True Deceit

Chapter 60: Virgil

"Show yourself!" Roman jolted upright, contouring a sword in his grip as he shot open is reddened eyes.

Virgil woke with a start beside him in the bed, falling to the ground with a hard bang. His shoulder throbbed as he dragged himself into a sitting position, gasping at the sword tip prodding his diaphragm. He raised his palms, his pupils dilating. "R-Roman, what are you doing?"

Roman lowered his blade, frantically apologising. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just... freaked out." He lowered his weight, dropping to the floor with a remorseful exhale.

Virgil crawled to his knees, cupping the prince's face in his hands. "Are you okay?"

"I thought I heard someone scream..."

"Help!" Patton's voice rang out through the corridor. Virgil and Roman shared a brief glance before scrambled to their feet, sprinting down the corridor and bursting into Patton's room. 

"Shh, it's okay, please wake up..." Patton held the whimpering snake to his chest, cradling his head tearfully in his arms. Deceit was locked in a frightening night terror, thrashing his arms in all directions. "He's having a nightmare, i can't wake him up! What do I do?"

"I'll get some water!" Virgil sprinted into the laundry, snatching a tin bucket and filling it half way with cold liquid. He hastily returned to Patton's bedroom, heaving the content over Janus's head. 

"Argh! He's coming, coming, but I felt something warm... Quick, check the mind palace, it was, it was yellow... Hey! let go of me!" Janus threw open a pair of startled eyes, his breathing harsh and ragged as he tore himself from Patton's embrace. He instantly began crying, curling himself into a tight, protective ball. "The shadow... he was in my mind, he- escaped...- the void!" 

Roman raised his hands, speaking calmly. "Hold your breath for four seconds, count to seven, then breath out for eight. The shadow can't hurt you, he's been banished, remember?"

"No, no, he's coming back, I'm scared!" He let out a terrified hiss, digging his face into his knees. Janus was unable to snatch a lung-full of air. Tears, huffs, another muffled cry. Roman's voice was being drowned out in an oily of terror. 

"I think we should leave him alone, so he calm down by himself. Us being here is stressing him out." Roman gripped Virgil's shoulders, walking him towards the exit. Patton sighed sorrowfully, following after.

"What if he hurts himself?" Patton murmured.

 "He'll be okay, we'll check on him, okay Padre?" 

Patton wiped a few stray droplets from beneath his lenses, nodding his head. 

                                                                                *

Logan woke from his slumber, a tight cleave wedged into his stomach. Something was wrong, an unusual tremor was rattling his bones. He slowly pressed his bare feet against the wooden floor boards, stumbling towards the corridor with his fingers pinned against the wooden door frame for stability. He jerked his throbbing head upwards with undue vigilance. 

"Logan? Are you okay?" Patton asked concernedly. Beside him stood Roman and Virgil, both of whom appeared foggy without his black rimmed spectacles. 

The logical side rubbed his eyes, croaked wearily. "Seventh side, please reconsider. I know you've threatened me with a nightmare before, but I assumed you were joking. I'm not great with social situations at times, maybe I misread your emotions..." 

"What is he talking about? Is he sleep walking?" Virgil grovelled alertly. Roman brought his arms around him, cuddling his boyfriend in an effort to calm his nerves. 

Patton stepped forward, slowly wrapping his fingers around Logan's hand. "Shh, it's okay, are you awake?" 

Logan swallowed uncertainly. "I may be awake, but I don't feel right. Patton, I need to tell you something really important. I've been refraining since I don't pose the necessary evidence to support my claims, but a seventh side is somewhere out in Thomas's great extensive mind. I've been talking to him through lucid dreams, but he's terribly shy..."

"...I wonder if it's some kind of sleep epidemic," Roman whispered sarcastically into Virgil's ear. "A virus those two mad hatters have caught." 

Logan dashed back into his room, snatching his glasses and pressing them to his face. Now he could clearly see three confused, perturbed faces staring back at him in the dimly lit corridor as a wounded frowned curved down his lips.

"You... you don't believe me?" Droplets rolled down his cheeks, silent and unflinching. He turned his head to the side, fiddling dolefully with his frayed tie. 

"Hang on kiddo," Patton soothed, holding his son's arm. "It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that I think you may need to get more sleep." 

Logan scoffed, shoving Patton harshly away. 

At that moment Janus yelled, a loud bang thudding against the bedroom wall. Without warning Logan entered the dorm, staring down at the whimpering curled up snake. 

"Oh Logan, the shadow of evil is coming back!" Janus cried hysterically. 

Logan's eyes widened, before staring relentlessly down Patton's innocent pupils. "You didn't think to mention that?!" 

"No, he just had a nightmare, Vengeance won't come back!" Patton attempted to reason, gazing into his flickering distressed eyes. 

Logan gravelly shook his head, murmuring furiously to himself. "Janus is right, I can feel him, he's coming back. Something's not right, something is definitely wrong..."

Patton gasped, grasping his head. A loud harmony bayoneted his ears, warming his brain until he could feel a burning sheet slicing through his skull. He stumbled, falling backward into Roman's arms. 

"Padre, Dad!" Roman yelled. Virgil was panicking, mystified by the odd turn of events. Roman refused to waste a word, despite his shuddering. "Virgil Virgil, calm down my precious storm cloud, we're going to be okay!" 

Virgil panted in response. "What just happened to Patton? What's going to happen to us?" 

It was a question neither could answer for the time being.