A Distorted Reflection | Virgil Sanders

ADR: _.|5|._: chapter five

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"AHH!"

Anxiety screamed as he fell from the tower down through the ground. Virgil gritted his teeth fearfully as he fell. He looked up at Anxiety, falling above him to the side a bit. The swirls around them looked like a dropper map as the orange engulfed them as they started to fall into a point.

"Uh, Anxiety?!" Virgil yelled. Anxiety looked down at the boy, his eyes grew wide.

"Virgil, watch out!" He yelled. Before Virgil knew it, he fell through the point of the cone onto a beanbag chair in a room that smelt of faint sage and lavender. Anxiety fell on the one next to his, looking around in shock around them.

"Virgil! Oh my gosh, I knew he'd show up, see you guys?" Patton squealed. Virgil looked to the father figment in confusion.

"I don't understand, Anx, we didn't go through the mirror, right?" He asked. Anxiety shook his head with the remnants of a smirk on his lips.

"What's wrong Virge?" Deceit asked. Virgil raised an eyebrow.

"You're one to talk, top hat." Virgil snarled. Deceit held up his hands defensively, Remus then came forward.

"What's wrong, Virge?" He asked, kneeling down as he took Virgil's hand. Virgil looked at him fearfully.

"No one can hurt you kiddo, it's us." Patton said from behind with worried eyes. Logan put a hand on Patton's shoulder reassuringly.

"I'l go get him some tea." Logan declared, holding his own cup of tea firmly. He then gave it to Patton, patting his shoulder before walking over and getting a cup of tea ready for Virgil.

"Why are there two of you?" Roman asked.

"This can't be happening." Anxiety said. Roman hushed the darker side.

"What? We were just about to start watching Pinocchio." Roman assured.

"What's going on?" Virgil asked, terrified. Deceit kneeled down next to him, next to Remus. Virgil looked up to them both with worried eyes.

"We're having a movie night, there are blankets over there, I think you're better off on the couch considering your horrific state." Deceit said. Logan held out a hand to Virgil.

"Come on, sit down. You don't have to do anything. Just relax." Logan assured. Virgil looked up to him helplessly before taking his hand firmly, pulling up and going over to the corner of the couch, pulling an orange blanket over himself. He held his cup of tea, curled up in a ball as Anxiety sat next to him jittery.

"Why are they being nice?" He asked.

"I think this is a trap." Virgil replied. Anxiety nodded before the movie started to play, and the hand-drawn animation started to roll onto the screen.

"Virgil, stop worrying about us betraying you! Just stay until the sun rises, please? You literally have nothing better to do. Relax and just chill out." Roman said as he whipped around to look at the boy in the eye. Virgil looked into the cup Logan gave him, putting a pinkie in to see if it was contaminated. The beverage was too hot to tell.

"Shhh! It's starting!" Patton exclaimed excitedly. He put the hood up on his cat onesie. Virgil sighed, feeling a sense of relief fall over him as he leaned back into the couch. He looked over to Anxiety this time lazy eyed, giving him a soft smile before taking a sip of the tea.

"I think we're okay Anx." He said. Anxiety hummed, alert as he had ever been.

"Excuse me?" Anxiety asked. Virgil hummed to himself as Pinocchio started to play in front of him, the blue fairy flying across the screen.

Anxiety silent and shakily sunk back into the couch, holding onto the yellow blanket he hid under. The wooden marionette danced across the screen, making the others laugh. He observed the room around him. Roman was criticizing the movie along with Logan, making observations and finding plot holes at every other turn. Patton was identifying the motive and morals, as he normally would. Deceit half listened to Jiminy Cricket and half listened to Remus making dirty jokes at every other piece of dialogue. He sensed an odd sense of underlying numbness.

He clutched the blanket, letting the sloth come over him in waves. He heard Roman talking with Patton as soo as Gepetto got into the boat and sailed off to sea.

"Frozen 2 next?" He asked. Patton smiled eagerly.

"Virge, how does that sound? Dark enough for you?" Patton asked.

"Winter Soldier after?" He offered. Anxiety shot him a look of concern.

"What? The sun doesn't come up for another four hours or so, better make the most of it, right?" He asked. Anxiety sighed, squirming to the other corner of the couch, curling up in a tighter ball under the blanket.

The next two movies passed in a quick haze as Anxiety felt a heavier and heavier daze fall over him. He didn't want to do anything anymore. There was no care of not caring, no motives, no care in the world for anything. The warmth that flooded over him caused him to sit still, locked into place. He hummed to himself, looking through his bangs out to the rest of the room, trying to see if there was a door to a bathroom of any kind.

There were two doors behind the couch, in the far distance of the white painted room. He groaned, thinking they were too far away.

Virgil had been going in and out of consciousness for the last few hours, content in his place under the hot blanket. He was warm, safe, with those he could finally trust. There was no social interaction, but just simple and silent presence. A lazy dream. He didn't need to have a purpose, or to be motivated, not anymore. He could just simply be, and he had nothing else to do besides listen and absorb safety.

"Virge?"

A groan escaped the purple-plaid jacketed side.

"Virge, wake up." Anxiety said, groaning in the same tone. He sat up slowly, looking out the window behind him.

"The sun isn't up, Anxiety." Virgil said groggily. Anxiety waned sleepily, pushing the heavy blanket off his aching feet. He stood up, stretching out his back. The others were all in tune with the screen as he walked over to Virgil, throwing his blanket off. Virgil hissed back at him.

"Come on, we gotta get out of here." He said, pulling Virgil off the couch. Virgil got to his feet, following Anxiety tiredly. Anxiety walked behind the couch, and started walking towards the back wall of the room.

The room didn't change.

"Huh?" Virgil asked sheepishly. Anxiety looked behind them, realizing that they were still in the same place. He started to run, there was no change.

"Virge, can you at least put some effort in?" Anxiety asked. Virgil groaned, making on step forward. The door was suddenly closer to both of them. Anxiety gasped and started to run.

"Virgil! Come on it's working!" He exclaimed. Vigil yawned once more, giving another slump step forward. The door was then another inch closer. Virgil sighed, sitting on the ground.

"I don't want to." He said simply. Anxiety glared at him sharply.

"Excuse me?" Anxiety snapped. He grabbed Virgil by the collar of his shirt and jacket, making his eyes go wide.

"Get on your feet, we're getting out of here." Anxiety snarled. Virgil started to run towards the door out of fear, pulling on the knob fearfully. Anxiety smirked, taking the aglet of his dark hoodie and stuck it through the lock, pushing the door open and pulling him and Virgil along through it.