Storm Clouds (Sanders Sides)

Aftermath: Pt 1

Hello, friends! I did not mean to let this get away from me for so long. Truth be told, a lot of my writing (fanfic and original) kinda fell to the backburner. I apologize, and here we go!

Picture Link: https://www.quotev.com/story/12673613/Janus-Deceit-Sanders-Protection-Squad/41 

{Author's POV}

     While outside of the mind was not the greatest place to be during a lockdown, as they could not gain access to the Mind until the lockdown ended, Logan could not have been more thankful that Thomas was not alone during the endeavor. After Creativity's divide, Morality and Logic agreed that during a lockdown, at least one Side would remain with Thomas to ease him through any ill-effects of the mind trying to cope with whatever was happening to it.  

     Logan had to accept, the two had never collectively agreed on a better course of action. 

     He and Emile had managed to convince Thomas to take time for some rest before the lockdown went into effect. As Logan had put it, "the body being in a state of stasis allows for the Mind to be in a more Neutral state, and since the lockdown is occurring in the Neutral state of the mind, the effect on the body will be eased". 

     As Picani had put it, "sleepy body, sleepy mind."

     The two had sat as the minutes ticked on, and finally it seemed like an hour had passed before Patton appeared in the room with a troubled look on his face. 

     Logan rose from his seat with a dozen questions racing to his tongue. Before that, however, he took a pause, and subsequently took a breath. 

     "Patton, are you...alright?" he inquired. 

     Patton looked up, eyes confused before his face painted itself in shades of relief hinted with hurt. 

     "Patton, what happened?" This time Emile spoke, taking a step closer behind Logan as the analytical side tried to decipher words from expression. 

     "We should go. Logan, we...we need to go."

     Logan didn't try to argue. Whatever emotions were running through the father-figure's brain couldn't be resolved with suggestions from a logical brain. As much as he despised them and their "icky" nature, bad emotions were solved with kinder emotions. 

     "Of course. Emile, if you could-"

     "Go," he interrupted, giving Patton a comforting smile. "I'll reach out to one of you if he wakes up." 

     Logan, with a simple appreciative nod, sank down aside Patton, who immediately pulled him towards the stairs. Logan noted that the lockdown seemed to be over, if the ease in which they returned to the Mind was anything to go by. That could only mean one thing...

     "Patton, wait-"

     The pair reached the top of the stairs as Logan opened his mouth to speak, and he stopped upon noticing Roman standing in the doorway of a room towards the center of the hallway. Logan cautiously stepped towards Roman, settling a hand on his shoulder. He pretended to not notice the lack of reaction, save for a head-turn to meet tear-filled eyes. Without a word between the two, Logan peered into the room.

      He'd never felt relief flood through him faster. 

      "He's ok! Roman, he's ok, but he needs us. Come on, we should wake him and make sure everything is alright," Logan pushed, being the first to break the threshold and run to the bedside. That was when he noticed what he could only assume was the reason Roman seemed frozen in the doorway. 

     "It's purple...That's different, yes, but I'm sure it's our Virgil."

     "And what if it's not," Roman choked out, terror as present in his voice as the tears in his eyes. "What if the Mind decided Thomas didn't need Sides as powerful as Anxiety or Paranoia and made something new. We don't even know if Fear was affected in the Subconscious by the lockdown and the change; What if the Mind just created a new Fear and-"

    "Ugh...Roman?" 

     The groan was hardly more than a whisper, but Logan picked up on it, turning to the prone figure in the bed behind him. He shared a look of confidence with Roman before turning and leaning in closer. 

     "Hello...Can you hear me?" he asked, unsure of whether the Side would respond to "Anxiety" or "Virgil". They had yet to figure out, truly, what Side they were dealing with.

     "Logan, get Roman out of here, I'm trying to sleep," he mumbled. 

     Logan smiled, more sure of himself now than ever. "Unfortunately, Virgil, I am going to have to ask you to open your eyes for me. You've been sleeping for far too long. Can you do that for me, please?" 

     Finally, those deep brown eyes peered up into Logan's, narrowing at the odd smile on the elder's face. "Logan? What are you doing?" He sat up in the bed, looking around at the rest of the strange happenings of the room. Roman's form standing locked in the doorway, Patton in the hallway behind him now. Roman had unshed tears in his eyes and wouldn't move them away from the figure in the bed, and Patton seemed to be debating running past Roman and to the bedside or staying put. 

     "Dad...? You ok?" 

     A sob escaped Patton's lips as he rushed into the room and landed on the bed, pulling his kiddo into his arms. "Goodness, we had no idea what was going to happen to the two of you! You've been away for so long, kiddo. I didn't know what to think!"

    Virgil pulled away for a moment, leaving hurt behind in Patton's eyes. "Two of..."

     Finally, the pieces seemed to click, and a hand flew up to his chest, eyes closed and darting beneath his lids as he seemed to be searching for something, body becoming far too still for anyone's liking. He mumbled something, unintelligible to the rest of the ears in the room. "What was that, love?" Roman asked gently, moving further into the room and closing the door behind him softly. 

     "He's gone."

{Author's POV}- Dark Mind Palace

     "He's gone."

     Remus had taken Janus's trembling form into his arms, as the other side held himself up in the doorway of that familiar bedroom, now empty with a silence that chilled him far more than any of the odd, nightmarish thoughts that plagued his head from time to time. 

    Nothing could ever terrify him more than his own emotions as he stared into the room's shadows, nor than those he could feel seeping off of his friend in that moment. Seeing Janus's hurt, Remus steeled himself with a breath, letting the elder pick up on his rhythmic movements and copy it for a moment before daring to speak.

     "He can't be gone, De. Maybe...Maybe the mind just decided he was better combined with Virgil. Surely they can't all 3 be gone, Thomas...Thomas needs them, right ? We should go see the others, maybe stop and see Remy in the Subconscious on the way. I'm sure he's still got Fear locked up and Paranoia is somewhere around here, somewhere in the mind. Everything is ok." 

    Janus chuckled, somewhat mixed in with a sob that tugged at the younger Side's heartstrings. "When did you become the caring, mature one?" he mumbled. 

     "Since you needed me to. Now, come along. We'll figure this out." 

So, what do you think happened? Virgil's back, but is he truly the same? Is Paranoia and Fear really gone? Is everything really that easy? 

Next chapter will be out soon to find out! (Much sooner than this one, promise!)

If you'd like to check out any of the other things I do on the interweb, you can scope out the linktree in my bio at your leisure! It's filled with a lot of different content of different kinds!

That is all for now, friends. I hope to see you in the next chapter. Stay safe, hydrate, and take care of yourselves (as best you can <3). Later! :)