You've Got To Be Kitten Me - Prinxiety + OC [COMPLETED]

Chapter Twelve

Roman didn't know how he could face his fellow Sides as he returned to the mind palace. He knew he couldn't keep it a secret that Virgil had been taken, but he hadn't a clue how he could break the news to them gently. He was particularly worried about Patton's reaction, knowing how he thought of the anxious Side as his son. 

His feet dragged against the ground as he neared the common room. He could hear the older Sides talking, recognizing Patton's giggling. It made his heart clench painfully, knowing he'd soon stop laughing. When he came around the corner, he bit his lip. They had their hands together, held up in front of them with their fingers intertwined as they smiled at each other. It was like another punch to the gut as the prince cleared his throat. They quickly broke away, blushing as they pretended they weren't just holding hand. 

"H-Hey Roman!" the moral Side greeted with a bright smile. He didn't return the greeting, looking down with a pained look he didn't bother to hide. Patton noticed immediately, smile dropping. "What's wrong?"

The creative Side squeezed his eyes shut, taking a shaky breath. "It's about... it's about Virgil," he managed, blinking rapidly as he willed himself not to cry. "He's... he's been taken..."

"Explain what you mean further," Logan said firmly as the two of them became attentive. The father-like Side nodded quickly in agreement, breathing shallow and unsteady as he looked to him for answers. "By taken, you mean kidnapped."

Roman nodded with a wince. "You know how we each have our own spaces in the mind? I have the Imagination and the Mind Palace Theater, Patton has the Memory Room?" he explained, trying to explain this in the best way possible. They nodded. "And you know... how each of those places can have a... negative part of it?"

"Roman just spit it out!" Patton snapped, making him flinch. 

"I provide Thomas dreams through the Imaginations," he said quickly, feeling like a child being interrogated after breaking a vase. "He doesn't just get dreams! Just like when you feel nostalgic and it makes you feel worse rather than better! He can get- he can sometimes get nightmares..."

Logan pinched his nose, as if trying to figure out what he meant. "What does Thomas getting nightmares have to do with it?" he questioned.

"When the nostalgia thing happened, it was the room itself that caused that problem. It affected each of differently and made Thomas upset, but I give him dreams myself... I don't give him nightmares, there's someone else who does," the creative Side said. "His name's Namor."

The two of them stared at him with wide and confused eyes. "Namor?" Logan repeated, tilting his head. "That's 'Roman' spelled backwards."

"I know, that's because he's still me, but not," he replied then wincing at how little sense that made. "I mean, he's not a separate Side, like Deceit. He's a part of my purpose in Thomas, but because my job varies so much from what he does, we're separate entities. He's still Creativity, the only difference is that he utilizes the part of a person's imagination that makes them fear things, or form nightmares. He causes that uneasy feeling of walking through your house at night because he's the one making you wonder if there's something there in the dark even when Logic tells you there's nothing there."

They were quiet for a while before Patton spoke up. "What does he want with Virgil?" he asked, pain in his voice as he looked up with teary eyes.

"I don't know, I really don't know," Roman said, shaking his head as he looked at his feet. "But I'm going to find out. I only came here to alert you of what was going on. Now that you know, I'll be returning to the Imagination to find him."

He turned around, beginning to head that way when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Wait," Patton murmured as he turned in surprise. "Just... be careful... and please bring him home."

The prince nodded firmly as he drew his hand back and headed for the Imagination with renewed determination. Namor, it's been a long time, he thought. I'm willing to let you have your fun every now and then, but when you abduct the one I love you cross the line of my tolerance. You'll regret your actions, old friend.