The Cursed Light

chapter One

After Putting Others First the Dark Sides spent time together again each still trying to figure out what happened and what went wrong that horrible morning. Virgil, Janus, and Remus were huddled together in Janus’ room talking about what could have happened like they had every day since that morning when they lost the ones they loved. Patton knocked on the door and Virgil moved to open it.
“Hey, Patton,” Virgil said standing in front of the door.
“You three missed dinner. Is everything okay?” Patton asked.
“Yeah everything’s fine we just aren’t hungry,” Virgil answered.
“Okay kiddo but this is the third time you’ve missed dinner this week. Are you three alright?” Patton asked.
“Yeah. We’re just talking,” Virgil said.
“Virgil?” Remus called.
“Yeah?” Virgil said.
“I think I found what we’ve been looking for,” Remus said.
“Shit. Patton I’ve got to go,” Virgil said and closed the door.
“What did you find?” Virgil said, turning around.
“I raided the Dragon Witch a few weeks ago and I’ve been looking through some of her books and I think I’ve figured out what happened,” Remus said.
“What?” Janus asked.
“She cursed them. She left us our memories but took theirs and switched their love for hate,” Remus explained.
“Fuck,” Virgil said.
“How do we break it?” Janus asked.
“We have to make them truly see us. Make them remember us,” Remus said.
“We’ve been trying to do that for years with no success though,” Virgil reminded him.
“We have to keep trying,” Remus said.
“I know but it hurts Re,” Janus said.
“I miss being able to be around them without remembering what we had and knowing that he resents me and doesn’t remember us being married,” Virgil said.
“I was gonna propose to Patton that day,” Janus said.
“You never told us that,” Virgil said.
“Jan I’m so sorry,” Remus said, hugging the snake-like side.
“We’ll get the others to remember somehow. We have to,” Janus said.
“I know,” Virgil said.
Another knock on the door dragged the dark sides out of their conversation and Remus rose to get it. Logan stood on the other side of the door and Remus froze. Logan never bothered to seek them out and this was the first time since a movie night that Remus managed to be this close to his lost fiance. Logan raised an eyebrow as if waiting to be invited into the room.
“Can we help you nerd?” Remus asked, trying to keep the ever-present heartbreak out of his voice.
“May I come in?” Logan asked.
“Umh sure. Just give us a second we need to put a few things up first,” Remus said.
Janus and Virgil began moving their research off the table and into the chest that they kept everything they used to try and figure out what had happened that day.  Remus moved to let Logan in and the logical side slipped into the room. Remus went to leave, only for Logan to grab his wrist and ask him to stay. Remus joined the other dark sides at the table and waited for Logan to speak.
“You three have been acting odd lately. What is going on?” Logan asked.
“It’s nothing you need to concern yourself with nerdy wolverine,” Remus said.
“If whatever you are doing could affect Thomas. I think I deserve to know,” Logan snapped.
“We aren’t doing anything that could hurt Thomas, Logan. We’re just looking into something that you would find no interest in,” Janus said calmly.
“How can I be sure when you are working with Remus?” Logan said, making Remus’ heartbreak more.
“Remus might talk like he would hurt Thomas but he would never,” Virgil said.
“Then you won’t mind me asking what you're working on?” Logan said sitting at the table.
The dark sides looked at each other trying to decide what to do.
“We are just looking into something the dragon witch did,” Janus said carefully. One wrong word and they might never see the ones they loved again.
“Why?” Logan asked.
“It seems to have affected the dark side imagination and we would like to know why,” Janus lied.
“Very well. I shall leave you to it, but if I find out you lied to me none of you will be welcome in the light sides again,” Logan said and left.
Once the door closed, Remus broke down. Logan hated him and he was losing hope in getting his Logan back. The one who would do experiments with him because they both loved science. The one who would ramble about space. The one who helped him with his intrusive thoughts. The one who held him after he had a nightmare and assured him that he was alright and everything would be okay. The one who was always by his side. The one who helped him make his ideas as realistic as possible. The one who assured him that he wasn’t broken and didn’t need to be fixed.
Virgil and Janus pulled him into a hug and tried to calm him down. Saying that now that they knew what was wrong they could start trying to fix it properly. Remus just sobbed, because his Logan hated him. When Remus finally calmed down, they got back out the books and papers and began trying to figure out what they could do to jog the others' memories.
Virgil unlocked his phone and opened his gallery and hunted down the last picture he had taken before that horrible morning. It was both of them curled up together under the stars with the fairy lights twinkling from the tree’s and Roman kissing his cheek. Logan was in the background with Remus in his arms pointing at the stars and talking about them. Janus was chasing Patton who had taken the deceitful side's hat and was running around with it. It was one of his favorite pictures but it also hurt to look at and reminded him of everything they had lost.
“We need to find the Dragon Witch when she revives,” Virgil said.
“Why?” Janus asked.
“It’s her book so the odds are she cast this curse so she should know how to break it,” Virgil said.
“But why would she do this?” Janus asked.
“Revenge,” Remus said.
“Exactly. We never got along with her and what better way to get back at us then take the thing that means the most to us,” Virgil said.
“When does she revive?” Janus asked Remus.
“She should be back in a day or two,” Remus said.
“Then let's set a trap so we can catch her,” Virgil said, getting up.
“Sounds like a plan,” Janus said.
“But we don’t know where she will revive,” Remus said.
“But she has to go home right,” Virgil said.
“And this is why you're our leader,” Janus said.
“Let’s go,” Virgil said, moving to the door, “We need to get what we’ll need from Remus’ room.”
“Alright,” Remus said.
Janus and Remus followed Virgil to Remus’ room. Virgil began to gather what they would need for the trap. Once they had everything they headed towards the imagination, only to run into Roman. Virgil squared his shoulders and looked at Roman his heartbreaking at the hate he saw in the eyes of his love. Roman glared at Virgil and Remus placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder.
“What are you three doing?” Roman asked.
“None of your business, Princey,” Virgil said and went to move around the princely side.
“It is to my business as to why you are bringing whatever you are into my domain,” Roman snapped.
“The dark side of the imagination is not your domain Roman,” Virgil reminded him.
“Why are you going to the dark side?” Roman sneered.
“Because we need to get something. Now move!” Virgil hissed.
Roman sneered but moved and the trio headed into the dark side of the imagination making a beeline for the Dragon Witches cabin. They needed to work fast before the Dragon Witch returned to life. Plus they wanted to check on the spot they had spent the last day with the light sides, which had ended up in the dark side of the imagination as a constant reminder of what they had lost that day. The dark sides visited regularly to remind themselves to not give up and to just keep trying to get what they had lost back. That it hadn’t all been a dream and at one point they had been happy and loved and not shunned and hated.
Once they finished they headed to the spot and sat looking up at the stars. Remus began telling the stories that Logan had once told him, Virgil sang the songs Roman had once sung to him, and Janus told the jokes that Patton had once told him. They reminded themselves of what they were fighting tooth and nail to get back. Reminded themselves that it was real and they hadn’t just imagined it. That no matter what, they would get their loves back one way or another
Not my art