Trigger warnings: Being stuck in a toxic/abusive situation, blood, injury, and slight dissociation. I think that is it, please tell me if I'm wrong. Just to give a perspective on time frames this chapter takes place both before and after the previous chapter. Anyways, as always take care of yourselves and thank you for reading.

Virgil let out an exhausted groan as he blinked open his eyes to the dark room. It was really cold and the air around him almost seemed heavy, like it was trying to crush him. Even in his groggy state of mind he knew where he was, the dark side of the mindscape. He was also aware that he felt clean and there were loose shorts covering the lower half of his body.
"About time you woke up, I haven't been waiting for several hours," a voice hissed behind him.
Virgil stiffened and turned to look at the snake-like man who was resting by a partially open door, his silhouette outlined by the dull glow coming through the crack. Virgil's hand instinctively went to his chest to grab for his ring but found nothing there. His heart sank realizing the precious item was no longer there, and when his fingers trailed higher he found his collar in its place.
"Are you looking for that silly little collar your exs gave you?" Deceit asked with knowing hum. "I took the liberty of getting rid of it for you. Don't want any reminders of them, now do we, Virgil?"
Virgil visibly relaxed a little when addressed by name, realizing Deceit wasn't actually angry right now. It still didn't outway the hurt that came with the fact Virgil's precious ring was gone, just like his life with the lights. He could feel the pain tearing through his chest as he held back the tears that threatened to well up in his eyes.
"Come now Virgil, don't look like that. You're back where you belong. You know how important you are to me and to my plan to protect Thomas. Isn't that what you want? To protect Thomas?" Deceit hummed, his fingers loosely grabbing Virgil's chin.
Virgil had heard those words thousands of times and honestly, he couldn't tell if Deceit was lying anymore or if Deceit honestly believed his own words. After all, after lying about the same facts for so long, it can start to become one's didn't know everything about Deceit's plan, but much to Deceit's despair he knew more than any of the other dark sides. He was the only one who put the facts together and realized the truth behind what a "dark side" really was. Deceit only had himself to blame for that, for pushing Virgil so hard to become what he wanted him to be.
Deceit had been the fourth side Thomas manifested into an individual identity, Logan, Patton, and the elusive side Sleep, otherwise known as Remy, coming before him. Back then however, he was self-preservation. The three controlling decision making got along well until one of his lies got Thomas into trouble. After that Logan and Patton came to the conclusion that telling the truth was better than the outcome of getting caught lying. Deceit felt betrayed after that and tried to fight back and make Thomas lie more. That was the break in trust between the two factions. Deceit tried to ask for Remy's help in convincing the other two but he didn't want to get involved in anything since he was rarely around anyways, choosing instead to live in the abstract depths of Thomas's mind where dreams are created. Deceit left the front, moving deep into the subconscious and began stealing sides before Logan and Patton knew they existed. While they were young and impressionable, still not quite understanding themselves, Deceit would mold them into something similar to their intended purpose but would be more beneficial for "protecting Thomas" from the world and corrupt society. The only one Deceit missed was Creativity, King Romulus. However, even that righted itself when Thomas himself separated the twins and was able to take advantage of the moral and logical side's discomfort around Remus to take him off their hands. Remus was the only one he had never had to do any work on, he just encouraged his behavior and let him be himself. Virgil was the last and Deceit saw him as the key to finally being able to influence Thomas. All Deceit had to do was turn the timid side into "Paranoia". To do that he made his life a living hell, never knowing when something painful or frightening would happen, always keeping him guessing and on his toes. He only halfway succeeded, ending up with "Anxiety" instead. He hasn't stopped trying to make Virgil something more. Virgil didn't know for sure what he was supposed to be but he had always speculated about what he, Rage, Greed, and Vanity used to be before Deceit got into their head. His theory was that he was probably "Causion" or, the one he liked better, "Vigilance".
"You did very well taking your punishment for running away earlier. I even decided to lessen your punishment for hurting me and passing out because you were so good, isn't that kind of me? I even decided to give the punishment instead of letting Rage do it," Deceit said, pulling himself and Virgil up to their feet inside of the small room.
"Thank you Master, I am very grateful for your kindness," Virgil replied in a soft, broken voice as Deceit pressed his front up against the wall furthest from the door.
"This will all be over in a few minutes, then you and I can both go to sleep, okay?" Deceit hummed and Virgil felt something sharp pressed at the skin between his shoulder blades. "I just want to leave a reminder of what you are."
Virgil pressed his forehead against the cold damp wall to keep himself from moving and further injuring himself or upsetting Deceit as pain was slowly etched into his back. He could feel himself retreating away from his body, blocking out most of the pain. It was a little sickening how easily he could revert back into his old coping habits, it was like absolutely nothing had changed. Well something had changed however. He used to be so afraid whenever things like this would happen. He'd worry about what would happen next, what if he managed to make his abuser more upset, what if the injuries got infected, anything that could possibly happen or hurt him would come to his head. But this time, his mind was silent, accepting. There really wasn't anything to be afraid of. He didn't want to be hurt but it wasn't like he wouldn't survive. He wanted to avoid more pain but if it was going to happen it was inevitable, this whole situation was proof enough for that. He couldn't force himself to be afraid of Deceit's punishments anymore. He felt pain, physically and mentally after everything that had happened, but he wasn't afraid.
It sparked in his mind at that moment. Deceit only needed him because he was afraid, because he could make Thomas afraid. The only way Deceit could hurt Thomas was if Virgil was afraid. If he didn't feel fear anymore then he could help the light sides protect Thomas even when he wasn't with them. He had no idea what cutting off the main part of himself would do to Thomas, it obviously wouldn't be exactly like when Virgil ducked out because he'd still be a present, just something that Thomas couldn't fully tap into. That's what he'd do. He'd protect the light sides by staying here and protect Thomas by refusing to be afraid of this place. That was his best course of action, never again letting himself fall victim to Deceit's plan. Deceit only had himself to blame for that.
Virgil's thoughts were pulled back into his body when he was pulled away from the wall and pushed down into a seated position. He could feel the cooling blood dripping down his back from stinging injuries going down his spine.
"Good boy, that wasn't so bad was it? Now you can get some more rest before I come and let you out again. You remember all of your chores, correct?" Deceit said, taking on his usual authoritative tone.
"Yes, Master," Virgil replied, dipping his head.
"I will see you in a few hours, Virgil," Deceit said, attaching his collar to a short leash on the wall.
Deceit tossed a dark gray hoodie at him and then left, closing the door behind him. The door sealed off the little light Virgil had once had, plunging him into complete darkness inside of the tiny, cold, empty room Virgil was being kept in. Virgil shivered slightly and fumbled to get the hoodie onto his body. He was grateful he had managed to get it on right-side out, so he could zip it up and try to chase away the chill. Next he felt the length of his leash and found it too short to lie down. He sighed and moved so he was more comfortably leaning against the wall to nap. He tail tangled around his cold, mostly bare legs, trying to warm them up. As he closed his eyes to try to rest, Virgil kept repeating his promise in his head like an oath. He'd live here for the safety of the lights, he'd seal away his fear for Thomas's safety. He'd protect everyone and hope it makes up for all of the trouble he caused.
He wandered in and out of sleep for an unknown period of time, his neck and shoulders were growing stiff from his position adding to the pain from his back injuries and sore rear end. Eventually the door creaked open and Virgil let out a hiss as light hit his eyes again. He blinked to clear his eyes, squinting at Deceit's silhouette frame. Deceit walked in and removed the leash from Virgil's collar before walking back out, signaling Virgil to follow. Virgil got up, his joints creaking and popping loudly as he did. He winced painfully but left the small room anyways. He found himself in the living room and realized he had spent the night in the small broom closet under the stairs, the same one that in the other side of the mindscape held Roman's portal to the imagination.
"I expect you to perform your usual morning chores and once you are finished, if you have not received a different order, return to me so I can place you back in your new room. Understood?" Deceit asked, eyeing Virgil for any signs of disobedience.
"Understood," Virgil replied with a nod.
Deceit walked away leaving Virgil to do the housework. Virgil let out a breath and went to the kitchen. He wasn't feeling great so he didn't want to make anything too complicated, he settled for making scrambled eggs and sausage patties. It was easy enough and since no one had to fend for themselves they were usually fine with anything they didn't specifically hate.
"Been a while since I've seen this sight," a voice cooed when he was starting to plate the food.
A body pressed up behind him, resting his hands on Virgil's shoulders. It was Greed. He wasn't particularly dangerous as long as you stroked his ego a bit and made him feel important. That typically meant setting his own pride on fire and running it over with a semi truck, but hey, at least it was better than getting people mad.
"Good morning Sir, I hope you enjoy your meal, I made it while thinking about you. I even put some cheddar cheese on yours, just to give you a little something extra special," Virgil said, forcing his best smile as he looked at Greed.
Greed let out a pleased hum and took his plate over to the table to eat. Virgil rolled his eyes now that Greed couldn't see his face. It was almost sickening how easily he could fall back into the pattern of his old life, pleasing the dark sides to avoid as many negative encounters as possible. However he had made up his mind to not be afraid of anything anymore and that meant being compliant and doing everything he could to just survive until he had a better plan.
He plated the last of the food onto the four other plates and set them down on the table. His stomach growled a little at the sight of the food. He pushed it down and walked away, heading up the stairs. Next step was giving everyone a wake up call to go downstairs if they weren't already up. Note on surviving, keep a pleasant tone and never stay at someone's door too long, just in case. After that he just had to tidy up everyone's rooms and then he could go back to his closet.
Virgil was about to knock on the first door when something else caught his eye. It was the door to his "bedroom", it had been completely bordered up. Virgil's brow furrowed in confusion. He wasn't going to complain about the fact his room was no longer in use but it still confused him. Perhaps one of them had gotten angry about his absence and done something to the room. If that was the case it would give him even more of a reason to avoid it.
Virgil physically shook his head and went to continue on with his task. The faster he got everything done, the less he'd have to deal with people. Virgil raised his hand to knock on the first door, Remus's room. Before he could do anything however he found his legs being pulled out from underneath him and something around his ankles yanking him up into the air before he could hit the ground. Virgil struggled to look at his feet and saw green tentacles wrapped around them. He then twisted as best as he could to look at who they belonged to.
"Is there a reason I'm suspended in the air, Sir?" Virgil asked, trying to make his voice sound as normal as he could while dangling upside down.
"That's not a very fun reaction, Virgy," Remus complained holding Virgil up a little higher.
"It's time for breakfast, Sir. I need to wake everyone up," Virgil replied, keeping his face neutral despite how annoying he found this situation.
"Your reaction was more fun when I got to mess with your dreams," Remus dropped Virgil without a second care as he began to ponder to himself. "Maybe I should do it again. I do have more ideas."
Virgil hissed softly as he sat up off the floor. He had managed to twist his body while coming down so he took the impact on his upper back instead of with his head but it was still rather painful. Too focused on his injuries it took him a moment to actually register what Remus had said.
"Wait, you messed with my dreams?" Virgil asked, raising a brow.
"When you spent the night in your room. That lovely dream about all of us throwing one big sticky party," Remus laughed. "Might I say Emo, bravo, I only planted the seed of the nightmare but watching those fears unfold sure was a treat. Couldn't have done better than that myself! Well, I mean, I definitely could have but it's still impressive."
"You were there before last night?" Virgil breathed, not really particularly addressing Remus.
"Of course we were. It's not like we couldn't get to you any time we wanted. Deceit let me play games through, he wanted to see how far he over the edge he could drive you from a distance. It was fun wasn't it. Playing pranks and messing with your head. Dee wanted to wait for the perfect opportunity to strike and when he called for us last night, dang was that fun," Remus grinned, kneeling down to be level with Virgil. "Does that scare you? Make you uncomfortable?"
"Not particularly Sir. Things just make a lot more sense now," Virgil said with a shrug as he stood up. "Now if you do not mind Sir, I have chores I need to do for Master. If you have something of importance I need to do for you, you'll know where to find me. Good day."
Remus was left blinking in surprise at Virgil's lack of a negative response. He watched Virgil walk away with a neutral face that could rival Logan's as he knocked on all of the doors, inviting everyone out to breakfast. He then ducked into Greed's room, likely to start cleaning. Remus sank out of the hallway and reappeared, sitting on Deceit's desk.
"What do you want, Remus," Deceit sighed, not even looking up from whatever he was writing on his computer.
"I think we broke Virgil."
Deceit took several long blinks before turning to give Remus a look that said he was being more insane than normal.
"What in the world is that supposed to mean?"
Remus held up his hands and gave a shrug in response.