if our positions were reversed."

Logan felt a small smile make its way onto his face before it immediately disappeared as he reminded himself that things had obviously gone badly.

Tristan came to a stop in what appeared to be the main office and gulped slightly at the sight of his father waiting for him.

"Walk towards him slowly and try not to flinch or he'll get pissed off and accuse you of trying to snitch." Liam said, standing next to Tristan now with a hand hovering over his shoulder as if he were too scared to try and make contact in case he just phased through again.

"Come along Tristan, we have a special appointment to get to and we don't want to be late do we?" Tristans father asked in what probably sounded like a pleasant voice but the glint in his eye promised violence and made Logan shudder.

Tristan followed after his father in silence, not once asking what the appointment was for because of Liam constantly telling him to stay silent.

As they climbed into the car Tristans father turned to him with a sneer. "This appointment we're going to is a friend of mine from school who's become a doctor. He's going to see what he can do about you and your disgusting obsession with other boys."

Liam inhaled sharply but continued to tell Tristan to stay quiet while Hugh told Cayden to go back to the mindspace.

Logan was caught off guard as the scene changed and he found himself in a different memory.

Tristan was standing in the bathroom at school looking at his reflection with tears in his eyes. Cayden and Liam stood either side of him and Logan was horrified at how he could actually see through them slightly.

"Please Tristan, you just need to focus back on the school work. Good grades are our ticket out of this hell. If you've got good grades you can get a good job and get out of His house and finally be free." Cayden said in a soft voice as Liam sighed sadly.

Tristan closed his eyes and whispered "That's so far away though. I'm not sure if I can make it through however many years of this. Everything seems to get worse."

Liam spoke up, his voice almost too quiet to hear. "You can do it. Don't do something you'll regret."

Tristan opened his eyes again, tears spilling down his face and choked out "That's the thing. I don't think I'd regret it at all."

Cayden sniffed, tears also running down his face as he wobbled slightly. "Liam... I... I'm trying to bring up the image of the future he has to look forward to but.... I can't. I think I'm.... I'm..."

Liam had a look of alarm on his face and he called for the others.

Hugh appeared immediately and Paxton was a few seconds later, his puffy eyes showing he'd been crying.

"You two keep an eye on Tristan, I need to get Cayden back to the mindspace before he collapses. He's used too much energy today without enough rest and he's starting to sway."

Paxton gasped and pulled Cayden into a hug before letting go with a mumbled "I told you, you should listen to me next time I tell you to get some rest."

"I'll be... Fine..." Cayden muttered, his eyelids fluttering shut slightly.

Liam rolled his eyes and grabbed hold of Caydens arm before sinking back down to the mindspace.

Logan watched as Liam helped Cayden lay down on the couch and covered him with a blanket.

"Thanks Liam. You're.... A good friend." Cayden managed to get out before falling unconscious and the scene changed again.

Cayden was holding a sobbing Paxton while Hugh and Liam had a hushed discussion in the corner.

"he.... He just ignored me completely. I feel......so useless." Paxton mumbled and Cayden rubbed his hand up and down his back.

"Hey, you're not useless. This isn't your fault, if anyone is to blame it's that disgusting man who Tristan is unfortunate enough to share DNA with."

Logan stepped away and tried to listen to what Hugh and Liam were saying but he could just hear the buzz of their voices and reasoned that as it was Caydens/Prestons memory and he couldn't hear them then that made sense.

"But.... I could have stopped him! I should have been able to stop him!" Paxton exclaimed and Cayden pulled back to look Paxton in the eyes.

"Look at me when I say this so you know I'm telling the truth. You're not to blame for anything. We knew things were getting worse and he was bound to start ignoring us, you were just unlucky enough to be the first to experience it."

Paxton looked down sadly as he whispered "I can't help but feel I've let you all down. Especially you Cay. You always manage to get Tristan through stuff like this."

Cayden managed to put a small smile on his face as he said "You've never let me down and you never could. You're my best friend and nothing will ever stop me loving you."

Paxton managed a watery smile at that and hugged Cayden tightly "Thanks, you always know what to say to make me feel better."

Liam and Hugh walked over to where the two were hugging and Hugh said "Tristan stopped eventually after I managed to get through to him by shouting for a a few minutes. There's no major damage done and he didn't go particularly deep but we'll need to keep an eye out for any more behaviour that could key us in to if he's going to do it again."

The scene changed and Logan found himself in an imagination forest that seemed smaller than the one he was used to. In a clearing he could see Cayden practicing with his sword.

A familiar voice from somewhere nearby suddenly made Cayden stop.

"Cayden! Are you in here?"

"Paxton, what brings you in here?" Cayden asked.

Paxton let out a small sigh. "Tristan is ignoring me again and I can't find Liam anywhere."

Cayden sheathed his sword and walked closer to Paxton. "Do you want me to help you look?"

Paxton nodded. "I thought maybe he'd be watching you practice because he doesn't seem to be anywhere in the main mindspace."

Cayden frowned at that. "That's unlike him. He rarely ventures too far because he knows how much we rely on him to get through to Tristan."

Logan looked between the two, wondering where this was going.

Paxtons expression was worried as they walked through the trees and Cayden grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop.

"Don't worry, we'll find him. Just take a few deep breaths and calm down." Caydens voice was soft and comforting as he pulled Paxton in for a hug.

Paxtons face brightened up as he smiled at him. "Thanks Cayden, you always know what to say."

Cayden smiled back and the two continued their journey out of the imagination forest.

They were walking towards the main mindspace when Cayden froze and turned to look behind him.

"What's wrong?" Paxton asked, having turned around to see why he'd stopped.

"I thought I heard something." Cayden murmured, his eyes scanning the mist warily.

Logans eyes looked over to the mist worriedly, wondering if there was something hiding in it but was forced to keep walking as Cayden seemed to brush it off as nothing.

As Logan followed the two traits into the mindspace, Hugh appeared in front of them looking exhausted.

"I can't convince Tristan to do his work, he's too busy staring into space and we don't need another repeat of last week. I need Liam to help convince him."

"Uh, about that..." Paxton said, trying to keep his voice level.

The uniformed trait looked from him to Cayden and took in their worried expressions. "What? What is it? Where's Liam?" he demanded.

"We can't find him. Paxton looked everywhere in the main mindspace but..." Cayden tried to explain but he was shoved aside by the suddenly frantic trait.

"Somethings happened to him. He would never leave the main mindspace."

"Hugh, calm down." Paxton tried to say but Hugh let out a small growl "You don't get to tell me to calm down! Liam is missing and here you are having a lovely conversation with Cayden. Either help me look for him or stay out of my way!"

Hugh stormed off leaving Paxton speechless and Cayden shaking his head.

Logans mouth was dry as he realised this might be the start of what had turned Cayden into Preston and he was both scared and intrigued to see what happened next.

"I.... I didn't mean to..." Paxton said in a quiet voice and Cayden sighed. "Don't blame yourself, he's just concerned for the person he loves. You know how protective of him he is. Once we find Liam he'll be fine."

Paxton shrugged "I guess. We should probably keep looking. The sooner we find Liam the sooner we can stop Tristan getting hurt again."

Cayden frowned. "Hey Paxton, has Liam ever mentioned the secondary traits?" he asked and received a negative answer.

"Why do you ask?"

Cayden started to walk back out of the main mind space. "What if he went to visit them? For all we know he could be friends with one of them."

Paxton was jogging to keep up with his pace and as they walked into the imagination forest, the air felt heavy.

"Somethings not right." Cayden whispered drawing his sword and looking around cautiously. "Stay close Pax, just in case."

Pax grabbed a hold of Caydens shirt, fear clear on his face as they walked deeper into the forest.

Logan was glad it was just a memory as the forest was completely devoid of any sounds and it seemed to be getting darker.

When they exited the imagination forest on the other side they let out small sighs of relief and continued towards a large grey door that lead to the area of the mind where the secondary traits lived.

They got to the door and Cayden, who had put his sword back away, was about to open it when a voice shouted.

"Cayden! Hugh! Paxton! Help me!"

Paxtons eyes were wide as he also heard the familiar shout.

The two of them immediately sprinted towards the sound of the voice, not hesitating as they ran through the misty no man's land which Logan reluctantly followed them into.

They came to a stop as they heard Liam voice from the opposite direction than they were running and before they could head towards it his voice came from somewhere else as well.

Cayden closed his eyes and the mist started to dissipate so Logan could see in every direction with no trouble.

Liam was nowhere to be found which meant that they were being tricked.

Suddenly there was an earth shattering scream from the other side of the forest and Preston wasted no time in running towards it, Paxton not far behind.

Logan struggled to keep up with them but he somehow managed to and if it hadn't been a memory he would have collided with Cayden who had skidded to a stop.

Logan stepped forward and froze, his stomach churning unpleasantly at the unexpected scene in front of him.

Hugh was the one screaming and the reason for that was Liam.

The ground was streaked with blood and Logan had to look away as he noticed clumps of flesh and gore scattered around as if the trait had been ripped apart by some sort of animal.

The only non mangled part of Liam was his face which wasn't comforting at all because it probably meant the culprit wanted the body to be identifiable.

Hugh had fallen to his knees his face streaked with tears as he continued to scream, letting out all his horror and anger.

Paxton was vomiting and crying while Cayden appeared to have frozen, his dark brown eyes locked on to the red mess in front of him.

Logan felt his stomach jolt uncomfortably and had to stop himself from vomiting as his eyes passed over the scene again.

His eyes locked onto Hugh and he felt tears of his own roll down his face. He'd tried not to get too attached to the traits in front of him because he knew they'd all die in the end but he couldn't help himself.

The scene vanished and Logan wiped his eyes as he found himself in Tristans room again where he spotted Cayden and Paxton trying to frantically get through to Tristan who was staring into space completely ignoring them.

"I... I think we need Hugh." Paxton said tearfully and Cayden closed his eyes as he said "You're right, but he's not responded to us for the last week since.... It happened."

Logan winced as he recognised what was happening. It was similar to when Virgil had been in a coma and Thomas had only seemed to acknowledge him and not the other two.

It was apparent that Tristan was suffering from the lack of Liam who Logan assumed embodied the fight or flight reflexes and helped him stay cautious and aware of his surroundings.

"We could always try and get through to him." Paxton suggested in a quiet voice.

Cayden sighed "I don't think...." he stopped part way through his sentence as the all too familiar sound of the front door slamming reached his ears.

"OK fine, let's go find him, but we'll have to be quick." Cayden said and the two sunk down to the mindspace.

Logan found himself following Cayden through the corridors, peeking into each room just in case Hugh was in there.

"Cayden! Help! Hugh locked himself in the emotions room!" Paxton shouted and Cayden quickly dashed towards where he heard him.

"He stole the key to the emotion room and locked himself in! We need to get him out before...."

Paxtons words were cut off by a loud boom as the whole mind space shook and the lights flickered.

"Oh no. Not again." Paxton exclaimed holding his hands over his head.

"It's alright, I've got you, everything is going to be OK. You can do this." Cayden said in a gentle voice, pulling the shaking trait into his arms and hugging him tightly.

"I..... I just don't understand.... Even after all these years.... Why do they do this to him? They're supposed to love him!" Paxton sobbed and Cayden had tears of his own running down his face as the mindspace shook again.

"I don't know but one day he'll be free of them. One day all this will just be a bad memory that we can look back at and smile about how far we've come. This won't last forever, I promise."

Paxton sobbed into Caydens shoulder as Caydens words flowed through him and as the mindspace shook again he murmured "I hope you're right."

Logan felt himself tearing up and wiped his face, sniffing a little.

Eventually the mindspace stopped shaking and the two traits crept over to the emotion room where Hugh had locked himself in.

"Hugh? Please come out. We need you. You're our last hope to get through to Tristan." Cayden said, knocking on the door.

There was no response.

Paxton tried instead "We know exactly what you're going through, it's difficult for all of us but we need to stick together. Now more than ever. Please come out, I.... I miss him too."

Paxton let out a small choked sob towards the end and sniffed, trying to wipe away all the tears that kept flowing from his eyes.

There was still no response.

Logan looked at the door with a small shudder as he remembered how many things had happened with the emotion room in Thomas's mind.

Cayden was getting slightly impatient and knocked on the door harder "Hugh! Come on out! We can't do this on our own."

Yet again, no response.

Cayden let out a small noise of frustration while Paxton approached the door again. Paxton suddenly froze as he put a hand on the door and turned his fear filled eyes to Cayden.

"There's something wrong. I can't describe it. There's a weird sensation from behind this door."

The worry and slight panic in Paxtons voice seemed to be enough for Cayden as he suddenly launched a hard kick at the door which broke the lock and made it swing open to reveal the pitch black emotion room.

"Hugh?" Paxton asked timidly as he peered into the darkness.

As soon as Paxtons foot was across the threshold of the door, the lights flickered on and a loud scream echoed around the room.

Hugh was laying on the floor surrounded by blood with a bloody knife in one of his hands and scrawled across the floor in his blood were the words "I give up. I'm sorry."

"No! This can't be happening! First Liam now Hugh?" Paxton exclaimed, sinking to his knees in despair.

Logan stared into the room with wide horrified eyes. When he heard that Hugh had given up he didn't realise it meant like this. He thought he'd given up by convincing Tristan to walk out in front of a car, not carving open both his wrists, writing an apology in blood and then slitting his own throat.

Cayden pulled Paxton out of the room and slammed it shut again, his entire body shaking at seeing another of his friends like that.

"W.... We can't... We can't do this without him. Without Liam. We're.... We're done for!" Cayden shrieked hysterically.

Paxton and him were both sobbing and Logan felt his own eyes welling up as he witnessed their breakdowns.

After a while Paxton stopped crying and got to his feet, wiping his face. He walked over to Cayden and hugged him tightly with a murmured "We should check on Tristan."

Cayden shook his head "We can't do this on our..... Own."

Paxton shut his eyes and took a deep breath to try and stop himself crying again. "We have to at least try! We can't just.... Give up."

Cayden let out a hysterical laugh, tears rolling down his face "Why not? It's what Hugh did!"

Paxton sniffed and pulled back so he was looking Cayden in the eye. "I'm sorry about this but you need to snap out of it."

Before Cayden could ask what he was on about Paxtons hand made contact with his cheek with a loud smack.

Cayden froze for a second, slowly raising a hand to his cheek where he felt the hot stinging sensation from where he'd been slapped.

"Now will you come help me check on Tristan?" Paxton asked in a timid voice.

Cayden nodded and took a deep breath as he stood up "I'm... I'm sorry. I... I.... Let's just go check on him."

The two joined hands and sunk down to visit Tristan.

Logan looked around and was surprised not to see Tristans room, instead he could see what appeared to be a park with a large open expanse of grass and trees.

Tristan was sitting leaning against a tree in a tucked away corner of the park where there was no one around to notice his state.

He was cradling one of his arms which was at an odd angle and there was blood all over his face and clothes.

Logan inhaled sharply as he noticed the huge tear in one of the legs of Tristans trousers. He could make out the words freak, dirty and worthless carved into Tristans thigh and was once again reminded that Preston obviously took notes on the best ways to hurt people.

"Tristan? Can you hear me?" Cayden asked hesitantly, a glimmer of hope in his eyes as Tristan turned his head in his direction.

"Is life really worth living like this?" Tristans voice was scratchy and hoarse from where he'd obviously been screaming.

"Things will..." Paxton started but Tristan cut him off.

"Don't.... Don't bullshit me. Is there anything in this world that's really worth having to suffer like this? I've been told by you so many times that 'Things will get better' or 'Just focus on the future' but.... Things just keep getting worse. There's nothing.... Absolutely nothing that I want more right now than for everything to end. All the taunts. All the injuries. All the.... All the pain. Just everything. It hurts to breathe, to even exist, and.... I can't help but think... What if all that could just... Disappear. What if I could just fall asleep and never wake up? It'd be so peaceful. So painless. I'm.... I'm not sure why I'm holding on anymore."

There was silence after Tristan had spoken as Paxton and Cayden struggled through their own pain and grief.

"What about.... T...Thomas Sanders? He... He's... Isn't he... Isn't his singing worth getting through today? If... If you ended it today you'd never hear his voice again...." Cayden managed to get out, his voice shaky as he struggled to find the right words.

Logan could see where this was going and felt tears roll down his face for what was probably the hundredth time. It was painfully obvious that Tristan had already made up his mind and no matter what Paxton and Cayden said he wasn't going to listen.

Tristan looked at Cayden with a distant look in his eye. "Thomas... He's nice and friendly but... He's just not worth going through so much pain for. If... If I knew him better... Maybe if I'd listened to you and.... Told him I liked his singing... Asked to be his friend even..... But.... He's still just another face.... Another face among thousands who will never know or care. Every time this happens.... Every beating.... I both hope and dread it being my last. If.... If I kill myself.... I at least get to go on my own terms."

Cayden and Paxton exchanged looks of fear but before either of them could respond they popped back in the mindspace.

"What? What just happened?" Cayden asked and Paxton tried to sink back down to see Tristan but nothing happened.

"I.... I think something is preventing us from getting through to him, like all the other times." Paxton said in a small voice.

Cayden let out a gasp as he pointed a shaking finger down the hall where large scratches and marks were gouged into the walls and floor. "Where did they come from?"

Paxton approached one of the walls and recoiled at the horrible feeling he got. "It was caused by whatever has been keeping us from communicating with Tristan."

Cayden gulped and muttered "Where did it go?"

Paxton started walking down the hall, followed by Cayden who'd drawn his sword.

Logan walked after them, his eyes taking in the marks on the walls as he passed. He couldn't think of anyway they could have been caused.

They came to a stop and Logan noticed the ominous black cloud hanging over the imagination forest.

"Whatever it is, is in the forest. The least we can do is try to get rid of it." Cayden murmured, his fingers tightening around the hilt of his blade.

Paxton nodded and started walking into the mist which had spread so it surrounded the entire forest rather than either side.

Cayden jogged to keep up with him, his eyes darting around warily as he tried to keep track of where Paxton was.

Suddenly a loud growl came from somewhere in the mist and Cayden froze, turning to look around him with his sword held up defensively.

"Cayden? I can make out the trees! Quick follow my voice!" Paxtons voice came from further ahead and Cayden broke into a run.

There was another growl, this time closer and Logan made a small yelp of fear as he thought he saw something dart through the mist.

"C'mon, you can do it!" Paxton shouted.

Cayden was running through the mist, terror and determination clear on his face.

Suddenly from the mist a dark shape collided with him sending him sprawling to the floor.

"Watch out!" screamed Paxton but Cayden was laying on his back clutching his chest, his ribs throbbing painfully.

A dark shadowy creature suddenly appeared from the mist and Cayden crawled backwards away from it as fast as he could, his sword having skidded too far away to be of help.

Logan was frozen in fear and horror as he stared at the abomination before him.

The creature was ten times bigger than any of the creatures it appeared to be an amalgamation of. It was four legged, it's front paws being those of some sort of big cat, it's back legs being those of what appeared to be a bear, it's head being that of a wolf and it's tail was thin and whip like.

The entire creature was black and shadowy, the same sort of consistency as Virgils energy which explained to Logan why Preston had been so wary around it.

The beast crouched, presumably readying itself to pounce and Cayden closed his eyes, accepting of his fate.

"Get away from him!" Paxton shouted, this time appearing from the mist and stepping in between Cayden and the shadow creature.

Cayden watched with his mouth open as Paxton grabbed the sword and lunged at the creature.

The creature didn't even attempt to dodge and the blade just went right through it, not effecting it in any way.

"But that's not possible! Your sword can cut down shadowy nightmare creatures, why didn't it work?"Paxton shouted in disbelief, glancing at Cayden.

Cayden pushed himself to his feet, eyes wide in horror as the creature seemed to ripple as if it were laughing.

"I don't understand." Cayden whispered and the creature took a swipe at Paxton, sending him flying backwards, dropping the sword.

"No!" Cayden cried and launched himself at the monster. "Don't hurt him!"

Cayden was pinned beneath one of the monsters enormous paws and it pushed down hard enough that his ribs started to crack, making him scream in agony.

In the background Paxton screamed "Cayden!"

Logan winced at the sound of Caydens bones cracking and watched in horror as the beast lowered its wolfish head, its large canines almost grazing Caydens skin.

"No!" Paxton yelled and pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the large slash across his chest where the claws had caught him. He stumbled as he tried to walk forward and the creature tilted its head in some sick parody of a curious puppy.

It let out a barking roar and seemed to vanish.

Paxton collapsed next to Cayden who was breathing heavily and shook him gently "Cayden? Can you hear me?"

Cayden turned his head to Paxton, his eyes wide in horror as he struggled to speak. "P....Paxton..... R...r..r..run."

Paxton frowned "What do you mean?"

Cayden let out a small sob that jarred his broken ribs. "Run. It.... It's...... Inside me."

Paxton flinched back as a loud ferocious growl resonated from Caydens chest.

"Please.... Paxton..... I.... It's taking over." Cayden pleaded, tears falling from his eyes as he slowly began to sit up.

Paxton hesitantly backed away after struggling to his feet. "But..... I... What's going on?"

Cayden had tears streaming down his face as his body seemed to move of its own accord "It's taken control.....I cant stop it."

Paxton had tears of his own running down his cheeks "Cayden there's.... There's nowhere to go...."

Cayden had pushed himself to his feet and was taking jerky steps towards Paxton as he tried to fight against the creature that had taken over.

"You... You have to find somewhere... Please..." Cayden said as he stopped and bent down, picking up the sword that had been knocked from Paxtons hands previously.

Paxton smiled sadly "I don't blame you for what you're going to do. I know you can't stop yourself."

"Don't... Don't say that!" Cayden sobbed as he took a shaky step forward and raised his sword.

Paxton sighed and stepped closer. "Stop fighting, just do it. We both know how this is going to end."

Cayden let out a scream of denial as his hand moved forwards and the sword impaled Paxton in the stomach.

Paxton closed his eyes, whimpering in pain but he managed a smile "you promised this wouldn't last forever and this wasn't exactly what I had in mind but it still works."

Paxton fell to his knees as Caydens trembling hands pulled the sword out and it clattered to the floor.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry. I tried! I tried, I tried, I tried. I failed you. I couldn't fight it in time." Cayden wailed dropping to his knees and cradling Paxton close to him. "It's gone now. I don't know where but its gone."

Paxton slumped against Cayden with a sigh. "You could never fail me Cay. You're my best friend and nothing will ever change that."

Blood was gushing out of the wound on Paxtons stomach at a rapid rate, spilling onto the floor and seeping into Caydens clothes but he didn't care. "I... I don't want you to go." He sobbed.

Paxtons arms were loosening their grip around Cayden as he grew weaker and he pulled one away so he could wipe Caydens tears away. "Look at me. Don't blame yourself. I...."

Paxtons voice lowered to almost a whisper as he used his last breath to say "I still love you Cayden."

Paxton went limp in Caydens arms and Cayden let out a howl of misery, clutching at Paxtons body and rocking back and forth.

Logan was standing shaken off to the side, tears rolling down his cheeks as he witnessed the final moments of Cayden.

The mindspace shook violently before everything began to fade, leaving Cayden clutching Paxtons body in the middle of a black void.

Eventually Paxtons body faded too and Cayden let out a screech of agony, falling onto his back gasping for breath as he was hit by the full force of what Tristan was going through. The only sound to be heard, other than Caydens shrieks was the faint beat of a heart, getting progressively slower until it stopped.

Logan found himself plunged into pitch blackness, unable to see anything around him.

There was a spine chilling growl from somewhere nearby and Logan spun around, his heard turning in every direction to try and find the source of the noise.

Suddenly Cayden appeared from the darkness, curled up in a heap on the floor and muttering under his breath.

Logan approached him cautiously and jumped as Cayden let out a scream. "It wasn't my fault! Liam! Paxton! I'm so sorry!"

He suddenly fell silent and began clawing at himself, scratching up every bit of exposed skin as he writhed on the ground like a fish out of water.

"It wasn't my fault! It was all Hugh! He gave up!" Cayden shouted after what seemed like hours of silence, making Logan jump at his sudden exclamation.

The void seemed to blur slightly before coming back into focus and Logan realised that must have been a change in memory.

Cayden was no longer curled up on the floor scratching at himself. Instead he was sitting staring into space, his dark eyes dull and emotionless as he muttered "Love made them weak. I will not be weak. Cayden was weak. I am not Cayden. Cayden relied on others who let him down. I will not make the same mistakes. Cayden is dead. Dead because he loved. Dead because he cared. I don't care. I don't love. I am not Cayden. I am P.... P.. Preston."

Logan gulped as he watched the empty dark eyes gaining a harsh coldness to them and he realised that this was no longer Cayden.

This was Preston and Logan had just witnessed the birth of a monster.

Songs relating to Cayden/Preston:
Sleepwalker by Adam Lambert
Crawling by Linkin Park
Sarcasm by Get Scared
The Light Behind Your Eyes by My Chemical Romance
My Demons by Imagine Dragon
Trapdoor by Twenty One Pilots
Papercut by Linkin Park
Kill Everyone by Hollywood Undead
Monster by Skillet
Shadows by Red
Bad Intentions by Digital Daggers
Fragile Minds by Silent Theory
Malevolence by New Years Day
Fading by Decyfer Down

This was a really difficult chapter to write and it took a lot out of me to write it so for those who managed to read it, here's some happy pictures of the sides to help lighten the mood after such a heavy chapter.

(yes I made the last picture :P all the individual pictures with the glasses are ones I've edited and have been uploaded to my Instagram along with the collage one. May I introduce you to the Gay Glasses Gang™ don't ask about the name, it randomly popped into my head and it just kinda stuck)