Sanders Sides: Sleep-Walking (Full Collection)

by Xephina The Eleven

What happens when Virgil discovers that the other sides are sleep-walking? This is from my Sanders Sides BROTP One-Shots

2. Sleep-Walking Updated

Virgil's eyes drifted to the clock on his dresser, though it was late for most people, three o'clock in the morning wasn't an unusual time for him to be awake. His nights were often spent thinking or brooding while his companions rested; because, as his host's fight-or-flight reflex, sleep was all but out of the question for him. There was no way of knowing when there could be a break in, freak natural disaster, or something even worse. That being the case, he couldn't allow himself to drift into the realm of dreams often, leading to days of no sleep with occasional naps if he was completely certain that the other sides were in a position to watch over Thomas.

Since the nights were generally uneventful, he was left to the mercy of his quiet yet mundane routine in the dim light of his room. He attempted to keep his focus on the book he had been reading, but the worries and fears he embodied tormented him relentlessly. Already his fingers had been picked to the point of bleeding, and his lip was nearly chewed through, but he continued to carry the burden of the late and lonely hours alone.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of footfall in the corridor, that while out of place, he had come to expect. More than once, the other sides had made it apparent that they abhorred the night for various and sundry reasons. Logan was always pressing for a healthy sleep schedule, Patton tried to enforce a strict bedtime, and Roman frequently complained about needing his beauty sleep. Despite the other sides' insistence on the necessities of rest, it had become commonplace for Virgil to hear them wandering about the halls long after they had retired for the night. One afternoon he had questioned them on the topic, but each had denied staying awake or getting up, and he had instead received stern words about his own sleeping habits.

At the time he had allowed the topic to be pushed to the wayside and focused on more important matters, but as the nights passed, his curiosity only grew. His mind enjoyed playing tricks on him, so at first he had passed the sounds off as paranoia, but with the weeks slipping by and the trend continuing he decided that he wasn't just hearing things. His senses were sharper than those of his colleagues, so even from behind a closed door, he was able to work out a rough pattern from the footsteps. He wasn't able to distinguish who was up, but the slight variations in the sounds betrayed that it wasn't just one side getting up regularly. Over the course of a single night, one to all of his friends would get up and walk around for a bit, sometimes more than once, but the individual incidents never lasted more than five minutes.

Finally, Virgil decided to ignore the others' claims and get to the bottom of the mystery which had plagued him for months. Silently he placed his book on the bedside table and made his way across the carpeted floor; opening the door with care, he stepped out into the darkness beyond his room. While waiting for his eyes to adjust, he listened intently until he recognized the upbeat, bouncy tread of Patton's footsteps. Turning in the direction of the sounds, Virgil was just barely able to make out his friend's silhouette, but there was something off about him. He seemed to be wandering about aimlessly, as if he had no destination in mind or even a reason for being awake at all.

Morality wore his dark grey cat onesie with the hood pulled up over his head, though the mittens that went with it were missing. Virgil nearly ducked back into his room when Patton turned in his direction, but something told him he didn't need to. His companion was missing his glasses, and while his eyes were open, it was like he was focusing on something between the two of them. Suddenly things began to click into place, the foot fall, the distant gaze, and the lack of memory, he was sleep-walking.

Feeling confident in his answer to the enigma, he moved to return to his room when the low tone of his counterpart caused him to stop. It had been too quiet to decipher what he had said, but Anxiety decided to remain in the corridor nonetheless. Remaining still he waited to see if Patton would speak again, and when he did the words shocked Virgil to his very core. "-What do you mean you don't need me anymore?" Before he had time to ponder what his companion had meant, he spoke once more on the verge of tears, "I-I'm doing all I can kiddos! Please-" There was an abrupt pause, but his soft tone filled the air again a moment later, "you know that I only want what's best for all of you. I'll do anything! Don't make me leave…I don't want to lose any of you! I-" Morality's terrified whisper was cut short as he walked back into his corner of the mind-palace, the door closing gently behind him.

Anxiety remained where he was, frozen in shock; he knew that his friend never would have expressed such concerns had he been conscious, perhaps he had just been having a nightmare. He shook his head, he knew better than anyone that nightmares often stemmed from worries and fears, even if those feelings were suppressed. That led him to an even more frightening thought; was Patton truly afraid that the others didn't need him, and moreover that they would abandon him? Virgil slowly returned to his room, deciding that he would watch over his friend for a few more nights before addressing the topic directly.

The next night he sat by his door, awaiting the inevitable sounds of footsteps, but as he lingered in his room, the hours seemed to blur together. Boredom only worsened his mental state, but he didn't dare pick up his book for fear that he might miss the echo of footfall from the hallway. At last he heard the sound of someone walking beyond the threshold, but to his surprise, the steps weren't Patton's.

Listening to the confident and evenly-pace stride, he opened his door; in the inky shadows of the corridor, he could just make out Logan's silhouette from the light which poured from his room. For a moment Anxiety found himself stifling a laugh as he took note of what his colleague was wearing, a white unicorn onesie, not dissimilar to the one Morality had been wearing the night before. Regaining his composure, Virgil noticed that Logan also lacked his glasses, and he held the same distant look in his eyes.

One of the other sides sleep-walking was odd enough, but two seemed like more than just some coincidence, maybe there was some correlation between the two. He swiftly decided he would ponder the idea more thoroughly at a later date as Logan opened his mouth, his words a hushed whisper. "Th-That's not what I meant!" Even though the edge of panic in his companion's voice sent a chill down his spine, Virgil dared to move a bit closer to his friend to ensure he could hear what was said, "h-how could my calculations have been this incorrect? I didn't mean for any of this to happen!" Logic paused, making Anxiety wonder if he was listening to only half of a conversation, "I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt! This is my fault; all because I was…I was wrong." Slowly Logan walked back to his corner of the mindscape, but just before the door clicked shut, Virgil could have sworn he heard the word 'infinitesimal' go by.

Thoughts raced through his head as he returned to his room, two of the three others seemed to have developed a sleep-walking habit, but what was worse was how they vocalized things that they would never say otherwise. Once more he found himself trying to accept that his friends were just having nightmares, but he knew there was more to it than that. Patton could be extremely emotional, but his thoughts didn't usually run so dark that he would ever consider being cast out by the others. Then there was Logan, he was normally so calm, collected, and in control of his mind, to see him on the brink of panic only solidified that there was more to this than just bad dreams. As the fight-or-flight reflex, he had a keen sense of what reactions each action could cause, and he had a nagging feeling that what he had seen was only the beginning of their ordeal.

He wondered how he was going to keep track of both sides' sleep-walking episodes when an idea struck him. Rushing to his desk he took a small, black notebook from its drawers. If he was going to get to the bottom of this issue, he was going to have to think a bit like Logan and start taking some notes. His hand moved with amazing speeds as he wrote down both names, what the two had said, as well as the dates and times he had heard them talking. If he kept a log, he would be able to compare what they said each night, and pinpoint the root of their fears. Maybe, just maybe, this was something he could do for the others. If they had deeper psychological issues that they were suppressing; perhaps he could help them through it.

The next day, Virgil was lost in thought as time passed in a blur of activities, and for once in his life he actually willed the night to approach faster so he could continue monitoring Logic and Morality. As he saw them throughout the day though, he was forced to act as if he was oblivious to what they had said the last few nights. It turned out that keeping up his usual disinterested facade was a bit more difficult when he was in a rush.

Eventually, after the agony of waiting through the ridiculous banter of the more light-hearted duo, and Logan's deductions, the other sides finally retired for the night. Sitting in the silence of his room was no better, if anything it was worse; normally he would scroll through Tumblr or listen to music to pass the time, but he couldn't risk the distraction. He had to listen so he could discern the inevitable set of steps which would come from the hallway during the witching hours.

Hours felt like minutes, and yet minutes felt like hours, to the point that he thought the night was never going to end. He was actually beginning to wonder if there really was anything to be concerned about, or if he was just working himself up over nothing when he heard it. The tell-tale creak of a door being opened and the soft sounds of foot fall outside his room. Turning the handle, he peered out into the shadows for the third time in as many nights, trying to figure out if it was Logan or Patton stumbling around in the darkness.

'Stumbling? Since when do any of the others stumble around?' It was true, despite the fears they were forced to endure, both of the sides suffering with the nightmares had kept their normal walking pace, until now. This didn't coincide with Logic's confidence or Morality's cheer, whoever was before him now was all but dragging their feet as they walked. After a moment his eyes began to adjust to the gloom of the corridor, and he was taken by surprise when he didn't see Logan or Patton, but rather Roman.

The Prince wore a pair of red, silk pajamas with the letters 'RS' monogrammed onto the front pocket, and ironically he was more professionally dressed than either of the other two. Still, what concerned Virgil was how different his footsteps sounded; normally he walked with confidence, treading loudly as if he wanted everyone to know when he was approaching. Now, he moved sluggishly, but there was more to the change in his stride than just exhaustion. Unlike the others, his shoulders were slumped forwards, his feet dragging at the carpet, and his head down, almost as if he maintained no connection to the person he was when he was awake. Pen in hand, Virgil waited to see if the only commonality Princey shared with the others was his sleep-walking or if he had taken to speaking in his sleep as well.

Silence enveloped them for so long that Virgil was beginning to wonder if the Prince had been truthful when he had alluded to having no fears, but once more he was proven wrong. A voice pierced through the quiet, but just like his tread it sounded different. Rough, raspy, and dull, creating the feeling that he was too tired to make his vocal cords work properly. "No…No! This can't be!"

His voice sounded deeper and disjointed, in a way which seemed almost familiar. After a moment, Anxiety found himself staring at his friend in shock as realization washed over him. Roman's voice sounded familiar because it shared many traits of Virgil's own intonation. The fear played a part in this change, but there was more to it than that, what made his voice so different from the others was the lower range and lack of effort he put into his words.

"W-What do you mean?" Silence filled the air for only a moment before Princey continued, "let me prove myself…my-my worth." Anxiety nearly dropped his pen as he slowly lifted his head to look at his friend in the half light, "p-please, I'm not worthless." The way he trailed off of the sentence made Virgil feel as if he were once again listening to only one part of a conversation. "No. Don't try and take it back now. You're right…you're all right." Roman paused letting his head fall, "I am worthless." The last word hung in the air as the Prince returned to his room, leaving Anxiety to try and take in everything he had just witnessed.

Shaking his head, he quickly jotted down his notes before walking back to his own corner of the mindscape. His mind reeled as he set the notebook back on the desk, mulling over his friend's words over and over again, did he really believe he was worthless? Ever since they were children, Roman had always seemed so confident, sometimes to the point of arrogance; was it possible that his bold and brave nature was just a facade? In all the time they had known each other, Virgil never would have guessed they shared such a dark fear.

Days and nights blended together, each one becoming more exhausting than the one before, and the newfound responsibility of watching over the others during their episodes of somnambulism had resulted in Anxiety getting even less sleep than before. His days were filled with acting ignorant towards the others' issues, while also trying to discreetly pick up on any idiosyncrasies which could give him further insight. Then his nights were spent with hours of going over notes and researching until he heard the sound of footfall in the corridor. At that point he would slip out into the shadows and record what the perpetrator said and did before returning to his room and using the newest information in his research. Using everything he had gathered, he was trying to piece together what fears the others had and what the root cause of them was, while also spending hours trying to find ways to combat said fears.

Still he would continue to be interrupted as someone got up and began roaming the hallway with glassy eyes and a hushed voice. During the night it was not uncommon for more than one, if not all three of the others to get up and walk around. Interestingly, none of them ever seemed to get up at the same time; Anxiety wasn't complaining, however, it would be difficult to take two to three sets of notes at the same time.

Presently, Virgil sat at his desk, which he had moved against the wall next to his bedroom door, allowing him to work on researching the others' fears and how to combat them while being in a position to leap up any time he heard the sound of footsteps. Despite the headache he had from lack of sleep, he stayed up in the knowledge that this would be the last night he would be keeping an eye on his colleagues. After weeks of listening, writing, and study, he had nearly finished with his work; he had some idea of what was plaguing the others' nightmares, and had come up with a plethora of ways to help them with the fears that caused them. Still he knew it would be crass to bring up each of their concerns in a group setting, so he planned on pulling the others aside one at a time in the morning to speak with them individually.

It was still rather early in the evening, so Anxiety was fairly certain he would have the time to review his notes again before anyone got up. Pulling the black notebook from its drawer, he opened it, looking over the neatly-organized and well detailed logs he had been keeping for the last few weeks. Each was followed up with techniques and plans which he had prepared for each of them based on the doubts they had exhibited and the traits they embodied.

Flipping back to the first page, he glanced at the front cover, on which he had written a list of fears for each of his friends. After a few nights of wracking his mind and scouring through any reliable sources he could find, it had become clear to him that it was going to be impossible to narrow the information down to one phobia per side. Instead he had compiled a list for each of them, that when put together would encompass the main worry they seemed to have.

Carefully, so as not to miss any mistakes he may have overlooked in nights prior, he began to read over the lists once more.

Patton

-Monophobia / Autophobia – The fear of being alone or abandoned

-Eremophobia – The fear of loneliness

-Isolophobia – The fear of isolation or solitude

Patton's fears had been fairly easy to figure out, each time he would sleep-walk, he would fret about not being needed by the others, Periodically he would say one of their names while he pleaded with them to not be cast out, but that was rare ro say the least. It was heart-wrenching to see the one who was always so kind, literally begging to remain a part of the family he cared for so dearly. Overall his most common phrase was, 'Please don't make me leave,' and many times Virgil had to stop himself as he realized he was moving to wake the moral side.

Logan

-Atychiphobia – The fear of being wrong

-Atelophobia – The fear of imperfection (In Logan's case pertaining to knowledge or calculations)

-Kakorrhaphophobia – The fear of failure

-Paralepophobia – The fear of neglecting responsibility

Logan's fears had been a bit harder for Anxiety to label at first, because upon first glance they seemed to vary quite widely. After a bit of closer inspection into the words however, he had been able to narrow it down to a few. At the root, Logic's most basic fear was being wrong, and such an answer or decision having a negative impact on his colleagues and Thomas. Even the idea of failure or not making perfect marks seemed to all but terrify Logan. Many times he fearfully rambled on about checking calculations over and over, and the outcomes not matching up to whatever variants had appeared in the dream. Then during the day, Virgil had begun to notice his friend working with more vigor, even if he didn't realize why. His most frequent phrases were, 'but that's impossible,' and 'this shouldn't be happening.'

Roman

-Allodoxophobia – The fear of others opinions

-Atelophobia – The fear of imperfection (In Roman's case pertaining to the self)

-Athazagoreaphobia – The fear of being forgotten or ignored

Roman's fears struck a particular chord with Virgil since it was something which also affected him greatly. The fear of not being useful or being worthless was very real, and yet in all his research, he had been unable to find a name for such a phobia. It was this issue which had pushed Anxiety to start making lists in the first place, because once he put the fears together they added up to the singular and much larger problem. The most painful part was that Princey's sleep-walking always included the same line, 'I am worthless.'

Virgil leaped to his feet when he read the words, because as he did so, he had recognized the corresponding footfall from the other side of the door. Taking the notebook with him, he stepped silently into the dimly lit hall and began to jot down his notes with incredible speed. He made sure to write down each word that was said and double checked that it corresponded with what had been said on previous nights.

In his rush to write everything down and in his sleep deprived haze, Virgil was too late to notice what was happening right in front of him. He threw the book and pen into his room, but even his fight-or-flight reflexes weren't fast enough as he jumped for his friend, "Roman!"

-End Part 1-

-Begin Part 2-

"Roman!"

Just before Virgil was able to reach Roman, his footing was lost and he fell down the stairs which marked one end of the corridor. Anxiety was hardly aware that the noise partnered with his yell had more than likely roused Logan and Patton, nor did he care. In an attempt to check on his friend, he darted down the stairs two at a time, hoping he wasn't severely hurt.

By the time he got to the base of the steps, Princey had managed to prop himself onto his arms in an attempt to get up, so Virgil extended a hand to help. He was shocked however when instead of accepting the gesture, Roman moved to strike him, and he had just barely avoided the hand which was clearly intended to claw him across the face.

The Prince looked up at Anxiety, the dim light casting an ominous shadow over his eyes, which glinted with fury, but he was more concerned with the blood which now flowed freely from the cut beneath his friend's bangs. Once again he moved forward to try and help amend the situation, but this time Roman managed to land a blow, raking his remarkably sharp nails from the inner corner of Virgil's right eye, across the bridge of his nose to the bottom-left side of his jaw. Recoiling, he could feel the blood beginning to well up from his own new injuries, and barely heard the gasps which echoed from the other two, who had apparently reached the top of the stairs.

Still, his attention returned to Roman, whose voice was no more than a low growl, reverberating through the mind-palace, "what the hell was that?!"

Anxiety was still reeling with shock from his friend's fall and subsequent outward display of violence, to the point that he couldn't even feel the lacerations on his face anymore. "I-I was trying to help you…" He was stumbling to find the right words when the realization of what this whole situation must have looked like from Princey's perspective washed over him. Here Virgil was standing just a few steps above him, and no matter what angle you looked at it from, it looked for all the world as if his friend's fall had been an intentional attack, "N-No! I-I didn-"

"Help me?! Why would you want to do that when you were the one wh-"

"Wh-What happened?!" Both of them looked up to see Patton, who had apparently regained his bearings darting down the steps with Logan. Both of them were still in pajamas and looked at the other two with varying expressions of confusion and horror.

Roman was quick to answer as his gaze shifted between the two new arrivals and him, "'what happened?!' I'll tell you what happened! Mr. Bleak here pushed me down the stairs!"

Virgil was at a loss, he knew the whole ordeal looked grim, and it seemed like anything he could come up with to say in his defence would seem like a questionable excuse at best, but he had to say something. "N-No! Th-That's not what happened!" His breath was coming in quick shallow gulps now, "I-I tried to stop you from falling!"

"Oh really?! That's interesting, because the last thing I remember is my head hitting the stairs on the way down, and when I looked up, you were the only one standing there!" Anxiety took a pace back, far more hurt by the accusation and the hatred that was reflected in his friend's gaze that any physical blow could ever conjure.

Patton moved past him, and Virgil was ready to jump in his defence, but Princey showed no sign of aggression towards the paternal side, "listen here, both of you. We can worry about who did what later; but for now, we need to make sure Roman's okay…" He faltered for a moment as if unsure of what his next action should be, but he quickly regained his bearings, turning his attention to Logan. "Could you go get me some bandages and rubbing alcohol from the hall closet please?" Logic merely nodded before heading back up the stairs, clearly unwilling to defy Morality now that he had entered his more parental state of mind. "Virgil, perhaps you should wait in your room for the time being, and try to get those scratches cleaned up." It was clear that Patton wasn't trying to blame him, but simply keep him separated from Roman, who was still shooting him death glares.

For a moment Anxiety considered disobeying the request, but instead took a page from Logan's book and did as he was told; and with his head down, he made his way back towards his room. He was forced to pass Logic as he walked, and he didn't miss the stern look he was given just before the door closed between them.

As soon as he was alone, he picked up the notebook and pen, placing them gingerly on the desk before heading for the bathroom. Running some warm water into the sink, he used a small bit of soap and a wet cloth to clean the surprisingly deep gashes which now ran diagonally across his face. Glancing up in the mirror, he guessed that one of the middle ones would end up scarring, even long after it had healed.

Draining the water, he used a towel to gently pat the wounds dry, but as he did so his eyes drifted back to his reflection, which stared back at him with the same accusation as Roman had shown him. Had he not been so distracted by his ridiculous notes, if he had just been paying attention, he could have done his actual job and stopped all of this from happening. In the end he knew even if the others believed he didn't push Princey down the stairs, Anxiety was still to blame. Why hadn't he been able to stop Roman from falling? He'd had every opportunity to do so, and yet he had been so obsessed with these fears which barely seemed to affect the others during the day, that he had failed to follow through on his primary job.

Virgil was beginning to wonder why he had ever cared about these phobias in the first place; they didn't seem to pose that much of a threat. He paused gazing at his own reflection, or did they? It was the sleep-walking which had been the actual cause of the fall, what was to say it couldn't happen to the others? No. It wouldn't happen to the others, next time he wouldn't have his nose in some god forsaken book; next time, he would be fast enough. Next time, he would do his job.

Tearing his eyes away from the mirror, he left his bathroom and took the book and pen from the desk, placing them in the drawer of his bedside table. He would come back to them soon enough, but he had a feeling it wouldn't be long before Patton would come to talk with him, and now certainly wasn't the right time to bring up the book and its contents. Standing by the bed, he was left to wonder if he would ever bring up all the work he had done, or if the book and his research would remain hidden forever.

A moment later there was a knock at his door; knowing that he couldn't avoid the situation forever, he moved to open it. As it swung open on its hinges, it revealed Morality, who had apparently retrieved his glasses, which now rested askew on the bridge of his nose. Meanwhile he was still in his cat onesie, but the hood had been pushed back and the mittens discarded.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" It was obvious that Patton had no time for jokes now; one of his sons was hurt, and he was facing the potential culprit.

Anxiety took in a shaky breath, "is Roman gonna be okay?"

There was a momentary lapse in Morality's stern gaze, "he's going to be fine. He has a minor cut on his head and a sprained wrist…now it's your turn." His voice returned to it's determined inflection, "what happened?"

Virgil couldn't bear to look him in the eye, "I didn't push him if that's what you're wondering…but Roman's right." He paused, trying not to let his voice shake, "it's my fault."

As he trailed off, Patton spoke once more, "and why is that?" Anxiety couldn't bring himself to respond, so Patton spoke again, his voice more demanding this time, "Virgil 'Anxiety' Sanders, you will answer me this instant! One of my sons is hurt, and he claims it was your doing, so I will ask again, what happened?!"

He flinched at the use of his full name, closing his eyes in some desperate attempt to hide from the shame which burned at him like seething fire, "I-I was there." He took in a deep breath, "I heard footsteps in the hall, so I went to check who would be up so late, and when I walked out the door…I-I wasn't fast enough to catch him before he fell."

For the time being Morality seemed genuinely confused, "so, how does that make the situation your fault?"

"I-I'm the fight-or-flight response…what purpose do I serve if I can't even do my job, if I can't keep you all safe?!"

A sense of panic was creeping up Virgil's spine as Patton stood before him in silence until he could bear it no longer. Anxiety glanced up, but kept his head down so as not to reveal the marks across his face, "that doesn't make this your fau-"

"Yes it does!" He knew his breath was becoming quicker, but he couldn't fight it and his vision began to narrow, "it's the only redeeming quality I have, and if I can't even do that…" He trailed off, feeling the ground moving beneath his feet, and a moment later his knees buckled; next thing he knew, Morality had his hands wrapped around his arm helping him to sit safely on the bed. He could still feel the shaking and light-headedness which accompanied hyperventilation, "i-if I can't do that…then what good am I?"

"Virgil!" Patton sounded both shocked and hurt, "I don't want to hear any more of this! You are just as much a part of this family as Logan, Roman, or I, and you put forth far more than just being the fight-or-flight reflex." He paused, allowing Anxiety a chance to take in what had just been said, "now, you need to calm down and talk to me. Roman claims he doesn't remember walking to the top of the stairs and thinks it's due to amnesia from when his head hit the floor. Can you give me an explanation for how he got to the stairs in the first place, and when he fell, if you didn't push him, did he trip in some way and he just doesn't remember?"

Still slightly panicked, he looked to the floor; this was not how he had wanted to bring up the topic of the others' sleep-walking and nightmares. "I told you, I heard footsteps in the hallway, I went to investigate and-" He shuddered, "and I wasn't fast enough…he'll probably never forgive me for that."

Patton looked skeptical and honestly Virgil couldn't blame him, it was a feeble lie at best, "never say never. I'm going to go talk to Roman and see if I can calm him down, then we can all sit down and discuss this in the morning."

Anxiety didn't respond with words, he simply nodded in agreement as Morality got to his feet and left the room. Now that the main crisis was over and he had been left alone for the night, there was nothing to stop the thoughts which coursed through his mind. How could he have let this happen? It was his job and his alone to keep the others safe. Learning their fears had just been a way for him to try and get into their good graces, but it had backfired. He had been so focused on his little side project, that he hadn't noticed the danger manifesting right under his nose. No matter what Patton said, Roman was now hurt, and it was entirely his fault. What made it worse was the idea that Princey would probably never trust him again, especially if he believed he had been pushed down the stairs.

In a moment of sheer desperation, Virgil retrieved the book and pen from the drawer, flipping to the empty pages, he began scribbling words down in handwriting that was nearly illegible. What he wrote undermined everything he had logged, researched, and documented over the previous weeks. When he had finished a wave of fury crashed over him, and in blind rage he threw the items across the room as hard as he could. The pen bounced off the wall and landed in an unknown location, while the notebook hit the closet door frame before fluttering violently to the floor leaving the room in a deafening silence save for his panicked breathing. Shaking, he curled up on his bed, drawing his knees close to his chest, and with no energy left to fight, he allowed himself to be consumed by the very same fears he embodied.

Virgil had no idea how much time had passed when there was a knocking at his door, causing him to jump. A moment later Patton's kind voice echoed from the hall, "breakfast time!"

He considered skipping the meal, not wanting to face the others, especially Roman, but it wasn't like he had much of a choice. The sides didn't spend a whole lot of time together outside of filming as their jobs often kept them separate, so Patton insisted they eat as a family. This was to try and overcome some boundaries which still existed between them and while it usually worked, something told Anxiety that this was a meal in which nothing was going to be resolved.

Taking his time, Virgil threw his black and purple hoodie around his shoulders, actually zipping it up and placing his headphones around his neck. He put on his signature black eye shadow, but didn't risk putting on his pale foundation for fear it would get into the scratches from the night before, and they would become infected. Glancing in the mirror, he swiftly looked away; the four long marks across his face were just a reminder of what he had failed to do and the consequences that had resulted from that failure. He knew he deserved the blow, and that the Prince had fared worse from his mistakes, so he didn't complain.

Against his better judgement, Anxiety made his way down the stairs to join the others, and from their voices, he could tell that he was the last to make an appearance. Before anyone saw him, he flipped up his hood, making sure it concealed the marks across his face. The other sides grew quiet as he took his seat, and they proceeded to eat their meal without their usual banter. Discreetly, he cast his gaze around the table, and he couldn't help but notice the concerned expression Patton wore, and the uncomfortable look in Logan's eyes as he at his pancakes, which for some reason had Crofters jam on them, Then there was Roman; his eyes, which still burned with anger were trained firmly on Virgil, and something told him his quick scope of the others had not gone unnoticed.

Time felt as if it were creeping by at the pace of a sleeping heartbeat, each moment, sound, and tick of the clock was excruciating, and only Morality was confident enough to speak, his voice loud after such a long moment of silence. "Did…did everyone sleep okay last night?"

Logic jumped at the opportunity to break the awkward tension, "I feel adequately rested, how about the two of you?"

Anxiety didn't want to say anything; even if he did he would be lying, so why bother? He was saved from being asked again as Roman's tone rose into the air, "well, I for one hardly got any sleep at all with this sling on my arm." He spat the word 'sling' in Virgil's direction, but he wasn't going to rise to the bait, he deserved anything Princey wanted to say to him.

Patton cleared his throat before addressing him directly, "what about you Virge, did you sleep okay?"

Anxiety moved the eggs around his plate, but made no attempt to eat them as he spoke in a voice dull and raspy from a night filled with panic, "fine I guess."

"Well that's good at leas-"

Roman's voice was a low growl as he cut Patton off, "oh great! I didn't get my proper beauty sleep, but Captain Von Snapp over here managed to get some rest!" Virgil could feel the fear rising in his throat and he did his best to fight it down, but Princey kept going, "I don't really see how that's fair since he's the one who assaulted me last night!"

Finally the dam keeping Virgil's emotions in check broke, and in an instant his fear turned to anger. Without lifting his head he let his voice rise into the air, "I never touched you!" He hissed the words like a cat which had been backed into a corner, "you fell down the stairs, I tried to stop you but I couldn't! I failed, is that what you want to hear?!" He forced tears away from his eyes, "I tried to help you and then you assaulted me!" He threw his head back, letting his hood fall, and Roman gasped at the sight of the long gashes along his face. "If it makes you feel any better, I didn't sleep at all last night, just like every night!"

As the words left Anxiety's lips, the walls seemed to close in on him, and his heart began to race. Quickly placing his hood back over his head, he shielded his face from the shocked eyes of the others. He nearly knocked his chair over as he pushed it back violently in an attempt to get away from the table. Then he darted for the common room, feeling as if there was no speed fast enough to get him out from under their watchful gazes.

Patton's voice rose up from behind him, almost pleading for him to return to the table, but there was no way he was going back after what had just transpired. When it became apparent that he wouldn't be rejoining them, Morality's tone shifted to a scolding one, which was clearly directed towards Roman. "From what I saw last night, Virgil didn't do anything to you; it was you who lashed out on him!" Unable to listen to anymore, Anxiety placed his headphones over his ears, playing the loudest music he had on his phone before curling up on the sofa.

Patton glared at Princey over the breakfast table, the remaining three sitting in a tense silence; Logan mostly kept his eyes trained on his pancakes, but would occasionally glance over to Virgil's uneaten meal. Roman finally dared to meet his gaze, and his fierce look turned to fear as Morality spoke, his voice having fully taken on the tone of an angry father. "You listen to me young man! Virgil was brave to even join us for breakfast this morning; because, I would be willing to bet he knew something like this was going to happen! Even still he came anyway, and what you've just done was way out of line! Next time you see Virgil, you owe him an apology, do you understand me?"

"He pushed me down the stairs!"

Roman sounded defiant, and yet he shrunk away at Patton's glare, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Until I know exactly what happened, I don't want to hear anymore accusations, because I'll tell you something that I probably shouldn't. Virgil told me last night that he didn't push you, and I will admit that I had my doubts initially, but I'm starting to believe he's telling the truth. Do you know why that is?" The Prince shook his head, but wisely remained quiet, "even though he told me he didn't push you, he still thought the whole situation was his fault because he wasn't fast enough to catch you. Now he has taken the blame in an attempt to make sure you don't hate him, so next time you see him, you will give him a sincere apology. Not just for what you've said this morning, but also for lashing out on him last night. Do I make myself clear?" Roman simply nodded before returning his eyes to his plate.

Patton knew he sounded nothing like himself, but he was both angry with and disappointed in Roman, and the lack of sleep from the nightmares he had been plagued with wasn't helping either. He had tried to shake off the thoughts, originally dismissing them as nothing more than bad dreams, but they had become more frequent and vivid as the nights passed. He had intended to ask Virgil about them for days, but he just never seemed able to find the right time to bring it up. That was not to mention that he believed his fears to be ridiculous ones, and honestly he really should be able to get over them on his own.

Pushing the thoughts away, he glanced over to the commons to see Virgil curled up on the couch with his headphones on. Knowing that he was going to be alright for the time being, Patton picked up his plate and headed into the kitchen. Turning on the tap, he began to do the dishes, knowing that Anxiety was going to be okay for the time being.

When he had finished, he joined the others in the common-room, where each was focused on their own activities, but it was Virgil who caught his attention. He looked as if he were asleep, an extremely uncommon occurrence to say the least, but Patton was just glad he was finally getting some well deserved rest. His eyes drifted over to Roman, who dared not look away from the television as he watched America's Got Talent. Logan on the other hand appeared far more comfortable than he had during breakfast sitting on the sofa adjacent to Virgil's, reading a book called The Disappearing Spoon. Quietly, so as not to disturb the others, Morality sat down next to Logic, but watched the television as a young girl won the golden buzzer.

About half an hour had passed when Virgil stood suddenly, making his way towards the stairs without so much as a word to the others. Patton thought he might have woken up and decided to go back to his room to sleep, but something about him seemed off, so he spoke up gently, "where are you going Virge?" There was no reply, but Morality didn't need Virgil's perceptive senses to notice the way he stumbled up the stairs as if he didn't know where they were. "Virgil…are you okay?"

Again there was no response from him; but Logan, who had looked up from his book, answered with the slightest hint of confusion to his voice, "I-I think he's sleep-walking."

-End Part 2-

-Begin Part 3-

The three who remained in the commons looked between one another, but it was Patton who spoke next, "he's never done that before."

Logic placed his book on the coffee table before looking back in the direction of the stairs, "how would we know? He hardly sleeps at all; so, the odds of us noticing any sort of sleep related issues or disorders are…infinitesimal."

Morality pretended not to notice that Logan had finally managed to use the word correctly as he got to his feet, "well kiddos, I think we should watch over him so he doesn't hurt himself."

The other two nodded in agreement, and the three of them followed their friend up to the second floor to see if the stumbling had woken him. When they reached the upstairs hallway, they were shocked to see that the door leading to Virgil's room was wide open. He never left it that way; at first it was to keep them from bothering him, but now he kept it shut for their safety. Even stranger was Anxiety himself, he moved about the corridor as if he could see, but something told Patton that his glassy eyes provided no sense of sight. All the while, he held a small black object close to his chest in such a way that Morality couldn't tell what it was, but before he could point it out, Virgil's voice rose into the quiet. "No, no, no!" Even though his shoulders were relaxed with sleep, his voice was tinged with fear, "I have to fix this!"

The others gazed at him for a moment longer before Patton and Roman turned to face Logan, who apparently understood their unasked question, "it would see that he has taken to talking in his sleep as we-"

Logic was cut short by Anxiety, "I have to get to the bottom of this before someone else gets hurt!"

"Someone else…what does he mean by that?" The others shrugged in defeat at Patton's query, but Logan seemed particularly wary.

"This is my fault! Mine and mine alone…can't you see that?!" Virgil paused for a long moment, as if listening to some unseen individual, "I'm the fight-or-flight response! I have to be able to help the others when they're in danger! I-If I can't do that," he hung his head, "then what good am I?"

Morality drew in a quick breath; his words hardly more than a whisper, "that's almost exactly what he said to me last night when I went to confront him."

He moved to help Anxiety, but a gentle hand on his shoulder stopped him, and he turned to look at Logic, who was shaking his head. "Don't…if we wake him, we run the risk of him hurting himself or one of us. Research shows that sleep-walkers can sometimes act in extreme ways if woken during an episode."

Their attention shifted back to Virgil as his scared tone pierced the air once more, rising further with panic, "please believe me! I know I should have told the others the truth last night but…I-I didn't want to lose what little trust they have in me!"

Roman's eyes burned with the same fury he had seen in them both at the breakfast table, and the night before, "I told you he pushed me!"

Patton glared at him, "and I thought I told you no more accusations." He took a deep breath, "besides, we don't even know what he's talking about."

"I think we are ignoring or are unaware of two vital pieces of information," Logan's eyes were trained on their sleep-walking friend. "We know he's dreaming, but who is he talking to…and why is he clutching that book?"

Apparently Logic had figured out what had puzzled Morality, the object was a book, but he didn't have long to ponder it as Virgil spoke again, "no! That's not true!" His voice grew quieter, and took on a tone of desperation, "I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt…I was trying to figure this out." He held out the small book, "I-I promise I was trying to help."

Anxiety trained off as if the response to his words had been a hurtful one, but he continued to hold out the book, almost as if he were offering it to them. In that same moment, Logic darted forward, now standing nearer to their friend than the other two. Gently, he reached out and took the book from his hands, and for a moment they all stood in a terrified silence, waiting to see if the action had woken their colleague. When there was no instantaneous reaction however, Logic gently but deftly moved back to where the others were standing.

Not long after he reached them, Virgil spoke softly, "I promise if you read that, everything will make sense. I should have told you sooner- I should have told them sooner, but…I was afraid." He paused for a long moment, sounding more defeated when he spoke again, "what I was trying to do…I-I didn't have Logan's skill of deduction to figure it all out, that's why it took me so long. I didn't have Roman's creativity to come up with another plan, nor Patton's kindness and way with words, which is why I didn't say anything when I should have."

Each of them looked up in awe as their names were followed by heartfelt compliments; Virgil knew better than any of them how important each individual's contributions were, but something told Morality that he never would have said it if he were awake. Logic drew him from his thoughts as he addressed the group, "something tells me that what truly happened last night will be explained by the contents of this book. Moreover, I think it has been going on for far longer than any of us have been aware, and whatever it is, Virgil clearly thinks it is an issue. If I had to guess, he took notice of this issue a while back, and has been trying to fix it by keeping up with it."

Princey glanced at the other two, but remained defensive, casting glares in Anxiety's direction, "so what do we do now?"

Patton thought about the situation for a moment, "we can't just leave Virgil up here alone, he could hurt himself."

Logan nodded in agreement, "quite right. I suggest we stay here and watch over him, but if we want to know what's in this book, we should probably read it while he's unconscious."

Morality whipped around at the suggestion, shocked that he would even come up with such an idea, "are you suggesting we go through his personal belongings? I'm disappointed in you!" He had fully taken on the parental inflection to his voice, this notebook belonged to Virgil, and whatever it held was his business. Asleep and clearly dreaming that he had been backed into a metaphorical corner meant that he wasn't really in a situation where he may want them to read the contents of the book. For all they knew, he could be dreaming about blue strawberries, and they would have no way of knowing.

Logan sighed, looking down at the object in his hands, "I don't like the idea myself, but let's look at the facts here; Virgil believes something is seriously wrong, and we don't know what that is. He said it himself, he wants to tell us, but he fears losing our trust over it; that being said, we can't know if or when he will actually voice his concerns to us. It is also important to note that he didn't seem to be talking to any of us in the dream; he referenced us by name, but was clearly talking about us to someone else. That leaves only one other person he could have been speaking with, Thomas. If he believes something is serious enough to go directly to him…then I think we need to know what that is."

Patton thought over what had just been said, but still felt uncomfortable with the idea, "it sounded to me like Virgil was trying to defend himself, almost as if Thomas had confronted him. I'm not sure that gives us the right to look through the book."

Logan ran his fingers over the cover, "if the information was important enough that he would be pleading the way he was, do you really think Thomas would keep such an issue from us? If we consider the outcomes of such serious concerns from the past, we know Thomas always summons us to help settle them, so why would it be any different now? That, and Virgil all but handed the book to us."

"I think we should take a look." The other two turned to face Roman, "if it's that important, then we need to know."

"Oh alright." Patton didn't know if it was his concern for Virgil or his own curiosity which caused him to give in, he only hoped he wouldn't regret doing so after reading the book.

Together, the three of them moved to one end of the corridor where they could read the book, while also being in a position to watch over Anxiety. Sitting down, Logan took his place in the middle so the other two could see the book, and all three of them were stunned into silence when he flipped it open. On the inside of the front cover were three lists, each was headed by one of their names, alike but different at the same time. The top was Logan's followed by his own, and lastly was Roman's. In the lists were neatly written words that Morality couldn't even begin to pronounce followed by their definition, and every single one was a phobia of some kind. A feeling of shame washed over Patton as he read over his own list, not only because he was reading it, but also because Virgil had clearly noticed the fears and felt it was his job to keep track of them. He was stunned as he read the list again, each of the fears written there was part of the nightmares he had wanted to discuss with Anxiety. Stealing a quick look to the pair sitting to his left, Morality noticed they both seemed to be wearing variations of his own expression.

Logan was the first to say anything, "h-how could he know all of this?"

No one answered him as they continued to look through the pages, and Patton couldn't keep track of the emotions he felt as they found in depth records of their own sleep-walking and apparently sleep-talking habits. It was clear they all knew they had nightmares of their own, but what they had been unaware of was the way they vocalized them during the night, and suddenly Virgil's questions of their activities after dark made a little more sense. His logs of their episodes were extremely detailed, consisting not only of what they had said but how they moved through the hall, along with the time and date that the lapse had occurred. Even more, there were footnotes on most pages which had clearly been added after the writing of the original log as more information was discovered.

They all stayed quiet as they read, with the exception of a gasp when an entry struck one of them personally. Roman specifically seemed to sink further and further into himself with each of his logs until finally his angered tone voiced a variation of Logan's initial question. "What gave him the right to listen to all of this?!"

Logic turned to face him, "I doubt he had much of a choice. We all go to bed long before he does, and I think we can all confidently assume he doesn't sleep most nights."

Princey didn't argue, simply huffing and repositioning his injured arm as they continued to flip through the pages. Upon further inspection, Patton felt tears flood his eyes, after the logs were pages and pages of techniques and tactics, ideas and concerns. Virgil had apparently intended on speaking to them, because each set of pages was filled with ways to help cope with and diminish their fears. Then on the last recorded page, there were a few words followed by a streak of ink which blotted the otherwise flawless paper, so he spoke softly to Roman, "I guess he must have stopped writing when he saw you heading for the stairs."

"Maybe if he had been paying attention instead of writing, I wouldn't have fallen down the stairs at all!"

While seeming angry about his injuries at first glance, it was clear Roman was more upset with the idea of the others knowing about his fears, prompting Patton to give him a sympathetic look. "Had it not been for him writing, he wouldn't have been in the corridor at all…and then no one might have known you were hurt until morning." He gestured to the sling on Princey's arm, "that's not to mention that Virgil recorded all of our movements, and none of us had ever gotten that close to the stairs before."

"That may be the case, but his job is t-"

Roman was cut short by Logan's voice, which had taken on a softer and more serious tone, "there's another few pages…"

As he trailed off, Patton wondered when Virgil would have had time to write anymore; none of them had gotten much sleep after Princey's fall. They all glanced back down at the book, and what Morality saw pierced at his heart with the same pain that an icy dagger might inflict. It was another list.

Virgil

-Monophobia / Autophobia – The fear of being alone or abandoned

-Erenophobia – The fear of loneliness

-Isolophobia – The fear of isolation or solitude

-Atychiphobia – The fear of being wrong

-Atelophobia – The fear of imperfection (pertaining to self and knowledge)

-Kakorrhaphophobia – The fear of failure

-Paralepophobia – The fear of neglecting responsibility (pertaining to not being able to keep others safe)

-Allodoxophobia – The fear of others opinions

-Athazagoreaphobia – The fear of being forgotten or ignored

-Acousticophobia – The fear of sounds (particularly loud ones, voices, and one's own voice)

-Anthropophobia – The fear of people

-Agoraphobia – The fear of crowds

-Lalophobia – The fear of speaking

-Pistanthrophobia – The fear of being distrusted

The list went on and on in handwriting far more messy than the logs of their sleep-walking habits, almost as if he had been shaking; and he had, hadn't he? Patton thought back to the state Virgil had been in when he'd left to go check on Roman; he had been on the brink of a panic attack, still believing the fall to be his own fault. Morality held back a sob as he finally understood what he was looking at; unlike the documents made for each of them, this list had no coping skills. No, this list had been written for the sole purpose of self-deprecation.

They continued to read over the phobias, which spanned nearly ten pages, and while some of them had their technical names, others were just their descriptions. There was one more line though, one which caused them all to freeze, no matter what they had thought of the previous lists, logs, or coping skills. Conclusion: Anxiety. No cure. All other techniques and tactics listed to help are more than likely useless as well, disregard. In that one sentence, he had managed to undermine and invalidate all of the work he had done and all of the research he had conducted. Patton had read over the ideas written to help him specifically, and all of them had been good; they could possibly help him, and yet with the frame of mind he had been left in, Virgil had felt the need to discredit himself.

Patton couldn't stand the looks which were being exchanged by the other two, so he snatched the book from Logan's hands and got to his feet. He strode over to Virgil's now open door, and placed the small book on the desk just inside before returning to the others. They sat, clearly baffled by the sudden outburst, but stayed quiet as he spoke, "I understand why we agreed to read over those logs, and yes there was information in them that I think we needed to know, even if we don't like knowing. We have these dreams night after night, but we never speak a word of them during waking hours. We all have fears, and I think it is obvious that none of us have had the time or the courage to face them. We haven't owned up to our own feelings and worries, and something tells me that none of us are even comfortable with the idea that we have them, so let's stop to consider something for a moment." He took in a deep breath, "Quite a bit of Virgil's entire existence is dealing with fears, and the last few pages of that book proved that he knows about them and handles them on a daily basis. In my opinion, that easily makes him braver and stronger than any of us." He saw Roman open his mouth to say something, but Patton stopped him with a glare, "now, I can condone us reading our own logs and lists, but that book does belong to Virgil, and the last few pages were his own. We should have closed that book the moment we realized what that list was, but we were too curious to stop, and before you complain, I am blaming myself as much as the two of you." He paused, trying to find the right word, "but there is something else I want you to think about. If you thought it was wrong of Virgil to listen to what we said while sleep-walking, I don't see why, because one of us would have eventually. Before you say that he knew our fears and therefore we should know his, consider that some of the first fears he had listed for himself were the same as our own. Now, what was he doing with that knowledge? He wasn't trying to blackmail us or make fun of us; most of our pages were filled with ways to help us. His pages weren't." Morality noticed the dawning looks of realization in the others' eyes, but he wasn't finished yet. "I would be willing to bet that the reason those last few pages were written was due to some form of a panic attack, which is why he undermined his own work in the end." Patton stared down at the two before him, "next, I want you to think about what you are going to do with the information you have just learned. If you can honestly say that your first thought upon reading that last list was to help Virgil with his fears, then I can condone us reading it. If not…then I believe that was a major invasion of his privacy." Both Logan and Roman looked at the floor, Logan straightened his tie while roman picked at the carpet with his uninjured hand, but neither of them put forth a response. Patton just sighed, "back downstairs, both of you…you need to think about what I've just said, I'll look after Virgil." When the pair hesitated, his disapproval began to boil over into anger, "now!"

At the change in his voice Princey and Logic scrambled to their feet and darted back down to the commons, leaving Morality with Anxiety. After a moment, despite the warning of how volatile sleep-walkers could be, he gently coaxed Virgil back to his room, making sure he made it safely back to bed. Placing a blanket over him, he checked the gashes left by Roman the night before, which only enforced what he had said about an apology. Once he had done that, Patton returned to the corridor, turning off the lights, and closing the door behind him before making his way to the common room himself.

-End Part 3-

-Begin Part 4-

Virgil slowly lifted his head from the pillow, but a moment later he shot upright; he didn't remember going to bed, the last thing he could recall was putting on his headphones and curling up on the couch in the common-room. That left one question, how had he ended up in his bed with a blanket tucked around him? A cold sense of dread washed over him, something told him he knew exactly what had happened; just like the other, he had begun to sleep-walk. He thought back to the dream he'd had, Thomas had been confronting him about that very issue, and so Anxiety could only wonder what he had said during his own episode.

Evening had fallen and it was nearly time for dinner, Patton would be setting the table downstairs, ready for the rest of them to join him, but there was no way Virgil was going this time. After what had happened at breakfast, he simply couldn't muster the courage, especially without knowing what he had said or done while sleep-walking. He pulled his knees to his chest at the mere thought and rested the uninjured side of his face on them. With his head now turned to the side, his eyes locked on something which almost sent him spiralling into a panic attack. Placed neatly on his desk was the black, spiral bound notebook, the same one which contained all of the others' logs and fears. It looked as if it had been put there intentionally, but he knew that wasn't right, he looked over to where it had landed on the floor after his fear-fueled rage the night before; and sure enough, the floor was bare.

Now only one question remained, how had the book gotten from the floor to the desk? His heart lurched as he realized there were only a few options, the first being that one of the others had retrieved it and put it there; or worse, he had gotten it himself while sleep-walking as a part of his own fears. He wracked his mind for memories of the nightmare he'd had, but it was rapidly fading; he couldn't remember if he had shown Thomas the book or not.

No one else knew the book existed, so how could any of the others have come to get it? The answer, they couldn't. That left him with only one possibility, the same one he had hoped wasn't true, he had gotten it himself. Virgil could feel his hands beginning to shake, his heart begin to race, what had he done? What had he said? What did the others now know? He didn't have long to ponder the questions before a familiar tugging sensation at the back of his shoulders told him that Thomas was summoning him. He considered not going, this was going to be his nightmare becoming a reality, but there was no running from it, he couldn't avoid his host and this issue forever.

As quickly as he could, Anxiety took the small book and stuffed it into one of his hoodie pockets. He had a bad feeling that the reason they were being called was held within its pages. Checking his eye-shadow in the mirror, he let his eyes rest on the four long lacerations which crossed his face, how was he going to explain them to Thomas? The last thing Virgil wanted to do right now was lay blame, especially on Roman who already had enough reason to hate him. Sighing, He threw his hood up over his head to conceal his face like he had at breakfast and synced into the real world.

When he appeared on the stairs, he was shocked to see that none of the other sides were present, but somehow this didn't make him feel any better. Glancing over to his host, Virgil could see just how tired Thomas looked, and he was left to wonder what had caused his fatigue. His feeling of dread only intensified as he finally came up with the reason as to why he was the only one there; the others had already been questioned. That would explain why Thomas looked so worn out, Anxiety was the last to give his side of the story.

As their gazes locked, Virgil could see a glimmer of concern in his host's eyes as he spoke, his voice horse with exhaustion. "Since it's clear neither of us wants to talk about this, I'm just going to cut to the chase. I know we are both tired and I have already gotten three different stories, so tell me this, what exactly happened last night?"

Virgil looked to the floor, wondering what the others had said, but he knew he couldn't lie, even if this was his nightmare come to life. "A-As far as I know, I have been keeping track of the others, trying to figure out exactly what has been going on. In the past few months they have all picked up the habits of both sleep-walking and sleep-talking…and now it looks like I have too." His voice sounded even more dull and raspy than it had that morning, but he did nothing to fight it, "that doesn't matter now though. The point is, I have been trying to figure out the cause of the sleep-walking, and it seems to me like the others all have very specific nightmares. I-I was trying to listen to them and put a name to the fears which were causing the dreams so I could try and do something useful." He trailed off, trying not to let the panic he felt bleed into his voice, "but I was so caught up with this stupid project that I wasn't able to do my actual job and keep the others safe. I noticed too late what was happening; I ran to catch him, but I wasn't fast enough, so…Roman fell down the stairs while sleep-walking. I'm pretty sure he thinks I pushed him, but I can promise I didn't."

Thomas took his time before responding, almost as if he were trying to decide what to address first; but when he did speak, there was an aura of sorrow about him. "I believe you. You two may have your differences, but I can't see you intentionally attacking Roman and pushing him down a flight of stairs." He stopped to take a deep breath, "I've already told you that I've spoken with the others, and while Roman did seem angry about his injuries, both Patton and Logan seemed more concerned than anything else. All of them hinted at some sort of book, but none of them would give me any details about what it said, or even what significance it held. In fact, they all acted almost afraid when the subject came up…do you want to tell me about it?"

If Anxiety was telling the truth; then no, he didn't want to talk about the book, that was the last thing he wanted to do, but with such a direct question, he knew there was no way around it. "T-To some extent, I already have. The others have been dealing with these nightmares, the same ones every night, coinciding with a particular set of fears they have, which has led to them sleep-walking. To try and help them I have been keeping logs of everything they said and did while sleep-walking; and I have it all written down here." He reached in his pocket, a part of him glad that he had brought the book, but hating what he was going to have to do next, hand it over. His mind reeled as Thomas accepted the book, what would he think of the entries? Would he believe that Virgil really had the others' best interests at heart, or would he think the intended use was blackmail?

His host glanced over the cover curiously before opening it, and with a painstakingly slow pace thumbed through the pages. Anxiety picked at the carpet, unwilling to see the expression on Thomas's face as he read. Seconds seemed to drag on, and after what felt like hours, he spoke again, "when were you planning on telling the others about all of this?"

Shock coursed through Virgil when there was no hint of anger or pity to the words. Taking a deep breath, he waited a few moments, "originally I had intended to tell them about it this morning, but after Roman fell, I couldn't find the right time…or the courage to bring it up."

Glancing up, he could see the confusion hanging over Thomas like a storm cloud, "and yet you sound like they already know?"

"I assume they do. You told me you had already spoken to them and each of them brought up the book…I should have been the only one to know about it. Unless I started sleep-walking and showed it to the others without realizing that's what I was doing." Virgil placed his head in his hands, his next statement whispered more to himself than his host, "and I can only imagine what I said while sleep-talking."

Thomas was more perceptive than Virgil gave him credit for as he referred to what had been said under his breath. "I will say this, much like the book, the others did allude to you sleep-talking as well, but none of them would tell me what you said. Now I don't know if they were embarrassed or if they were trying to protect you, but it sounds like you know as little as I do."

He looked up at his host in surprise, none of the others had repeated what he'd said? "Well, I don't know about Logan and Patton; but Roman, he probably didn't say anything for his own sake." He flinched at the appalled look in Thomas's eyes, "look, I know Roman and I have been on better terms recently but with Roman thinking that I pushed him down the stairs…now he has a reason not to trust me."

Thomas's eyes took on a glimmer of bewilderment, "and yet you claim you didn't push him?"

Anxiety chuckled half-heartedly, "do you believe me?"

His host took a small step forward, and it was all he could do not to back away, "what do you mean? I told you at the start that I believed you." He paused briefly, "is it possible that you've gone over the situation so many times in your head that you blame yourself for what happened, even if it wasn't your fault?"

Virgil knew he still blamed himself, there was no denying that, but was it not justified? He glanced around to the places where the other sides usually stood; he hadn't been quick enough, he hadn't been able to stop Princey from getting hurt. He could feel the tears beginning to well up in his eyes, he was supposed to keep the others safe, and he had failed. "I-I was watching over Roman," he took in a sharp breath, "I should have seen what was happening, but I was so focused on that damn book! If I hadn't then I could have done my job and…and no one would hate me."

"You're jumping to a conclusion Virgil," he didn't dare to lift his eyes as Thomas responded, his tone gentle. "Let me start with this, Roman doesn't hate you; I think he was madder with himself for falling down the stairs to begin with than anything else. It seemed to me that his anger was fueled more by embarrassment than hatred." He faltered for a moment, making it seem like he was waiting for Virgil to look up at him, but when he refused to lift his gaze, Thomas continued anyway. "Listen, I know you think you have to, but there is no way for you to protect all of us all the time. Try looking at the situation from what I've heard, you were focusing on the others' fears to try and help them. You didn't notice Roman heading for the stairs because none of them had ever strayed that far before. Even if you hadn't been looking after them, he would have fallen anyway, and it was thanks to your note taking that anyone noticed him at all. If you hadn't been there, he might not have been found until morning." Anxiety couldn't bring himself to lift his head, but he didn't know if it was from shame or to keep the marks on his face hidden. "Virge…I know you often see yourself as a bad thing, but I think you're leaving out many of the good characteristics you portray."

He couldn't help but scoff at the statement, other than being the fight-or-flight response, what good was there to him? All he managed to do was mess everything up, "Like what?!" He hadn't meant to sound so angry but he was tired of being coddled, he was tired of being lied to. Drawing in a sharp breath he continued before Thomas had a chance, the fear and anguish he had tried so hard to suppress now working as his driving force. "No matter what I do it's always the wrong thing! If I'm the antagonist, no one wants me around! I try to leave to evade the problem, and suddenly everyone wants me to come back! I try to make amends with the others, and I get blamed for something I didn't do! I try to help them with their fears, the only thing I'm knowledgeable about, and I let one of them get hurt! I-"

"Virgil! Stop!" He hadn't noticed how quick his breathing had become until Thomas cut him off. He briefly let his eyes wander to his hands, and seeing them shaking, he immediately shoved them into his pockets in an effort to conceal them. "Virgil, you need to listen to me. Whatever you're thinking right now, whatever it is that has you this worked up, you need to slow down and take a breath. I know this kind of self-deprecation well, you're leading yourself into a panic-attack." Despite knowing that the nature of Thomas's concerns were true, he couldn't stop the fear and self-hatred which burned within him like fire spreading through a forest. His host must have noticed Anxiety's inability to speak, because he continued, "part of this whole situation is my fault, and I will be the first to admit that. The first time you showed up, I labeled you as 'My Anxiety,' I never even gave you a chance to defend yourself against the claim. Moreover, I tried to combat you; it wasn't until Logan claimed you were the antagonist in the Losing My Motivation video that I realized it, and that was wrong of all of us, but especially me. I was the one working to improve the relations of the other three, and I didn't even consider that you should have been included in that for quite some time. There is really no excuse for how long it took me to realize that you represent more than anxiety, and for that I apologize."

"I know, I'm your fight-or-flight response…we've been over this already," he didn't even try to fight against the exhausted rasp in his voice.

"I think we both know there's more to you than that." Virgil let his shoulders fall in defeat, whatever Thomas was getting at, he certainly didn't see it. "Perhaps you don't…let me try to explain what I see." The moments of silence which followed were agonizing and he seriously considered syncing out in an attempt to avoid the conversation. If he did that however, he knew Thomas would just call on the other sides to help find him, or follow him into the mindpalace himself, and that would only serve to make things worse. Unwillingly, he stayed put, not lifting his tear filled gaze as he waited for what would be said next. "Yes, you embody my anxiety and my fight-or-flight response, but just like the others, there is more to you. You notice things Roman, Patton, or Logan couldn't dream of seeing. If someone is fearful or feels out of place, you're the first to pick up on that and try to amend it, all while being honest with your opinions. Since the others have accepted you, you have tried not to be so harsh when voicing said opinions, but you are still truthful. Then, despite your outward appearance, you do care for all of us, and I know for a fact that you would defend any of us with your life if necessary. On top of all that, you are still finding new ways to be helpful, like looking for ways to assist the others with fears they don't even realize are having an effect on them." Virgil didn't know how to react; he wasn't used to being praised. Actually the opposite was what he considered to be normal, as he was regularly shut down for the things he did. All of that was still rushing through his mind, but it was what Thomas said next which really caught him off guard. "All of these things are true when it comes to Patton, Roman, Logan, or I…but you seem to lose sight of that same caring nature when it comes to helping yourself." Virgil finally summoned the courage to look at his host and was taken aback to see him sitting on the floor just a few steps below him. He'd been nearer to the sofa at the start of the conversation; Anxiety must have been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed Thomas drawing nearer. "Virgil, everyone else has done all they can to accept you as a part of this group…of this family, but none of us can do anymore until you accept yourself."

Anxiety hated the situation, he hated the words which had been spoken, but more than any of that, he hated himself for his reaction. His shoulders shook and his breathing became irregular even before the tears began falling to his shirt. He tried to hide his sudden change in demeanor, but even if it seemed to come out of nowhere for him, that didn't seem to be the case for Thomas, who was soon at his side. Virgil turned his head away as thoughts raced through his mind so quickly that he couldn't keep up nor distinguish one from another, all the while, his physical reaction took a backseat. From previous experience, he knew this wasn't a panic attack, his chest wasn't tight enough, his breathing and heart-rate too slow, and this wasn't fueled by fear. He struggled to discern one emotion from another, sadness from fear, fear from anger, and anger from self-loathing. What was happening to him now was a far cry different from anything he had experienced in the past. He wasn't having a panic-attack, he was having a complete emotional and mental breakdown, and he didn't have the first clue of how to stop it. Overloaded by his thoughts and emotions, he did the one thing he wished he could avoid, but at the current moment it was the only thing he was capable of, he gave in.

The tears which blurred Thomas's silhouette stung as they ran across the marks on his face, but at the moment that was the least of his worries. Why was this happening to him? He hated showing weakness to anyone, so why was he allowing himself to react this way? "Virgil…are you okay?"

The one in question barely managed to shake his head in response, and the next thing he knew, a pair of arms were wrapped around his shoulders. Normally, he would have tried to pull away from such a gesture; but this time, he didn't have the strength. Moreover, something small from deep inside him didn't want to pull away; for once he wanted someone to comfort him. In the end his body reacted before his mind had the chance to catch up, returning the embrace as if Thomas were his only lifeline as he fell to pieces.

Virgil was hardly aware of the hushed words of comfort which were being spoken as he struggled to hold on to what little shreds of sanity he had left. The mere thought that he had just broken every resolve he'd ever made within himself only served to make things worse. After all this time, he had finally shown his weaknesses and fears to Thomas, and more than that, himself. He had finally done the one thing he had vowed never to do out of fear of being mocked or betrayed, he had placed his trust in someone else.

Anxiety had no idea how much time had passed before he could think with any sort of clarity, and as much as he disliked it, there was no taking back what had just happened. It sickened him to think that he would have to live with the memory, but he couldn't focus on that at the moment, or he would run the risk of falling back into the broken state that he was trying so desperately to climb out of. Slowly, he untangled himself from Thomas, leaning against the stair-rail, using the posts to brace himself. Even though it would do nothing to help his mental state, he couldn't escape the shame he felt or the dreaded sympathy he was sure to receive.

Thomas must have understood, because he moved back to where he had previously been sitting at the base of the stairs, where he seemed to be waiting until Virgil was able to collect himself. The two remained in a deafening silence until finally Thomas dared to speak, "Virge…I know you don't like to show emotion to anyone, but choosing to trust me like this is a major step in the right direction."

Anxiety pondered what had been said and the situation as a whole, had he really chosen to trust Thomas? He hadn't felt like he'd had any control over his actions whatsoever, everything had been so overwhelming that it all felt forced. His reaction hadn't been like his choice to duck out, reveal his name, or change his outfit; he'd been unable to do anything but give in. Suddenly a realization struck him like lightning, there was one thing he had chosen to do, he had chosen to stay. In the past he would have fled, returning to the mind-palace and the safety of his room as soon as his emotions became too much to control. This time however, instead of running, he'd remained where he was, almost longing for the support he'd been given, something he had been deprived of in the past. Perhaps, somewhere in the recesses of his mind, he had hoped it would help, and part of him had to admit that in some way, it did. "I-I guess you're right," Virgil struggled to find his voice, "please don't tell the others about any of this."

Thomas actually cracked a smile, "I wouldn't dream of it." His face fell slightly, but he continued on, "now that you're feeling better, I think it's time we brought the others in and settled this whole ordeal once and for all." Anxiety froze momentarily, unsure if he was ready to face his friends just yet, but he knew that the sooner the issue was resolved, the better things would be. Taking a deep breath, he reluctantly nodded in agreement.

Thomas had barely returned to his place when the logical, moral, and creative sides appeared. For the time being, the tension which filled the air was almost palpable, only solidifying the claim their host had made, they needed to do something to finally put this issue to rest. Before he even knew what he was doing, Virgil had analyzed all of the others' expressions, glances, mannerisms, and movements, allowing him insight on how they all felt.

Patton was clearly worried judging by the way he shuffled his feet on the carpet and fidgeted with the sleeves of the hoodie tied loosely around his shoulders. Logan came across as more uncomfortable than worried, as if he knew what was to come, and was ready to deny every word of it. All of which Virgil noticed from his overly-professional poise and the way he straightened his tie rather than his glasses. The reaction which shocked him the most however was Roman's; he seemed to have an aura of shame about him, something Anxiety had never sensed in him before. The Prince refused to meet anyone's gaze, instead keeping his eyes locked firmly on the floor, almost as if he wished the carpet would envelope him and remove him from the situation all together.

With his quick scope complete, Virgil came to terms with the fact that he was going to have to be the first to speak. "I'm just going to cut to the chase and say that I owe all of you an apology." He pretended not to notice the shocked looks passed around by his colleagues, those same expressions confirming to him that they already knew why they had been summoned. "I'll tell you what I told Thomas, I have no idea what I said while I was sleep-walking, or what conclusions you all drew from that…but I should have talked to all of you sooner. I never meant for things to get this out of hand, but I didn't have the skills necessary to work any faster than I did. I don't have the capability of deductive reasoning, or ways to come up with a better idea than I already had before things started to fall apart. If I had, then I probably would have been able to get to my answers quicker. Worst of all, I lacked the compassion, and still lack the compassion to approach the situation with care or make it easier to deal with in general." He let his eyes drift down to the stairs beneath him, "I discovered your fears by accident, but I was honestly trying to help you with them. Please believe me when I say that I never intended to use them against you…I-I know the power fear can hold over someone, and it's not pleasant, so I started working on a way to help you all through it. I may not be the best one to come to for emotional support, but I am knowledgeable when it comes to fears, phobias, and anxiety." The last word hung in the air for a moment before he continued, "I was trying to come up with techniques and coping skills to help each of you improve on how you dealt with your nightmares and the fears which fuel them. I really was trying to help…but I only ended up making the situation worse by allowing someone to get hurt on my watch and-"

"Virgil." He didn't have the courage to pull his eyes from the floor as Roman said his name, "hey, Hot Topic, look at me." Taking a deep breath, he kept his head lowered, but cast his gaze upwards, "I don't want to admit it, but if there is anyone here who needs to apologize…it's me. When I fell down those stairs, I was willing to blame anyone but myself," he took in a deep breath, "and when I saw you standing there." He sighed, fidgeting with his sash, "I lashed out on you…quite literally, when you were just trying to help me. For that I apologize."

Virgil didn't miss the glances of concern that Thomas gave the two of them, "lashed out?"

The Prince stared at him in disbelief, "y-you didn't tell him?! Why not?! I deserve to at least be yelled at for what I did to you!"

Anxiety sighed, "no you don't; I know what it must have looked like from where you were." He chuckled half-heartedly, "to randomly fall down the stairs and then look up, only to see me standing there, I can see why you thought I pushed you."

Roman appeared even more taken by surprise at his calm demeanor and consideration. "J-Just because I believed that you had acted violently gave me no right to do the same!"

"Violently?!" Thomas glanced between the two, horror shimmering in his gaze as his eyes rested on Princey. "Roman…what did you do?"

The one in question looked over to Virgil, "just tell him and get it over with."

He turned to Thomas, face still shrouded by the shadow of his hood, "before I show you anything, I want you to know that I don't hold this against Roman." In the silence that followed, Virgil slowly lifted his head, pushing his hood back to reveal the four long lacerations which ran diagonally across his face. He resisted the urge to turn away at the sharp intake of breath from his host, and the eyes which were now glued to the marks.

Anxiety lowered his head, but his eyes snapped up at the tone of a voice, "Roman! You shoul-"

"Thomas, don't…I told you, I don't hold it against him, so neither should you." He let his shoulders fall, "besides, there are more important things we need to talk about."

Thomas glanced at the Prince before reluctantly shifting his attention to the topic at hand, "just make sure it doesn't happen again."

Virgil was the one to clear the awkward silence which followed, "I accept your apology Roman…and I hope you can accept mine."

Logan, who had remained quiet during the altercation, now put forth his own input, "I believe I speak on behalf of all of us when I say that you have nothing to apologize for." Anxiety wanted to say something as the others nodded, but he didn't have the chance as Logic continued. "The happenings of the last twenty-four hours have been nothing short of a disconnect on behalf of us all, and I think it is high time we got to the root of those issues." He straightened his glasses, looking directly at Virgil, "I will be the first to admit that I have been plagued by these dark dreams." He was in shock, not because Logan had been the first to speak, but because the claim had admitted that he was capable of and currently experiencing the human emotion of fear. "Now, I know this is something you more than likely will not wish to hear, and none of us are too keen on telling you, but it must be said. You explained your end of the situation quite plainly when you were sleep-walking, and in doing so, handed us that book to read over." Anxiety suppressed a wince as Logic gestured to the black object in Thomas's hands; he had guessed that the others had read the book, but now his suspicions had been confirmed. "I might add, even though this may be considered off topic; that the notes you kept were quite extensive and well-organized. I would appreciate it if you could find the time to discuss your methods with me in the future; they would be most helpful in my studies." Anxiety merely nodded, not really sure of how to respond to the compliment, and Logan looked to the floor before continuing on. "I will also be the first to state that my work has been made a bit more difficult from the restlessness that I have been experiencing recently. Therefore, I would appreciate your insight on the matter, if you are still willing to speak with me about it."

The statement Logic made left Anxiety speechless; the others had in fact noticed their fears during their waking hours. Part of him was also bewildered, not only by the fact that he had been asked for help, but that he had even been correct in the first place, and he was in a position to offer assistance at all. Now that Logan had asked however, he was worried that fear or pride may cloud the judgment of the other two, and they may not be so willing to voice their concerns and ask for his input.

Proving Virgil wrong, Patton was the next to draw his attention, "first of all, I want to apologize for going through your book. Whether you handed it to us or not, we shouldn't have read it. You weren't actually conscious, nor were you giving us the proper permission to go through it." He played with the hoodie around his shoulders, his voice hesitant, "I-I would also like your help…"

"I'd like to get some of my fears out of the way as well, coming up with ideas is hard when you aren't sleeping well." Suddenly, Roman's voice changed from one filled with defeat to a slightly more humorous tone as he looked down at the sling which supported his arm. "Not falling down the stairs again would also be a bonus." Anxiety was left dumbfounded; all of the others had accepted their fears, but more than that, they actually wanted his help with them. Even after the events of the entire day prior, they still wanted to hear the advice he had to give them. He couldn't wrap his mind around the idea that his efforts and research were going to be put to a positive use even after they had caused so much destruction.

Thomas cleared his throat, pulling him from the thoughts which raced through his mind, "if you're going to help them, you'll need this." Next thing he knew, the small black notebook was in his hands again; thumbing through it, he half expected the pages to be blank. The whole situation seemed like the product of a dream; and yet, when he opened the book, there were the words he had written, neatly organized, and color-coated by the side they were for.

Virgil lifted his head from the notes as Patton spoke up again, "so, will you help us?"

Suddenly, he realized that he had never expressed his willingness to help, "yeah, of course." He paused, closing the book and placing it back in his pocket, "for now though, it's getting late, and I don't think it's going to help any of you sleep tonight if we start going over your fears right now. You'd all be better off getting some rest, and we'll start on this tomorrow."

They all nodded in agreement, all but Roman, who was glaring at him playfully, "only if you promise to stop me from falling down the stairs again Hot Topic."

Anxiety genuinely laughed, "never gonna let me live that down, are you Sir Sing-A-Lot?"

"Not a chance."

-End Part 4-

-Begin Part 5-

That night, Virgil was ready to keep watch over the others, similar to the way he had been for weeks, but this time he wouldn't be keeping notes. He sat in the hall with his headphones on, but his eyes, better equipped for seeing in the dark than the others, scanned for any sign of the others' sleep-walking habits. He already had the information he needed, so now he could pay more attention to his job of keeping them safe, ready for the moment he may have to spring into action.

His head whipped to the side as he saw Patton walk aimlessly from his room, and Anxiety removed his headphones so he could hear his friend's voice. Instinctually, he reached for a pen before remembering it was unnecessary, so he sat back and simply observed. Morality followed his usual path, but for the first time, Virgil noticed how close that path actually took him to the stairs. The events of the night before still fresh in his mind, he moved silently to Patton's side, and with a gentle hand on each shoulder, he slowly coaxed his colleague back to his corner of the mind-palace.

As the covers were tucked around his shoulders, his eyes flickered open and he spoke in a voice slurred with sleep, "Virgil? What are you doing here?"

He smiled and answered in the same soft tone, "my job…now go back to sleep, I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay…g'night Virgi-" He laughed silently as the last threads of consciousness slipped from Morlaity's grasp before he could even finish the name.

He quietly made his way to the door, but turned his head back, just before returning to his place in the corridor, "goodnight dad."

Over the course of the night, the other two got up, but never strayed very close to the stairs, so Virgil allowed their sleep-walking to run its natural course. Glancing at his phone, the time read five fifty-six, Patton would wake in promptly four minutes to begin breakfast, and the others would follow a few hours later. Anxiety's job was over for the night, and he had a couple hours to finalize his notes before he would start his work with the others.

Giving the hallway one final scope, he went back to his room, retrieving the small notebook, pens, paper, and three binders. If he was going to help the other sides, he was going to prove to them that he was taking their fears seriously. Splitting the stack of paper into thirds, he placed each section in its respective binder, promptly labeling each with a name.

A feeling of serenity came over him as he began copying the entries, notes, tactics, and techniques; fears, phobias, and coping skills onto the notebook paper. His writing was color-coded and bullet-pointed lists, which helped him to swiftly come up with more ideas to fit each side's personality, and rough scripts of what he would say to them. A smile graced his lips as he placed an object of significance in each binder as a sort of gift to the rest of them.

Virgil sighed, leaning back in his chair when he had finished writing; more would surely follow as techniques we discarded or proved not to work, but it was a good start. Looking over what he had already done, he began to see why Logic had wanted to know about his note taking strategies. He had organized everything down to the smallest detail.

Knocking rang through the room, pulling Anxiety from his thoughts, breakfast must be ready, and a glance at the clock proved him correct. He had been working for two and a half hours, and only as he looked up did he realize how much his hand was cramping from holding pen after pen. Throwing his hoodie around his shoulders, he wondered how an action which had been so strenuous only a day ago could lose the weight it bore so easily. Quickly touching up his eye-shadow, he didn't even notice the marks on his face before making his way to the kitchen. The smell of bacon, which was mingled with other scents reached him the moment he stepped out of the door, betraying what Patton had made for all of them.

Logan's voice stopped him about halfway down the hall, "good morning Virgil, I trust that your night went well. Are you ready for the endeavors you have for all of us today?"

Nervousness came over him for a few moments; would the others think as highly of his work as he did? He took a deep breath to clear away his worries, the others had asked him for his help, and he had done his best, and that was all anyone could ask for. "I'm ready as I'll ever be, I have things lined up that will help with the nightmares more than you might think."

Logic nodded once, "in that case, I look forward to it. You understand fears and phobias far better than the rest of us, so I can't think of anyone more qualified to help us with them." He glanced over to the stairs, "now we better get downstairs or our food will be cold."

As they reached the first floor, Patton seemed as bubbly as ever, "morning kiddos!" He placed mugs of coffee on the table before them as they took their seats and Virgil smiled as he took a sip of his. It was perfect as always, sweetened and warmed to just the right point with just a dash of vanilla creamer to give it a bit more flavor. "How are you this morning?"

Morality sounded a bit too upbeat, almost as if he were using his cheer to mask something else, but he didn't have much time to think it over as Logan spoke, "my night was satisfactory; therefore, my morning is off to a pleasant start."

Virgil nodded in agreement, "my night went well…I've been a bit busy this morning, but it's all chill."

Patton gave him an odd look, and he began to wonder if he had done something wrong, "I-I can't tell if what I'm thinking of actually happened or if I was dreaming." He appeared thoughtful as he placed the silverware on the table, "I thought I saw you in my room last night, but I could have been dreaming."

Grateful that he hadn't upset his friend, he took another sip of his coffee before replying, "you saw me. I walked you back to your room after you strayed a bit too close to the stairs for my liking."

Anxiety looked over to the steps, holding up three fingers to where the others could see, and confusion filled their gazes as he put one down for each second that passed. The same moment he lowered his hand all together, Roman's playful scolding could be heard from the second floor. "Oh, so you can keep Patton from falling down the stairs but not me, I see how it is!"

The Prince laughed along with the moral and anxious sides, joining them in the kitchen; Logan merely smirked and shook his head at them. The meal began almost immediately with all of their usual banter as if the events of the day before had never happened. The whole morning, if Virgil wasn't laughing, he was smiling in some way, but he knew they would soon have to get down to business.

Clearing his throat, he began in a reserved tone, "I'm going to assume that the three of you want to talk with me individually. That being said, I need to know which one of you I will be working with first."

The others looked at one another nervously, but it was Logic who stepped up, "since Patton will be doing the dishes, and Roman has expressed that he does most of his brainstorming in the morning, I shall go first."

His stiff movements were just one of the indicators that he wasn't comfortable with the idea, but Anxiety had already accounted for that. "Okay, I need to get my notes, and then I'll join you in the library," Logan simply nodded and he headed off to his room. They wouldn't know it, but Virgil had set it up so that he would be counseling each of them in a place other than their rooms in which they would feel the most comfortable. The setting would help to make them more at ease, and would create an atmosphere that allowed them to talk as they normally would.

A few minutes later, binder in hand, he was passing shelf after shelf, each one filled with more books than he could count, to get to the seating area where Logic would be waiting. He almost got lost traversing the seemingly endless and silent isles of which he was less accustomed than he had previously believed. Certain he had made multiple wrong turns along the way; he eventually found the place where he was to meet up with his friend.

Logan sat in one of the plush chairs which were separated by a small table, and in front of them were ottomans on which to rest their feet. Then off to one side there was a fireplace that cast shadows around the room which shifted gently as the flames flickered. Virgil knew that his appearance could often be startling, due to his quiet nature of moving, so he made a point to clear his throat so as to alert the other of his presence before rounding the corner.

Logan glanced up as the darker of the two walked over, sitting down in the free chair, "I'm assuming from your time of arrival that you struggled to find your way through the library. Am I correct?" He sometimes forgot that through deduction, Logic was almost as poignant as he was.

Anxiety shrugged, placing the binder in his lap, but he left it closed for the time being, he had an idea of how he was going to bring up the issues naturally. "It's like a maze in here to me, I'm lucky I didn't get lost."

His friend was completely oblivious to the metaphorical trail of breadcrumbs being left for him to follow, "I can show you the most direct route to the main corridor when we leave."

Placing his feet on one of the ottomans, "thank you." Virgil smiled lightly, glancing around the area they were in, "I can see why you like it in here."

Logan was quiet for a moment as he too cast his gaze around the room, "yes, outside of the enjoyment I find through reading, I'm able to work undisturbed here, the fire keeps it pleasantly warm, and the seating is most ideal. I have also found that being surrounded by books can be comforting, more often than not, they are factually correct and less likely to be swayed by emotion."

The second half of the statement held a sense of longing, one that Virgil could use to get closer to Logic's fears without him shutting down. Pretending to be oblivious he spoke once more, "what's one of your favorite books? Not including The Murder or Roger Ackroyd, since I already know that one."

"Hmm, a second favorite novel?" He had a distant look in his eyes as he considered the possibilities, "even though it is not a singular book, I suppose it would have to be Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien."

Anxiety was surprised he had chosen a fantasy genre book over something in the vein of Sherlock Holmes. "Could you go get the first book for me? I've been thinking of reading the series once I finish Harry Potter." The claim wasn't entirely a lie, but he had a slightly different intention for the book once it was in his possession.

"Certainly," Logan stood without question and strode over to one of the shelves that lined the walls of the room. He returned with a good, but well-read copy of the first book, "here you are, Fellowship of the Ring, the first book in the trilogy."

He accepted the object as Logan took his place in the adjacent chair, allowing Anxiety the chance to look the book over more closely. Upon further inspection, he could see the cracks down the paperback's spine, the creasing and yellowed pages, as well as the fading colors of the cover. He had to stop himself from smiling; the book held all of the features he needed to make his case, "so Logan, when I hold up this book, what are your first thoughts about it?"

He seemed confused, but answered all the same, "it is a highly-acclaimed and well written novel by a world renowned author…why do you ask?"

Virgil began thumbing through the pages, "is there anything about the book which is off putting or unreadable?"

"Of course not!" He lifted an eyebrow at the emphatic statement.

"Really, because it has obviously been read many times and is far from perfect condition."

Logic trained his eyes on the novel, "well yes. While a book is to be handled with care, it is also meant to be read; therefore, a bit of wear is to be expected over time."

Looking up, Anxiety watched the other closely as he spoke, "does the wear and tear make the story fail to live up to what it is claimed to be, or change the context of the writing?"

Logan was yet to catch on to what he was getting at, "why would it? A few flaws in physical features don't change the value of the fictional writings it holds; I would have thought that was obvious."

"So would I," Virgil finally put the book down and replaced it with the binder.

"I am not sure I follow," even though he sounded fairly confident, he looked over to the notes with an aura of nervousness about him.

"This whole time I have been asking questions about this book, and you have yet to pick up on the fact that I have addressed more than half of your fears already." He handed a copy of his notes over to Logic, "fears; being wrong, imperfection pertaining to knowledge or calculations, failure, and neglecting responsibility."

"I still don't see how this relates to the book," something told Anxiety that he did see the correlation, he just didn't want to say so.

"Let me put it this way, the book has imperfections, but does it wrongly tell or even fail to tell the story written within it?" He picked up a pen, ready to write whatever response he was given.

"No it doesn't, it still tells the story quite clearly," Virgil could feel his friend's discomfort as he jotted down the notes.

"Therefore it's not disregarding its jobs of being read and telling the story, so while it has imperfections it is still capable of doing all the things required of it." Anxiety glanced over to his friend, "so what can we infer from that?"

"That the book is still just a book with a few flaws; I fail to see the relevance."

"Logan, your fears are having too much of an effect on you right now which is leading to your sleep-walking and talking, so this is what I propose, think of yourself like you think of this book. You have flaws; sure, but you are the smartest of all of us. Those flaws don't make you wrong or a failure, and you would never sit idly by when there's work to be done, just as the book will continue to tell its story despite its creases and wear."

Logan blinked at him in shock at the analogy, "yes…but the imperfections are still there, and in my case," he took in a deep breath. "That could have severe implications on you, Thomas, and the others."

Virgil didn't miss the way the paper fluttered in Logic's shaking hands, "let me ask you this, in all the books and articles you've read, have you ever finished reading a line and gone to read the next line only to accidentally begin the same line again?"

"Y-Yes, many times in fact," Logan's breathing followed the pattern of fear that he was rather accustomed with; clearly all this talk of imperfections was putting him on edge. Anxiety wouldn't have thought he needed it, but breathing techniques might prove beneficial against the phobias.

"Okay, well when you do that, you don't just read the same line again, you correct yourself and begin reading the next line." He paused, choosing his words carefully, "when it comes to imperfections in your calculations or knowledge, which from what I've seen is rare at the worst of times, you do the same. You notice almost immediately when you've made a mistake, and you go back and fix it before it has a chance to impact anyone else. That's not to mention that you learn from your mistakes so you don't make the same one again in the future. Imperfections are a part of life, but one which you can work through, and the only thing keeping you from that is a lack of trust in yourself. In the future, when you make a mistake, you need to come to terms with the fact that it's not the end of the world, and trust yourself enough to know you can fix it and keep going." Virgil looked back to his binder and pulled a sheet of paper from it, "this is a list of techniques for you to use. Some of them such as taking short breaks and finding activities that are calming to you are for when you are stressed. Others are for when you feel overwhelmed, such as the breathing and grounding techniques. I suggest setting up some kind of a schedule for those; for example, use one every time you look up at the clock or when you flip to a new sheet of paper while working. Then keep the tactics that work and discard the ones that don't." He handed a copy of the list to Logan, but it was clear that he was still shaking, "okay, you're still stressed, so let's try something. List five things you can see, four things you can hear, three things you can touch, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste."

Still worked up, Logic whipped his head from side to side as he began the exercise, "f-five things I can see; books…chairs…f-fireplace…carpet…and shelves. Four things I can hear; my voice…t-the wind outside…the fire crackling…and you tapping your pen." Virgil hadn't even realized he was doing that last one, but it counted nonetheless. "Three things I can touch; the paper…my glasses…and the chair." His voice was becoming steadier as he continued, "two things I can smell; the smoke from the fire, and new books. Finally, one thing I can taste; my coffee." Anxiety smiled as he took a sip of his drink, and after a deep breath Logic held up his hand, it was almost still now, "it worked. Pray tell, how does it work?"

Virgil gestured to the list, "it's a grounding technique. Using each of your senses one at a time allows you to focus on that and only that. It helps to slow your breathing and your thoughts, making you more aware of what you're doing and therefore helps to calm you down. Saying the items out loud works best, but going through the exercise in your mind can be helpful too."

Logic nodded, though he came across as a bit sheepish, but that much was to be expected, "thank you Virgil…I think this may be quite useful."

"No problem buddy," he looked down to the binder, "there is one more thing." He pulled out a folder and handed it over to Logan, "those are the detailed instructions of my note taking methods that you wanted."

The one in question accepted the gift, flipping through and briefly scanning the pages, "thank you, this will be most helpful."

"Anything to lower the stress of your work." Virgil gave a knowing smile as realization dawned in his eyes. "Anyway, you promised to help me find my way out of here."

"Yes, of course," the pair of them stood and walked in a comfortable silence through the labyrinth that made up the library.

When they reached the corridor Logan spoke up once more, "here you are." He paused momentarily, adjusting his tie, "if it were to become necessary…could I seek out your assistance with these issues again in the future?"

Anxiety nodded, "sure, just let me know."

Logic dipped his head in gratitude, "thank you again Virgil. That was a lot less strenuous than I thought it was going to be."

"No worries, I've found that a place where someone feels comfortable and finding a way to make the conversation flow naturally can help a lot; that being said, I'll see you at dinner Logan."

With slight motions to signal goodbye, Virgil headed for his room to drop off Logan's binder. In a way he was shocked by how well things had gone, he had honestly expected the situation to be harder on him. He shook his head as he opened the door, he couldn't allow himself to become complacent, there was still a lot of work to do, and the other two were far more emotional. Either way, he couldn't rid himself of the warm feeling he had as he realized he had not only been able to help Logan, but that he had done a good enough job that further sessions might be considered. Taking a deep breath to clear his mind, it was time to go and see which of the other two he would be working with next. When he made his way to the commons, he couldn't help but notice that Roman was the only one present.

-End Part 5-

-Begin Part 6-

Roman glanced up as he entered the room, "hey Virgil, did things go well with Logan?"

He leaned against the stair rail as he spoke, "it went better than I thought it would…granted, it was Logan, so there weren't too many things that could have gone wrong."

Princey frowned, "don't discredit yourself Hot Topic. I'm sure you've put in a lot of hard work to find different ways to help all of us."

Anxiety shrugged, "I guess, but it wasn't too hard…I just happen to be knowledgeable on the topic." He glanced around the room, "since I don't see Patton anywhere nearby, I'm guessing you're going next."

Roman seemed apprehensive now, but spoke as clearly as ever, "I suppose so; I think Patton is doing laundry right now." He lowered his voice to a whisper, "just between you and me, I think he is more nervous about talking with you than Logan and I combined."

Virgil was taken aback by the claim, bringing his voice to the same low volume as Princey's, "really? He's usually so adamant about us helping one another; I wouldn't have expected him to be so stressed out about this."

"I would have thought so too, but he's been elusive today; anytime I see him, he seems too busy with chores to stop and talk. I think he's using them as an excuse to keep himself occupied."

Roman had no reason to lie, but he was left to wonder why Morality would be so worried. Anxiety brushed it off for the time being, he would talk with Patton soon enough, but right now he needed to focus on Princey. "I'll talk to him later; as for you, let me go grab my notes and then I'll meet you in the screening room."

Thankfully Virgil didn't have anywhere near as hard a time finding the screening room as he did the library's seating area. This time however, the side he was supposed to be counseling was more than likely fashionably late. Knowing that Roman was going to be harder to get through to than Logan, he pulled his phone from his pocket and connected it to the speakers. With a few swift taps on the screen, he pulled up a playlist he had made of softer show-tune waltzes and more mellow Disney songs, playing them at a nearly inaudible volume.

Just as he put the device back in his pocket, the Prince rushed in, "sorry I'm late!"

"Sit down Sir Sing-A-Lot."

Both of them chuckled at the name, clearing some of the tension in the air, and Anxiety opened his mouth to speak again, but Roman beat him to it. "Before you start on whatever speech you have planned, I have a few things I want to say." Virgil stayed silent and gestured for him to go on, "firstly, we haven't spoken just the two of us since I fell down the stairs. That being said, without the pressure or influence of the others, I wanted to apologize again for the way I lashed out on you, no matter the circumstances, my actions were entirely unacceptable."

"Like I said before, I don't hold that against you; I stand by that." His words were true; still, he couldn't help but notice that Princey had just addressed both his fears of imperfection and opinions without Virgil having to direct the conversation in any way. Aware that fears often required reassurance, he spoke again, "if it will make you feel better, I accept your apology."

He sighed in relief, "thanks Virge." He paused for a moment, "next, I wanted to thank you…I know we haven't been on the best of terms with one another in the past, but you're still willing to help me, and I appreciate that."

The comment took Anxiety by surprise, he hadn't been expecting praise from the others, especially not before he had even started. "Y-You're welcome I guess, but I haven't actually done anything to help you yet."

"I know, but you still agreed to help me, even when you didn't have to…so thanks for that."

He was sheepish, but Virgil suddenly realized that it was his third fear talking, being forgotten or ignored. "Roman, I'm gonna knock out two birds with one stone here; you may not even realize it, but you are thanking me for the same reason you just apologized. If I'm right, because you lashed out on me, part of you expected me not to help you. Now be honest not just with me, but yourself; am I right?"

Princey looked at him with wide eyes, "h-how did you figure all of that out from two completely unrelated statements?"

Anxiety actually gave a genuine smile, a rare gesture for him, "because you just did half of my job for me. By apologizing, you faced your fears of imperfection and opinions, then by thanking me, you brought up your fear of being forgotten or more specifically in this case, being ignored."

He stared at Virgil, "I-I did- I mean- wh- how?!"

"I'm going to pretend like I understood everything you just said and continue." He paused momentarily, opening the binder, "like I said; you might not even realize you did this. By apologizing again after I had already accepted your previous apology you proved to me that you were afraid of the opinion I may still have held against you. You also addressed your fear of being imperfect by apologizing for an action you had committed which you deemed as wrong or unjust. Then you got to the fear that I thought I was going to have the hardest time bringing up naturally by thanking me. You worried that I wouldn't help you because of the ordeal from the other night; so inadvertently, you were afraid I was going to ignore you." It wasn't lost on Anxiety that these were some of the same issues he had gone over with Thomas the night before.

Roman blinked at him, momentarily silenced by awe, "when did you become a psychic?"

Virgil chuckled half heartedly, "when you guys started sleep-talking. You seem to forget that I have extensive notes on how you spoke and acted during those episodes."

"Touche Logan." They both allowed themselves to lapse into laughter for a brief time at the light-hearted insult.

When they regained their bearings, Anxiety went back to the reason they were even having the conversation, "seriously though, through those two comments, you've not only accepted your fears, but you've begun to face them as well. In terms of the help you need with them, you're already miles ahead of the others." Flipping through pages in the binder, he began crossing out topics and techniques which had already been proven unnecessary. Finally he pulled out a sheet and handed it over to Princey. "You enjoy singing and acting, so I tried to incorporate some of that into the coping skills that you should work on. For example, and I'll tell you from experience, don't use this one if you're already panicking, but if you are unsure of an opinion or reaction that one of us will have, act like us for a bit. Momentarily put yourself into our headspace and try to think like us, you know us well enough that you should be able to draw the correct or close to the correct conclusion just from your interpretation of our personalities. If that doesn't work or you find yourself too stressed to believe that you are right, do what you did when we started talking. Pull us to the side in a one-on-one environment and ask us about what it is that's bothering you. I know that I wouldn't be offended if you did, and I'm pretty sure the others wouldn't be either. As for imperfections, one of the key things to keep in mind is that no one is perfect; trust me, I know that sounds cliche, but it does help. You can also think of it this way, sure you made a mistake, but now you can say that you have learned from it, and you won't make the same mistake again in the future. Equally, to remember that no one is perfect, you could always think of a mistake that one of us has made in the past."

Princey had an aura of confusion about him, almost as if he were hesitant, "could you give me an example?"

If it weren't for the sincerity in his tone, Virgil would have thought Roman was messing with him, but he did seem genuine. "An example of a mistake I've made is obvious…me trying to leave and quit my job as Anxiety."

The Prince caught on quickly to what he had just made him say, "I-I am so sorry! I didn't mean to bring that up again! I know you regret tha- I mean- I-I'm just going to stop talking now."

"Don't worry about it, I know now that I'm needed, and that's all that matters; I'm not going anywhere. It's an extreme example, but it just goes to show that I learned from my mistake, so you can learn from yours as well."

Roman was clearly calmed by the gentle yet confident way in which the words were said, but it was clear that he still had some questions. "Okay, so I get that I need to work on my fears and how I need to work on them, but there's one thing I don't understand. How is all this supposed to help with the sleep-walking?"

Anxiety was wondering which of the others was going to ask him that, "the somnambulism-" He changed course at the look of confusion in his friend's eyes, "the sleep-walking isn't going to go away overnight, but as you continue to work through your fears, the nightmares won't plague you as much. That will make it so you aren't as restless and you will be less likely to get up and move around while you sleep. Until then however, I will be keeping watch to make sure there are no more injuries."

He seemed satisfied with the response, "good, because I would rather not fall down the stairs again."

Virgil smiled, "trust me, I'm not going to let you or anyone else fall down the stairs again."

There was a lull in the conversation, and Roman looked at him in astonishment, "h-how long have there been show-tunes playing in the background?"

Anxiety couldn't help but laugh, "since before you ran into the room. Just like how I made a point to meet with Logan in the library so he would feel more comfortable with the situation," he pulled his phone from his pocket. "I put on a playlist of show-tune waltzes and quieter Disney songs to make you more at ease."

He seemed touched by the small gesture before apparently coming to some sort of revelation, "that's why I felt less nervous after I walked in." He fell silent from a moment, listening to the music, so Virgil turned it up slightly. "This- this is The Carousel Waltz by- by…I am ashamed that I can't think of the composers' names."

Anxiety answered before he even knew what he was doing, "it was written by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein the second; they also did compositions for Flower Drum Song, The King and I, South Pacific, and a range of others."

"That's it!" Roman took on an incredulous inflection, "since when do you know so much about musicals and Broadway?"

Virgil listened to the piece for a while longer before answering, "Just like with Disney, I too am a Broadway fan."

"You?" Roman sounded pleased as opposed to the mocking tone he had taken in the Dark Side of Disney video. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? What's your favorite musical? What are your favorite songs?"

He was taken aback, not only by the barrage of questions, but also by the positive nature of the conversation in general. It was a far cry different from the similar one they had had previously. Part of him was actually thankful that both of them had grown up enough that they could have such a discussion with someone they used to consider an enemy.

"Well my favorite musical is The Sound of Music." A smirk laced his lips, "I didn't say it then, but I actually caught on to the name you called me at breakfast yesterday. It was pretty clever…'Captain Von Snapp' was it?"

Princey stared at him for a moment, "y-you knew what that was from?" The embarrassment he felt was thankfully quickly replaced by excitement, "never mind, that is a brilliant movie! Why is it your favorite though?"

Virgil gave his friend a playful grin, impersonating his over the top reaction from the Dark Side of Disney video, "because Julie Andrews is a beautiful goddess, and because I can…o-okay!" They were both laughing so hard that he barely managed to choke out the last word. When they finally recovered from the near hysteria, he gave a more honest answer, "while Julie Andrews is amazing in the role, I've always liked the movie. I guess if I had to come up with a reason, other than the music, it would have to be how the children bond with Maria, even though they were against her in the beginning." If Roman caught on to the deeper meaning behind the words, he didn't say anything, allowing Anxiety to continue, "as for my favorite song? I know it's unexpected, but Edelweiss is a really good one. From other movies, I enjoy Wouldn't It Be Loverly from My Fair Lady and You'll Never Walk Alone from Carousel." He paused, wondering if the next song he was thinking of counted, but he decided it did, "as for my real favorite…it's actually Disney…Feed The Birds from Mary Poppins."

"I would have never guessed you liked those songs seeing as they're mostly waltzes. I've never heard you listening to them before."

Roman came across as inquisitive, as if genuinely curious as to why he had never heard the music emanating from Virgil's room. "Well, they aren't exactly loud in comparison to some of the rock music I listen to…and to be honest, I knew if anyone heard me listening to those songs, it would draw attention."

He knew his reasoning was stupid, but Roman smiled understandingly, "wouldn't want that now, would we? Anyway, you must join me one evening to watch some of these movies! I'll make up an excuse as to what you are doing so the others don't know."

Virgil didn't notice until the offer was made that he did in fact like the idea of having movie nights. He was tired of listening to such beautiful soundtracks at a near inaudible volume so as not to alert the others as to what he was watching. Ity would also give him something to do, and he would finally have something other than fears in common with the creative side. "I might just take you up on that offer." He pulled a small case from the binder, "and we can start with this one."

Princey took the object which was offered to him, a dopey grin on his face, "this- this is West Side Story…one of my favorites." He looked up at Anxiety with tears in his eyes, "I broke my DVD about a month ago. I was so disappointed that I didn't have this movie anymore…how did you know?"

"You said you can hear music coming from my room, well I can hear it coming from yours too. You would watch that movie at least once a week, and then all of a sudden I stopped hearing it all together…I'll admit that I was a bit disappointed by that myself, and then a few days later I saw the case and shattered disk in the trash. I was going to wait until your birthday to give you this, but I know a musical can help with my mental state, so I figured this could more than likely do the same for you."

Roman pulled him into a hug, something which he hadn't expected, "thank you so much Virgil." He released the one in question who promptly straightened his hoodie around his shoulders. "It means a lot that you did this for me, and we must watch it together one night this week, no excuses!"

"No problem buddy, and I am looking forward to it; just tell me when, and I'll bring the popcorn." He suspected that the Prince would have been clapping in excitement if not for his sprained wrist. Meanwhile, Anxiety allowed himself for just a moment to indulge himself in the sense of joy that he so rarely felt, but both of them were caught off guard by the familiar tugging sensation at their shoulders.

He immediately began to worry, why would Thomas be summoning them? He knew that they were going to be working on the nightmares today, and he had promised not to disturb them. He hesitated to think about what could be so important that he was willing to go back on his word and call them to the real world anyway. What was wrong? The two sides shared a brief glance before syncing out of the mind-palace.

When they appeared, Logan was already there, but what shocked them all was the presence of Joan and Talyn. It was rare for the sides to be called upon when Thomas's friends were around; still, both of them wore expressions of worry and pain. They almost looked relieved when the sides appeared.

Before they could say anything, Thomas spoke, his voice cold and mocking, "well if it isn't Over-reaction and Disillusion coming to join Mr. Cold Hearted over there!"

They were all left speechless from the insults their host spat at them so easily, "Thomas!" Talyn looked horrified as they expressed what the others were too stunned to say, "what has gotten into you?!"

As the two continued to bicker, Joan moved to address the sides, "he's been acting like this since we got here, and we don't have a clue what's wrong with him. We were hoping you guys might know, or at least be able to figure something out."

Logic glanced from Joan to Thomas and back again, "so you and Talyn summoned us? I didn't even know that was possible…how did you do it?"

Roman's voice was the next to rise into the air, and he no longer showed any of the laughter he had only moments before, "I think we have more important things to worry about right now."

"Yes, we summoned you, but we were trying to call all of you…where's Patton?" When Joan said the name, all of them looked to where Morality usually stood, and dread fell across Anxiety as if someone had draped a cold washcloth over the back of his neck. His mind began to race, where was he? If they had all been summoned, why wasn't he with them? He would be the one most capable of reprimanding Thomas for his actions and helping him to find a better path.

His thoughts were cut short at the sound of Talyn's yelling, "fine then!" They walked over to Joan, who pulled them into an embrace. That was when Virgil noticed the tears in Talyn's eyes. They had always been the sweetest and most understanding of Thomas's friends, so for him to have said something that brought them to tears was going too far.

Seeing the different looks that Thomas, his friends, and the sides wore was enough to bring him to a heart stopping realization, "no, no, no!"

The others turned to him with varying levels of confusion, but it was Roman who voiced what they collectively felt, "Virgil, what's wrong? Do you know what's going on?"

He sighed, running his hands through his hair, "I might…Roman, you said you didn't see much of Patton while I was working with Logan, right?" The one in question merely nodded, "Logan, did you see Patton at all while I was working with Roman?"

Logic straightened his glasses, "not that I can recall. Now that you mention it, I did find it odd that all of the chores had been done, and yet Patton was nowhere to be found."

Virgil put his head in his hands, he could feel panic clawing at his chest but he pushed it away. He was the only one who had any clue as to what was going on, and had the ability to amend the situation; he just hoped he was wrong. Looking up, he faced Joan and Talyn, "can the two of you deal with him for a bit longer? Just make sure he doesn't get on social media and do something that could offend the fans?"

It was clear that the severity of Anxiety's tone wasn't lost on Joan as they glanced over in Thomas's direction, "sure, but what's wrong?"

He took a deep breath in an attempt to slow his racing thoughts, "the three of us need to get back to the mindscape…I should have noticed this sooner! All of the signs were there!" He growled the second half of the statement more to himself for his own blatancy.

"Noticed what sooner?" Princey seemed ready to draw his sword, but no physical action could stop nightmares.

"I think I know what's going on…I didn't realize his nightmares were this bad though." He forced himself to stop shaking, "Patton's fears consist of being alone, abandonment, isolation, solitude, and loneliness…his most common phrase while sleep-walking was, 'please don't make me leave.'" ('please don't make me leave.') Joan and Talyn didn't seem to know what he was talking about, but he didn't have the time right now to tell them, but both the creative and logical sides had an aura of worry about them. "If I'm right, and I hope I'm not…Patton has ducked out the way I did." He took in a deep breath, "he left before we could make him leave."

-End Part 6-

-Begin Part 7-

"He left before we could make him leave."

Logan's tone had lost some of its professional edge and was now tinged with doubt, "but we would never cast him out…surely he knows this, doesn't he?"

Virgil shook his head, "fear is a strong motivator," he knew that better than anyone, but he wasn't going to admit it, at least not while the others were so scared. "Fear can make you do things that you would never do otherwise. Oftentimes it can lead you to regretting those same actions later on, so the sooner we get Patton back…" He trailed off, glancing over to Thomas, "the less there will be to regret."

The three of them turned to look at Joan and Talyn, but it was the latter who spoke, "go get Patton and set things right. We can handle Thomas until then." The sides hastily nodded, giving them thankful glances before returning to the mind-palace.

When they reappeared in the common-room, Anxiety didn't even take his normal scan of the area before darting up the stairs, the other two following in close pursuit. The dead silence which filled the second-floor corridor was almost sickening, the only sound being that of their footsteps. He felt himself beginning to shake, but he knew he couldn't allow himself to fall into the clutches of panic, he had to stop the situation before it got any worse.

Without warning, he ran to the light blue door, and yet knocking yielded no answer, "Patton, please let us in!"

He looked back at the other two; both had a growing glimmer of worry in their eyes when no response was given. Logan moved forward, his voice barely audible, "what should we do now?"

Desperation was spreading through Virgil, chilling his blood like ice; he tried knocking again before speaking in the same low tone. "If his fears are the reason he left, then he will expect us to give up and walk away…" He glanced between his friends, "and we aren't going to do that." He had no idea where his confidence was coming from, but he didn't have time to ponder it as he turned back to the door. "Patton, please listen to me…I'm speaking from experience, you will regret this later." He paused, listening for his friend, "so don't give yourself more to regret!"

When no sound followed, Roman joined in, "Patton, listen to Virgil. Whatever is going through your mind right now isn't true!"

Logan's voice swiftly followed, "none of us are going to abandon you."

Virgil was thankful for the contributions the others gave; their words would convey that he wasn't simply speaking on their behalf. It still wasn't enough however, "please let us help you!" Nothing, that was all they could hear, Virgil wracked his mind for what to do next when an idea came to him, but would it be enough? Along with the notes and West Side Story, he still had another gift to give, and it could be the key. "You two keep trying to get him to come out here, I'll be right back." Not waiting for a confirmation that the others had even heard him, he sprinted for his corner of the mindscape.

Throwing the door open, it slammed into the frame, but for the time being he couldn't care less. Moving to his desk, he flipped open the binder which held Patton's name and notes, taking an object from one of the pockets. It was a picture of all the sides sitting squished together on the sofa in the commons, and each of them was smiling to some degree about the ridiculous nature of their situation. What mattered though, was that in the photo they were together, and more than that, they were all happy. It was one of the rare moments in which they had all shared in the emotion. Then there was the frame, it was made entirely of glass, and engraved at the bottom was one single word, 'Family.'

Picture in hand, he bolted back into the hall, not even bothering to close his door. There was no worry of anyone entering his room right now, not where there were more important things to deal with. He didn't pay much mind to his colleagues as he returned to their sides, instead he knelt down, his voice breaking with worry, "Patton, please talk to us…" He slid the photo across the carpet, pushing it under the door which separated them from Morality until he could no longer see it. "You once accepted me when I thought no one would, so please…let me do the same for you now." Roman and Logan made sounds of concurrence as Virgil got back to his feet; if this didn't work, he feared he wouldn't have the strength to force the door open. Perhaps he could teleport into the room, but there was always a chance that Patton had put up a barrier to stop him from doing just that.

He could hardly hear the encouraging words the others continued to give over his own racing heartbeat. Considering the option of just counseling Morality through the door, he finally decided it was the best option, and could only pray that his voice would be heard. Set on his course of action, he gestured for the other two to fall silent.

In the split second after they did, Anxiety was able to hear footfall beyond the door swiftly cease; something his companions didn't seem to catch onto. Perhaps they had given up too easily? He dared to speak again, "Patton, we're still here…can you let us in please?" The soft rustling of the carpet told Virgil that his friend had picked up the picture, but there was no indication that he was going to open the door. Wracking his mind for anything else they could do, an idea came to him, but he wasn't too thrilled by it. Still, he was willing to do just about anything at this point, so he turned to face Princey, "I know this seems random, but has Patton ever seen The Sound of Music?"

Roman looked bewildered, but answered all the same, "yes, many times actually. He asks to watch it with me fairly frequently…why?"

"You'll see." Virgil let his eyes rest on the door; this was his final idea, and even though he didn't do so often, he could sing. He just had to hope that this last futile attempt would be enough to bring Patton out of his room. He glanced at the others, forcing himself not to sigh, "this is one thing that I'm never going to live down…" There were a few moments of silence before he took in a deep breath, and began in a shockingly clear tone considering how rarely he used his voice musically.

"'Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens.

Bright copper kettles, and warm woolen mittens.

Brown paper packages tied up with strings,

These are a few of my favorite things.'"

Virgil didn't dare look over to the ones standing in the corridor with him for fear that his performance anxiety would cause him to falter. Skipping the second verse, he relied on the poetic way with words, which was attributed to his namesake for the third.

"'Double dog dad jokes that make most of us laugh.

The caring and kindness that you make sure we have.

We are a family thanks to what you bring.

Will you please believe me when I say these things?'"

He paused for just a moment to make sure that his voice didn shake with the worry that sliced at him.

"'Through the darkest days,

And the bickering,

That can make us mad.

You're there accepting what makes us unique,

To help us not feel so bad…'"

When he finished the final verse, he let his tone gently drop off the last note; and as he did so, a faint click echoed through the hall, and the door finally swung open. A force slammed into Virgil as Patton threw his arms around his shoulders. He didn't know if it was the overwhelming relief, joy, or a combination there upon which caused him to return the embrace.

Morality managed to speak through his tears, "d-do you really mean all that?"

Anxiety pulled back to look his friend in the eyes, "we all do."

Logan and Roman both nodded emphatically, which resulted in Patton walking over and drawing them into hugs as well. Finally it was Princey who spoke up, sounding slightly crushed from the intensity of the embrace, "there is one other thing that I think we can all agree on. You were right Virge, I am never letting you live that down!" He stopped for a moment to catch his breath after Morality let him go, "you must join me for karaoke sometime soon."

Anxiety couldn't bring himself to disagree as Logic piped up, "I'm also under the assumption that we all concede Virgil is a surprisingly good vocalist."

He placed his head in his hands to hide the blush rising to his face as the others agreed. He had to admit he was glad that his friend had returned, and by the looks of it, so had the cheerful nature which usually followed him. He didn't want to shatter the fond moment, but sadly he had to bring them back to reality, "while I work with Patton, can you two go check on Thomas, Joan, and Talyn?"

Logan and Roman nodded, but it was Patton who spoke, "I-I'm sorry about all this kiddos."

Virgil smiled sadly, placing a hand on his shoulder, "speaking from experience…no one is going to hold it against you." The others gave their agreements before syncing into the real world, leaving the two of them alone in the corridor. "I think it's time we started working on your fears." He didn't miss the wary look in Morality's gaze, but he knew it would dissipate, just as it had with the others. "I'm going to get my notes…and I think you are going to like the place I've chosen for us to talk."

"You mean like how you took Logan to the library and Roman to the movie room?" Anxiety simply nodded, "okay…I'll follow you."

After retrieving the binder, Virgil led them both through the winding halls of the deeper mind-palace. As they went, he couldn't help but notice that Morality was still clutching the picture frame, seeming more skittish than normal. More than once he asked where they were going, but Anxiety wasn't about to ruin the surprise.

Finally they reached a dark grey door patterned with purple accents; he stopped before it, glancing over his shoulder to his colleague who stood behind him cautiously. "This is a room that none of you have been in before and unlike my room, it isn't dangerous. You've seen Logan and Roman's, but…" He opened the door, allowing them access inside, "welcome to my dreamspace."

Together they stepped inside, and Patton brightened significantly at what now stood before them. A room with deep purple walls, plush chairs, and fairy-lights strung around the perimeter just below the ceiling casting a dim light. A fireplace in the corner added warmth to the area, then there were the fuzzy blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals which covered every surface, including the floor.

By extending an arm, Virgil silently offered to let Patton explore the room freely so he could become more accustomed to it. The next thing he knew, his friend was darting around, picking up plushie after plushie, all but squealing in delight each time he found another that he thought was soft or cute. While he rushed about, tripping over blankets, pillows, and his own feet; Anxiety headed for the chairs set up by the fireplace. He cleared them of most of the fluffy objects save for a pillow in his own chair and a Simba plushie in Morality's. As he took his seat, he chose to keep his binder closed as he had with the other two as he waited for his colleague to join him.

Eventually, Patton waded through the sea of fabric and fluff until he sat across from Virgil holding the plushie close to his chest, "so…how does this work?"

Natural conversation had worked thus far, so he decided to use it once more, "we'll get to that in a minute. For now I'm curious, what do you think of the room?"

Morality blinked at him in surprise, but slowly began to glance around, "it's great! I wouldn't have expected your dreamspace to be quite so…soft. Now that I'm here though, I can see why you like it." Anxiety sat in silence, waiting for his friend to continue, "it's cozy and safe."

"Okay, so you feel safe now, but what if I were to step out of the room and go into the hall or back to the commons?"

Patton's reaction to the question would dictate his course of action; and sadly enough, he had expected the answer he was given. "I'd still feel safe…I know I'm in the mind-palace."

He knew the words weren't true, but perhaps the moral side truly believed that's how he felt. In the past Anxiety had managed to convince himself that he wasn't frightened in situations where he was actually terrified, and those had never ended well for him. Still, he had to find a way to get Patton to open up not only to Virgil, but himself as well, and he had an idea on how to do so, "okay. Well I asked because I realized that I left some notes back in my room, would you mind if I went to get them really quick?"

The color drained from Morality's face, but his voice was shockingly steady, "sure, I'll wait here."

Anxiety slowly got to his feet, "if you're sure…I'll be right back."

He walked out into the corridor, ensuring that the door latched behind him; walking a few yards down the hall, he stepped around a corner before coming to a halt, waiting. He wasn't there long, ten seconds at most when Patton darted out of the room, "Virgil?! Come back!"

The one in question froze momentarily; he had expected a fearful reaction, but nothing like this. Morality's breathing was too quick, his movements disjointed and unsteady by the sound of his footsteps, and his voice cracked with terror. In the twenty seconds that Anxiety had been out of the room, his friend had spiraled into a full blown panic attack.

Virgil had barely come to the realization before Patton ran past his hiding spot, heading in the direction of the common-room. Having gone further into the mindscape than he had in the past, it was clear that Morality had no idea where he was, and he just stopped, looking around frantically. Before he could take off in a random direction, Anxiety darted after him, "Patton…it's okay. I'm right here-"

Virgil barely managed to keep them both from falling over as Patton slammed into him, throwing his arms around his shoulders. Suddenly he understood the similar reaction from less than half an hour earlier. He did his best to reassure his friend, but it was apparent that the panic was taking up too much of his energy as his knees buckled. Anxiety barely caught him, helping him to sit on the floor, this time staying by his side. "Breathe in for four seconds." He counted them off, "hold for seven seconds," counting again, "and breathe out for eight seconds."

He lost track of how many times he ran through the breathing techniques that he had taught Thomas in the past. It felt like ages before Patton could even stop sobbing hysterically, and Virgil couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. He had known his friend wasn't being truthful when he had said he could handle being alone, but he had left anyway.

Finally, through the sniffling and shortness of breath, Morality was able to manage a few words, "I-I'm sorry about t-this…I-I thought I'd be o-okay."

"Hey, there's nothing for you to feel sorry about…this is my fault." He placed a gentle hand on Patton's shoulder, "I knew you weren't ready to be left alone, but I thought you would just call out or run after me. I didn't know it would cause you to have a panic-attack, I wouldn't have left had I known."

Virgil watched as his friend wiped his eyes on the sleeves of the hoodie around his shoulders, "th-this wasn't your fault…I shouldn't have freaked out so easily."

"It is extremely difficult to stop a panic attack, especially one as severe and sudden as yours was." As he spoke, Morality's breathing was becoming deeper and more steady, "but I'll agree not to blame myself if you promise to do the same."

A very slight nod was his only agreement, "can we go back to your dreamspace now?"

"If you feel up to it, then sure." Anxiety helped him to his feet, and soon they were on their way back to the plushie filled room. He stayed close to his friend's side, partially to aid in his recovery from the panic attack he had suffered, but also to catch him if his knees were to buckle again.

Thankfully Patton was able to keep his footing, along with his fragile composure. When they got back to the room, they took their places in the chairs, remaining in a comfortable silence for a time. During this time, Morality calmed further; he still held the Simba plushie close to his chest, while gazing warmly at the picture he had been given earlier, which now resided on the table beside him. After a while he glanced up hesitantly, his voice hardly more than a whisper, "h-how do you do it?"

Virgil had to admit that he was rather perplexed by the question, "how do I do what?"

Patton's eyes never left the photo, "stay in your room so often…alone?"

Anxiety waited until his friend looked up to answer, "I don't…well, not as much as I used to." he searched for the right words, "that's not to mention that we are different you and I. Your whole existence is based around family and friends, even strangers; how to treat them, talk to them, and care for them. A position which requires you to be around others and in return has made you used to being around them and the kindness you receive." He sighed, propping his head on his hand, "and I, as much as I would like not to be, am still the embodiment of Anxiety. My job is to keep everyone safe, and sometimes that means avoiding people if I think they don't have the best of intentions…or at least that's what I like to think now."

There was a glimmer of sadness and confusion in Patton's eyes, "what do you mean?"

Virgil took a deep breath, he needed to make a point to choose his words carefully so to not upset his friend further, "in its simplest form, anxiety is a heightened fight-or-flight response…often to an unhealthy degree. For example I take sayings like 'stranger danger' to ridiculous lengths, while completely ignoring things like 'don't lose sleep over it.' That makes it difficult for me not to see everyone and everything as a potential threat, which causes me to ostracize myself from others. It's also why I acted the way I did around you guys for so long, it was a defense mechanism. Now that in no way excuses my actions, what I said or did, and I hope I've made up for it. Still, even after all this time, in my mind I can't help but think that the less I'm around…the less likely I am to offend someone or keep them from going after a new opportunity. That doesn't mean I always enjoy being on my own, but I guess I'm used to it at this point, so much so that I don't really know how to act when I'm in a group of people anymore."

Anxiety wondered if he had succeeded in keeping Morality from worrying about him further, but was proved wrong as he was given a helpless look. "Oh…you don't have to- I didn't know you felt like that."

Sitting upright, Virgil smiled over to his friend, "don't feel bad, things have gotten a lot better since you all accepted me. We've started coming to better understandings with each other, and I don't feel like an outcast anymore. You all are my family." He paused for a moment, giving time for his most recent statement to sink in, "now, it's time we get back to the topic at hand. I don't think a metaphorical approach to your fears is going to work for now, so I'm just going to get right to the point. While I don't want to be enabling, with how quickly you fell into a panic attack just now, I'm going to make a suggestion that I wouldn't dream of making for the other two. Until we find a few coping skills that work well for you, I'm going to advise that you stay relatively close to at least one of us most of the time." Patton looked at him, speechless from the suggestion, "that being said, we should get started as soon as possible. The faster you pick up the new coping skills, the sooner we will be able to get started on your exposure therapy."

"Exposure therapy?"

Virgil suddenly realized that wasn't a colloquial term, "exposure therapy is used to help with fears you will be forced to face in day to day life. As the name suggests, you will be slowly exposed to the fear at hand in a safe setting to help you become more comfortable in those situations. In your case that means over time having you be left alone without one of us for a short time and lengthening that time until you can go back to functioning normally, does that make sense?" Patton simply nodded, so Anxiety pulled the binder into his lap. As he flipped it open, he didn't miss the wary nature of the one sitting across from him. "Now this goes without saying, but you need to work on your fears. To do that however, you need to know what they are, as that will help you to find what coping skills are most effective for you.. Simply put, your fears are loneliness, isolation, solitude, and being alone or abandoned."

Morality lowered his head, his voice soft with shame, "and I acted on all of those today…"

Virgil picked up where he trailed off, "yes, but one thing I learned the hard way is that you can't let guilt overtake you. Try looking at it this way, the decision you made earlier was fueled by fear and could have resulted in bad outcomes, but it didn't. Even if it had, I honestly don't think that any of us could have held that against you; and since everything turned out okay, that's all the more reason for us to forgive your mistakes." He chuckled softly to himself, "I know this is an ironic statement coming from me, but worrying about an event that has already been forgiven will only make it easier to fall into an even more toxic state of mind." He pulled a piece of paper from the binder and handed it over to Patton, who looked it over hesitantly. "I think the best place for you to start is with ways to prevent a panic attack before it begins. For example, you could carry something small, like a worry stone in your pocket. Something that when you feel fearful, you can pull out and examine to remind you that we all still care about you, and no matter what, we will always come back. Alternatively, you could use these." Anxiety pulled four small items from his hoodie pockets, braided bracelets that he had made earlier with each of their names beaded in. One with red and white thread with gold beading was Roman's; one with black and blue fibers and white beading represented Logan. One with rainbow threads and black beading bore Thomas's name; and then the one made of black and purple strings with yellow beading carried his own name, Virgil.

He gave them to Patton, who inspected them with tears in his eyes before placing them around his wrists, "th-thanks Virge."

"If you feel alone, you can always look at those and remember what I said, we all care about you, and the last thing we would ever do is abandon you." Morality actually smiled before he continued, "as for what to do once a panic attack sets in, there are multiple breathing and grounding techniques on that list for you to try. If all else fails, come find one of us; even Logan, who is often busy with his studies, wouldn't turn you away in a situation like that."

Patton read over the page in silence, but when he spoke up, the words took Virgil by surprise, "could you write down the lyrics to your version of My Favorite Things that you sang earlier?"

Pushing aside the awe he felt at the prospect of someone actually enjoying the lyrics he had come up with, he flipped to a blank page in the binder. In the neatest handwriting he could manage, copied down the words he had improvised and handed them over to his friend. "I'm glad you like it…because I'm not really one for singing."

The joy that often defined Patton was beginning to return, and it was to some extent infectious, "I know you don't sing often, but that doesn't mean you don't have a good voice." He glanced down at the lyrics, "and since you don't sing that much, it made what you said mean all the more…I really appreciated it."

Virgil was nearly at a loss, unsure of how to respond to such a compliment, "th-thanks." He began chuckling lightly, although he didn't know if it came from Morlaity's joy, or the thought which had just entered his mind. "Roman is never going to stop pestering me about joining him for karaoke now."

They both laughed freely, and Patton struggled to form a coherent sentence, "w-who knows…you might end up enjoying it."

Anxiety shrugged, only half against the idea, "I don't know. I think I've done my fair share of singing in the Sanders Sides videos, but we'll see." The conversation flowed naturally from there, but as it did so, neither noticed how much time was passing as they jumped from topic to topic.

-End Part 7-

-Begin Part 8-

Upon checking on Thomas, Roman and Logan had been relieved to find everything sorted out. Their host, through the valiance of Joan and Talyn had not caused any issues that were irreparable. They had prevailed in their task of keeping Thomas from any of his social media, on which he could have offended his fanbase with his unjust actions and opinions.

Apologies and thanks had been exchanged after an explanation of all that had happened was given. Upon hearing of them, Thomas had requested a convention including both Virgil and Patton at the earliest opportunity. The two currently present had agreed before returning to the mind-palace, where they would wait for the other two to return.

Minutes turned to hours, and one after another slipped past with no word from their companions. Slowly, Princey began to worry that something disastrous may have happened to them, "Logan, how long are we going to sit idly by waiting for Patton and Virgil?"

"I have been wondering about where they have gone as well." Logic straightened his glasses, "I don't think there is any cause for alarm though; the two of them are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves."

Roman stood from where he had been sitting on the sofa, a sense of worry weighing like a heavy burden upon his shoulders, "do you think the nightmares could have harmed them in some way?"

Logan shook his head, not looking up from his book, "I seriously doubt that. Nightmares are rare."

The Prince couldn't shake the nagging concern that there was something more sinister going on, "even still, should we not try and find them at the very least?"

The distant look in Logic's eyes made him appear that much more thoughtful, "I don't think so. We wouldn't want to interrupt them."

Roman was becoming exasperated now, "yes, but it didn't take Virgil this long to talk with either one of us."

"No, but it would seem that Patton's fears were a bit more severe than our own. Correct me if I am wrong, but to my knowledge, neither of us had the same sort of panicked reaction to our phobias."

Logan's overly placid view of the situation did nothing to calm his nerves, and only served to frustrate him further. He couldn't just stand by and do nothing; he was a knight, and if there was even a chance that the others were in danger, it was his duty to find and assist them. "Be that as it may, I'm still going to look for them; if they need my help, I will not fail to oblige. Join me if you want, but you can't keep me from trying."

Princey was already heading for the corridor when a sigh from Logic caused him to halt, "fine. I can't very well have you getting lost in the mindscape alone…I'll come with you."

Roman had no idea as to how long they had been wandering the halls, and he'd lost count of how many turns they had made. One thing was fairly certain however, they had already traversed this area at least twice. It didn't help that as time passed, he was becoming more and more concerned. He was pretty sure Logan felt the same, but he didn't voice it if he did. As they came upon another intersection, he found himself wishing he had Virgil's skills of perception. Each direction looked the same to him, but he was certain there was some minor detail that he was overlooking.

Logic leaned against the right wall, "Roman, I am almost certain that we are lost."

The one in question glanced down the corridors again; they had to find some way through this maze, "we can't just give up. Besides, if we are lost, how do we know Patton and Virgil aren't?"

Logan's voice was a clear indicator of his annoyance as they continued walking, "Virgil spends quite a lot of time in the deeper parts of the mindscape, so I think we can safely assume that he and Patton are not lost."

The Prince couldn't seem to stop the thoughts and ideas which flooded through his mind, "do you think they could have found a more dangerous part of the mindscape and gotten themselves injured?"

They stared down the different passageways, but Logic still spoke clearly, "once again I shall remind you that Virgil knows these halls better than the rest of us. The odds of him getting into a risky situation are very small; and those chances are diminished further when you consider that he would never take Patton anywhere near such a place."

"There's still a chance though," Roman had felt more comfortable dueling the dragon-witch than he did roaming these darkened halls. "He doesn't know every inch, they could be trapped!"

Logan, as he had many times prior, sighed at the suggestion, "Virgil would never take Patton to any place in which he wasn't certain he could find their way back to the commons."

The two of them made another turn, which did nothing to help them gain their bearings, "perhaps Patton ran off and Virgil went after him and they got lost that way."

Logic shook his head, clearly becoming more irritated as they walked, "Patton is afraid of being alone and abandoned, so I highly doubt he would leave Virgil's side, especially in a part of the mindscape with which he is not accustomed."

"Virgil said it himself, fear is a strong motivator…maybe Patton was worried something had happened and tried to come find us."

Logan came to an abrupt halt, his arms crossed, "Roman, all of this is preposterous. I know we can disagree on a lot of things, but I think we both know that the others are perfectly capable of dealing with difficult situations, and getting out of them if the need were to arise. If Patton feared that anything were wrong with us, he would merely request that Virgil escort him back to the commons." He glanced around the dimly lit hallway, "you are right about one thing though; fear is a strong motivator. If it weren't for it the two of us wouldn't be wandering aimlessly through these corridors. You seem to forget that we are the ones who are lost, the others could have easily returned to the common-room by now and in turn be wondering what has happened to us."

Roman held the level gaze of his companion, his worry boiling over into exasperation. "If you are so certain that there is nothing wrong with the others, and of our ordeal, then what do you suggest we do?"

Logic stayed silent for a moment, sweeping his gaze around the area one last time before replying, "it is something to consider, but we may be able to solve both of our predicaments at once. From what I have noticed, no matter where we are when we are summoned, we always reappear in the common-room after leaving the real world. If we were to go there now, not only would we be able to find our own way back, but we could have Thomas summon the other two. That would allow for him to speak with all of us as he requested, therefore solving that issue as well."

Now that he thought about it, the solution seemed so obvious, "what are we waiting for then? Let's go!"

Without another word, they synced out of the mindscape, and appeared in their usual places. If Joan and Talyn were still over, they were nowhere to be seen, but Thomas jumped up from where he had been sitting on the sofa when he saw them, "Logan! Roman!" He let his eyes flicker to the empty spots where the other two usually resided, "where are Patton and Virgil?"

The Prince was quick to respond, wanting to find them as soon as possible, "we don't actually know…we've been looking for them for at least an hour now, but we haven't been able to track them down."

"As a matter of fact, that's part of the reason we are here," Logan's words were rattled off at an even quicker pace than usual. He must have been more concerned than Princey had previously believed. "Since we were unsuccessful in our attempts to locate their whereabouts, and they have been gone longer than we expected, we thought the best course of action would be to have you summon them here. If you were to do so, you could speak with them, and it would solve our dilemma with their disappearance."

Thomas took a moment to decipher Logic's rapid speech, a look of concern in his eyes, "If you two really want me to, I'll summon them. Are you sure we won't be disturbing them though?"

Roman attempted to push away the worry he had been feeling for over an hour, "we're pretty sure they wouldn't be interrupted…and since we can't find them, I think it would give us some peace of mind to know that they're okay."

Virgil snickered as he spoke, "pancakes are great…what I don't understand is Logan's never ending obsession with putting Crofter's on them, and-" He was cut off by the familiar tugging sensation that meant Thomas wanted him in the real world, and by the looks of it, Patton was being summoned too. Glancing to the clock which hung over the fireplace, his heart skipped a beat, it was no wonder that the others wanted their attention, it had been nearly three hours. Time had gone by much faster than either of them had noticed, flying by once they were engaged in a genuine conversation. The others were probably worried that they had gotten lost or hurt from being so far into the mindscape, which wasn't nearly as dangerous as they perceived it to be. Locking eyes for no more than an instant, it was clear that Patton shared in his understanding of the worry the others must be feeling. Nodding, the pair of them left the dreamspace to meet with the ones who were already waiting for them.

When they arrived, Anxiety didn't miss the looks of relief that Logan and Roman wore, but it was Thomas who broke the silence. "Patton, Virgil, it's good to see you…I think some of us were becoming concerned by your absence."

Morality's words closely followed their host's, "we didn't mean to worry you kiddos, We were just talking and time passed quicker than we'd thought."

Logic glared at Princey, as if to say 'I told you so,' to which Princey gave a mocking look, "is it so wrong of me to be concerned for the wellbeing of my friends?"

Even Logan's cold and stiff tone couldn't hide the alleviation in his eyes, "no, I am merely making an expression to convey that I was correct in my assessment that there was never any cause for alarm."

There was a playful manner in how Roman leaned forward slightly, tilting his head to one side, "oh of course…says the one who was talking at the speed of light before they were summoned."

Virgil jumped in before the argument could continue, "other than knowing that we are okay, is there a reason why we were summoned?"

Rather than one of the other sides, it was Thomas who answered him, "yes. I wanted to check in with all of you and see if things had improved from the last time we all met." He suddenly took on an aura of concern, "I just hope we didn't interrupt anything important."

Anxiety shrugged, trying to keep the laughter from his tone, "if you consider a conversation about pancakes important…then sure. If not, I finished working with Patton over two hours ago."

The one in question nodded in agreement as Thomas smiled, "good, in that case-"

He was cut off by Logan, who turned to face them, "actually, the degree of importance of your conversation hinges on what kind of pancakes you were discussing when Thomas summoned you."

Virgil couldn't help but smirk, and he knew what reaction his words were going to elicit before he even said them. "We were just talking about putting Crofter's on pancakes, nothing importan-"

"FALSEHOOD!" Virgil rubbed his now ringing ear as the room erupted into laughter at the outburst from the one who was usually so well composed. He seemed to notice the shift in attention as he cleared his throat and regained his professional demeanor, "I-I mean it is a meaningful matter, but it is in the past now. It's just comforting to know that the two of you are in good health. The question I now have is of your previous whereabouts; we searched for over an hour, and couldn't find you."

Understanding overtook Anxiety, "we were in my dreamspace, but I see what happened." He gave them a knowing smirk, "you two tried to come looking for us because you were worried…and then you got lost in the mindscape and couldn't find your way out. Meaning you came here and asked Thomas to summon us, didn't you?"

Roman and Logan stared at him, dumbfounded, but it was the prior who found his voice first. "I-I don't know why your frequently correct statements and questions still manage to take us by surprise…how did you know that?"

"Logan said that you were looking for over an hour; you would have had to go further into the mind-palace than either of you have in the past to have been searching for that long. That's not to mention that those halls are like a labyrinth if you don't know where you are or where you're trying to go." Virgil didn't miss the stunned gazes he received, "also, they aren't as dangerous as you might think. The halls are just a bit dark because they aren't used enough to warrant anyone changing the light bulbs."

"Well, you guys can discuss not-so-scary hallways later," Thomas let his eyes rest on each of them. "For now, I can tell that you all are on better terms with one another than you were last night, but I want to know how today went. I know there was a lot of tension surrounding everything that happened, so I hope everything went well." That was a question that the other sides were going to have to answer, and their opinions were going to be completely subjective. A shiver of worry made its way down Anxiety's spine, he hadn't expected an analysis and report of his counseling of the other three.

Patton stepped forward, breaking him from his thoughts, "I for one am feeling a lot better…" He trailed off, turning to look at Thomas, "I haven't had a chance to apologize for what happened earlier. I-I didn't mean for any of that to happen to you, I-I'm sorry."

Their host gave him a saddened smile, "there was no harm done, so don't let it get to you. You're back now, and that's all that matters."

The others nodded in agreement, and thankfully, Patton appeared relieved. More than likely that would be a topic for the two of them would have to go over in the future, but for now he looked comforted by the approval of his family. "Thanks kiddo…as for the rest of the day, I have to say Virgil helped me more than I thought I was able to be helped." He glanced over to Roman and Logan, "and I'm sure he did the same for you two."

Princey nodded swiftly, "I have to say that I was impressed by the ideas that Virgil came up with for me as well. They were far more fitting to my personality than I'd expected." He smiled mischievously at Anxiety, "he's also a surprisingly good singer."

Virgil had been right, he was never going to live that down, but didn't have time to formulate a response before Thomas did. "What are you talking about? Did you get Virgil to sing?!"

Morality giggled, "Roman didn't…I did. Virgil actually resorted to singing to get me to come out of my room earlier."

"I can show you if you want!" The enthusiastic comment made him freeze as Princey reached for his phone.

"I should have guessed you would record me…" Even though he grumbled the words, he made no attempt to stop the video from being shown.

As Roman tapped the screen, he spoke once more, his voice maintaining its good humor, "if you outright tell me that I'm not going to let you live something down, then I need proof that it actually happened!" He moved over to Thomas who was waiting with anticipation, and a moment later the video began. Quiet at first, but he heard the tone of his voice and buried his head in his hands. Meanwhile, Virgil longed to get away from the on looking eyes as he got to the improvised verses.

The recording cut off just after Patton had exited his room and Anxiety dared to look up, which he wasn't sure if he regretted when he saw the compassionate awe in the eyes of their host. The feeling was only enhanced by the glances which were passed between the other three sides. "I know I've heard you sing before, but that was really sweet Virgil. How did you come up with those lyrics on the spot like that?"

His head was still lowered in embarrassment from the praise Thomas gave; still, he couldn't ignore such a direct question. "I am named after a poet…but other than that, I was willing to try just about anything at that point. To be completely honest, I didn't know I was capable of improv."

Patton was the next to draw his attention, "well it worked, and you did a really good job coming up with that. It certainly meant a lot to me." The others gave their own forms of agreement, but it was obvious from his smile that Roman was going to ask him at every turn to join him for karaoke.

Thomas was still grinning with a warm gaze before turning his attention to Logan, "so the others seem to be doing well, what about you?"

"I personally found Virgil's approach to be most helpful. Not only were the techniques he gave me useful in almost every situation, but he gave me an array of them to try as well. The most remarkable and insightful inclusion however, was the clever use of location and metaphor. For example, he counseled me in the library, and I know he didn't use the same location for the other two. As for the metaphor, we were nearly finished with the conversation before I realized that the seemingly irrelevant topic of a book was actually a well crafted analogy for my concerns. That's not to mention that he was able to stop me from panicking." Logan wore an expression of appreciation as he nodded in Virgil's direction, who was still reeling from the compliments he had just received. All of them seemed to be pleased with his work, putting his worries from that morning to rest.

"He helped me out of a panic-attack as well," Patton bounced up onto his toes as he gave his input.

Thomas beamed like a proud parent, "if all is well, then-"

"Wait." All of them stopped, turning to face Roman as he cut their host off, "what about you Virgil? Please don't take this the wrong way, but you are the embodiment of anxiety, how do we know that you don't need the same he we do?"

Even in knowing that the others had read his notes, which held a list of his own fears, he was still taken aback by the question. Anxiety hadn't expected them to bring up his own fears, especially not with them being overshadowed by the fears of the others. Still, Roman had managed to do so in a shockingly tactful way.

The look in the Prince's eyes wasn't lost on Virgil, he was afraid that he had come across as offensive, when in reality, he was rather touched by the gesture. "I appreciate the concern Sir Sing-A-Lot, but going over all the ways to help you guys may have been just as helpful for me." The confusion in the eyes of the others spurred him to continue, "I may be able to take some of my own advice. I actually didn't realize it until I was working with all of you, that many of the coping skills I taught might just be useful in my case as well. I can pick up a book and read or watch a musical to calm my nerves, use grounding and breathing techniques more regularly, or even try something as simple as not keeping to my room as much and making more of a point to talk to all of you."

The four sides looked around at one another fondly; a sense of familial bonding having been strengthened from the hardships and advice that had resulted from this whole situation. A sentiment which was only enforced by Thomas's contribution to the conversation, "I'm glad to see that all of you are doing better today…but I have to say that it means more to me than you know that all of you are learning to listen to each other more, and help one another through tough times like this."

It had been nearly a month since the ordeal with the sleep-walking had occurred; Roman was no longer injured and Virgil had kept his promise to start having movie nights with him. They had even begun inviting the others to join them, which ended up making the experience all the more enjoyable. Most importantly however, was the progress that all of them had made in the time since that dreadful night. To say that they were all happier and more productive would have been a major understatement at best.

Patton had been the one in need of the most assistance; even still, it had only taken him a few days to get to a point where he could be left alone for short periods of time, and those had only lengthened as they worked more and more on the exposure therapy for his fears. Now he still asked frequently for their reassurances, but overall he was much more comfortable in the knowledge that the others were always going to be there for him. That being said, Virgil had noticed him on more than one occasion fidgeting with the bracelets he'd been given when he was nervous or when he came to ask for help. Thankfully though, he hadn't been plagued with another long panic-attack, but the two of them were still working together every few days.

Logan had been next in line with the severity of his fears, but just like his moral counterpart, he'd improved significantly. Even when he wasn't working, Virgil had noticed him using the breathing and grounding techniques regularly. Then after a few more sessions of counseling, Logic had even come to the realization that he wasn't neglecting his responsibilities at all; in fact, he was going above and beyond what he needed to do. Part of the issues he was experiencing were actually stemming from being overworked and a lack of proper rest. Logan had also found while he was working on that, that almost every mistake he made was resolved so swiftly that the others rarely became aware that they had even occurred. Still, the discovery hadn't made him prideful, but it did serve to boost his confidence and self-esteem.

Roman had been further ahead than the other two with his fears, but he still had work that needed to be done. He had come to terms with just how much the others needed him however, and that most of the opinions they held of him were actually positive. Those that weren't were often discussed in private, where a compromise would be found with hardly a disturbance at all. If anything, he still needed the occasional reminder about how common imperfections were, and that it was okay for him to have them. Other than that though, he was doing well in learning to manage his phobias, and had reached a point of maturity in which he didn't feel defeated when he had to ask Virgil for advice.

As for Virgil himself, his continued counseling of the others had helped him to come to terms with many of his own issues. Joining his colleagues in their activities such as Roman's movie nights, Logan's studies, and Patton's baking had further proven that he was necessary. Sometimes even making a point to join in on conversations and enjoy the others' company proved helpful. It had also succeeded in getting him out of his room more, which proved that his mere presence didn't cause the others to miss out on opportunities.

Virgil couldn't help the feeling of warmth he had from watching the others improve over time. The problems pertaining to their sleep-walking were all but gone now, and no one else had gotten hurt. In fact, the other sides had taken to making him sleep more during the day so he could get some rest while they were in a position to watch over him so that his own somnambulism didn't result in injury. Every now and again, one of them would stir in the night, and each time, Virgil would simply join them in the corridor, coaxing them back to their rooms.

Now that everyone was facing their fears rather than suppressing them, there was a new sense of peace that filled the mindscape. A feeling that they could all partake in, and despite their clear improvements and the joy they found through now knew that there would never come a day when he or any of the others wouldn't be needed.