Escaped - Sanders Sides

Chapter Twenty Three

(POV: Thomas)

We surrounded my manipulative side, leaving him in the middle of our circle. He made eye contact with all of the other sides before rounding back to me. The fire in his eyes was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I was having a hard time believing that he was actually a part of me.

"How could this have gone so wrong?!" Elden seethed, trying to spark his magic, not yet knowing that his power was super weak. "You all were in my command! And yet you all broke free! How?!"

"We have a strong bond together, kiddo," Patton cooed, putting a hand on his heart. "We didn't just take the time to learn about ourselves when we formed. We took the time to know each other, and Thomas!"

"We took the time to understand our purpose as one. Not just for ourselves, power, and control," Janus added, looking over at Virgil, watching him give a small nod of approval along with a smile.

"But why?! What's the point?! We are beings of mass power; so much potential at our fingertips! But the one thing that stops us is Thomas!" Elden screamed, pointing a crooked finger at me. "Him and his morals!" A finger pointed to Patton, "His logic!" A finger at Logan, "Both of his creative thoughts!" Roman and Remus, "His fears!" Virgil, "And his views of deception!" Janus.

"And who says manipulation doesn't stop hinder him from 'mass power,'" Logan asked, crossing his arms and adjusting his glasses.

"Through manipulation, he can gain superiority over others! Reach new potentials! Gain new opportunities! Everything Thomas wants to achieve, you can achieve through my help and my help alone!" He hissed, stepping closer to me.

I felt a little weak in my knees. His powers must've been growing back as I could feel him gain a presence over me.

But that all went away as a yellow shield passed in front of me. I shook my head a little, regaining full consciousness.

Janus was standing next to me, a hand on my shoulder with his other hand facing up to keep the shield raised.

"Thomas would never wish to attain his hopes and dreams through ways like yours!" Janus yelled, growing stronger.

Slowly, Virgil came and stood next to Janus, putting a hand on his shoulder too. Roman then put a hand on Virgil's shoulder while Remus did the same for his brother. Patton grabbed onto my other shoulder and Logan attached to his. The once very opaque yellow shield was hardly see through. The only thing truly visible was the rage in Elden's face.

"End it, Thomas!" Janus said quietly. "End this monster and let's send things back to the way they were!"

"Wait," I breathed. I drifted down to Elden's level. "Elden, you don't have to do this. You can live with the others and you can see the error in your ways! You can be free!"

The other sides looked at me in shock. Virgil and Janus were furious. Remus was clenching his fists and narrowing his eyes.

"You better have a fucking good reason for that, Thomas," Virgil spat.

"After everything I've done, you still want me to stay?" the manipulative trait wondered aloud.

I nodded and held out my hand. "I believe that even the worst of people can change. They may not agree, but you deserve to find happiness, Elden. You deserve a chance."

Patton stepped forward, placing a hand on my shoulder. "He's right, kiddo. You can help others instead of hurting those around you. I'm gonna show you how, I promise. You can join the light, and I'll be the first one to welcome you."

Logan held Patton's hand, flashing a small smile. "And I will be the second. Right by his side. You will be welcome here, Elden. Despite what you have done, Thomas is correct. I can teach you how to make logical decisions to keep Thomas safe."

Roman looked over at Virgil and nodded. Virgil groaned and trudged over to us, tugging Roman along with him.

"They're right," the anxious side agreed. "Yeah, you did some awful shit to us, but that doesn't mean you can't change. Heck, look what these idiots did to me!"

Virgil smiled and leaned into Roman's shoulder. "But I wouldn't change it for the world. We can work together and give Thomas a brighter future."

Roman nodded with a look of determination etched into his face. "You can be free, and embrace who you are without being afraid. You can live your life without living in fear of what others think of you. Elden, join us, and we can give you all that and more."

Janus and Remus stood side by side. The two of them looked at one another and shrugged. Janus nudged Remus's arm and pointed over at the rest of us. Remus dropped his hands to his sides and marched over.

"I may not be the best example," Remus winked. "But ya know, you got yourself a pretty good deal here. Try being good for a change and help Thomas be happy."

Elden looked among everyone. The smiles on the side's faces, no matter how big or small they were, were truly telling as to how genuine they all were wanting to be.

I opened my hand out to Elden, watching him look at it as if it were on fire. He looked down at his own hand, wondering if he had the power to go through with this.

"You can do it, Elden. We believe in you," I whispered.

With small tears brimming in his eyes, he took my hand and gripped it tightly. I helped him to his feet, his eyes cautiously looking in mine.

"Thank you," Elden said with a calm smile.

"Welcome to the famILY, kiddo," Patton greeted.

(Chapter Twenty Four to be released: October 30th, 2020)