Broken (Prinxiety)

20

      TW: Mentions of self harm

      Both Roman and Patton were completely devoid of color. They were slumped back against the couch, limp. Patton's glasses were crooked. Both males stared blankly ahead as if they weren't registering anything that was happening around them. 

      Virgil knew exactly what happened to them. He knew that his brother could affect everyone negatively, but he never imagined that he could drain them of so much life. It was as if they were empty shells of themselves.  

      He looked towards Logan, who had a hopeful look on his face as if expecting Virgil to know what to do to help them. It crushed Virgil to know that he would be unable to help. He had no idea how to turn this around. He wasn't sure if they could be saved. 

      Virgil turned away, taking deep breaths to control his anxiety. He wracked his brain for anything that could help them in this situation, but nothing came up. 

      Virgil glanced towards Roman, feeling awful. He wished that he could somehow become his Prince Charming and rescue him. 

      Virgil's eyes widened and he gave a gasp as he suddenly had an idea. "Wait--I have an idea! What if a kiss will awaken them? You know, like in Sleeping Beauty? I know you shouldn't kiss someone without their consent, but it could knock them out of whatever Depression did to cause them to be like this." His cheeks flushed lightly at the thought of kissing Roman, even if it was only happening to save him. 

      Logan frowned at this suggestion and adjusted his glasses, considering it for a moment. Virgil's heart sank as he realized that the other male didn't seem to think that it was a good idea. 

      "That seems farfetched. I doubt that would work. There is no way that Depression would make the answer something like that." 

      Virgil sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. He looked towards the ground, trying to come up with a different suggestion. He finally shook his head with a frustrated groan. "I don't know what to do, then. I have no idea how to handle this!" 

      Logan mumbled something under his breath, rolling his eyes slightly. Virgil was sure that it had to do with feelings, which the logical side clearly did not like. 

      "You have to know something! You two were close, as close as Roman and Remus used to be. You have to know something! At least tell me how he was able to drain them of color."

      "I don't know!" Virgil's voice rose as his anxiety about the situation grew. "I don't know, okay? He never told me that he could do this sort of thing! He just--" Virgil cut himself off. Now that he thought about it, he could think about a time where Depression had hinted at having some sort of special ability. 

      Logan raised an eyebrow, able to see that something had popped up into Virgil's head. "You're obviously thinking about something," he said. "What is it?"

      Virgil took a shaky breath. "He once told me about a plan to take over Thomas..." 

 ***

      Virgil and Depression were in the former's room, Virgil gently wrapping up Depression's wrists with a bandage. That night had been a particularly difficult one for his brother. Virgil hated knowing that there was nothing he could do to stop his feelings. 

      "Try to come to me next time you feel like doing this, okay? I don't like that you're hurting yourself, Res..." 

      Depression looked away, taking a shaky breath. "I promise that I will," he responded. "I'm sorry. I just--I'm tired of feeling this way! I'm tired of us being treated as lesser because we're not ideal sides of Thomas! I get that Patton only wants to see the good in him, but he has to know that he isn't perfect. We shouldn't be hiding, we should be out there letting them hear our suggestions!"

      "I know," Virgil responded. This was a conversation that they had often. "But there's nothing we can do. Deceit is keeping us hidden. We aren't wanted."

      "Don't you want to change that?" The tone of Depression's voice worried Virgil. He nodded slightly in response. "You know, Patton doesn't have to be in charge. None of them do! You and me, we're strong enough to be able to do what we want. And if they stand in our way, we can just push them aside as they did us."

      Virgil was becoming more and more uncomfortabke by the minute. He didn't care for these suggestions. The way that Depression was speaking...it scared him. 

      "I have a little trick up my sleeve to take care of them, you know. It's one of the only perks to being me, I guess. I'm strong enough to get rid of everyone! I want you to help me, though. You're my brother; you deserve to be by my side."

      "I dunno..." Virgil looked away, not wanting to agree. From the way Depression was speaking, he meant get rid of everyone for good. Virgil couldn't allow that to happen. 

      He was scared of his brother. He couldn't allow him to harm Thomas, though, which was sure to happen if he got rid of the other sides. 

      Virgil knew what he had to do. 

***

      Logan had went pale as Virgil told him what he, and he began to mumble under his breath and pace, looking stressed. Finally he turned away and said, "I'm going to my room," before rushing off.

      Virgil couldn't just stand there and do nothing. He tried to think of what to do, but the only thing that came to mind was confronting his brother. 

      He turned and briskly walked to the door, leaving the mind palace. He couldn't sit back and wait for Logan to figure out how to help them. He had to do something to help. And to do that, he needed to find Depression.