A Breakdown

An Unexpected Reaction

(Logan POV)

"Hey, are you awake?"

I heard someone enter my room, heard them make their way over to my bed. I honestly didn't care, as I knew nobody who meant harm to me could enter. I had come up with a very specific, strict rule set for my personal space, and I was always a little proud of how complex my thought processes could be. The person gently shook me, ruining any plans I had for sinking back into unconsciousness. I groaned, fighting my way back to consciousness. I managed to wake up enough to open one eye, and I saw a blurry figure leaning over me.

"Guess you are now," they teased. I groaned, and reached above my head into the shelf I kept my glasses in. I felt the familiar plastic frames, fumbled a bit, and finally closed my hand around the arm. As I shoved them onto my face, my vision cleared up. It turned out that the person who invaded my space was none other than Roman, or the exact opposite of who I'd like to see in the mornings. Neither of us were morning people, but while I was usually just slow and uncoordinated, he acted way too over the top, most likely from lack of sleep or comprehension. I sat up, rubbing my eyes under my infernal glasses.

"Whatever you want, it is far too early for me to deal with it."

He crossed his arms, a small frown on his face. "Hey, I'd rather not bother the morning terror until after you've had coffee. I'm less likely to get my head bitten off that way. But Thomas needs you, he's freaking out and I can't wake Patton up."

I furrowed my eyebrows, slightly confused. "What state is Virgil in? Surely he's in some sort of emotional turmoil if Thomas is 'freaking out.'"

"That's just it," the exuberant side shrugged, "Verge's out cold. Plus he's in his room, so he can't do anything to Thomas. It's someo- something else."

I caught the slipup in wording. We were all well aware of the existence of the other "Dark Sides." We just never talked about them. One, it sets Virgil off, so Patton hates acknowledging them. Two, Roman and I- well, we've had to deal with them a few times. No pleasant memories came from those experiences. Everyone preferred to ignore the fact that they existed. But since Deceit had popped up, we might have to start talking about them again. Apologies, that will be dealt with later I believe. Back to the story.

"Fine. I'll go reason with him. I'll be out in five minutes, now go. Distract him if you must."

Roman mockingly saluted, complete with a "Yes, sir!" and marched out the door, thankfully closing it behind him. I rolled my eyes, and basically flopped out of bed. I was still in my clothes from yesterday.

'Wait, how did I even get back to my room? I thought I was in Virgil's room before I passed out.' I nearly dismissed it as mistaking my room for Virgil's, but then I vaguely recalled being gently laid down and covered up. It took a second, but eventually I came to a conclusion. A small smile inched its way onto my face. I'd have to thank him later. Or maybe not, but there would be time to think about it later. Right now, I needed to help Thomas.

I swapped out my shirt, grabbing a dark purple button up and a black tie. I pulled on some black jeans that looked like I might've accidentally stolen them from Virgil. There were a few tough times where certain movements sent pain through my body, but I paid it no more attention than was necessary. I assumed it was residual strain from whatever we had experienced in Virgil's memories, though I wasn't exactly enjoying it. Finally ready, I teleported to our commons room.

I straightened up and fixed my collar, the movements just muscle memory after a rough teleportation. Roman was there, but he was standing on a platform off to the side of the room. I knew he was talking to Thomas, though I couldn't hear what he was trying to say. The platforms are our way of controlling what influences we have over Thomas, so our own experiences inside the mindscape don't greatly affect him. We stand on them when we want to talk to Thomas directly, project a physical form into the real world (mainly for videos), or, in extreme cases, control his emotions and reactions. We don't have much influence otherwise.