The Impossible Death

CHAPTER 22 - THE MORE YOU KNOW...

When he finally awoke, he was surprised to be surrounded by a light blue haze.

Sitting up slowly, he looked around and felt his face go slack in shock as his eyes widened.

He was in Thomas's old childhood bedroom, except he was viewing the room through a blue sheen.

Starting to stand up, he noted that he appeared to have no physical injuries anymore.

He looked around again in curiosity and finally noticed the four young figures in the corner.

Tears began to gather in his eyes as he walked over and surveyed the all too familiar scene in front of him.

Logan stood tall with Prince and Patton, all of them looking down at the curled up and crying Anxiety.

Suddenly, the scene unfroze and Deceit watched on with tears in his eyes.

"Why do you always have to ruin everything?" Prince screamed, frustrated tears in his eyes.

Anxiety curled up more. No one took note of the hitching of his breathing.

"You really didn't have to act like that." Patton said sternly, crossing his arms and shaking his head disappointedly.

"Yes, there was no logical reason behind making Thomas run off the stage like that." Logan said, adjusting his glasses.

Anxiety didn't respond, however his breathing got increasingly shorter and shorter.

Deceit was shocked he hadn't passed out yet.

"Why do we even keep him around anymore?" Prince yelled, sniffling and wiping his tears off his face. "It's not like he has ever done anything useful! I say we just—"

"Hey!" came a yell from behind Deceit.

Turning, he saw his nine year old self running over and shoving Prince aside to kneel next to Anxiety.

"Hey, Night. It's Snake. Can you hear me?" he heard himself ask softly.

After a moment, Anxiety made a small, choppy nod.

"Can I touch you? How about we go back to my room?"

Anxiety gave another short nod and young Deceit softly wrapped an arm around his shaking shoulders and sent the other three a glare as he sunk out with Anxiety.

The scene shifted.

"Why were you yelling at him like that?" his younger self yelled loudly, voice filled with rage.

"He ruined everything again! Just like he always does!" Prince screamed back, just as loudly and angrily.

"All he ever does is get Thomas down!" Patton interjected indignantly.

"You don't have to be such assholes though!" young Deceit yelled back, his face red and his body shaking with anger.

Prince and Patton let out shocked gasps.

"Deceit, you know we aren't allowed to swear!" Patton whispered sternly and young Deceit glared at him, causing him to flinch away.

"No. Thomas isn't allowed to swear. I, however, can do whatever the fuck I want.

Prince and Patton were stunned to silence, so he continued.

"How dare you." he whispered, terrifying quietly. "You are the worst excuses for friends I have ever seen. He is Anxiety. It is his job to be scared. To be anxious."

He took a step forward.

"It is our job to help him. To make him feel better and calm him down if necessary. Not to... what? Torture him?" young Deceit began yelling again. "Make him feel less than? Kill him? Just what were you trying to do?"

Prince seemed to finally find his voice again, and with that, his anger resurfaced.

"So what if he dies!" he exploded and Patton let out another gasp.

"So what if you die, too, for that matter!" Prince continued, stepping closer to the young Deceit until they were nose to nose.

"You both do nothing for Thomas. I don't know why the two of you were ever created."

Young Deceit glared and pushed a finger against Prince's chest.

"Why don't you ask yourself that. You're the one who created us, after all." he said in a deadly whisper.

Prince glared.

"You're right." he said, stepping away from young Deceit and reaching for his satchel. "It'd be better to just—"

"That won't do anything." said a calm, cold voice and Logan rose up between the two of them, facing Prince.

"They're all still elements of Thomas. Killing their 'physical' body wouldn't get rid of their functioning." Logan explained, crossing his arms and pushing his glasses up his nose.

Prince growled and let go of his satchel.

"He's still annoying though." he whined, crossing his arms and glaring at the floor.

Logan rolled his eyes.

"Please, you like fighting him all the time. That's why you created him, after all, isn't it? Anxiety wouldn't fight with you, so you made someone who would."

Prince simply stuck out his tongue and stomped away.

The scene froze here and Deceit wiped away a stray tear from his cheek.

He looked down at his young self and immediately picked up on the fear in his eyes, though he had tried to hide it.

He was scared of dying.

The scene began to fade, leaving Deceit surrounded by total blackness, though he could still see himself just fine.

Looking down at his hands, he couldn't help but wonder what had truly changed between now and then.

That thought only lasted a second, though, before another occurred to him.

A more pressing and important one.

He had to find Roman.