WARNING: WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR SANDERS SIDES VIDEO CALLED "CAN LYING BE GOOD" RELEASED FEB. 3, 2018.  IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED IT - okay if you haven't watched it yet, what are you doing?! But this will contain a M A J O R  S P O I L E R.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

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Point of View: Virgil, First Person

Timeline: Present Day

I felt my nerves start to build as I exited the Mind Palace. I refused to look back or at what used to be the one and only village in the Imagination. I didn't want to know what the disaster I caused by not killing the hell-hound the first time looked like. I don't think that I would be able to ever move on with my life, seeing the damage I had done. No, it would be better to just move on.

I shouldered my bag once more, yanking my hood over my head, bangs falling over my eyes. I had my headphones around my neck (of course I brought them with me, duh) resting on my collarbone so I could keep an ear out for Roman in case he saw me first.

Geez, how was I going to find Roman? There's so many places he could be – why did I even think this could work? I'm never going to find him. This place is so big, he could be just about anywhere.

Sighing, I started making my way to Roman's cliff, a sad attempt in hopes that he would be there. He said that it was his favorite place in the Imagination – under this big maple tree – that looked out onto an ocean that met the sky. He took me there for our first date actually and gave me a black and purple flower crown, that I now keep on a hook on the door to my closet. He said he goes there when he's struggling coming up with good video ideas or when he wants to be alone.

And if he was there enough, he'd know that the entrance to The Dark Side of the Imagination.

I was betting that he did, but it was only a hope – nothing more.

I took a moment to look out to the Imagination's ocean, mesmerizing the way the sun made the water glitter. It was so... peaceful. Under difference circumstances, I might find this calming, but with Roman M.I.A. it was only a reminder of why I came here and what I needed to do.

I walked over to the edge of the cliff, balancing on the edge - if there had been wind my anxiety would probably be skyrocketing right now – and I waved my right hand at the ground below me, picturing a long, spiral staircase leading to the bottom. Because it's the Imagination, the land immediately bowed to my will – rocks flattening and sliding to make the staircase I pictured. Some rocks even rose up to make the railing I had pictured to go along with it, protecting me from falling into the ocean, which certainly would look more terrifying if I flew towards it face first.

I slowly made my way down, gripping my staff tightly, tensed and ready for action. I had stopped by the training room to pick it up, but I hoped that I would never come to needing it. But I didn't know what condition Roman would be in if I found him –

When I found him...

I reached the bottom of the staircase without much issue, which opened to the mouth of what appeared to me a small cave, but with a small faint light coming from deep inside. The entrance to the other side of the Imagination.

I knew better.

I hesitantly reached into my bag and pulled out the flashlight I had brought with me. I flicked it on and peered inside, searching for any trace of Roman. The light bounced off of the rocks, shiny and wet, but there was nothing that proved Roman had come this way. Nothing to prove he'd even made it this far.

I exhaled harshly in frustration, bangs flying up a little before falling back over my eyes. I lowered my flashlight, letting the light fall to my feet. But in the process, my light hit something, shiny – something gold.

I flicked my light back up and gasped.

A tiny, toy motorcycle... that was red, white, and gold.

With its owner nowhere to be seen.

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Point of View: Roman, First Person
Timeline: Day One of Roman's Quest, Several Days Ago

Let just say the Pride Lands under Scar's rule looked better than this side of the Imagination. The Elephant Graveyard would have been an upgrade. So would the swamp from Princess and the Frog. And that field from the end of The Jungle Book (post-fire). And Hades Realm from Hercules.

This place made Taka's Island look like Corona on Rapunzel's birthday.

A thin layer of black ice covered all the trees (which were almost this awful almost black color themselves), leaving any leaves or flowers with no chance of survival. There wasn't even any grass, just... rocks. And mud. Like if quicksand was to make a suddenly devastating appearance anywhere... it'd be here.

The sky was a dark gray and rumbling with thunder – and the occasional burst of lightning, but no rain and I frowned. Not that I was upset about there not being any rain. Not like there was going to be much cover from the rain in this environment unless I decided to put a black vertical log out of its misery and use its bark as a sad excuse for an umbrella (seriously, one of the few things I didn't bring...).

I hovered at the exit to the cave, examining the terrain as much as I could before standing out in the open.

It was such a barren, sad, gray environment I could see the Alternate Mind Palace from here.

It looked like what the Mind Palace would look like if Virgil had chosen the colors. Structure wise, it was the same, but what used to white and red on the Mind Palace was now replaced with black and purple. What normally would have been gold-accents were now a soft glowing silver.

It... it was actually quite beautiful. Not really my style, but beautiful nonetheless.

But it was easily a good marathon length away, looking more like a toy castle in the distance. Well good thing I've made a motorcycle before.

I set my bag on the floor, widening my wings and giving them a good stretch, rolling my shoulders in preparation for using my power.

A motorcycle was not my vehicle of choice, I'll be the first to admit, but it would be the fastest, that's for sure.

Besides a carriage would look ridiculous in this place anyway.

I bowed my head, concentrating on creating a motorcycle. A swirl of what almost looked like pixie dust slowly started the forming all the part that I needed, coming together as fast as I could think, my powers remembering faster than my mind in this scenario. I closed my eyes and focused intensely, my creation coming to life –

I opened my eyes, more exhausted than usual I admit, to find –

I blinked momentarily confused.

Where was the motorcycle?

I stared at the place the motorcycle should be and –

You've got to be kidding me.

The motorcycle was there alright. A gorgeous white, red, and gold masterpiece.

And the size of a lollipop.

I groaned, annoyed that such a tiny thing had taken so much of my energy and it wasn't even useful. I tossed it a little ways behind me and the tiny thing went farther than I expected, landing somewhere near the opening of the cave.

After a moment, I sighed, turning to go back and grab the tiny cycle. It might not be useful, but at least it would keep me entertained at least. Maybe I could give it to Patton when I got back...

I took a step before a sudden wave of dizziness hit me. My arms immediately flew out instinctively to help me keep my balance. My vison started going fuzzy, everything around me sort of going through an Alice-In-Wonderland effect, shrinking and making me feel giant and then a sudden rush of the reverse, everything growing so fast it sent me stumbling backwards, tripping over my bag and hitting the hard, rocky ground with enough force to send black instantly over my vison.

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Timeline: Day 5 of Roman's Quest, Same Day Virgil Goes To Find Roman

I winced, groaning as a stabbing pain went through my head. I raised my arm, gently feeling abnormally large OW-

"Try to stay still, you've been through a little bit of trauma," a voice said.

I winced, searching for the source and landing on – oh my second star to the right.

His eyelashes were long and dark and glittering in the small light... a candle maybe? It definitely wasn't any kind of artificial light. He wasn't turned completely turned towards me, part of his face hidden. A little derby hat at on his head.

"Who are you?" I whispered, sitting up. I was laying down on... maybe a couch?

"A friend," he said vaguely. "The better question is: who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I – what am I doing here?"

"You were attacked," he said, simply. "You were attacked, and I saved you. Then I brought you here."

"Attacked by what?"

"There are plenty of... things on this side of the Imagination. Names are powerful and it's best not to say them out loud," he said simply.

"Oh," I said quietly. "But, um, who are you?"

He winked at me, the other half of his face still hidden. "A friend, that's all you need to know. You know, most people would say thank you once someone saved their life."

"Um,.. thank you," I said, frowning. Something felt so off... almost... familiar. "Have... have I met you before? You seem... very familiar."

"Have you been to this side of the Imagination before?"

"Um... not exactly."

"Then no," he reasoned, turning away from me entirely.

A loud booming sound came from the wall to my right and a couple of tiny rocks fell from the ceiling, indicating that we were in a cavern of some sort.

"What was that?" I asked, jumping to my feet, the room spun for a moment and I spread my wings out wide, momentarily keeping my balance, but I didn't know for how long.

The side let out an angry yell, still turned away from me frantically rushing around the other side of the room. "How did he find me so quickly?" he muttered, I guess assuming I couldn't hear him.

"How did who find us so quickly?" I asked, stepping forward. "If someone is after you, let me help. You saved my life, and I would only see it right if I returned the favor."

The side didn't move for a moment and another loud pound came from the wall, sending more rocks falling into the cavern. "Then I guess this is your chance for redemption, Roman."

I summoned my sword, my head much clearer than it was a moment ago, but I still was unsteady on my feet. I momentarily froze, as a thought crossed my mind. I spun around, facing the side, who still left me seeing only one side of his face. "How did you know my name if we've never met?"

As if on cue, the wall suddenly burst and a wave of dust, dirt, and flew into the room and I coughed, whipping out my sword in defense, sliding in front of the side who had protected me. Something was off, but I couldn't put my finger on it...

A dark figure stepped forward and I took my chance, lunging forward to attack when my blade was met with the clang of metal to metal. I grimaced and pressed forward, barely keeping up. He was a good swordsman, very good, although I would have been able to beat him if I was back to my full health. Something about his fighting tactics felt... familiar...

I immediately stopped once I realized, only dodging now. "Anxiety?" I yelled over the clash of our weapons. Of course, this was no sword, it was a staff, my limited sight prevented me from seeing it, but I should have guessed.

"... Sir Sing-A-Lot?" he returned tentatively, and we both pulled back.

"Yeah, it's me," I said, coughing a bit as I waved my hand to get rid of the black smog in my vision from Virgil busting open the cage.

The smog finally cleared and there he was, my knight in... in a dark, dusty hoodie.

Virgil spun, looking behind me. "Get away from him, you coward," he spat, looking behind me. "Get away from him, Roman."

I immediately spun around, trusting Virgil. What was going –

OH.

Now that Virgil had busted through the wall like some sort of rock giant, the little light we had was shining through, revealing the twisted face of my caretaker.

DECEIT.

The small bit of light reveal his yellow-reptile face and I shuddered. "Really? Are you kidding me? It was you?!"

Deceit smirked, his body falling into his typical 'S' type formation. "Interesting. I've put you in a rather interesting position, now haven't I? Remember, I saved your life."

Virgil let out a dry laugh. "Everything that comes out of the mouth is a lie," he spat. "There's no way you saved his life – I'd even go as far as to bet you were the one to put his life in danger, weren't you?"

"Okay, fine, so maybe I didn't save it in the manner I suggested, but I did save it. You're Fair Prince collapsed on his own merits – he knocked himself out all by himself, poor thing. They simply don't make Prince's like they used to," he tutted, clicking his tongue.

"I SWEAR-"

"But you won't since you're a Prince and you keep your word, now don't you?"

"I said nothing that'll stop me from slapping you upside the head," I argued, angrily gripping the hilt of my sword.

"And I didn't promise anything," Virgil basically snarled, gripping his staff so tight his knuckles were turning white.

"Ah, but you're gonna let me go," Deceit said. "Because Roman at least is a man of honor."

I grimaced. Like it or not, he... he didn't hurt me. Whether he intended to hurt me or not, he hadn't. I slammed my hand in frustration against the wall, spinning and leaving. "Come on, Anx," I glared, storming off, sure my face was several different shades of red.

I didn't look to see if Virgil followed me, but I felt confident he was – maybe only adding another glare before doing so, but still.

"And nice outfit updates by the way!"

I didn't respond, only gripping my sword tighter. Gosh! I don't know why he got under my skin so much, but he just made me – made me so – so UGH. And he took care of me?! I groaned, regretting coming here with out Anx. If I had, this would have never happened and –

I shuddered, trying to turn off my thoughts. Finally, I turned to Virgil,

"What took you so long?"

__________________
O M G

THE MOST RECENT SANDERS SIDES.

OMG

I'M A LITTLE BIT DYING.

IT WAS SOS GOOD.

I HAVE NO CHILL.

NO CHILL WHATSOEVER.

IT'S – IT'S SO MUCH LIKE THE STORY I GOT GOING ON HERE, I JUST HAD TO INCLUDE DECEIT, I JUST HAD TO. WOW. OMG. I AM STUNNED. WWWOOOOAAAAHHHH.  WITH THE DARK SIDES AND I'M KINDA DYING, DON'T MIND ME FANGIRLING AHHHH

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Commenter: CrystalZombie9187
Comment:This was a great chapter! There might not have been much action, but there was still information inside, which is important. I like how you show the mindsets of the characters during the conversations and inner thoughts too (if that makes any sense). The beginning with Virgil's "no need to bother him with my sad existence." worked really well and the way that Logan converses with Virgil and putting reason into his opinion of how Thomas couldn't function without both his logic and morality. I'm really enjoying your works and I hope you have a great time writing them! 

Me: Oh my goodness thank you so much! And I certainly do! :D

- Max :D