Aiden woke up back in that same forest. He remembered it all clearly, but now that he wasn't completely panicked, he could think clearly. He could feel a slight pull, back to that place. He knew already that he'd have to go back there soon. The pull was going to drive him insane if he tried to keep fighting it. He remembered that face, the one with the glasses. He decided that he was going to have to go back. That face held too many secrets. Very little emotion shone through it, and he could probably hide anything. He was not to be trusted. He was the kind of person that could stab you in the back without a single thought, and Aiden knew that he was dangerous.

He looked at the forest. The trees were tall, and they had green and yellow leaves, signaling that it was fall, or nearing fall. The weather was nice, with a slight breeze and just a bit of rain-smell in the wind. His jacket kept him rather warm, and he suddenly decided that now would be a good time to examine the rest of his clothing. He wore a ripped lavender shirt under the jacket, black jeans, and black combat boots with rainbow laces. He thought his outfit was nice, but he was worried. If he showed his preferences, someone could- what? What would someone do? He wasn't sure, but something told him it was bad. At the same time, he had no other clothes, and he did like the appearance of these.

He looked around at the forest once more. He wasn't sure which direction he had come from, but the pull seemed to be going to the left. He wasn't sure what would happen if he ignored the pull, but he was pretty sure he didn't want to find out. He stood up and brushed the dirt and leaves that had accumulated on him off. It was then that he noticed the design that was where the sticker had been when he formed.

It looked like it was almost embroidered, or stitched on. It was a simple design of a white full moon and three small bats flying in front of it. The outline looked vaguely sketchy and messy, with some lines slightly overlapping for a unique look. Underneath the moon, there appeared to be a kind of shadow, a part of a circle that extended past the main one and appeared to be done in light lavender plaid.

He liked it. It was kinda spooky, and overall tasteful.

He continued, getting ready to walk back to the place he formed. The pull was there, telling him to go to the left, so he headed out, ignoring the soreness in his legs from the run the day before. As he walked, he tried to make a plan. He had to go back to the place, so he couldn't hide forever. He'd have to talk to those people, and hopefully avoid that one with the glasses, the one that seemed too intelligent. Smart people were dangerous.

So... he'd have to go back, have to talk to them, and he had so many questions.

Mostly just: What was he doing here, what was happening, why he was here, and who everyone was, why did he have so much knowledge and no memories, you know, the things everyone has to ask complete strangers at some point in their lives.

He tried to scan his memories, tried to figure out who the other people were, and what they looked like, but his mind was a blur of panic and flight-or-fight reflexes.

So he just kept walking in the direction of the pull, pretty sure that he'd have to find out at least some of the answers to his questions when he got there. If they were planning on hurting him, he wouldn't be able to avoid the pull for long, so he supposed he might as well get it over with. He kept walking, still stuck on one of the most important questions.

What was a Virgil, and why had they called him that?

-skip in the space-time continuum, brought to you by Fiction!-

Roman sat there, almost buzzing with anticipation, and... anxiety. He missed Virgil, but Logan told everyone to wait here while he tried to talk to the new side.

He was concerned, and all he wanted to do was run up there and... find Virgil. He wanted Virgil back, but he wasn't entirely sure why. Yeah, they'd gotten a bit closer through some of the more recent videos, and yeah, they were almost friends, but he cared a disproportionate amount for someone that he almost always seemed to fight with. What was so great about Anxiety anyway? It really did keep Thomas from achieving his dreams, and it made social situations a lot more tortuous, and it kept Roman in check, kept him from doing anything crazy and killing
Thomas or going overboard or-

No! He could self-regulate! He wasn't that bad of an influence, and Thomas had to live once in a while! He couldn't always be controlled by irrational fears!

But Roman also had to think about when Virgil went away. How Thomas acted without him was... not ideal, to say the least, and Roman didn't want that to happen again.

That was why he cared so much. He didn't want Thomas to act like an idiot, and he didn't want

Thomas to be negatively impacted. That was it. He just cared about Thomas, not Virgil.

Yep. That was 100% it. That was why he felt so awful, and that's why he missed Virgil. For Thomas's sake.

He was a little lost in his thoughts until he heard a door burst open. He snapped to attention in time to see the new side hurtling down the stairs and out the door. He looked terrified, and one of the things Roman registered first was the fact that his jacket was gray and lavender, not black and purple. He was up and running after him before he had time to think, going as fast as he could, not really sure why.

Maybe it was the pure adrenaline that is brought on by terror, but the new side was going incredibly fast, faster than Roman could catch up to, especially with the head start.

He watched as his last connection to Virgil disappeared, and as his lungs burned as his legs began to give out, he wondered why he felt so despondent.

He headed back soon, knowing that there was no chance of catching up. He had a Side to confront.

"Why did you let him go?"

Logan met his eyes calmly, more composed than Roman.

"He has to choose to be here, Roman. I will not hold a Side against their will, and it would do no good."

"But that was our last connection to Virgil! How could you let him go? What did you even say to him to make him take off like that?!"

Logan swallowed, took a breath, and replied.

"He was not our only connection to Virgil, and I had no choice but to let him go. I did not say anything I believe would have caused him to disappear like that, and it gave me valuable insight into what I think his trait is. It's clear, and I was expecting it."

"How could you-"

Roman cut himself off. He knew he was acting unreasonably, but he felt really justified. Logan might have given up on finding Virgil by letting that new Side go, but Roman would not.

He cleared his throat and asked another question.

"What do you think his trait is?"

Logan pushed his glasses up his nose. "I merely have a few ideas, and no concrete proof yet. It would be unwise to share my insignificant evidence with you, as you would likely overreact."

Roman really didn't care, he needed to know as much as possible about this new Side so he could get Virgil back.

"What do you think he is?"

Logan met his eyes, and Roman tried to contain the signs of his emotions.

"I believe he may be some hybrid of Anxiety."

"Like what?!"

"Well, there are many possibilities that I cannot discount without solid proof, and-"

Roman cut him off, so done with Logan's ways of dodging.

"What do you think his trait is?"

Logan sighed. "I believe he could be one of three things, though there are many other possibilities. He could be Panic, he could be Phobia, or, and this one is more unlikely, judging by how severe his reaction was, he could be Fear."

Roman tried to wrap his head around this. There were- it was weird, having to think about other variations of Virgil.

He didn't know how he felt about it, but it was weirdly... off. It didn't seem right, not having Virgil around.

"What if- What if he never comes back?"

"He'll be back."

Roman didn't know how Logan could be certain about this, but there wasn't a hint of hesitation or doubt in his voice.

He turned off his brain for a second, leaving his mixed thoughts and feelings for later. He was pretty tired from the run, and it was nighttime anyway.

He went to bed, but ended up lying awake for hours, trapped in a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions and all of the small memories, wondering why he cared so much.

I'm going to make this a book so I don't put too much on here because it just got a lot longer in my head. If you like it, you might want to check out my new book! I'll probably title it Fear.