Paranoid

War and (inner) Peace

This isn't anything to worry about. Virgil paced up and down a field. It was sprinkled with buttercups and tall grass. I'm not a monster. Things just happen....Right? He thought to himself. He looked at his hands in disgust.
It was self defense. I was defending myself. He tried to reason in his head.
Whatever it was, I certainly can't go back. Not like this. He heard footsteps in the distance. He quickly covered himself with his hands. "Kiddo? It's Patton. I'm with Janus." Patton called out for him.
"Pat?" He looked around.
"Keep him talking, or at least engaged." Logan talked to them through an earpiece.
"Virgil? We're right here." Janus called out.
"We aren't upset, we just need to talk." Patton added. Virgil came into view of them and slowly stepped forward, but kept a modest distance apart.
"Are you okay? Look at your hands." Janus pointed out.
"Be careful what you say, Janus." Logan corrected. Virgil chuckled but it was empty.
"Oh this? That's just been happening these days. It's really no big deal. I can figure it out."
"I don't think this is the healthiest choice for you. If you come back with us, we can help you get better." Patton extended a hand to him, but Virgil stepped back.
"No! I can figure this out on my own. Besides I don't want to make you worried."
"We are worried." Janus said.
"Look I don't have to deal with this." Virgil began to storm off when Patton blocked the front and Janus blocked the back.
"Keep him talking." Logan reminded them.
"You can't keep running away from this." Janus said, keeping direct contact.
"We don't want you freezing Logan again. We can get you help." Janus's eyes widened.
"He what?" His stomach dropped.
"Stay on track, Janus." Logan calmed him. Janus shook his head and remembered the plan.
"You guys are making a big deal out of nothing! Did I freeze Logan? Sure. Did I have an argument with Roman, yeah. But when don't I? That's normal." Patton glanced at Janus. "Did I have the thought of killing Remus? Sure. But I didn't, I just choked him!" Patton's horror ran through his face.
"You're joking, right?" Janus was just as horrified as Patton. "Logan we could use some help out here." He spoke to him quietly.
"Oh jeez, I really am horrible aren't I? I try to learn from my mistakes, really I do, but it never happens. We learn lesson after lesson with Thomas but does it help me? No! I'm a fraud. I'm just a monster!" Virgil clutched his body as it began to shake.
"Logan!" Janus called again.
"On it." Logan said, but it was too late. Virgil then sprouted four grotesque giant spider legs from his back. The black substance dripped from his eyes and mouth, staining his face. His hands became claw like, and his teeth were razor sharp. Patton proceeded to faint at the sight of him. Janus picked Patton up bridal style. Virgil began to laugh, bringing a sickness in Janus's stomach.
"Look at this! It's been so long since I've been me." His voice was cracked, almost glitched.
"Enough foolishness. We're taking action." Roman stood up, looking for Remus. Logan tried to grab Roman's arm to pull him back, but missed.
"Roman no!" He grunted in frustration. Remus extended his hand to Roman.
"It's been far too long, brother." Remus dipped Roman as they fused together. A bright light blinded them as the King appeared.
"I hope you kept my throne warm." The King laughed.
"Well look at that. The king finally returned. I see it took a little help from your friend." Virgil gestured at Patton. Janus looked over at the King. His heart was full of pain unimaginable. But his focus was on Patton.
"Don't try us, Paranoia. We know this isn't you." The King replied. Logan ran out into the field after his friends. Janus sat Patton on the ground and woke him up.
"Patton oh thank god." Janus said.
"Where's Virgil?"
"You might not want to see him right now. He's like a 70% spider at the moment." Janus warned. Patton slowly got up.
"But he's my son, and he needs me." The king took out their sword and thrashed at Virgil's new appendages.
"Let go of Virgil you eight legged monster." Patton got to one of the legs and started punching it with the strength he had left.
"Let go of Virgil!"
"Get off me! Just leave me to my solitude. Like it's supposed to be." Virgil pushed The king away. They fell to the ground and unfused.
"We're a bit rusty." Roman coughed out. They were both bloody and bruised. Logan grabbed Roman's sword and started hitting Virgil's added appendages, avoiding his body all together. Janus joined him by attacking from the back. "Virgil please listen to us." Janus tried to reason. Virgil shook his head in reply covering his ears with his human hands.
"This isn't working. I don't understand what I did wrong." Logan said to himself. He was huffing out quick breathes as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. "What am I missing?" Then it hit him like a truck. Virgil screeched to get the others away. They all fell back from the vibrations in the air. Patton hit his head after falling over. He wiped the blood from his nose and stood up. He attempted to run back to him but Logan grabbed him away.
"He can't control this. As long as he believes he's a monster, he'll stay like one. Attacking him will only prove his point."
"You fools should listen to the freak." Virgil gestured at Logan. "I mean you don't usually, so I wouldn't expect you to." Logan's eyes became misty but he shook the thought out of his head. He slowly walked toward Virgil, not aiming to attack. Virgil's human arms stuck up ready for an impact as he stood tall. "Well look at this. The science geek came back for an encore. Do you think you're so much better? You feel ignored just like I do. You're nothing." Logan stopped walking and looked up at him. The sun burned his eye as he tried to see Virgil's face. He could barely read it, but his energy was full of fear. He wasn't fighting them because he wanted to. He felt like he had to.
"You're right. I do feel like nothing." Logan dropped the sword at his feet.
"No, Logan, don't give up." Roman called out to him in a heavy breath.
"You are a good person, Virgil, but you're haunted by your past. Your past doesn't define you. Who you are now is a gift to us, that's why it's called the present." The legs slowly brought Virgil's physical body back down. "You may not be a part of the dark sides. You may not feel like a light side. But you are part of one family, our family. Thomas's family." Logan slowly walked over to him. Virgil flinched in fear, but Logan simply hugged him. Patton walked over slowly and joined them. Soon they were all in a group hug as Virgil transformed back into himself. There was a strange peace that came over everyone.
"I'm really sorry. To all of you. I want to be better." Virgil's eyes were filled with tears.
"You're getting there." Logan said.
"I just don't know anything about being a good friend."
"I think we can help with that." Patton said, drying his own tears.
"These hugs aren't becoming an all the time thing, just to clear." Virgil said, trying to lighten the mood.
"Agreed." Janus added.
"Oh c'mon you love this." Remus said. Virgil sighed.
"I hate this, but I do care-" Virgil stopped himself. "But I do love you guys." He admitted.