Storm Clouds (Sanders Sides)

Lurking Shadows

Hi everyone. I know it's been like a month, but quarantine has been stressful and I was also waiting for the new Sanders Sides to see if there was any potential material or sparks of ideas. Either way, we're back in action. So, here we go! :)

Thank you for your patience.

{Previously on...}-In case we forgot ;)

It was Patton calling out Virgil's name that snapped Roman back into attention. He turned quickly on his heels and saw Patton kneeling beside Virgil, who was face down on the floor in front of his door....

"He's got more dark energy inside him than normal, almost..5x the normal amount!"...

"His influence is growing stronger. He's trying to take control...The more he feeds into Paranoia, the more twisted he'll become until it corrupts him completely."

"Is he gonna wake up at all?"

"I'm sure he will. However, you might not like what you find when he does wake up. It might be Virgil, it might not be completely Virgil, and it might...not be Virgil at all."

While many things stood out to him as strange or particular, there was one thing that chilled him to the core. When Roman woke up...would he be waking up next to his Virgil?

{Author's POV}

When Patton returned, he immediately sought out Logan, giving him the details of their excursion as they made their way back to the Mind Palace and into the kitchen, and informing him of their new house guest. While Logan was not entirely pleased that Tristan would be staying with them, he understood that it was better than the alternative. This was easier, and Roman could keep an eye on him, or employ one of his castle guards to stay at the Mind Palace to watch over him. He would sort it out with the Prince at a later time, but at the present moment Logan's mind was focused solely on absorbing the information Patton was presenting him with.

"What if they manage to get to him, Lo? What would happen to him or Thomas if they...you know?" Patton asked.

"Well...I am certain you do not need me to tell you that that outcome would be extremely detrimental to Thomas's well-being. We have seen what happens when his anxiety checks out, and I have no reason to doubt that that is essentially the same as the effect if he were to be recombined with his brother. I do not know exactly what would happen to Thomas or Virgil if he were to turn back into his other side, but I know it would be...bad. We cannot allow that to happen. Tristan says there is a way to prevent it from happening, correct?" he inquired.

"Well, yeah. He said something like...keep him away from the Dark Sides, that one was kind of obvious, and...be careful with him. We have to keep him from feeding into those paranoid thoughts, but how do we do that? We can't know what he is thinking all of the time. What about that power of Tristan's?"

"I don't think it would work." the voice from behind startled the two sides, as Tristan appeared in the doorway. "The 'trifecta' that is Anxiety, Paranoia, and Fear are some of the strongest Sides ever to exist within Thomas. I don't think I'm strong enough to subdue Paranoia, I was barely strong enough to fix the mistake I made with Virgil. Besides, I've only used my power to push negative doubt. Positive doubt is hard, seeing how the concept of doubt is usually viewed. I don't think I could do it, and I don't know how I feel risking Virgil or Thomas. I could fail, and get us all killed. We have to find another way to make this work." he argued.

"I agree," Logan spoke up, "I think it's best if, for now, we simply keep as close of an eye on Virgil as is possible. We keep an eye on Thomas and Virgil. We make sure Virgil doesn't withhold too much of this energy of his, but also does not put out too much to pose a risk to Thomas. Virgil must be made to feel calm, but not calm enough where he is not doing his job. As proven prior by the Yerkes-Dodson Curve, too much anxiety is detrimental, and in Virgil's case, too much could very well...prove the end of us all."