Warnings: Unsympathetic Deceit, Unsympathetic OC dark sides destruction of property, lmk if I need to add anything else!

Roman awoke in darkness. His body was shaking, and his senses were completely useless to him now. All that filled his ears was the laughing of Deceit, and the other dark sides.

Virgil was in a similar state. But all that filled the air was the sobs that escaped him. He was fearing his friends safety, now that they had lost control.

Both alone, fear overwhelming them.

~

Logan was awoken by shaking on his shoulder. He slowly opened his eyes, coming face to face with Patton. Patton's eyes were wide, tears slipping from them.

"Patton?" Logan inquired, but Patton clasped a hand over Logan's lips, looking at the door swiftly. Approaching footsteps could be heard, and Patton grabbed Logan's hand.

Patton dragged Logan into the small closet Logan had in his room. It was black as coal, and Patton still kept a firm hand on Logan's lips as he listened for the footsteps to disappear.

When they did, Patton finally let go of Logan. "What is going on?" Logan demanded through clenched teeth. Seeing Patton this fearful frightened and angered him.

"The D-Dark S-Sides.... I c-couldn't find Virgil or Roman...." Patton spoke quietly, burrowing his face in Logan's chest.

Logan hesitantly wrapped his arms around Patton, shushing the other so as to not be heard. He looked around the small closet in misery.

How would they get themselves out of this one?

~

Sobbing filled Roman's ears, the sound overpowering the laughing. He recognized the cries as those of Virgil's. "Virgil!" Roman tried making his voice as loud as possible.

When the sobs just continued, Roman tried looking around again, but still saw no one. "Virgil!" He tried again. His voice echoed slightly, and the sobbing went quiet for a moment.

"Virgil can you hear me?" Roman called out. He waited for a response, listening intently.

"Roman?" His name echoed to him, and he sighed in relief. He wasn't alone.

"Where are you?" Roman called, and again waited for a response as it echoed through the abyss.

"Uh.... An abyss?" Virgil yelled back, unsure of where he was. "How am I supposed to know?" He sounded exhausted to Roman.

"Just... Just start walking forward! Maybe we can reach each other!" Roman proposed, and received an alright from Virgil.

Roman forced his body to move forward. His steps were slow, and he found it difficult to even raise his foot. But after awhile, he was slowly able to pick up his pace a bit.

~

Logan and Patton left the closet, their footsteps almost silent. Logan peeked outside his room door, looking down the hall. He could hear an exasperated grunt from the next room, and followed Patton to investigate.

It had come from Virgil's room.

The two peeked inside, breaths hitching as they tried to make little to no noise.

Inside, Deceit was rummaging through Virgil's possessions, muttering to himself. He carelessly threw objects that held meaning to Virgil, making the objects scatter on the ground.

Patton flinched as Deceit threw a frame onto the ground with great ferocity. The frame cracked into dozens of pieces, the glass scattering slightly. Inside was a picture of Roman and Virgil, Roman taking a selfie of them and kissing Virgil's cheek happily.

Deceit grabbed another "meaningless" item, opening up the folded paper. It was the card Patton had made for Virgil long ago. Deceit just ripped it, tossing the paper pieces onto the ground.

Patton put a fist against his mouth, muffling a pained cry. Logan grabbed Patton and slowly the two walked away from the room, towards the stairs.

~

Roman spotted Virgil, who was walking with his head hung. His footsteps, too, were slow. Roman approached him as soon as he could, calling out Virgil's name.

"Virgil!" Virgil's head shot up, eyes wide. He turned his head, spotting Roman and relief washed over him.

The two met half way, and Roman pulled Virgil into a tight embrace. Virgil returned the hug, his breathing slightly uneven.

"I'm so glad you're safe.." Roman murmured into Virgil's hair. Virgil just stayed quiet.

"Where's Patton and Logan?" Virgil whispered. His eyes were wide, hidden by his bangs as he rested his forehead against Roman's chest.

"Fuck," Roman muttered, the thought not having occurred to him. "Maybe... maybe they're still in the mind palace." He said, though his voice said it could be otherwise.

Virgil just gripped Roman's suit tighter, hands balled into fists.

~

Patton and Logan made it to the living room. They watched from the shadows as the Dark Sides lounged around. Some things had fallen, and pieces of the objects were scattered around.

"Hey boys, check it out! The two actually found each other!" One of the traits laughed maliciously, holding what appeared to be a mirror.

"No way, they actually do care for one another." Another spoke. One gagged and turned away from the mirror.

"Virgil was weak," someone spoke from the stairs, and Deceit came walking down. "He not only betrayed us, but let 'love'," Deceit shuddered at the word, "crowd his judgement."

Patton curled his fists, and Logan grabbed his shoulder, shaking his head at Patton. Logan's jaw was clenched, but he knew he and Patton couldn't take on all the Dark Sides at once.

"Deceit, finally come to join us? Find what you needed?" The first Dark Side had spoken. Deceit just shook his head.

"Is Thomas still asleep?" Deceit questioned. The Dark Side nodded. "Good. We need him asleep for as long as possible."

Logan, upon hearing these words, slowly started to inch his way towards Thomas's room. Patton was close behind, both glancing at the Dark Sides to make sure they weren't spotted.

~

Virgil and Roman had been silent for awhile now. Neither had any clue on how to escape, so just stayed quiet in each other's arms.

Virgil raised his head from Roman's chest, his voice quiet. "They're watching us," he muttered.

Roman froze, his hand stopping from brushing through Virgil's hair. "They are?" Virgil nodded, memories flooding back to when he was still considered a dark trait. "How?"

"They have a mirror. It's like the one from Beauty and the Beast," Virgil explained as quietly as he could. He could feel Roman's arm tighten around him.

"Then is there no hope in us escaping?" Roman's voice was small, and Virgil could hear the fear in his voice.

Virgil shook his head. "There is, but it's very slim. Thomas has to wake up, and that's our opening." Virgil said, his hands moving down to intertwine with Roman's. "You're going to have to trust me completely."

"I already do," Roman whispered, kissing Virgil's forehead.

They continued to wait in silence.

~

Patton made it into the room first. Logan slipped in right after. Patton ran over to Thomas's bed, and Logan remained by the door, making sure none of the Dark Sides could get in. Patton shook Thomas harshly, frantic to wake him up.

"Thomas! Thomas!" Patton was speaking through clenched teeth. His jaw hurt from how much he had been clenching them. Thomas didn't even stir.

Patton sighed in annoyance and grabbed Thomas, pulling him off the bed. He didn't care if he was quiet at this point, he just wanted his friends back, and for things to return to normal.

Thomas landed on the floor with a loud thud. As Thomas bolted awake, about to snap at Patton, Logan braced himself against the door as one of the Dark Sides attempted to get in.

"What's going on?" Thomas demanded, watching as Patton grabbed a chair to hold the door in place. He watched as Logan and Patton slowly backed away from the door as more pounding ensued. Watched as Patton clung to Logan's arm as if Logan would disappear right then and there.

~

Virgil pushed away from Roman, grabbing Roman's hand tightly. Virgil looked up, where light was beginning to flood in. Then he glanced at Roman. Roman squeezed Virgil's hand, nodding.

Virgil inhaled slowly, closing his eyes, imagining his room. He just had to get in there. His room would still be connected to this place. If only he could reach it. Virgil's thoughts were swiftly passing by the rooms of the Dark Sides, until he finally found his room.

Roman closed his eyes, and he and Virgil sunk down.

They appeared in Virgil's room. Roman stumbled slightly, dizzy. Roman stepped on one of the many shattered frames, and he looked down, using the wall for support. "What happened in here?" Roman asked, looking up to Virgil. Virgil looked enraged as he looked around his room. Roman slowly walked over. "Hey, save that anger for when we find the others." Roman spoke gently, and Virgil slowly nodded. He breathed in slowly, calming down only a little.

Roman took Virgil's hand and together they walked out of the room. Banging echoed down the hall, and Virgil quickened his pace. They stopped when they saw the Dark Sides pounding on Thomas's door, yelling, trying to break into it.

"We gotta get them away from there," Virgil muttered. He looked around for something, and found the mirror abandoned on the couch. "This will do."

Roman watched as Virgil chucked the mirror into the far wall. It hit the wall harshly, and a loud sound filled the room as the glass shattered onto the floor. Deceit was the first to turn, and he growled when he saw not only Virgil and Roman out of the abyss, but that the mirror was now shattered.

Roman drew his sword, glaring at Deceit and the other Dark Sides as they started approaching.

Virgil and Roman were slowly cornered, but them being a distraction allowed Logan and Patton to open the door; had given them time to explain to Thomas what was going on.

"Stop!" Thomas's voice filled the mind palace. Everyone froze, and Thomas looked furious. One by one, Thomas's Dark Sides sunk into the ground, returning to their own rooms. Deceit was the last, and he was glaring at Virgil and Roman the entire time.

Patton was the first to move. He had run over and pulled Virgil into an embrace, sobbing. He then pulled Roman into the hug, holding onto the two as if he let go, they would be taken again. Thomas slowly relaxed, watching as Logan hesitantly joined the hug.