Escaped - Sanders Sides

Chapter Twenty

(POV: Elden)

A low growl rumbled out of my throat as I watched their faces shift in fear. Janus rose up, smirking widely while his hazy yellow eye began to glow. This felt different than controlling him before. Perhaps he fooled me the first time I did this to him. But not this time. Not at all.

"Janus? Janus are you in there?! Wake up!" Virgil called out to him. An adorable but utterly useless attempt at getting him back. Yellow fireballs sparked in the snake's hands as he threw them at his friends.

The shock knocked Virgil over, leaving Janus to tower over him. "What are you two waiting for?" Patton asked, turning towards Remus and Roman with their weapons in their hands. "Can't you defend him?

"But that could risk hurting Janus! We can't do that!" Remus objected, letting his mace disappear from his hands.

"We don't have to hurt Janus to protect Virgil," Roman released, looking down at his sword. "We just have to snap him out of Elden's control!" With that, the prince launched his sword towards the snake.

His head snapped up and eyed the weapon. I wouldn't let their plan work. So, I stuck my hand out, causing Janus to do the same. He launched a fireball at it, the sword dissipating into nothing.

From behind Janus, I could see the fear swirling in Virgil's anxious eyes. An idea came into my head, and once it had I couldn't stop smiling at it.

With my command, Janus whipped around, facing the purple lump of fear as he leaned over him with a dark yet sinister smirk on his lips. "You know something, Virge...all of this was only ever an act to get us closer together. I wanted you to join Elden and I in taking over Thomas. I mean, really, are you that feeble minded to think that after years of us being so far apart, I would really welcome you with open arms again? No! I taught you to use your powers for Elden's benefit! I never did it for you! I don't care about your happiness. I don't care about you!"

Virgil looked on the point of tears, confusion and anger written all over him. His breathing began to pick up while his eyebrows came down in rage. His body began to glow a bright purple the more fueled his anger became. His hair started moving in an invisible wind and his pupils shrank.

His hands suddenly latched onto his head while his teeth grinded together. He yelled out a pained scream as the glow jumped away from his body, blasting Janus back. I yelled out too, feeling a mild shock from the blast. My connection between the deceptive side and I was broken.

I looked over to Janus' body as he fought to stand back up. I waved my hand around, trying to get him to move, but it was useless. That was until I got another idea. Virgil was on his knees, head in his hands as another small glow illuminated his body. He was scared...and powerful. A combination I could use to my advantage.

With a long smirk, I focused my conscious mind on Virgil as the two of our minds collided. I felt myself jolt forward in surprise from the sudden rush of power that began coursing through me. Virgil slowly lifted his head, a hazy purple glow in his irises.

Roman gasped, foolish running over to Virgil. His eyes watched him carefully, as if not fully recognizing the prince. He held his hand out to the emo, a rush of concern flooding him. "Hey, it's gonna be okay, Virgil. That wasn't Janus, remember?"

He received no answer. Instead, Virgil grabbed his hand, looking him directly in the eyes.

"And I'm not Virgil either," The emo smirked. And it was then that Roman understood what was happening. He blasted Roman back, Remus barely catching the prince in time before he harshly hit the floor.

The power surge going through my body felt incredible. I felt limitless. Blasts of lightning kept forming out of his body, striking all around. The power build up in his body was becoming too much.

He held his hands out, attacking his friends. Logan shielded Patton as he continued to hurl fireballs at them. Remus summoned his mace and snuck behind the emo, intending to knock him out. But he was quicker than that, shocking Remus with electricity before watching him crumble to the floor.

"Virgil!" Roman yelled out, causing him to freeze. "Wake up! Don't you see what you're doing? You're hurting your friends; your family! I know this isn't what you want, Virgil! Let me help you!"

For a brief second, Virgil's eyes went back to brown. He stared at Roman for a few seconds, trying to register what was happening.

"R-Roman...?" He questioned.

I couldn't let this continue any longer. I fought to regain control of Virgil, but I could tell it wasn't working. He was stronger than I thought. But having Roman there to motivate him wasn't helping either.

Seeing that Virgil was struggling to hold himself up with how weak he had become, I pulled my presence over his mind out and forced it into Roman's. The fantifull side screamed, grabbing onto his head.

Virgil collapsed to the ground, looking up at Roman in fear. He knew that look, he understood what was happening. "Roman, you're stronger than Elden! Fight back!"

"It's too late for that!" I shouted back, watching Roman straighten his back with bright green eyes shining in the dark. He turned towards the anxious side, sticking out his hand while his sword faded into his grip. With his arms over his head, Virgil was stunned and speechless.

He shut his eyes and prepared to take the hit, when the sounds of clashing metal rang through his ears. Remus was there, using the handle of his mace as a shield. He lifted it up, making Roman fall back a bit while they both aimed to attack.

"I don't wanna fight you, Roman. But you have to let me help," Remus pleaded, lowering his mace. "You are the only one right now who can fight Elden. You just have to fight him, I know you can!"

Roman ground his teeth together, gripping the sword tighter. Remus' attempts weren't doing much, the prince was still under my power, I knew it. Before Remus could reach out to his brother again, I forced Roman to attack.

His sword swung down over Remus, leaving him to dodge at the last second. It was clear the crazed side was slightly panicked. But Remus held to his mace, not willing to fight his brother, but ready.

After that it was swing after swing, with dodge after dodge coming from Remus. He did occasionally try to hit Roman too, but only out of defense in hopes of getting his brother back. The more they continued, I could tell that Roman was tiring out, while Remus still seemed full of energy.

A grin appeared on my face. I let Roman kneel to catch his breath, watching my make-shift plan work exactly how I wanted it to. Remus sat next to his brother, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Come back, Roman. We need you now more than ever. I...I need you."

When Remus gently put his head on his brother's shoulder, that's when I struck. I switched my presence from one brother to the other. Roman leaned over somewhat limp while Remus turned his head up, his red eyes glowing.

Logan and Patton gasped, watching him rise up and summon another mace for his other hand. He twirled them between his fingers, running at the two light sides at full speed. Logan pushed Patton behind him protectively, the two of them cowering.

But Remus felt different. He was holding something inside him. Something I hadn't felt with the others. Not knowing what it was, I lashed it out. To seemingly everyone's surprise, 8 tentacles came out of Remus' back. He let them ground to the floor, picking himself up to get higher.

Logan and Patton stared up at him, taking meek steps backwards as Remus took more forward. He was trapping them between his tentacles, trying to keep them still. Before he could do anything, Patton grabbed Logan's hand and ran out of his little cage.

But Logan didn't budge. He stayed under Remus, watching him lower himself to his height, mace over his head. "Let me help you, Remus. I know you're still in there. Some part of you is still in there and he's fighting to get out. Snap out of it, Remus. Roman still needs you!"

Remus turned back to look at his brother, a solemn look in his glowing eyes. I growled, moving my hand up as Remus did too. A tentacle wrapped around Logan's legs, making him unable to move. He began to panic while he could only watch the mace come down and Patton scream.