Before the Fall {DISCONTINUED}

Six

"Pride is the parent of destruction; pride eats the mind and the heart and the soul alive." (Anne Rice)

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Roman was seated in Logan's office, a blanket wrapped around him to help comfort him. Patton stood behind him, rubbing his back as Logan sat in front of him. Virgil sat on a windowsill to Roman's side, scrolling through his phone. Having been alerted to Roman's panicked state, he felt he needed to be there to help. Logan handed him a small cup of tea to help soothe his nerves.

"What happened?" Logan asked quietly, looking at Patton.

"He was sleeping fine, then he started moving around and twitching a bunch, so I woke him up, thinking he was having a nightmare. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he said was get you," Patton explained.

"Roman?" Logan asked, leaning back in his chair.

"It was him." Roman sipped from his cup, hoping the tea would get his mind off the vivid imagery of Pride's sword pressed against his neck. "He visited me. In my dream. Said some stuff that freaked me out a little." He put his cup down with a sigh, his other hand reaching up to his neck. A red line had formed, presumably from when Pride held his sword there.

"What sort of 'stuff' did he say to you?" Logan asked.

"That he still planned to take Thomas' mind over, like before, and that he had 'friends' that could easily get rid of you three, and that he didn't want to because that would be too easy, and that he could kill me easily, and he didn't have to be physically there, and--" Roman cut himself off with a small whimper, his hand clawing at his throat. 

Virgil quickly set his phone down, moving over to Roman and placing an arm around his friend's shoulders. He mumbled some breathing techniques to calm the overwhelmed persona, alieving the grasp of Roman's hand on the already damaged throat. Virgil glared out the window, towards the direction of the Dark Mind. Patton moved forward to help Roman, but stepped back as Virgil enveloped Roman in comforting arms.

"It seems as though what I had originally hypothesized was, in fact, a falsehood," Logan said. 

"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock," Virgil snapped, glaring at him. "If we had listened to Roman in the first place--"

"Virgil...I'm fine...It's okay.." Roman mumbled. "I was...I was stupid to think my plan was going to work.."

"No, no, don't think that," Virgil said, voice immediately softening. "We were all desperate to get rid of him, Roman, and none of us thought it through."

Logan opened his mouth as if to object, but Virgil's disposition told him he should wait.

"It's going to be okay."

"He said...He said that him and I were the same person. Never meant to be separated in the first place," Roman said, attempting to unravel from Virgil's arms, to no avail."Maybe...Maybe he was right."

Patton stepped forward again. "Maybe he was, Roman, but we can't change it. Not now. We have to stop him."

"Perhaps I can concoct a solution that would make him less harmful while still keeping him alive," Logan suggested.

"No," Roman said with a slight growl, causing Virgil to release him. "We have to kill him. Or rejoin us."

"Are you su--"

"I'm sure, Logan. I can't let him or his friends harm any of you."

"You aren't thinking straight, Roman," Virgil warned, shrinking backwards into his hoodie and staring at the floor.

"Since when am I ever?" Roman responded. "Last time you guys didn't listen to me, we thought we had him locked away. Now look where we are."

"Well, last time, you told us to kill you!" Virgil snapped.

"I am more than willing to die--"

"Thomas needs you alive, Ro, I need you alive!!" Virgil covered his mouth with his hands, looking at the other with wide, fearful eyes. He shrank backwards into his hoodie, pulling the hood over his head. "I should go.."

"Virgil, wait," Roman said as Virgil disappeared.

Patton and Logan shared concerned looks. The former stepped forward to pull Roman into another hug. Roman stood there, shocked, his arm still outstretched to grab Virgil's hoodie sleeve.

"Give him time, Roman..He'll be okay," Patton murmured. 

Logan groaned quietly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Feelings.." he muttered. "How do you propose we 'rejoin' you two, Roman?"

"Is that even possible?" Patton asked, letting Roman go as he pushed against Patton's chest.

"I would assume so," Roman mumbled. "I mean, you made that weird potion that separated us, so it should be easy to reverse, right?"

"One would think, but that potion was a one-time use. We can't use it again, and by this point the original solution has...expired, for lack of a better term."

"So then make another one, and then use that to make the antidote," Patton suggested.

"It's not that simple, Patton," Logan snapped, causing Patton to flinch back a little. "I don't remember any of the things I used in the original, and even if I did, the only way for the 'antidote' to work would be if both parties agree to drink it, and they'd have to be in close proximity to each other."

Roman whipped around with a scowl, seeing Patton stare at the ground with an unreadable expression. As he wrapped an arm around Patton's shoulders, he said, "Logan, that was uncalled for." 

"He needs to think things through." Logan crossed his arms and leaned back against his desk. "That option was obviously thought of and pushed aside."

"Logan," Roman warned. 

Patton stood in silence, fighting off tears that threatened to flow. He wrapped his arms around himself, slightly scratching at his upper arm. 

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean to start a fight.."

"You didn't start anything, Patton," Roman cooed. "It's all Logan."

Logan growled a little, straightening his stance. "Fine. If you won't listen to reason, then it's your issue to resolve."

"This isn't reason," Roman snapped. "This is you being a pompous ass. Get out."

"Fighting won't help.." pleaded Patton. "Please stop..."

"I would if Roman would stop flinging accusations. I'm not being a pompous ass, I'm stating facts."

Roman tightened his hold on Patton again. "Patton is not an idiot, Logan."

"I never said he was."

"It was implied, and it's hurting him. You're hurting him. Get. Out."

Logan rolled his eyes with a scoff, throwing his hands up and storming out of the room. Roman held onto Patton, lightly stroking his hair. Patton chewed on his bottom lip and tore himself away from Roman.

"I told you not to fight, Roman," Patton said softly, a tear slowly falling down his cheek.

"Patton, I--"

"Don't accuse Logan of doing something that you're too blind to see for yourself. He may have done it first, but you kept on hurting me when you wouldn't listen."

"I didn't mean--"

"No. Just...I'm fine, just leave me alone." Patton turned and strode out, heading into his room, tears falling in a steady stream.

Roman sighed in frustration with a shake of his head. Why won't they just listen to me?!

Somewhere in the back of Roman's mind, a quiet, sinister chuckle could be heard.