Come Back Home

Chapter 17

Dark

Deceit and Remus had waited several days before trying to get in again, but it seemed the barrier was still up, and Logan showed no signs of relenting.

After what was probably the millionth try that evening, Deceit sank to the ground, not crying, but silently hurting, inside. He turned to Remus.

"I just.." began Deceit quietly. "I just wanted Virgil back, Remus. I just wanted him back."

Remus hugged him tightly. "I know, Dee. So do I."

Deceit hugged him back, letting a few tears fall into Remus's shirt, knowing he wouldn't mind.

"It's okay, Dee." Remus pulled back and wiped some of the tears away from Deceit's eyes. "It's okay, we're gonna get him back eventually. Just you wait."

Deceit nodded and sniffed a bit, before pulling Remus back in and holding him tightly. "We're gonna get him back," he whispered, more to himself then Remus. "It's okay."

Light

Virgil sat on his bed, still covered in sweat, casting nervous glances toward the photo album, until finally he gave in to the burning curiosity and picked it up.

As he flicked through, he saw photos of Patton, Logan, Roman and.. Himself.

At the park, going to the movies, at the zoo.

Looking so happy, all of them.

Virgil stared at a photo Patton had taken, all of them sitting on a blanket in the shade at a park.

He stared into his own face, seeing genuine happiness, like Virgil felt he belonged there.

Maybe... Maybe he had been here before.

Virgil flipped through the photos with even more energy, desperate to get answers, just finding more questions.

Movies. Smiling widely.

Park. Animatedly talking to Logan.

Zoo. Laughing with Roman.

Kitchen, baking cookies. Talking with Patton.

On the final page... A picture of all of them.

Signed by each of them.

Patton.

Logan.

Roman.

And... Virgil.

Virgil's eyes burned.

No, he can't have been here before.

These were fakes, they had to be!

They were trying to get him to trust them, and then they would corrupt him and change him and he'd never be able to get back to normal, back with the Dark Sides.

He threw the album against the window, bouncing off and landing with a resounding thud on the floor. Virgil took a step and threw himself onto his bed, now fully in tears.

He just wanted to go home.

He let himself cry out for a few minutes, before taking a deep breath and composing himself.

He was going to play along, for a while. Until he could get back home.

He repeated this to himself a few times.

Play along. Play along, and I'll get home. Just play their stupid game until they're ready to let me go.

Virgil, now calmed, sat up and took his laptop, pulling up the screen and sinking himself back into the internet.