Well Remus is in this chapter so as expected there are trigger warnings for things like minor references to past abuse/rape, mentions of current sexual relationships, and just his normal weirdness. I believe that should be it for trigger warnings, please tell me if I'm wrong. As always take care of yourself, thank you for reading and have a wonderful day.

"Deceit's back?" Virgil breathed, slipping off the counter to take a few steps closer to Thomas.

Thomas gave a nod, his brow furrowing with concern.

"As far as I can gather. Are you going to be okay Virgil?" He asked worriedly, knowing fully well that Virgil was the reason Deceit was gone in the first place.

Virgil stiffened a bit, his face still sickly green from shock. His hand moved up to grab onto his ring to keep himself grounded. He still didn't have a full grasp on his emotions.

"I-"

"Virgil, you stay here, we'll go deal with Remus," Roman said, cutting him off, resting a hand on his shoulder.

Virgil looked down at the ring in his hand for a moment. He didn't want to see Remus or even potentially Deceit if he were to show up. It sounded terrifying, anything could happen. He knew Remy had been able to repress Greed, Vanity, and Rage to the point they wouldn't be able to come out at all but that still left two threats. Still, he wanted to know what happened to Deceit, know for sure what he did to him. He couldn't let the two of them continue to scare him and rule his life.

"I wanna come," Virgil finally said, his hands clenched into trembling fists by his sides.

"Virgil, I don't think that is wise. It wasn't even that long ago that you were subjected to their abuse. Seeing them again could trigger unwanted memories or emotions," Logan reason's walking over to him, Patton close behind him.

"I know, I figured as much. I think this is something I need to do. Please, I don't want them to rule my life. I'll leave if it gets to be too much. I just need to know. Please," Virgil insisted, his serious gaze fixed on Logan.

"Are you sure Virgy?" Patton asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I am. Will you be okay to come or do you want to sit this one out?" Virgil asked, realizing Patton might be just as uncomfortable.

"If you can do it then so can I," Patton replied, putting on his bravest smile.

"I just want the record to say I was against both of you coming if either of you end up regretting this," Logan sighed, giving up on the others listening to him.

Roman summoned his katana onto his belt, just in case he would need it. He looked at Virgil worriedly.

"I know you probably don't want them but, do you want to carry your swords for protection?" Roman asked.

Virgil visibly winced and he rapidly shook his head. He'd already destroyed Deceit's physical form once, he would like to avoid doing it again.

They quickly cleaned themselves up, removing the last traces of sticky frosting and putting the remaining frosting in the fridge.

"Alright Thomas, let's do this," Roman said once they were all done.

They sunk out into Thomas's living room, staying in one big group for protection purposes, pardon Thomas who woke up where he had been meditating on the couch.

"Ooh you brought the four horsemen. Is this the apocalypse?"

Virgil jumped at the sound of a voice directly behind him and hands resting on his shoulders. He could smell the familiar stench of old blood and mold that was always in Remus's clothing. He let out a sound, too high pitched to be very audible, as he pulled away and turned to face the dark side.

"Hands off, Remus," Roman growled, pulling Virgil protectively against his side.

Remus simply shrugged and pranced away, giving a little hop so he could perch himself on the TV stand.

"Didn't expect to see you Virgy. Thought the others would keep you locked up safe in their home," he hummed, cocking his head unnaturally far to the side.

"It's my home too and I chose to be here. I'm not going to keep hiding," Virgil replied, doing his best to keep his voice from trembling.

Remus let out almost inhuman groaning noise as his head bowed forward. His weight continued to shift forward until he fell face first onto the ground. He remained there, his arms stretched out between his spread legs that rested on their knees, his chest and head pressed against the ground. His face was turned to the side so he could look up at the others.

"Who's on drugs? Me or everyone else? Neither one seems very fun right now," Remus pouted.

Virgil and the others looked down at the slumped figure on the ground before shooting Thomas a confused look. Thomas threw his hands up with the biggest shrug he could give, mouthing something along the lines of "I don't know". They grimaced as they looked back at the downcast side who was muttering slurred profanities into the carpet miserably.

"That cannot be comfortable," Logan muttered.

Roman glanced between them and his brother before finally letting out a sigh. He stepped forward towards the figure on the ground and looked down at him. He prodded his shoulder with his foot, a little more roughly than he had to.

"Come on, up. Stop moping and start explaining," Roman said, crossing his arms.

Remus twisted his body and licked Roman's boot. Roman let out a high pitched squeal of disgust as he jerked his foot back and jumped away.

"Remus, that is disgusting!" Roman exclaimed.

Remus curled is head in and rolled forward, allowing himself to spring back up onto his feet. He folded his own arms and stuck out his tongue as a pout.

"I find it fun but if you don't like it then consider it a punishment," Remus huffed.

Virgil let out a rather long and annoyed breath through his nose but chose not to verbalize his discomfort with Remus's word choice knowing it'd only serve to encourage him. Virgil felt uncomfortable enough being in the same room as Remus, adding in innuendos to his past would not help him any.

"You have yet to discuss what you are doing here and why you are acting more unusual than the last time we saw you. Shouldn't you be in a good mood? Thomas has informed us that you said your leader Deceit had returned," Logan pointed out.

"I would be happy if a certain emo didn't ruin him," Remus grumbled, jabbing a finger into Virgil's shoulder as he spoke.

Roman pulled Virgil even further behind him, passing him off to Patton.

"What do you mean by ruining him?" Thomas asked curiously.

"Virgy made my boyfriend forget all about me," Remus sighed, draping himself backwards over the TV dramatically before lifting a finger up in realization. "Oh, and everyone else."

"Wait you and Dee are dating? I thought you were just friends with benefits or something like that," Virgil said, brow raised in confusion.

"That's what you pick to dwell on?" Logan asked.

Virgil gave a sheepish shrug.

"I didn't honestly think Deceit was capable of loving anyone," Virgil replied honestly.

"Mmm, he can, he just doesn't like to admit it. Not that he can remember that anyways. It's how I made him my boyfriend. He was super confused and disoriented like someone had put him on a motorized spinning board for several hours and he couldn't remember anything but his general emotions towards people. He got confused when describing how he felt about me so I told him our relationship without like, putting a name on it. So then he asked if we were boyfriends so I told him 'now we are'. So yeah, now we are dating. One good thing about his amnesia," Remus shrugged.

"So he lost all of his memories?" Patton asked.

"Yeppers. Plus he's acting funny. Like he's not as concerned with keeping up lies and his attitude towards his job has changed too. He's only really concerned about Thomas's mental health and making sure he knows he'll be okay and all of that stupid jizz," Remus replied waving his hand dismissively. "Plus he even referred to himself by his real name. Like seriously? He's been trying to make me forget it since the day I got him to slip up."

"Pft, I've got to see that," Roman scoffed disbelievingly.

"Should I summon him?" Thomas asked.

Virgil instinctively let out a quiet hiss of protest only Patton managed to hear. Patton wrapped his arms further around Virgil as he leaned down to nuzzle his neck, tring to comfort him while Logan, Roman, and Thomas discussed whether or not to summon Deceit.

"You okay? Do you need to leave?" Patton asked worriedly.

Virgil shook his head and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself.

"S-still good I think. Just more than a little hesitant to see him again," he replied, rubbing his arm.

"That's perfectly understandable, Kitten. Just make sure to take care of yourself. There is absolutely no need to push yourself too far. I'm here for you no matter what you choose or what you need," Patton whispered.

"I know Patt, I'll be okay," Virgil promised, moving his hands up to give Patton's arms a comforting squeeze. "Remember that yourself. If you feel too uncomfortable you don't need to worry about me, just take care of yourself if you need to."

"Virgil? Patton? Can you both join us for a few minutes?" Logan called over.

Patton let go of Virgil and opted to hold his hand instead as they made their way over to the group discussion.

"We decided it might be best to summon Deceit to evaluate if what Remus says holds any truth. We will not have him summoned if you don't want us to or if you'd like us to speak with him but you would not like to be present then perhaps you should step out for a bit," Logan suggested, sparing a glance back at Remus who had gone back to pouting on the floor, at least sitting properly this time.

"I want to stay. D-Deceit makes me uncomfortable but I still want to stay and figure this out. I'll be fine," Virgil replied, giving Patton's hand a gentle squeeze.

"I will personally kill him again if this is a trick," Roman sighed shaking his head. "Thomas, will you do the honors?"

Thomas raised up his hand and a figure rose up onto the couch nearby, jumping in surprise as he took in his new surroundings.

"So this is the 'being summoned' thing they spoke about… I do so love it, not like I was in the middle of a conversation," Deceit sighed, standing up to face Thomas. "Thomas, what do you need from me?"

"Dee!" Remus squealed happily.

The dark creativity had completely lost his forlorn attitude in exchange for a bubbling excitement as he launched himself onto Deceit's shoulders. The snake-like side stumbled a few steps while Remus situated himself so he was clinging around Deceit like a koala bear, screeching loudly in delight to see him. Deceit's expression was apathetic, like it would take too much energy to react to Remus's antics.

"Damn your loud," Virgil complained, rubbing his ear with his free hand, he was glad he didn't have his more sensitive cat ears out.

"I haven't been able to see him in nearly a month until today. I bet you'd act the same way if I took away one of them. Wanna test that theory?" Remus questioned menacingly.

Virgil took a step behind Patton, a growl rumbled in his throat soon developing into a menacing hiss. He didn't want Remus to touch any of them. He knew he was plenty capable of going through with any threat he made. Plenty of memories of those times made him begin to tremble and feel faint. Roman and Logan stood protectively in front of Patton and Virgil. Thomas was shifting nervously off to the side, clearly uncomfortable with the way the situation was unfolding.

"S-so Deceit, it's good to see you, I guess? Uh, Remus has been telling us about your amnesia. How… How's that going for you?" Thomas asked nervously.

Virgil took a deep breath to calm himself after Thomas spoke. He wasn't doing Thomas any favors by panicking. He couldn't afford to think about the past things they had done for him, only the present of what they were currently doing here in this room.

"So he has told you about that. Something I definitely wanted him to share with everyone," Deceit let out a but of a sigh. "Indeed. I cannot remember much of anything. The basics of what I am, everyone's names and my general emotional connection to them."

Logan's eyes seemed to light up with a realization as he turned to look back at Virgil with wide eyes. He then slowly turned his attention back to Deceit.

"Would you mind listing off who we are and your emotions towards us?" Logan asked.

"Logan-" Patton started to protest, knowing fully well they couldn't be positive.

Logan held up a hand behind his back, signaling Patton to wait a second.

"Well are Logan and I recall having a distinct hatred for both you and Patton although I'm not entirely sure why, you're no more annoying than Remus and apparently I am dating him… That's Roman, I recall being annoyed by him. Then-"

Deceit stopped speaking, staring at where Virgil was half hidden behind the others. He looked a little lost and thoughtful. He grabbed at Remus's arms and there was a silent communication that resulted in Remus getting off of his back.

"He is Virgil. It's complicated to describe the way I feel about him. Not in the same way it was to describe Remus. Oh, do tell me I'm dating him too."

Remus began laughing his butt off while there were simultaneous protests from all three of Virgil's boyfriends.

"Don't worry you're not. But I mean if you want to, Dee, I personally love his reactions. What do you say Virgy?" Remus teased, watching for Virgil's usual uncomfortable squirm.

Virgil didn't give him the satisfaction, it didn't seem like Virgil even heard what Remus said. He didn't hear Roman's protests and threats that followed after. He wasn't processing anything but his own thoughts anymore. The color had drained from his face leaving behind a pale green, ashy color and his unfocused eyes were staring somewhere at the floor between both groups. The reality of everything was finally sinking in.

Virgil's hand slipped out of Patton's and he walked forward, moving past the others until he was standing in front of Deceit looking up at him.

"Virgil?" Patton asked cautiously.

Virgil ignored him for a moment studying Deceit. He hadn't taken the time to really look at him until now. He could only describe Deceit as looking softer, the angry lines Virgil thought were permanently etched into Deceit's expression was gone. He looked curious, innocent. Nothing like before. Even the snake-like side of his face had changed. The scales had receded, only a circle around his snake eye and a few surrounding the elongated slit of his lips. Virgil couldn't help but let out a broken laugh.

"You don't even look as snake-like anymore," Virgil mused, finally speaking up.

Remus looked between the two of them before an almost panicked look crossed his face. He lunged downwards towards Deceit's belt buckle.

"Oh do continue Remus, it's not like we have company," Deceit scolded, pulling Remus off of him.

Remus made grabby hands for Deceit's pants.

"Nooo! I need to know if you are still snake-like in the best parts. Show me," Remus demanded.

"Why am I dating you?" Deceit sighed. "Later Remus, later."

Deceit turned his attention back to Virgil. Virgil didn't break the eye contact he was given, silently reaching down to hold his ring again.

"Is everything alright?" He asked.

"You really don't remember me? My childhood? What you did to me? What happened just a month ago? You don't remember any of it, do you?" Virgil asked.

Deceit's lips pressed together in a tight line as he looked at the smaller male.

"You are definitely not hostile about something," Deceit hummed awkwardly.

Virgil's eyes narrowed.

"Tell me this one last thing and don't you dare lie. Do you remember your plan?" Virgil asked.

"Plan? What plan?" Deceit questioned in return, looking genuinely curious.

Virgil let out a breath feeling at least a little relieved about that fact. He knew no one else besides himself and Deceit knew the plan. Deceit liked his secrets. He swallowed hard, there was only one thing left he needed to say. Then he wanted to be done with this, he couldn't stand being here any longer.

"Look. I don't trust you but I'm choosing to believe you really can't remember anything. But you have done awful things I can never, and I mean never, forgive you for, even if you don't know what I'm talking about. Still, if you are going to protect Thomas and you aren't planning on still getting back at Patton and Logan, then… Then you'll live your life and I'll live mine, we won't have any problems," Virgil stated, his voice cracking and wavering as he fought to not break down.

Deceit simply held up his hands defensively, giving a shrug. Virgil gave a few shallow nods, looking away from Deceit finally. He sank out returning to the mindscape. The other three shared a concerned glance.

"I'll go make sure he's okay. Please, hurry up here, just in case," Roman said before sinking out himself.

He entered the living room of their house and found Virgil sitting on the couch, staring up at the ceiling while silent tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Gatito? Ebony Prince? Dark Knight? You okay?" Roman asked, slowly taking a seat beside Virgil.

"Yeah, just trying to figure out if I should eat one of my cupcakes as a comfort food or if I'd just throw it back up," Virgil chuckled weakly.

The chuckles quickly became more breath until they turned into quiet sobs.

"Oh Love," Roman whispered, pulling Virgil into his side.

Virgil quickly latched onto the warmth pulling himself into the secure hug as he tried to silence his cries.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Roman asked.

"What's there to talk about? I should be happy. I-I should be glad. It's over. He doesn't remember and the others are useless without his orders. I'm safe. He probably won't try anything unless we give him a good reason to. But I don't… I don't feel like that," Virgil whimpered.

"It's okay, Virgil. Can you try to verbalize what you're feeling or no?" Roman asked, hoping to help himself and Virgil understand things better.

"I-I don't… It just is so empty. It's so unsatisfying. Why should I have to remember it and suffer because of it and he just gets to forget? It's not fair! I'm stuck here having it affecting every aspect of my life but he gets to move on with life and forget. It doesn't affect him. It makes me feel so useless. So… so broken," Virgil cried.

Roman ran his fingers through Virgil's hair while his other hand rubbed circles on his back. He could tell Virgil was desperately trying to stop crying but the tears were still coming

"It's okay, let it out. It's okay to feel hurt. You're right, it's not fair. I wish I could change. But hey, you survived all of those awful things he did. You made it to the end. It's made you so strong and wonderful. It made you who you are today and I love you," Roman soothed, rocking Virgil steadily.

Virgil nuzzled deeper into his chest.

"Hey, I have an idea. Remember that surprise I was excited about this morning?" Roman asked.

Virgil sniffed and looked back up at Roman confusedly. He gave a slow nod in response, not trusting his voice yet.

"Well, it might have been a little get away in the imagination. So when the other's get back how do you feel about asking to go on a little trip for a few days, just to take a step away from all of it?"

"Th-thomas-"

"Will be able to contact us if he needs us. We have the next script ready, he's just going to be going through it with his friends and buying props. We'll only go if you want to but you don't have anything you need to worry about. I have it all figured out. All you'll need to do is relax and have fun," Roman promised.

Virgil hesitated a moment before tightening his hug on Roman.

"You always know how to cheer me up," Virgil whispered.

"What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't?" Roman replied, resting his chin on Virgil's head, holding him so he could feel all the warmth and safety Roman had to offer.