Deceit follows behind the Duke.

The Royal was still pulling him forward, oh so gently, as they made their way down the hall.

At the third door on the right, Remus stops and inhales resolutely; he turns the knob and they step in. A floral antiseptic scent fills the air immediately.

The room is clean and quaint

A double bed with white sheets sits directly in the center, surrounded wall to wall by shelves stocked from ceiling to floor with various potions, powders and herbs held in oddly shaped bottles, containers and vials.

The Serpentine Side doesn't get much chance to fully observe the room as the darker half of Creativity instructs him to remove his shoes, capelet and shirt. Sighing, he does as he was told. Kicking off his shoes and carefully, with his upper pair of arms, he removes the caplet, while his middle and lower pair handled the buttons of his shirt.

Remus easily takes the articles of clothing from the other, only to pause.

Apparently once the material was removed from off his person, Deceit's illusion breaks; the Duke is left looking through a nasty gash in the shirt.

The Snake turns his head, not liking the near perturbed look the other was giving him. Remus places a hand on his shoulder and squeezes lightly. Deceit sighs as he looks down; surely it wasn't that bad? A second illusion breaks to reveal his entire side is a swollen angry red.

The Duke whistles, "Yikes, do you want me on the bed with you? Or do you want me to hold one of your hands instead?"

At first the Serpentine Side had thought Remus was simply teasing as was his wont to do, but looking at the other...his face was surprisingly serious. That alone, though he wouldn't dare admit it, scared him.

"Wha-? I- Neither!" He sputtered. " I'm not a child Remus, I can handle whatever your fae throws at me"

"Well that's good to hear then-", the two turned to see Fairy Godmother come in with a brown drawstring pouch, a gold shiny powdery substance trickled out of it as the bowl sized bag was filled to the brim. "This should be quick and easy, no?" She placed the bag in a cubby on the nearest shelf. She turned back to look at her soon to be patient, there was a smirk on the fae's lips and a glint in her eye that sent a shudder down the Snake's spine. He could swear her eyes were glowing.

Deceit gulped, taking a step back; he bumped into the Duke.

Remus rolled his eyes and pushed him to sit on the bed. Before crossing his arms and glaring at the fairy. "Come on FG, don't freak him out, it won't be pretty. Those strings of his are sharper than my Morning-star's spikes"

Fairy Godmother pouted, crossing her own arms, though petulantly. "Hmf, now all three of you are picking on my fun-"

Remus shrugged before pointing the bag she had brought , " It looks like Remy already paid the gentry fee so you don't need to do that whole voodoo schtick with him"

The Fairy huffed, though the faint glow in her eyes did disappear, "very well, next time I expect a bit more time to tease my guests. It is supposed to be a big deal to meet a fae after all, some traditions must be kept", She smirked at the Duke before turning her attention to the Personality sitting on the bed. "You understand don't you?"

Deceit nodded, feeling less terrified than he had been mere seconds ago. Not liking that the fae had that sort of hold over him, he resorted to his usual tactic of self defense- his silver tongue. He gave her a smirk of his ows as he deflected. "Why of course, upholding traditions that encourage questionable reputations are exceptionally important. How else are the patrons to have doubts of whether or not it was a good idea to trust a fae?"

Fairy Godmother smiles at that, all her teeth suddenly a little too sharp.

"My, my Remus, I see why you like this one so much.

Deceit immediately paled, jolting backwards as the Fae appeared directly in front of his face; a string in his lower pair of arms.

Remus cracks up, hardly even bothering to hide his chuckles at his friend's reaction. "Ok, yeah, I gotta admit that's a little fun, but it you really wanna fuck with somebody, try doing that to Anxiety, see what his Shadows do. Now that'll be a riot and a half!"

The Fae does a mock curtsy with her cloak, it looked as if she hadn't moved from her original position by the door at all. "I'll take that into consideration", she smiles, "but considering that his title is literally Anxiety, I doubt it will be as fun for me as you're attempting to make it"

"Hey never said it would be fun for you, just said it would be a riot...and half", winks the Duke.

The Fairy laughs, "fair enough my dear, I concede"

Remus does a mock bow and on the way up he whispers in Deceit's ear.

"Might not want to piss off the fae that's going to heal you, that shit's already painful"

The Snake nods subtly in response.

Of course his crazy friend would have even crazier friends, go figure.

"Well then!" Fairy Godmother claps her hands, "now that I've had my fun, I do believe there's an injury to be healed, hmm?"

Deceit gives her a curt nod, doing his best to keep a neutral expression and forcing himself to will away his string.

"Right", continues the Fae, "you have a choice my dear Serpent. You can either drink a potion and wake up tomorrow healed. Or you can apply this one to your skin and be healed within the hour"

Deceit pauses, then looks at Remus and then her. "Other than what I am assuming is the longer healing time, what are the side-effects of drinking that potion?"

"Well, it dulls your senses enough so that you would not feel any pain during the process of healing-"

"So drugged out of my mind I presume?"

The Fae shrugs. "Well...yes"

The Snake narrows his eyes, "and how long--if I were to drink this potion-- how long would those effects last?"

She smirks, "well now, that depends on you dear, how fast your system can clear it out. Though usually it ranges from a day to a day and a half"

Deceit places a hand from the upper pair of arms under his chin, the other one holding his hat while the other two pairs remain crossed. "Knowing that the others are likely to want to move as soon as possible, there is no way that I'm possibly putting Thomas and the others at risk because I am without my usual inhibitions"

"Option two it is then!" The fairy exclaims near giddy as she turns around and begins grabbing various scoops of liquids and powders, dumping them into a mortar. She takes the bag she had brought before--Remy's Dream Sand-- and pours near half of it in. A pestle then magically appears in her hand and she begins to mix and grind the contents in the mortar. The fae then turns to Deceit . "Now dear, will Remus be holding you or just one of your hands?"

The Dark Personality froze, the Duke had asked him the same question earlier, somehow having known he would have chosen not to drink the potion. "Um..."

"This process will be painful, you will feel the pain of your bones being mended and your skin restitching itself, but the moment it is over, it is over and you will be fully healed. Are you still willing to go through with this?"

Deceit nods, face slightly red as a hand from his middle pair latches on to Remus' forearm.

The Fae nods back, instructing the Personality to lay down.

The moment the Serpentine Side is laying flat, she pours some of the gritty red liquid onto the injured area.

Deceit hisses, squeezing his eyes shut and looking away.

At first the liquid is surprisingly cold, not too bad given the circumstance but then the sensation of his side suddenly being frozen in ice encompassed all his senses. It was cold. Cold, cold so cold it burned.

A stray scream escaped him and the Serpent opened his eyes and looked down...only to regret the sight.

The contents the Fairy had dumped on his chest and side had disappeared but his skin was literally being eaten away right before his very eyes. He wanted to compare it to a piece of paper being burned away, because that is exactly what it felt like.

Layers of scales, skin and sinew all gone until he was staring at a cavity literally inside his chest. Here he could clearly see the state of his broken rib. The bone was broken in such a way that if he had taken one more hit to the chest the rib would poke out of his skin...which was not there.

He wasn't even aware that he had been screaming, much less moving until Remus had picked him up and slid under him; restraining him with his tentacles to stop his thrashing.

"Hey, Bananaconda breathe! Panicking is Anxiety's thing. Fucking breathe and stop fighting me! I told you this shit was going to hurt!"

Remus held him tighter, tentacles wrapping around his waist and wrists, squeezing tight enough to possibly leave a bruise. "Hey, hey come on! There's no blood, did you notice that? Ribs, heart, lungs and everything but no blood. That's what the potion does opens you up so we can fix the broken thing and closes you right up just like that-"

Deceit screamed louder, aware he was doing it now but unable to stop. "AAagh!..Re-Remus..!"

The Duke growls, using a tentacle to force his friend to look him in the eye. "Shut up I'm right here. I'm holding you, do you really think I'd let something happen to you that I can't fix?!"

The snake shook his head rapidly, gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut. His body still thrashing about wildly.

"Good, cause I won't let that happen, especially if that means you hurting yourself. The more you move around like a hooked fish flopping on a dock, the more that rib of yours cracks. SO stop fucking moving got it?! Breathe, I got you"

It's a few more minutes before Deceit can finally control his body enough not to thrash around but he shakes and shudders every other second.

"You good?" Murmurs Remus after a moment.

Deceit nods, once, his entire frame shuddering as pain flows through him.

"Ah! That means you're ready for part two then!" Chirps out the fairy with a smile.

The Personality's eyes widen. "...part-?...Fuck!"

The Fae had taken a green vial from goddess knows where and poured two drops directly onto the broken rib.

Deceit Screams.

-----

"AAAAAah!"

Through thrashing and all the pain, the Snake managed to somehow slip out of Remus' tight grasp. Immediately curling up into the fetal position. Which of course did not bode well for the injury on his side.

Sighing, the Duke picked him up once again, placing Deceit between his legs, the Snake's back to his chest and using his tentacles to restrain the other's arms. This time the hold was tight enough to restrict the majority of the Serpentine Side's movement.

Deceit screamed until his voice gave out and he was left panting and shaking as the pain wracked through him worse than before.

Remus said nothing this time, instead he focused on holding his friend and he may or may not have gently wiped a stray tear or two from Deceit's face with a spare tentacle.

The Scaled Side slowly reopened his eyes, only to see Fairy Godmother with another vial.

He's ashamed to say that the whimper that echoed after was his.

The Fae gives him a sympathetic look, "last one dear, I promise", and with that she poured it over the wound.

Just like before, Deceit screams again.

His voice is nothing more than a pained rasp as he reaches the threshold-- but before he could pass out, the pain decreases.

The ice is back, his entire side feels like it's been encased in it. It burns cold. Then cold, cold, cold. His body shudders and shakes with the drop of temperature.

And then it stops...

It's Remus who taps him gently on his temple as he releases him from his suckered binds.

"Hey, that's it, look all healed up"

The snake tentatively looks down at his chest and side, smooth, not a mark to show his trauma, not even a red line.

"Welp,congratulations scales-and-shouts you did it. Screaming bloody murder the whole way but your'e all healed, yeah?"

Deceit can do nothing more than look up at the Duke and tiredly nod; immediately after his eyes rolled back and he fell limp onto the other's chest.

Fairy Godmother steps forward and places a hand on the snake's forehead. "Hmm, no fever. He should be fine when he wakes.

Remus nods, saying nothing as his tentacles grab the caplet and shirt from where he had placed them earlier.

The Fairy then leaves the room, work done and patient resting.

It was high time to check on her other guests...

Anxiety was standing, with his arm across from Thomas, his Shadows up, ready and risen in defense. Remy's Dream Sand rose as well, half of it merging with the Shadows and the other half forming a large hand behind him. Roman's Katana was at the ready and both Patton and Logan had their hands glowing brightly.

"How fascinating!" The Fae couldn't help but exclaim, as he group turned to look at her entering the living room. "... the lengths any unit would go to protect the Host, truly it's impressive. Though there is no danger here, I can assure you"

-----

No Side nor Host said anything, all their eyes were trained on the Aspect.

All except the Fairy who was delightfully unaware and oh so very pleased that her comparisons of her garden companions were deemed accurate.

"Well then", she clapped, "I believe an explanation is in order, is it not?"

The Fae blinked when no one answered. She looked around to see that everyone was watching the sole Aspect. "Remy? What's wrong?" She asked softly, the boy was shaking.

"Sorry, I just...it was a Thursday that they set up the garden..."

The Fairy looked confused, "I believe so?"

"No, I know so, I remember. They had asked me for the whole day off saying they were going to help a friend with a garden and that they were gonna make it the best thing ever"

"..ok..?"

"They came back hella muddy. I told them off about it jokingly and Patience of course retaliated with flinging some mud off her hair at me." Sleep swallowed, running a hand through his hair, his voice shaking now as he continued. "My Sand had legit just bailed Jacket, Shades and Bag scurrying off like traitors into the high beams above us. Serenity all too eagerly offered me a muddy hug and for the life of me I couldn't move fast enough to dodge when they both decided to tackle me. All three of us ended up in one muddy giggling pile...it was- it was the happiest that I've ever seen them... I-" His voice cracked.

"Remy?-"

"Um FG, hate to be a bother, but uh can- can I get some water?"

"Of course dear, forgive me I haven't been too good of a hostess now have I? I'll bring some water and snacks." With that the still confused fairy headed to her kitchen.

It's no longer than a few minutes where Fairy Godmother comes in bringing in snacks and mentions that she had set a roast in the oven.

She passes a glass of cold water to Remy, who gladly chugs it.

"Now, would you tell me what happened? What does this have to do with the garden and the girls...", the Fae paused, something clicked. "Remy, what happened to our girls?"

The Aspect lowered his head. "It's...It's better if I show you"

"Show me? How?"

"Remember how my Sand would sometimes cause daydreams if you were too close? Well now it can show me it's memories"

The Fae looked skeptical. "The Sand's memories?"

Remy nods forlornly.

"Very well, sighs the fairy, "I may not be an official physician but I can easily fix it if they broke an arm or leg you know, there isn't an injury too bad that I can't-....oh dear goddess have mercy"

Fairy Godmother's eyes glow gold, as the Dream Sand shows her what happened to the girls.

The moment the vision is over, the fairy gasps. Tears brim in her eyes as she teleports to Remy's side and gives him a hug. If the Aspect's shoulders shake and a few stray tears leak below his Shades, no one dares to comment on it.

The Fae turns to all of them, "I swear on my life, I will do all that I can to assist you"

Logan tries to ask a question but before he could -.

DING!

"Oh! That's the roast! Exclaims the Fairy, she looks down at Sleep still pressed to her bosom. "Remy dear, why don't you help me set up, hmm? You can get first dish too, since we'll be out one space if the others join us"

"Sure thing FG"

___

Remy didn't eat much, but he did help Fairy Godmother set the table as promised.

He asked to go clean up and the Fae easily called forth her fabrics and with a snap a new set of clothes was presented to the Aspect; along with a bar of soap. The Guardian chuckled and thanked her before heading off to shower.

The others filed in once called to enjoy the roast, with plenty of gravy, mashed potatoes and bread rolls on the side.

Patton and Logan sat together and across from them Thomas and Anxiety; Roman was at the end of the table, while the Fae sat at the head.

They chatted idly, if at all, thanking the fairy for the food.

------

Meanwhile, Remus was in the room playing on a yellow phone, a peaceful looking Deceit sleeping on his chest.

Said Serpentine side wakes up not moments later, groggy and very unbalanced.

"...water?..", he croaked as he sat up, leaning heavily on the Duke.

Remus looks to the side and shrugs sheepishly, having drunk the water in the glass jug on the bedside table.

Deceit rolls his eyes. "I wanted to go outside anyway"

Gently, the Duke helps the shaky snake outside.

"Who's Janus?"

-----

When the rest of the group returns from eating, they're greeted with the sight of Sleep asleep on his bean bag chair. His Shades were sitting on his hair so his red rimmed eyes were in full view, as was the phone on his chest that was slowly slipping off.

Roman is quick to catch it before it hits the floor.

The Prince flips the phone over. "Huh, odd... Looks like he was texting someone"

"Roman!" Whisper shouts Thomas, " Dude that's like an invasion of privacy"

"Sorry! I know! I know! But like who the hell would have a name like this? It sounds like a freakin' middle school librarian"

"What?! Let me see...Who's Janus?"

Anxiety, who had just resumed sitting on the chaise, chokes slightly on his glass of water .

"That... would be me"

Everyone turns to see Deceit walk in, followed by the Duke.

Roman pales when he looks at the Scaled Side, "Oh...heheh, sorry?"

Remus shakes his head only barely muffling a giggle. "Nice bro, nice..."

Deceit- er Janus rolls his eyes and sits heavily on the loveseat, opposite to Anxiety.

Remus heads to the kitchen for a second, returning with a glass of water, which he hands to the Serpentine side before going to check on Remy.

----

Remy gasps, sitting up as he wakes, nearly knocking into the Duke.

He places a hand on his head as he winces then squeezes his eyes shut; dizzy and with a headache. The Aspect tilts, literally about to tip over if it weren't for Remus holding him steady by one hand on his shoulder.

Roman walks over and places a hand on his other shoulder, "You good Remy? Remember anything from your dreams this time?"

Sleep shakes his head and then groans, "ngh... no. I don't remember...but there was a voice? I think. I can't remember what it was saying..."

The Twins glance at each other and then back at Remy.

Fairy godmother comes in at that point bringing a platter with two plates of food for the Duke and Deceit, along with a jug of cold water and various cups. She pours water for Remus and refills the Serpentine Side's cup.

She then walks over and taps Remy on the hand, offering a cup of water she had also poured for him. She then summons an orange flower and places it in his other hand.

Sleep sighs but thanks her, he slugs down the water, curls up on his bean bag and begins chewing on the flower.

The others look on in confusion.

"Chewing Mielcabez, helps with headaches", supplies the Fae.

Remus shrugs, still on the floor, he scooches from his brother and cousin to sit between Janus' legs--back leaning against the loveseat-- as he grabs his food and begins eating. Deceit, without missing a beat simply places his plate on the Duke's head using him as a table.

The Fairy giggles before suddenly locking eyes with the Teacher on her left. "So Logic, what is it you wanted to ask?"

Logan startled, not expecting her to have remembered.

"Oh, uh, well. A student of mine had said something quite odd to me before...all of this. She said 'find your witch, she knows more than you believe.' Now when I told her that I didn't know any witches but I knew of a Fairy, she seemed shocked at the news that there was a Fairy instead of a Witch. She then continued, telling me to 'find the Fae then, but be wary of the deals you make', and I figured it would be best to ask the resident member of- of a court?"

The Fae looked quite amused. "I am of the Seelie court my dear, yes. And this well and all explains a lot"

"It does?" exclaimed literally everyone else in the room.

Fairy Godmother chuckles and with a wave of her hand, magic clears the coffee table. Bringing forth a thin book, she opened it on a blank page before whistling and asking Fifi to bring her something. The plant disappears down the wooden floor, leaving not even a mark to show it was there previously. Fifi reappears just as quickly as it had left, this time with a purple vial in its mouth. The fae thanks the plant with a gentle pat as she takes the vial, pulls the cork and dumps the contents onto the open book.

The liquid turns to a glittery powder the moment it touches the page. Rising up into a plume of sparkles before forming the shape of a castle.

The fairy smirks and then begins the tale.

-----

AN//: HEy guys. How we doing?
I'm here dying, sorry to keep complaining about it but online classes suck. And if your suffering too let me hear you, damn. It's been rough.

3 all nighters consecutively (and this is because I started my work ahead of time) and then 1hr of sleep on Friday...I blinked at one point and then it was Saturday afternoon. I had to clean my house cause auntie and cousins came over, wasn't fun. Life.

ANyway. I was wondering if you guys would be interested if I created a discord for Innerworks? Just y'know to chat, theorize, draw, write and generally connect and stuffs? Blu is up for it and he says hi btw!

Can we also get a Happy belated birthday shout out to my bro Davidthe traveler? He's awesome dude you guys and I wish him many more. <3

COMMENT OF THE WEEK:

Bythegayarchives:

"okay i'm back with more stuff to say now that i've read this chapter a couple of times and my head is clearer

i am even more worried for deceit

obviously he must look bad to FG and as far as i can tell healing or something must not be a fun experience based on some of the sides' reactions

and he was already bad off

oh boy"

Heheh you were right ;)

See y'all in the comment section!