True Deceit

Chapter 3

Thomas slowly stood up, glancing at him from the opposite side of the room.

"Deceit? What about him?" He voiced guiltily. Virgil sensed his discomfort, and narrowed his eyes. With a wave and a shout of their names, he summoned all three light sides to living room.

"Roman, Patton, Logan, get up here, now!"

Patton was the first to arrive, instantly noticing Virgil's red face and daggering eyes. Swiftly, he began making soft, soothing sounds.

"Shh, it's okay Kiddo, what's wrong?" Virgil clenched his fist, watching as Roman rose to his left.

Roman groaned starkly. "It's one in the morning, what could you possibly-"

"Shut up Roman!" Virgil barked, pointing his finger in turn at all three people in the room. "I need to ask you all something, and you can't lie! And, where is Logan!?"

Virgil instantly quietened, remembering that Thomas's logical side had been crying earlier that night when he'd popped into the bedroom. Vigil took a deep breath, moving his hands in dramatic gestures as he spoke.

"I've been visited by Deceit twice tonight, and I can't help but think you four have been up to something!"

Thomas sighed, nervously running his fingers through his hair. "Virgil, you're right," He sighed apologetically. "The other day when you and Logan were in your rooms, Patton had a problem with being too selflessness after the wedding. So, Janus came along and taught a fruitful lesson in self-preservation."

Virgil clenched his jaw, shoulders tense. "You can't be serious; you literally know him as Deceit! You can't trust a word he says Thomas, he is just trying to turn you into a selfish, unreliable snake, just like himself!"

Patton sighed, turning to Virgil. "Well, actually Son, we kind of don't know him as 'Deceit' anymore, his name is Janus-"

"I know that!" Virgil yelled. "Of course I know that, I've lived with him for years!" Patton flinched at his volume, instantly feeling tears come to his eyes.

"Hey Virgil, cut it out!" Roman said defensively. "Your upsetting him, and he hasn't done anything wrong."

Virgil jerked his head towards him. "Nothing wrong? He is morality! It's his job to protect Thomas from Deceit!" Patton lifted his hands, shielding his face as quiet sobs escaped his lips.

"Why do you suddenly have such a big problem with Janus? I mean, you hated him when we did the courtroom scenario, but this is out of control."

Virgil made a slight choking sound. He hated seeing Patton, cry, but he felt so betrayed by him and the other light sides. "I've always hated him, but I had... I had you guys." Virgil's body trembled as he spoke. "I knew that no matter how bad it got, you were going to protect me- I mean, protect Thomas!... from Deceit. But now I'm the only one who cares. How can you possibly do this?"

"Virgil, we didn't mean to hurt you," Thomas replied sincerely, lifting his open palms. "We just thought we could trust him. He did actually teach us something valuable, and maybe you would be open to accepting him?"
Virgil felt a surge of panic rise within him, a lump the size of a boulder blocking his throat.

"No," he croaked. His limbs were shaking. "No, please, we can't, he's dangerous!"

Patton dried his eyes with his cat pyjama sleeves, glancing at Virgil with a serious expression. "Janus is my friend, and he is not a bad person. I don't know why you're being so judgmental of him, but if you could change for the better, so can he."

Virgil's body was on fire, embarrassment burning his cheeks.

"Patton, you're wrong, I... I didn't know what I was doing, I thought I was helping Thomas, I didn't need to change," he was gasping for air. "He is dangerous, Deceit knows what he is doing, he hurts people on purpose, you have to believe me!" He crumpled to the ground, terror consuming his body. "I don't know what to do, I don't know why you won't believe me, I'm the honest one, Janus is the liar!"

Virgil was crying, pressing his back against the wall with petrified breaths. His mind flashed back to all the times Deceit had hurt him, both physically and psychologically.

Patton slowly crouched down beside him, wrapping his arms around his shivering body.

"Calm down Kiddo, I love you, everything is going to be okay." 

Thomas watched the scene before him, eyes widened. "I've never seen Virgil so panicked before. I can feel his anxiety coming onto me."

Roman shrugged his shoulders, a rare element of pure sincerity in his voice. "This happens all the time, Virgil just does it in his room. You must sense it, it happened yesterday when you tried to lie to Joan about spilling coffee on the shirt you borrowed. The truth is, Virgil keeps you a very honest person most of the time. He can't stand lies, and none of us knows why."

"...Except for Janus," Thomas pointed out. "Maybe we should go ask him ourselves."