Chapter Three
Kohan
"You know what, I just remembered, you were supposed to help me with my cat Patton." Virgil said suddenly. Patton didn't remember him saying anything about a cat and assumed that it was his way of getting them away from the frightening scene in front of them.
"Right, yeah, we'll be right back." Patton said, standing up.
"What's wrong with your cat, Virge?" Roman asked softly. His smile turning into a small frown.
"I think she's got some kind of sliver or thorn in her paw, but she won't let me look at it." He invented smoothly.
"She may have gotten an infection." Logan said, also standing. "I'll look at her too, okay?"
"Thanks teach, you're a lifesaver." Virgil said, the relief on his face too convincing to be faked.
"Thomas could you go see if we still have antiseptic in the bathroom?" Logan instructed.
"Sure." Thomas said, making his way toward the bathroom.
"Is there something I can do to help?" How had Patton mistaken that voice for Roman's? It sounded nothing like him now. Now it was a dangerous sound. Higher than Roman's but darker. Somehow evil.
"Thanks kiddo, but I think we got everything covered." Patton said with a small smile. "Let's go show Logan where your cat is, Virge." Patton said, grabbing both Virgil's and Logan's wrists and pulling them toward the hall. Once out of ear-shot of Roman, they both turned to Logan.
"What the heck is going on?" Virgil demanded.
"I'm not completely sure, but I believe a dark side may be attempting to impersonate Roman and is unaware of the slight differences they are displaying."
"I hope the real Roman's okay." Patton said nervously.
"So do I." Thomas agreed, stepping into the Hall just behind them.
"What are we supposed to do? We've gotta help him." Virgil asked.
"Just a few moments ago, you were talking to us about how we can't trust him." Logan pointed out, clearly confused.
"Yeah, but I believe that Roman would try to save me if something like this happened. I'm not trying to say he's a bad guy or that I don't like him. I'm really not. He's annoying, but his heart is in the right place. I just don't trust him with secrets. He doesn't understand a lot of things and he's accidentally self-destructive."
"Even if he didn't trust Roman at all, he could still care about him." Thomas added. "I can't trust Virgil to be correct, but I still love him."
"Thanks, Thomas." Virgil half smiled, scoffing and, shaking his head.
"Who do we know that would know exactly what's happening with Roman?" Logan mussed out loud.
"I… think I know I guy." Virgil murmured.
"Who, kiddo?" Patton asked both curiously and anxiously.
"You aren't gonna like it." Virgil replied uneasily, looking at Logan.
"As long as it's not…" Logan trailed off, looking at Virgil incredulously.
"Wait, what? Who?" Thomas asked.
"Are we talking about Wisdom?" Patton asked.
"Yes." Virgil replied.
"What's so wrong about Wisdom?" Thomas asked, confused. "Isn't wisdom a good thing?"
"I don't know for other's wisdom sides," Logan began bitterly, "but yours is highly obnoxious."
"He really is." Virgil said.
"Thank you, Virgil." Logan said smugly.
"Nt." He finished.
"What?" Logan looked at him quizzically.
"I said nt. He really isn't. You just think he is because he's smarter than you." Virgil challenged.
"I- wha- ugh how dare- what? No. He's not smarter than I am. I think he's obnoxious because he brushes me aside and listens to me even less than Roman does. I dislike him because he thinks he always knows better than I without considering what I'm saying."
"Really?" Virgil said, feigning interest. "You know, that sounds really familiar, but it couldn't possibly, it's not like anyone does that to us on a regular basis." His words dripped with irony and sarcasm.
"I've probably mentioned it before." Logan replied, missing the point entirely.
"And you wonder why he thinks he's smarter than you." Virgil mumbled, rolling his eyes.
"I'm sorry you don't like him Logan." Patton said sympathetically. "But if there's even a chance he knows what happened to Princy, we've got to talk to him."
"Well, good luck finding him." Logan huffed, crossing his arms and turning his nose up. "He's never around when you need him and he's always pushing himself into conversations when he's unnecessary." Virgil was making a 'stop talking now' face at Logan, the whole time he was grumbling about Wisdom, but he didn't heed him.
"Ah, the inane ramblings of an intelligent fool." Wisdom had, at some point, appeared behind Logan. Oddly, enough, he was dressed in a light grey hoodie and dark blue sweatpants. His hair was rumpled and was sticking up in places. That being said, he still looked very cleanly. There wasn't a spot of dirt anywhere on him or his clothing, and his teeth practically sparkled with how well taken care of they were. His eyes sparkled with a light that reminded Thomas of the description of Albus Dumbledore.
"Wisdom." Logan bit out.
"Logic." Wisdom regarded him kindly.
"Hey, Winston." Patton waved at him, then enveloped him in a large hug.
"Patton, it's been a long time my friend. How are things?" He replied with a smile, hugging Patton nearly as tightly.
"Well, actually, right now something's wrong with Roman." Patton said in his worried dad voice.
"Roman? The dreamer? Whatever is wrong with him?" Winston cocked his head to one side.
"Well, he's-"
"Possessed." Virgil interjected.
"He is not possessed." Logan scoffed. Winston made a shooing motion with his hand at Logan and said;
"Let the man speak, Logic." He looked kindly to Virgil, ignoring the indignant looking Logan behind him. "Why do you say possessed?"
"Well for one, his eyes are the wrong color and they're glowing. His voice sounds different than it did before. And he's acting way out of character. He's quiet and calm, and he apologized without being prompted to." Winston nodded thoughtfully while Virgil explained his thought process.
"Now Virgil, my angst-ridden friend, can you tell me what other things, in your experience, have looked or worked similar to what you just described to me?" A thoughtful look crossed Virgil's features for a moment.
"When Deceit forces someone to lie." He said slowly after a moment.
"You rang?" Judaes appeared beside him.
"Hi Deceit." Patton said. Deceit nodded at him with a slight smile on is human face and a deep scowl on his snake face.
"No." Virgil wrinkled his nose up at him. A look of something like sadness marred the human side of Judaes's face.
"I wasn't under the impression we had put our past behind us after we battled the dark one together." He said slowly.
"Yeah well, you were wrong." Virgil huffed. "But since you're here, do you know if any of the other dark sides can control others behaviors like you do?"
"The dark one can't, but the others can." He responded, tilting his head to one side in confusion. Virgil swore and Patton gasped.
"Language, Virge." He chastised gently.
"I highly doubt the dark one would be that slopy-" Logan was once again waved away by Winston.
"Judaes, my boy, I see your scales returned. Pity. Can you tell me if the dark one leaves obvious traces when he controls others behaviors?" He said calmly.
"Yes, he does." Judaes responded, looking even more so puzzled. "You can't see my control at all, but you can see his."
"Understood, thank you for your help. And when you return to the dark domain, please don't go telling the others that we're asking around, all right?" Winston replied brightly.
"I planned on it." Judaes nodded. He casted one last, sad look at Virgil, then sunk out.
"Well, we know two people who it can't be, that's a good start, is it not?" Wisdom clapped his hands together with a smile, then bounced once on the balls of his feet. "Are there any other factors in the situation we may want to look at?" Logan huffed and crossed his arms.
"If you're so ominicient, why don't you tell us what we're overlooking?" He challenged, clearly annoyed.
"I am wise, Logic, not all-knowing. You are intelligence, I am the knowledge of how to properly use intelligence." He corrected gently.
"Are you trying to imply that I don't know how to use intelligence?" He shot back angrily.
"I don't think that's what he's trying to say." Patton attempted to soothe him.
"He is correct, Logic. I didn't mean to imply that you were incompetent. I simply meant to highlight the difference between us, perhaps it's better said as this; You are the analytical side that typically tries to take a literal approach without the tinted lenses of emotion, whereas I take the time to look through each lense and compare all the images to come up with the clearest picture I can." Winston said.
"Like if you and I were a gem fusion!" Patton squealed. "How cute is that?"
"How cute is what?" Roman walked into the hallway, smiling slightly. He looked around at each of them and the smile slowly slid into a frown. "Is everything alright ? Did you have a problem with your cat's paw Virge?" Virgil fought back a shutter at the sound of his nickname being hissed by that voice attempting to be Roman.
"No, no, everything's fine with her." He replied, forcing himself to look away from the glowing eyes behind the mask that used to be Princy.
"Kohan, dear boy, I haven't heard from you in so very long. I'd heard you'd been locked in the mirror." Roman looked toward him, tilted his head to one side and regarded Winston for a moment. And slowly, the green began to fade out of his eyes. Standing next to him was a small little boy, who looked to be about five or six years old. His skin was pale, and his eyes were the same green that Roman's had just been. His hair was messy and black with grey tips, and he was clutching a grey, stuffed dragon. He was dressed in a white sweater and grey sweatpants. He smiled widely.
"Wiston!" He called, jumping into Wisdom's arms. Patton gasped.
"Precious." He breathed.
"What the actual heck just happened? Roman demanded. Logan was staring blankly at Kohan, as though he couldn't understand what he was looking at. Virgil visibly tensed up.
"It appears this precious creature was influencing you." Wisdom said, looking at the little boy in his arms fondly.
"Wait what?" Roman made a face somewhere between confusion and indignation.
"Now, Kohan, do you remember what I told you about doing that?" Winston asked with a gentle smile on his face.
"I'm not suppos tah." He replied with a little frown. "I just wannated him to not be mad no more. I wannated him to smile again." He sounded very sad.
"Awe." Patton sighed.
"Princy's my faveit." He explained.
"Awe." This time Roman was the one to coo at him. "I love this kid." He said delightedly. Kohan wiggled out of Winston's arms and looked around, interestedly.
"Hi Thomas! Hi Pannin! Hi Mr. Logan Sir!" He looked up at Virgil and his eyes grew wide. Virgil's lip turned up into a sneer as he regarded the child with cold disdain. Kohan looked back to Winston. "Whossit?" He asked him, pointing at Virgil.
"His name is Virgil." Winston replied gently. "He didn't used to be as… colorful."
"Vishil." Kohan declared, smiling at him.
"Virgil." He corrected.
"Vrishol." He tried again.
"Virgil." He repeated. His sneer wavering slightly, and a fond light appearing in his eyes.
"Vurshall?" He tried once more.
"Virgil." He said again.
"Panda." Kohan decided.
"Awe, look he already made a nickname for you, Virge." Patton squealed.
"Looks like you've got yourself a fan, Virge." Thomas joked. Kohan hugged his arm and burried his face in Virgil's sleeve.
"I'm trying to remain stoic, right now, but that is just so precious." Logan said, a smile tugging at his lips. At his pronouncement, Kohan ducked behind Roman, looking warily at Logan.
"Hey, what's up?" Patton asked, concerned, kneeling next to the little boy.
"Princy won let him hurt me." He stated matter of factly.
"Why would Logan hurt you, Kohan?" He asked, brow furrowing.
"Scary." Was all he said in reply.
"Awe don't worry, little guy. He won't hurt you." Roman smiled at him softly. He looked around the hall, then peaked back up at Virgil from behind Roman's leg.
"Where Wiston?" Virgil cast a look around the hall as well.
"Good question." He murmured, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uhm… I don't know." Kohan sniffed, rubbing his hand over his eyes, then launched himself into Virgil's arms. "Woah! Okay! That happened! Holy Evanescence kid."
"S-sorry." He sniffed, burying his head in Virgil's hoodie. "B-but I'm sc-scared tah be all lone. The ghost is scary an Mr. Logan's scary an I don't got my Wiston no more an I don wanna be lone!"
"Oh," Patton sighed, getting down on eye level with him again. "It's okay kiddo, we'll help you find Winston." But Kohan shook his head.
"He don want me no more. I broke a rule an an he don like it when I'm bad an he left this time an that means he don want me no more."
"I'm sure that's not true." Patton said, smoothing his hair down a little, while Virgil awkwardly tried to return the hug.
"Even if that weren't, Wisdom abandoned him here with us and that's a cold hard fact. If he's as wise as he claims to be, he knew exactly what he was doing, both in an ethical standpoint and emotionally to this specific child." Logan said crossly.
"Yeah, we're not bringing him back to Wisdom." Virgil agreed, picking Kohan up off the floor and perching him on his hip. Kohan, in turn, buried his face in the joining of Virgil's neck and shoulder. Thomas nodded in agreement.
"Would you look at that, Anxiety getting protective of a little one. Isn't that sweet."
"Go away." Virgil commanded, without once looking behind him toward the source of the voice. There stood Lucius, in all his forboding glory, and Virgil was snubbing him.
"Fancy yourself the king?" Lucius sneered.
"Thank you for reminding me." Virgil commented. "Patton, if you tell him to leave he has to, or it's considered an act of war." Patton shifted awkwardly beside him. "C'mon Pat, he's scaring Kohan." Virgil added. Though Virgil couldn't sense any signs of increased fear from the small child in his arms, he knew it had to be true. If the child was afraid of Logan, then he had to be afraid of Lucius. Patton cleared his throat.
"Yes… uhm… I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." It was the same sort of time of voice he had taken with Deceit when he had said 'you're in my spot'. Lucius sneered at him, but sunk out anyways. Virgil cradled Kohan closer, and looked toward Patton.
"Speaking of war, you've got to start making decisions. There are sides you have to me-" He was cut of by a loud, joyus giggle that echoed throughout the hallway. Kohan squeaked and attempted to burrow closer to Virgil.
"I thought Kohan was the ghost." Logan stated, looking confused.
"But he said he was afraid of the ghost." Roman pointed out.
"Does this mean the house actually is haunted?" Thomas asked.
"Yes." Virgil replied, even as Logan said;
"No."
"Well, that clears that up." Roman said sarcastically.
"There's a ghost." Kohan nodded. "He's scary. Lots and lots of scary."
"What does he look like?" Thomas asked him. Kohan turned in Virgil's arms to look at him.
"Like me." He replied. "But opposite. Like a mirror." Patton watched, confused and concerned, as a cascade of different emotions passed over Roman's face. Understanding, fear, anger, fear again, confusion, understanding again, and then fear once more.
"Ro, are you okay?" He asked him. Roman took a step back, looking up at a mirror mounted to the wall, then around at each of the sides' faces, resting longer on Virgil's than the others.
"I- I have to go." He stuttered out, then he sunk out.
