Trigger warnings for this chapter include discussions of the rape/non-con from last chapter, non-descriptive flashbacks, a lot of guilt. I think that is it, please tell me if I'm wrong. As always take care of yourselves, thank you for reading, and have a wonderful day.

Logan sighed as he walked downstairs, adjusting the tie around his neck. He honestly hated mornings. He couldn't think properly without getting a cup of coffee first. He turned off of the stairs and headed back towards the kitchen and paused a moment when he saw Roman alone, eating some pop-tarts.
"Morning, my beloved Nerd," Roman said.
Logan huffed what he thought was a greeting and grabbed for the coffee pot that Roman had, luckily, already made for him and Virgil.
Logan poured some into his favorite mug, grabbed a bagel and some Crofters jam, then plopped down at the table in his usual seat.
"Where is Patton and Virgil?" Logan asked after a moment, having at least a few sips of caffeine in his system.
"Don't know. Sleeping I guess. Little weird for Padre to sleep in, but he deserves it after all the work he does for us," Roman replied.
Logan hummed thoughtfully as he spread his jelly on the bagel.
"Well they were up quite late last night," Logan replied. "Even I had already been nearly asleep when I heard, I think it was Virgil, scream."
"Oh? What was that about?" Roman asked, raising a brow as he took another bite of his poptart.
Logan gave a shrug.
"I don't know for sure. When I knocked on the door Patton said that they were quote on quote 'messing around'. I'm assuming they either went to bed after that or at least they sound proofed the room because I didn't even hear any more of the usual laughing or movies after that," Logan replied matter of factly.
"Hm, you don't think they… you know, did it? Not that there is a problem with that, I'd be thrilled for Virgil if he felt comfortable enough to do that. It's just Virgil didn't exactly seem ready for something like that," Roman said, his brow pinching together with thought.
"No, I don't believe that was the right type of scream. If I had to guess from the brief second I heard it, I'd say it was pain or surprise. By how calmly Patton spoke I'd venture to guess that Patton accidentally scared or startled Virgil somehow and by the time I got to the door he was already handling it," Logan replied.
"What did our Dark and Stormy Knight have to say about that?" Roman asked.
"I don't believe I spoke to him," Logan said, his voice distant and thoughtful.
Roman took a few absent nibbles at his poptart as he glanced up out the entrance of the kitchen, his normally tanned skin looked a little pale and sickly. After a few seconds he all but threw down his poptart and got up.
"Is something wrong, Roman?" Logan asked.
"I'm going to go check on them," Roman replied walking away.
"What, why?" Logan asked, jumping up to follow him.
"I'm worried, what if Virgil had a break down again? He's been having a lot of intense ones recently," Roman reasoned.
"Patton is with him. They would have summoned us if Virgil wanted someone else there," Logan pointed out. "If he did have a flashback or nightmare he very well could be avoiding being crowded by all of us."
"I'll just glance in, if they are sleeping or it looks like Patton has everything under control we'll leave. I just feel like I need to check on them," Roman said worriedly.
Logan sighed, knowing he'd likely not be able to convince Roman against his decision and, as much as he was trying to avoid thinking about it, he felt similarly to Roman. Last time Virgil had been late to breakfast was when Logan had found him in the shower after he had experienced a very troubling flashback.
They went to Patton's door and paused outside of it. Roman reached for the handle and quietly opened the door a crack to peek in at the bed. Roman and Logan both took in the limited area the door had revealed, horror rapidly building upon itself as they took in each new detail. First they noticed the messy but empty bed where they had hoped to find the two missing sides. Then they noticed the purple and black pajamas that had been carelessly discarded on the floor. Finally they noticed the stains that stood out against the light gray sheets.
Roman let out a series of breathy curses as he threw the door open the rest of the way, entering the room swiftly, Logan right on his heels in search of answers as to what had happened. What they found off to their side made their entire realities shatter. Patton was tied down to a chair, letting out fretful whimpers around the gag in his mouth as he slept, dried blood and tears clinging to his face.
"Patton!" Roman cried out, shaking him awake while Logan moved behind him to undo the make-shift gag.
Patton woke up easily, flinching away and letting out muffled whimpers of fear. Roman immediately backed up and knelt down to be smaller than Patton while Logan continued to undo the rope holding the gag in before backing away from Patton as well.
"Shh, Angel, Love, it's just us. Logan and I are here to help, please don't be afraid. We aren't going to hurt you," Roman said comfortingly.
Patton's eyes focused and he spit the cloth gag out of his now dry and fuzzy mouth. Fresh tears began to spill from his eyes again as he looked down, unable to meet Roman's gaze.
"'M sorry… so, so sorry," Patton whispered brokenly, his shoulders shaking as best as they could while bound tightly by the ropes.
The sound of quiet sobs began to fill the room and Roman reached up to hug the emotional side while Logan undid the rest of the knots. Patton eventually came free and Roman pulled him onto his lap, running a soothing hand through his hair. Logan then summoned a glass of water and wrapped Patton's hand around the glass.
"You need to drink something Patton. How long have you been tied up here?" Logan asked.
Patton took a gulp of the liquid trying to wash away the foul taste in his mouth. He shook his head in response to Logan's question, he hadn't had the luxury of being able to turn to look at the clock. His head had been trapped so he was looking directly at the bed. The bed, now covered in those awful stains. The bed where he had been forced to watch Virgil suffer at his expense. His thoughts began to wander off to Virgil, his gut twisting with oncoming nausea. There was no way of knowing for sure what was happening to him, if he was okay. Sides physically can't die, they can come close and have to regenerate for a few days, but last night Virgil had looked like he was in so much pain that Patton was afraid he would genuinely die. He never wanted to see that image again but not knowing what was happening to him while with people capable of doing that was driving him insane. He had hardly gotten any sleep because of all of the awful scenarios rushing through his head.
Logan noticed the glazed look in Patton's eyes as he fixated on the bed. Logan's eyes followed his gaze and found himself faced with the mess that surely was the result of a horrific scene. Logan adjusted his glasses as he turned to look back at Roman.
"Roman if you wouldn't mind, I believe the best course of action at this moment is taking a change of scenery. Would you mind taking Patton down to the living room?" Logan requested.
Roman blinked himself out of his own daze and picked Patton up. The moral side immediately curled into his arms, burying his head into Roman's shoulder. Roman was about to leave the room when he realized Logan wasn't following.
"Aren't you coming as well?" Roman asked.
"There are a few matters I would like to take care of first," Logan replied, nodding over to the bed.
"Don't go, please don't go," Patton frantically whimpered in Roman's arms, looking over at Logan with pleading eyes.
"Logan isn't going anywhere, Angel. He's just going to fix some things up and meet us downstairs. It'll only take a second," Roman soothed.
Patton was still tense and on the brink of tears but he didn't give any further arguments against Roman or Logan. Roman began to head out the door before stopping and looking back once more.
"Try to meet us downstairs quickly, okay?" Roman requested.
"I'll do it as quickly as I'm able," Logan replied with a nod.
Logan watched the other two vanish out of the door frame before he turned back to the bed. He tore the sheets off immediately and snapped them out of existence, if he hadn't been the logical said and had been given more time, he likely would have followed the small voice in his head that wanted to watch them burn. Logan snapped the mattress clean as well but then proceeded to rub in peroxide anyways to get rid of any residue that had been left behind. He remade Patton's bed with care for the details that used to be in place. The sheets were now baby blue and made of soft fleece. The pillows and stuffed animals were stacked neatly at the head of the bed with the colorful blankets folded at the foot. Logan turned to sink out of the room but paused when he noticed something on the ground beside the chair Patton had been sitting on. His heart dropped when he realized what it was. It was the familiar black banded ring with purple gems on a thin, frayed, black string. Logan leaned down and scooped up Virgil's ring and clutched it in his hand as he sank out into the living room.
Inside the living room Roman was on the couch holding Patton. He had summoned a blanket to cover both of them while they cuddled. Logan sat down beside them and rubbed his hand up and down Patton's back.
"Is there anything you'd like me to get for you, Patton?" Logan asked.
"I want Virgil," Patton whined, his voice quiet and broken.
Patton hid his face deeper into Roman's shoulder, his tears seeping through the fabric of Roman's shirt. Roman looked up at Logan, a sad curiosity lingering in his gaze. Logan wordlessly placed Virgil's ring into Roman's hand. Tears quietly rolled down Roman's face as his head leaned back over the top of the couch, his hand clenching loosely around the object. Both Logan and Roman knew to an extent what had happened but it was too painful, too unbelievable, to truly accept. They had thought he was safe, they couldn't understand how that had gone so horribly wrong.
"Patton, let's treat that cut of yours and get you cleaned up," Logan suggested holding out his hand to Patton.
His hand slid limply into Logan's, but Logan could see the way he wasn't really there. His expression was vacant and glossy. Logan felt a pang go through his chest; Patton reminded him so much of when Virgil had experienced flashbacks. He was aware that Patton could still currently hear him, but he wasn't totally present.
"Before we go can you run through a grounding exercise with me, Darling?" Logan requested. "I'm going to give your hand a squeeze, when my hand relaxes I want you to squeeze my hand and try to match the force I exerted, okay? I also want you to really focus on the feeling of my hand in yours."
Logan watched Patton carefully as he gave a gentle squeeze. He only had to wait a few seconds after he relaxed his grip for Patton to return the squeeze. Logan let out a soft breath, relieved Patton was following along. He tightened his hand, applying more pressure than the first time, Patton followed suit.
"You're doing great, just a few more times," Logan praised.
Logan alternated between gentle and firm squeezes, throwing off the pattern randomly to keep Patton on his toes. Each time Patton was forced to stop and think Logan could see him becoming visibly more present. After several rounds of the exercise Logan kissed the back of Patton's hand.
"You did perfectly, Love. Are you feeling more grounded?" Logan asked.
Patton nodded reaching up with his free hand to wipe away a few stray tears.
"Alright, then let's get to the kitchen and get that blood off your face. Do you feel up to talking about what happened while we are there?" Logan asked.
Roman shot him a worried look as if asking if he was really sure this was something they wanted to hear. Patton swallowed hard and shuttered.
"Y-yeah, I think I can manage that," he said, not sounding entirely convinced he could.
"That's very brave of you, my heart. If you decide you don't want to or can't please don't feel any pressure to force yourself," Roman said, running a hand over Patton's back again.
Patton cast a weak, forced smile at Roman before he allowed Logan to lead him out into the kitchen. Logan made quick work of cleaning up the blood and was relieved to only find a very small scabbed over injury that showed slight bruising.
"How did you get this injury, Patton?" Logan asked.
"Deceit threw Virgil's ring at me," Patton mumbled, his fingers ghosting over the scab.
Roman bit back a growl and Logan visibly stiffened at their confirmed suspicions.
"Deceit was present in your room last night?" Logan inquired.
Patton nodded, a sulk growing on his face again.
"He's the one you were talking to after Virgil started screaming," Patton sighed sadly.
"I apologize. If I had known, I could have done something. Instead I walked away. I'm sorry," Logan apologized, his brow creasing.
If he had paid more heed to his own doubts last night, if he had ignored their privacy for the sake of their safety and just sank in instead of knocking, he could have helped Patton and Virgil get out.
"Don't be sorry. Up until then he even had Virgil fooled," Patton replied, a dark shadow crossing his expression.
"He took your form?" Roman said, his voice struggling to remain even somewhat calm.
Patton gave a nod and sank deeper into his chair, flicking up the hood of his cat onesie.
"Virgil and I stayed up to watch a show and we were having a good time. Heh. Virgil even was comfortable to initiate a fairly intimate moment until the TV scared him with a loud noise. I sent him away to go get changed in the bathroom while I got changed in the bedroom, just like we usually do. I didn't think anything when I heard a door, I just assumed it was the bathroom," Patton paused, flinching at the memory. "It happened so quickly, there were so many of them. Before I really knew it I was tied to that chair and Remus put up some sort of invisible, sound proof barrier. By the time Virgil came out Deceit was waiting for him, posing as me. He convinced Virgil to do things because it was what 'we' wanted. He hurt Virgil. That's when you heard the scream. He was begging him, begging me, to stop, but Deceit didn't listen. Then you showed up and I guess it clicked for Virgil that things weren't right and he started to try to fight back."
Patton hugged his arms, tears falling more quickly down his cheeks. Roman leaned down over his chair and hugged Patton, rubbing his upper arm soothingly.
"I take it Deceit didn't respond too kindly to that?" Logan assumed.
Patton bit his lower lip, looking down to avoid their eyes.
"Lets just say Roman hasn't been training Virgil in vain. He… He got away," Patton said slowly.
"He got away? Then where is he?" Roman asked, a spark of hope flashing in his eyes.
"I'm so sorry. It's my fault, he would be safe right now if it wasn't for me," Patton whimpered, shaking his head violently.
"I sincerely doubt that any of this could be your fault. No matter what happened I can assure you that you are a victim of this encounter, just as much as Virgil," Logan argued, resting his hand comfortingly on Virgil's thigh.
"You don't have to keep telling this story if it is too hard, Patton," Roman added.
"Virgil didn't get away because Deceit used me as leverage. Virgil didn't know where I was or what was happening to me. So he followed Deceit's commands to protect me. He should have just protected himself, he could have been fine instead of having to go through what he did, while I was forced to watch. He made Virgil say awful, degrading things before showing him I was in the room. Th-then they all… At the same time… He was in so much pain and I couldn't do anything. Virgil was so strong and so brave and I… I failed him. It's all my fault," Patton broke down in loud sobs when he finished his story.
"This was no more your fault than it is mine or Roman's for not noticing something off last night, specifically mine since I was the one who heard the scream. Please stop blaming yourself Patton, you went through a lot last night," Logan said reassuringly.
"We'll get him back before those dark sides can do any other unspeakable evils to him," Roman promised.
There was a long silence before a new, panicked voice cut in.
"Where's Virgil?"
The sides looked up to find their host who was sickly pale as his gaze shifted between all of them, searching for an answer. The three of them looked at eachother, concerned that their host already knew something was wrong beyond his normal mood swings recently.
"Thomas, please calm down and tell us why you are here," Logan said, approaching him tentatively.
"I can't feel Virgil anymore, when I try to feel him in my head there's some sort of block. It's like he's purposely locking away his influence somewhere I can't reach anymore," Thomas replied worriedly.
"Locked away like how Deceit and Remus are until you accidentally summon them, or...?" Roman said, pressing Thomas for answers.
"No, I can still feel them even when they aren't around, they just feel a little distant and weaker. This is like a physical block preventing me from getting anxious. It's making me feel empty and I want to know why," Thomas replied, gripping at the shirt over his chest.
The other three remained silent. If he wasn't referring to the fact Virgil was likely in the dark mindscape then it had to be something Virgil was actively doing, but what Virgil was doing was just as much of a mystery to them as it was to Thomas.