Misinformation Can Be Deadly

Chapter 80: No. There's Plenty More Angst

CW: blood, gore, panic attack

Just as Janus said, the moment the two demons appeared in the same spot as they were just a few minutes ago, he snapped and the room was filled with a golden light before fading, making the room soundproof.

Virgil leaned against Roman, trembling hard. He tried to move his arms to grab onto him, but they were so heavy and he still couldn't feel his hands. He felt numb, as if his brain stopped processing everything. It was all too much, there's no way he was free.

But that really was Roman that was in his mind. He recognized that magic anywhere. That was Roman's. Not even Alice could mimic that... Could she?

"Virgil- Virgil it's okay sweetheart," a voice promised. That was Roman's voice, he was still there. He felt a soft and familiar hand wipe away his tears, and exhaustion washed over him.

Roman panicked as Virgil fell limp against him, his glazed eyes shutting. Patton and Logan stepped forward, making the demon hold Virgil closer. The god was still shaking in his arms, despite being unconscious.

"Oh Virgil," Patton gasped, reaching out but hesitating when he saw the fear in Roman's eyes. "Is that really him?"

"It's him," Remus confirmed, crouching next to Roman. "Ro, you need to let him go. We have to get him on the bed so they can treat his injuries."

"No, no please," Roman begged. He didn't want to let go- he couldn't let go of Virgil again. What if he's taken from him again? He just got him back, he can't stand the thought of losing him.

"His wrists," Janus whispered in horror.

"Roman, listen, it's gonna be okay! He's hurt, we need to take care of him." Remus could see his brother freeze up. It was clear he wasn't going to move, but if anyone tried taking Virgil from him he might lash out. "Okay, you don't need to let go of him. Just get him on the bed, okay?"

Still no response, in fact Roman just curled up tighter. Remus just groaned and made his magic surround his brother and the god. Roman tensed up, but focusing for a moment he realized it was Remus's magic and he calmed down again as they were picked up and brought to the bed.

"Okay, I'm gonna grab Virgil's arm now. I'm not gonna take him away from you, but I have to get the spikes out of his arms," Remus told Roman, not entirely sure he can hear him.

"Can-can we help?" Patton asked. He had tried to put on a brave face, but there were tears in his eyes and his hands were shaking.

"It's best you don't, we don't know or understand his powers yet, and I doubt he does too," Remus said. "I don't want you getting hurt. Plus, Roman's not handling this well."

Roman flinched at the sound of his name, but he was too focused on Virgil. His breathing was slow but shallow, as if he was hesitating to take a deep breath. His skin was so pale, and he wasn't sure if it was from blood loss or if his skin had changed too.

He looked over in a panic when Virgil's arm was grabbed, but didn't move when he saw it was Remus. His brother gave him a soft look before continuing.

Virgil whimpered as Remus tugged on the spike. The three humans looked away and Roman whined in fear. The green demon took a deep breath before yanking it out. He immediately grabbed gauze from the opened first aid kit and held it against the injury, purple blood starting to soak through despite the pressure Remus was putting on it.

Logan quickly grabbed more gauze and an ace bandage. Remus layered as much gauze on Virgil's wrists as he could before tightly wrapping the bandages. He cursed as Virgil's wrists continued to bleed, but he knew it would be near impossible to stitch it up, at least for now.

He did the same for Virgil's other wrist, hating how much pain it was causing the god and his brother. As soon as he was done with the wrists, he looked over for any other injuries. He had to cut Virgil's pants at his knee, and once again the humans had to look away from the broken bone.

The three of them helped Remus when they could, whether they were giving him anything he needed or helping to sooth Roman. They were able to get Virgil to lie down on his back instead of leaning against Roman, but Roman refused to let go of Virgil's hand. Remus stitched injuries that needed to be stitched, wiped away dried blood, and wrap up any fractured or broken bones.

When Remus was done with all the injuries, some of which he noticed were healing quite quickly on their own, it felt like the world had let out a sigh. But everyone was still frozen, as if waiting.

"What now?" Janus asked.

"I think we all need to rest," Remus said.

"What about the cut on your nose?" Patton pointed out.

Remus had almost forgotten about it. He had to wipe away any blood that dripped down, and it stung quite a bit, but besides that he forgot he had to take care of it.

"My cut is fine, I think I was able to hurt Alice worse," he said with a smile.

Janus grabbed some extra gauze, though they were now in desperate need of more. He carefully reached out and cupped Remus's face, placing some pressure on the wound, making Remus flinch. "At least let us treat it, we were practically useless for Virgil anyway," he stated.

"Fine, but don't use too much supplies. It's not too deep, it'll heal fast." Remus took the gauze from him, wiping the blood away and keeping pressure where it was still bleeding. "Besides, we have more important things to figure out. Roman?" The demon flinched before looking up at his brother. It was clear that he wasn't going to speak much, and he should probably be left alone for a bit. But Remus had to know. "When you were shocked by that... electricity, did you see anything?"

Roman frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Visions, were you shown any visions?"

"No? It just... hurt. And I was afraid. What visions did you see?"

Remus paled and suddenly looked very uncomfortable. He quietly said, "It was... I would say it was my worst nightmare. I don't want to talk about it."

"What electricity were you shocked by?" Janus asked.

"It came from Virgil, he was freaking out and had thought we weren't real," Remus explained.

"Alice mentally tortured him," Roman explained, dazing off again. "She showed him visions of us... a lot of different kinds."

"Why didn't you see any visions?" Logan asked.

Roman squeezed Virgil's hand, looking down at him in worry. "I was already living my worst nightmare. I still am."