Morality Crowned
Summary: Everything has gone back to normal for Thomas and his sides.
They're writing videos together, they're arguing with each other, the dark sides went back into hiding, and oh yeah, and there's a new side that no one had ever met before that with a face completely different from all of theirs. Oh, and Thomas's house is haunted. Sequel to The Calm in the Storm. Sanders Sides fanfiction.
A/N
Okay guys, just to be clear almost none of the things in the last one have been resolved yet. I am very aware of how many questions I left unanswered, don't worry, they're coming back at some point, I won't forget about any of them. The mirrors are kind of important in this one… like super important,
Chapter One
Six Songs A-Sungin
October 26th, 2019,
It's been exactly three months since the fiasco with the dark sides that sent Thomas to the hospital. Ever since Lucius convinced us… or rather, some of us… that we don't have to worry too much about being something other than purposeful imaginary figments or whatever we'd be considered… well, it seems like everyone's forgotten about it, except that all the light sides have made it a habit to remain in the real world, and a few of them have even ventured outside Thomas's home, without him. Lucius has been quiet lately, and Caesar still hasn't been seen. After everything that happened… I haven't decided if that is a good or bad thing. Since it was revealed that we are our own people, I could not stop repeating the words Deceit told me in my head. "Someday you might be rid of us all". I can only assume he's said it multiple times to many people… but I can't forget it. What if-
He closed the journal, stowing it inside his desk drawer when he became aware of someone standing behind him.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
Virgil took a deep, long breath, and leaned forward over the table toward Roman.
"No." He said simply and quietly, but his tone held no room for argument. Roman missed this, of course, and pressed the subject.
"Come on, Virgil, it'll be fun… No one will know who you you are… they don't even have to see you." He said.
"I guess that's a good thing, I have one of the ugliest faces in existence." He mumbled.
"We all have pretty much the same face." Roman pointed out.
"I know what I said." Virgil replied bitterly.
"Ah!" Roman grabbed at his chest as though mortally wounded. Thomas wandered into the room, looking at them strangely.
"What are you trying to get him to do?" He asked.
"I want him to join my podcast." Roman replied. "I need someone to help tell a story about a cryptid attack, and Virgil was my best bet."
"Hold on, you didn't say anything about it being about cryptids." Virgil said, suddenly looking mildly interested. "Which one are we doing?"
"Any sort of shape shifter, it just has to fit for this chapter of my story." He replied. Thomas laughed slightly, shaking his head. He crossed to the counter and reached for the coffee pot, finding it empty. "You just missed Remy." Roman said in explanation. Thomas chuckled again, and started making more coffee.
"Hey, kiddos, does anyone know why there's a crayon drawing on the wall?" Patton poked his head into the kitchen, causing both Thomas and Virgil to look at Roman.
"What?" He asked, looking between them. "It wasn't me." He sounded highly affronted.
"Maybe it was Remy?" Virgil shrugged. "Seems like something he'd make Thomas do in his sleep."
"Yeah, maybe." Patton said, stepping fully into the doorway with a spray bottle and a now multicolored wash rag in hand. "I can't get it off though… maybe Logan knows how. Has anyone seen him today?" Virgil yawned and shrugged.
"Sorry Pat, just woke up." He said. Roman and Thomas shook their heads.
"Maybe I can help." Roman offered, standing up.
"Thanks Princey." Patton said brightly, and the two of them left the kitchen.
-Yeety, Yeety-
Patton and Roman stood by the wall that had been colored on, looking at it oddly.
"What do you mean, these weren't here before?" Roman asked confusedly.
"I mean there weren't as many drawings here when I left… it was only these two." Patton clarified.
"That's odd." Roman conceded.
"Everyone was in the kitchen though. Well, besides Logan, but he would never do this." Patton commented thoughtfully.
"Not to worry, your majesty, I'll get to the bottom of this!" Roman declared confidently. Patton giggled.
"Awe, thanks kiddo. You're so sweet."
"Don't even worry, about it… though we should probably try to get this crayon off first." Roman replied with a smile. He returned back to scrubbing at the wall, Patton following his lead.
"Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are."
"Isn't that a weird song to teach a little kid?" Roman mused aloud.
"What do you mean kiddo?" Patton asked.
"Just that it says it's a star in the song, and then asks what it is in the same sentence. It kind of seems like it's promoting stupidity to be honest." Roman shrugged, continuing to scrub at the crayon that refused to come off. Patton giggled again.
"You sound a bit like Logan." He said playfully. Roman made his signature affronted prince sound.
"Please don't ever say that again." He groaned, causing Patton to giggle once more. They returned back to scrubbing at the pictures. "It's weird, the crayon isn't even smudging." Roman grunted.
"Yeah, I know." Patton agreed.
"The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round, the wheels on the bus go round and round, all through the town."
"Hey Roman, how are you doing that?" Patton asked curiously.
"Doing what?" Roman asked.
"Making your voice sound like that." Patton replied.
"I don't understand." Roman admitted. "I'm not doing anything with my voice."
"But you sounded so much like a little kid when you were singing." Patton said.
"Pat… I wasn't singing… I thought that was you." Roman said slowly, turning to look at Patton. Patton looked up and down the hallway.
"B-but no one else is here." Patton said nervously.
"Maybe it was Virgil or Remy messing with us." Roman offered in a frail attempt to soothe his nerves, but it seemed to work as Patton relaxed a bit.
"Yeah, you're right, those two are silly like that sometimes." He smiled broadly. They both, however, jumped when they heard something large clatter to the floor, and a door slam. After sparing a small, worried glance in each other's direction, they set off toward the sound.
Thomas, now with a steaming mug of coffee, sat across from virgil at the table. They sat in companionable silence for a while, Thomas sipping his coffee, and Virgil occasionally taking gulps of Mt. Dew. Before either one of them had even thought to say something, they heard a small voice. They both looked over at each other as though to confirm the sound was real. It was quiet, distant, soft, and slow. The voice was singing;
"The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout. Down came the rain and washed the spider out."
"Okay! The house is haunted! Say goodbye to the house, Thomas. We're moving and never coming here again!"
"Woah, Virgil, settle down there buddy." Thomas said, putting a reassuring hand on Virgil's shoulder. "I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation." His voice, however, betrayed him; wavering ever so slightly. The child's voice returned.
"Out came the sun and dried up all the rain, and the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again." Virgil shot him a disbelieving, slightly frightened look.
"Uh, Logan! Come here for a minute please." Thomas called. Logan rose up from the tile of the kitchen, wearing his signature holier than thou expression.
"Yes Thomas?" He replied evenly.
"Shh, shh, shh." Thomas put a finger to his lips. "Listen for a second, kay?" Thomas replied. Everyone was perfectly still for a moment. That silent moment seemed to stretch over a few minutes, though it couldn't have been more than a second or two, or Logan would have lost his patience. The silence was broken by that same, small voice.
"Above black birds a wheeling, All of a sudden swooping, my little baby stealing, sleep little baby sleep. Above black birds a soaring, a crown of pearls left lying, your silly father's snoring, sleep little baby sleep." A chair next to Logan, slowly pulled itself away from the table, as though someone were about to sit in it. Virgil stood up so fast the chair he had just vacated clattered to the floor behind him. The small voice returned, sounding much closer, but still quiet and harmless. "Above black birds a flying, my little baby clutching, and all the world's a spying, sleep little baby sleep." Virgil's eyes darted to the door and back to the chair that he would have to inevitably pass in order to get to the exit. "Above black birds ascending," The voice had gotten louder. It was now clearly audible, down to fine details. The voice belonged to a small boy, probably about eight. "My baby's flesh a rending." His voice became echoey, emotionless, cold, and somehow, even more chilling than it had been. "And all the world attending." His voice only got louder. A mug on the table, that had previously been Thomas's coffee, lifted off the table and tipped as though a person had picked it up and took a sip. The voice dropped to a near whisper singing; "Sleep little baby sleep." In accordance with the final note of the ghost's song, the mug clattered to the ground, the chair fell over backwards, and the door to the kitchen swung open, then slammed shut. Taking that as his queue, Virgil began to sink out once more.
"We're moving out of here as soon as possible. We can bunk with Joan for a night or something. I'd rather stay the night at someone else's house. We could go anywhere, but we're not staying here." Thomas gulped nervously.
"So, Logan? What's the explanation?" For a few, long moments, no one moved. "Logan?" Thomas asked again. "Teach?" Roman and Patton burst through the door just in time to see Logan hit the floor in a dead faint.
"Logan!" Patton was by his side before Thomas had even registered what had happened.
"Thomas, what happened, where's Virgil." Roman demanded quickly, as Patton began trying to wake Logan.
"There was, there was some kind of ghost." Thomas said, fearfully.
"Ghost?" Roman repeated.
"Guys, he's coming to." Patton cried after a moment.
"What happened?" Logan groaned.
"You fainted after the whole singing thing." Thomas said, aiding Patton in helping Logan to his feet.
"Oh, right. I remember now." Logan mumbled, clearly embarrassed.
"Wait, you guys heard singing too?" Roman asked.
"Yeah." Virgil suddenly appeared once more, making everyone jump. "And cups were floating, a chair got thrown, and a door got slammed. Like I said, this place is haunted and we're leaving. Now!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Virgil. It's likely one of the dark sides, after all we can manipulate our surroundings, and change our appearance at will, so who's to say the dark sides wouldn't make themselves invisible and cause a stress and fear inducing situation in order to offset the balance in Thomas's mind once more. There's no cause for worry." Logan explained calmly.
"Oh yeah, then why'd you faint?" Virgil bit back, aggressively. Logan flushed, his face twisting into a scowl.
"I got caught up in the moment and fell prey to a human instinct called panic, I'm sure you're familiar with that particular weakness." He retorted.
"Oh, and what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Virgil growled back.
"Come on kiddos, please stop fighting." Patton asked softly. The tone of his voice snapped Logan and Virgil out of their rage immediately.
"Sorry Pat." Virgil mumbled, not quite meeting his eye. Logan said nothing, but looked as though he were about to.
"Logan's theory makes sense." Thomas said after a second.
"I wouldn't put it past my brother." Roman said, distaste clear in his every word.
"But he isn't a dark side anymore… he hasn't even been seen for the last couple months." Thomas said. Roman pursed his lips and looked away from the others.
"Caesar is the least of our worries." He said darkly, and he exited the room. Virgil and Thomas shot each other.
"Do you ever get the feeling that Roman's hiding something from us?" Patton asked. Shifting on his feet as though nervous.
"Yeah, but I think everyone's hiding things from me." Virgil replied.
"I can't see Roman being capable of hiding much from us." Logan said. "After all, he likes to run his mouth about everything.
"That's true, I suppose." Thomas said.
"He hid Caesar from us just fine." A strangely mask-like look came over his face.
"Virge, kiddo, we know you're upset about what happened with him. I am too, it's really frustrating for me that someone would do that to you, so I can't imagine how upset it would make you, but you have to know that Roman tried everything he could to stop it from happening." Patton said gently, sounding a little sad.
"You can't blame him for that." thomas agreed, just as gently as Patton.
"I know." Virgil sighed. "Roman did try… he almost went grey for me… it's just… difficult to trust him now." He subconsciously rubbed at the scars on his arms that stood only to remind him of how emotionally taxing that war was to him. Patton nodded understandingly.
"It may very well be a long while before you can fully trust him again." Logan nodded. The group fell silent for a moment, however it was more of a contemplating, distracted silence rather than an awkward one. The silence was disturbed by a loud, and somehow disturbing thump, coming from upstairs. They each looked to one another, standing tense and still. There was nothing for a moment… two moments… an eternity… and then there was a scream.