Point of View: Thomas, First Person
Timeline: Present Day, Day 2 of Roman being M.I.A.

"W-What do you mean this is your fault, Virge?" I stuttered lightly.  "How could any of this possibly be your fault?"

Virgil pulled his hood lower on his head, nearly obscuring his entire face from view.  "The first time the hellhound attacked... Roman got hurt.  Badly.  I - I was supposed  to kill it, b-but instead of killing it, I - " Virgil cut off abruptly.  "If I had just killed it, none of this would have happened," he finished, pressing his sleeve-covered hands over his mouth.

"Virgil," I said softly, "I could never be upset because you didn't kill something.  Corrupted idea or not, that hellhound is a creature.  You shouldn't feel guilty because you spared it's life."

Virgil let out a tiny gasp at that, eyes watering with tears.  I glanced at Logan and Patton for an explanation, but neither of them seemed to have any idea either.  Logan was cleaning his glasses now and Patton was frowning, concerned at Virgil - a trace of hurt in his eyes.

"Ro - Roman said something... a lot like that to me," Virgil said after he had composed himself.  "Before he went missing."

"When did Roman go missing? How long have you guys waited to tell me?" I asked, realizing that this was certainly not new information, and that Roman has been missing for a... while.

"After the second attack, Roman... decided to go to the Dark Side, with the intention to get revenge on the sides that were killed.  He felt like he failed them, he felt like that was the only way to make things right.  No matter how wrong it was.  We - We got in an argument before he left and - and he ended up going alone," Virgil finished, ashamed.

"And no one has seen or heard from him since? How long ago was this?  Why haven't any of you gone after him?!"

Virgil closed his eyes, pain written all over his face.  

So much pain, that I almost regretted asking.

"See... that's the thing Thomas... I - I did go after him," Virgil confessed.  "Or, at least, that's what I've been told."

I tensed at that, chills running down my spine.  "What do you mean? You mean you... you don't remember?"

"Logic?" Virgil said, waving a hand at the side to his left.  "I guess this is where you take over."

I blinked in surprise before I realized he meant Logan.  Why did he call him Logic?

Either way, noting to come back to that later, I fixed my attention to Logan, who winced as he fixed his attention on me.  "Anxiety showed up five days ago - in the Mind Palace dizzy and delirious.  He fainted and remained unconscious for three days.  He woke up yesterday - without any memory since before he left.  We waited a day, in hopes his memory would return however as you can see that has not been the case.  However, I made a potion for Anxiety to take this morning, which should hopeful restore his memories.  Unfortunately, there is no way to indicate when his memories would return, or even if they could return at all." 

I couldn't help shuddering at that.

"So... in total, Roman's been gone for... how long?  And you haven't heard anything from him since?" I pressed again.

"Nearly two weeks," Logan answered quietly.

"...And you haven't heard anything from him since?" I pushed, frowning at the way everyone was avoiding my eyes, and how Logan had dodged my question at least twice now.

I turned to Patton.  "You've been quiet today, Pat."

Patton didn't even give me a verbal response, his eyes only flickering momentarily up to mine the only sign that he'd heard me at all.

"There's something else, isn't there?" I asked him quietly, causing Patton to whimper slightly, pressed his cardigan over his mouth and squeezing his eyes tightly shut.  "What else aren't you guys telling me?"

"Look," Logan interrupted, not sparing Patton so much as a glance.  "It was at Anxiety's wish that we've told you, however I don't think it is the best decision to tell you... everything," he finished.

"You have heard from him," I realized, taking in Logan's nervous expression.  "And you are trying to protect me... because you didn't hear anything good," I thought aloud, heart plummeting in my chest.

"H-Hey there, k-kiddo," Patton said, and I twisted around to face him.  "Y-Ya already know about D-Deceit, how he's a Dark side.  And - And I... think it isn't really a surprise to ya that Virge is a Dark Side himself, although he isn't a... t-typical... example of a dark side," Patton was twisting his hand in his cardigan almost furiously now, expression - for once - unreadable.  "T-There is a... really, really bad side, Thomas.  He considers himself King of the Dark Side, King Incubus." Patton paused, waiting for my reaction.

"And... what trait is he?"

"Fear," Patton finished, closing his eyes, shaking slightly.

"When you heard from Roman... he was at the hands of... this Fear dude, wasn't he?"

"Incubus is not a side to be messed with," Patton said darkly, wiping his eyes in a hopeless effort to stop the tears from falling.  "He - He skyped me and Logan and - and," Patton couldn't seem to finish, launching into a bunch of held back sobs.

I turned back to Logan.  "What did you see, Logan?" I whispered.

Logan closed his eyes.

"Roman being tortured.  And... Virgil tied up a couple feet away and being forced to watch."

I couldn't the involuntary gasp and small whimper that was ripped from my throat.  No, no, no.  No part of myself - NEver would I - there's no way I could ever - how could a part of me even do something like that? - How - Ohmygosh - I - I can't - breathe - I - don't - Ohmygosh -

"Thomas," a voice cut through the panic.  "Breath in for four seconds."

1, 2 - 

1, 2, 3 -

1, 2 -

1 - 

1 -

"I - I - cAN'T," I cried, a loud desperate sound coming from my throat.

"Okay, how about this.  Name three things you can hear."

"U-Um, Y-you, me, and - and the d-dishwasher."

"Four things you can touch?"

"Floor, my hands, my - uh - feet, and - and - the blankets," I said softly, gently touching the blankets in a heap on the floor at my feet that I had unintentionally brought with me when I walked over.  I could feel myself slowly calming down, slowly pulling myself back together surprisingly quickly.

"And five things you can see?" Virgil finished.

"Um the floor - the blanket," I brought my head up," Logan, you, and - 

I could help stopping at Roman spot and a flicker of pain flew me at his empty place.  I took a breath and finished.  "And Patton," I finished, not panicking anymore, but not feeling particularly good either.

"A-Are ya okay now, kiddo?" Patton broke the silence, voice quieter than I've ever heard it, but there.

I - I nodded slowly, rising back to a standing position - when had I fallen into that curled position? - and wiped away excess tears.  I forced myself to remain calm, fighting back that wave of panic.

"So... now are you going to tell me what's wrong with the three of you?"

All the sides suddenly avoided my eyes, instead choosing to take a sudden interest in their shoes.

"Guys - "

I was cut off by Virgil who let out a loud, sharp cry, causing everyone's eyes to swing to him.  He let out a choked scream, falling backward and hitting the wall behind him before falling to his knees - tears falling quickly down his cheeks.  He stayed there - looking a bit dazed and stunned, hands rising to press against his temples.  "No," he finally choked out, voice low with disbelief.

"Virgil? What's wrong?" I asked, but I got no answer.

"No, no, no," Virgil continued, seeming to not hear me at all and his voice grew faster, even more horrified as his sobs grew louder, stronger.  His hands were trembling now, Virgil holding them in tight fists now, but that wasn't enough to stop the panicked, fearful look in his eyes."I - I would never - No - it - that - that - can't," Virgil burst into another round of panicked sobs, voice growing louder as if that would make whatever was hurting him magically vanish.  "No, NONONONONONONO -"

The rest of us were left speechless as we were forced to watch Virgil crumple before our eyes.

"P-Please, gosh, nononono," Virgil whispered, sobbing even harder.  Now it was hard to even hear was he was saying between the tears - muttering illegible broken words.  His eyes were squeezed shut now, his head shaking as if that would make everything stop."That - That CANT' be OH GOSH RIGHT PLEASE PLEASE GOSH NO!!!"

"I - pleasepleas - no - I - I - pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasePLEASEPLEASEPL," Virgil curled in on himself, twisting and sobbing into the stairs, arms curled brokenly around himself as if that was the only thing keeping him together.

"RO!!!" he finally screamed, voice raw and cracked and broken and full of this aching sadness and despair.

We all stared  - helpless -  as Virgil simply crumpled into himself, suddenly going silent.

"No, please no," he whimpered.  "Please don't be true.  PLease.  No..."

____________________
...Guess who got their memory back?

Virgil did!

Annnnd the filler chapters are now over, our typical angst will proceed as usual :)

Next chapter should go up on... Saturday. 

- Max :)