Ruinous

Paranoia

Logan rises up in Patton's room, frowning when he finds Virgil isn't present. He glances at Patton and his eyes soften, "Forgive me. I have yet to find a sure way to return you to your previous state."

He sighs and sinks out again, rising up outside Virgil's closed door. He knocks, "Virgil? Can you come out? I would like to speak with you."

He gets no response and his eyes narrow in concern. He walks to the kitchen, and finding it empty as well, he ventures to the common room. Not finding Anxiety there, either, Logan worries Virgil might have went to fight Deceit alone. If he had, there would be no way for Logan to follow. Not without Ronaemus' help, if the King even could traverse the palaces freely as Deceit and Virgil can. Perhaps Remy could help as well, but he's unreliable at best. Logan heads back to Virgil's room, knocking again, "Virgil, if you are in there, please open the door. This is urgent."

"Is this about Patton..?" Virgil's soft voice replies.

Logan frowns, "No."

"Roman?" Virgil asks, a tightness to it.

"No." Logan repeats.

"Then it's not important enough." Virgil says harshly.

Logan's eyes narrow, "Virgil, open this door."

"You're not my parent," Virgil laughs, "I don't have to do anything you say."

"Where is all this coming from?" Logan shakes his head, "I told you I am doing the best I can to find a solution to our situation."

"But not enough," Virgil states, opening the door, "your best just isn't enough this time, Logic."

Logan's eyes widen briefly before narrowing as he takes in Virgil's appearance. Virgil stands before him, his patchwork jacket now has a threaded-webbing design between all of the patches, interconnecting. Virgil himself has darker, more harsh eyeshadow beneath his eyes, with black veins coming from his eyes, stretching all over his face and down his neck. His hands have the same black veins covering them, and Virgil's eyes are a dark purple now as well. As he had feared, Virgil has taken drastic measures against his better judgement and retaken his form as Paranoia.

"What do you expect to be able to do this way, Virgil?" Logan asks.

"I'm going to kill the King." Virgil replies with disdain, his voice fluctuating, "I remember everything now. And that includes how to kill that cheater now that he doesn't have his precious crown."

"Killing him won't put things back the way they were," Logan argues, "It won't save Roman! Isn't that what you want? To save Patton and Roman? If you kill Ronaemus, you'll lose Roman forever, Remus, too. Is that really the outcome you want to fight for?"

Virgil twitches, "Sacrifice the one to save the many, right? Putting a stop to Deceit is the primary objective, isn't it? Creativity isn't a core part of a person anyway, so the outcome won't matter much. Then maybe you can finally convince Thomas to get a real job, just like you want."

"And what of Patton?" Logan clenches his hands into fists, "You kill Ronaemus and maybe even Deceit, too, then what? Let Patton become a Dark Side or kill him, too? Thomas will never be the same! This isn't the outcome we fight for, Virgil!"

"Maybe not the outcome you fight for, Logan," Virgil raises his hand and wraps Logan in purple chains, "The thing is, though, I don't actually care if Thomas is a good person or not. I don't care who of us lives or dies, I just want the revenge I've been owed. I was stripped of my very identity and made to be the lesser Side just because I was feared. If I have to kill them, and Patton, too, so be it. Thomas will survive, you and I can lead him through life just fine on our own."

Virgil sighs as Logan glares, "I really don't want to have to kill you, Logan. You've always been my friend, I'd like to keep it that way. So, stay out of my way, okay?"

Logan struggles against the chains, groaning softly, "Please, listen to me, Virgil. What you plan to do is not what you really want, you've told me so. You're letting Paranoia persuade you, you have to fight for what you really want, Virgil!"

Virgil's eyes narrow as he twitches again, "For Logic, you're really stupid, you know that? Paranoia is just me. There is no distinction, not anymore. This is how it was always meant to be for me."

"That's not true!" Logan argues, gritting his teeth, "Virgil, your mind is clouded by his past anger, he's controlling you. You're not Paranoia, you're Anxiety! He isn't you!"

Virgil's head twitches, his eyes dimming their glow for only a moment. He slowly grins as his eyes glow brightly, "You're a Gray Side, you know that? I wonder what would happen if you became Dark just like me?"

Logan's eyes widen and he stares at Virgil with uncertainty, "Virgil, please, I know you can do this. Don't let him cloud you. He isn't fighting for you, he's fighting for himself! The outcome he wants isn't the same as yours!"

Virgil laughs, "It's cute how hard you're trying, even though it's useless."

Logan's eyes narrow, "I know what you're doing, and it isn't going to work."

"Oh?" Virgil smirks, "And what might that be?"

"How long has it been since Deceit woke you within him?" Logan asks, raising his head lightly, eyes narrow and calculating.

Virgil raises an eyebrow, "You think you got it all figured out, huh?"

"You're planning to double cross him, isn't that right?" Logan speculates, "Getting Virgil to agree to be you again was your job, wasn't it?"

Logan snarls, "Did you use Patton to do it?"

Paranoia chuckles, sticking his hands in his jacket pockets, his voice fluctuation in full effect, "You really did think it all through, didn't you? When did you figure it out?"

"After Virgil started talking about reverting and using the crown against Deceit," Logan states, "No doubt that was your doing."

"I may have planted the idea, and yes, I did use Patton to convince him to let me free." Paranoia replies, "He wasn't nearly as formidable as Deceit had said."

"When did you awaken?" Logan demands.

"When Deceit stole Anxiety's powers," Paranoia explains, "So, you all lose. And yeah, I'm gonna double cross De, he's never really done anything for me anyway. Not like I have a priority to him. Or Roman, and Patton's the one who turned me into Anxiety when the backlash of the crown hit me after he used it. So, I have no one to really be loyal to."

"What about me?" Logan says softly, "You said you considered me a friend, yes? So, why not be loyal to me?"

Paranoia tilts his head, "And what would you give to have my help setting things the way you want them to be? I don't want to go back to being nothing. It's quite painful."

"I'll become a Dark Side." Logan replies after a moment of silence, finding the solution that he's the most likely to be the least effected by such a change, "Help me stop Deceit, and return Roman, Remus, and Patton to the former states that I want. I'll make sure they leave you as you are, and I will become a Dark Side."

Paranoia grins, "You've got a deal."