They were eating dinner when it happened. Remus's appetite was slowly coming back, and he was making a real effort to eat so Patton and Logan wouldn't catch on to his withdrawal symptoms. But everything stopped when a gut-wrenching agony exploded inside of him. He let out a screech and dropped his fork, which clattered onto his plate as he flung himself backward. His vision went black and he heard an old, familiar laugh and a voice that was almost, but not quite, his brother's spoke.

"Come and see what I've done to him, Remus."

An image flashed in front of him of his brother chained to the floor, dead eyes staring at nothing as a long blade traced a line into Roman's skin, leaving a line of shimmering red essence dripping down.

"Remus!" Janus roared, and the dining room came back into focus. Remus was lying on the floor as Janus, Virgil, Logan, and Patton hovered over him, concern in their faces.

"What's wrong?" Virgil demanded.

Remus struggled for words then managed one. "%#*&!" He sat up and scrambled to his feet. "%#*&, %#*&, %#*&!"

He continued to yell as he bolted for the Subconscious. The others followed, alarmed by the look on Remus's face. And they all were in agreement that his yell meant he was not feeling the good kind of pain. Remus tore open his door and stepped in, and he froze. While his bedroom door had been closed, the door to the Imagination was open. That meant that Roman really had been captured, really was in trouble.

"Oh," Remus whimpered. Suddenly his legs became jelly and he sank to the floor. He was barely aware of Logan ordering Patton to fetch water, of Janus demanding to know what was wrong. Then Virgil's hand slipped into his.

"Roman went in, didn't he?"

Remus said nothing, but he turned to stare hopelessly at Virgil and nodded. "Ego has him," Remus whispered. "I've left that %#*&er alone for ages. He's too strong, too powerful. Roman had no chance. He doesn't know, hasn't faced him in years. Oh, God, what have I done!"

"Ego?" Logan asked. "Who is Ego?"

"We're double-sided," Remus said. "We're all light and dark mixed together. Not all good. Not all bad. But all mixed up, like the limbs of an army of corpses. Hard to tell the ones piled in the middle. It's easier on either end."

Logan frowned. "I don't understand."

"Ego is Roman's dark side," Janus said when Remus just shook his head. "He exists only in the Imagination, for now."

"For now?" Patton asked. "But if he's an imaginary figment, he can't get out. There are limits."

"We all started there, in one way or another," Janus said. "But Ego's goal is to switch places with Roman, to keep him trapped in the Imagination."

"Then just destroy him," Logan said. "Problem solved."

"It's not that easy," Virgil said softly.

"Virgil's right," Remus said hollowly. "Ego is a physical manifestation of Roman's ego. He and I used both of our powers to come up with him when we were children. We used to fight him together. And then the game ended, or we thought it did. But Ego didn't disappear. Because he's from both of us, modeled more after Roman than me, he stayed. And he got worse and worse, and as he did, so did Roman."

"So what do we do?" Patton asked.

"We have to beat him," Remus said. "He still has to follow the rules. If we defeat him, he will release his prisoner and will have to claw his way up again."

"Prisoner?" Patton squeaked.

"Yeah. He's got Romy chained up." Remus was fighting back tears. "I've got to go and save him. But how? I've never left Ego alone for so long before. He's gotta be so strong, so powerful. Maybe I could have with Roman, but now…"

Logan pressed his lips together. "I am currently reading 'The Fellowship of the Ring' by J.R.R. Tolkien."

"Your point being?" Janus asked irritably.

"In the story, Frodo gets help from his companions. Perhaps we could assist with liberating Roman."

"I couldn't ask that of you," Remus said grimly.

"Then don't," Patton said. He stood up. "What do we need to do? Do we need food? I know it doesn't work the same in the Imagination."

"No, you're not going," Remus said.

"Yes, something that we can take with us," Janus said decisively. "At least several snacks worth of food for each of us. Once we free Roman, we should be able to eat well between him and Remus."

"You're not going!" Remus said louder.

"We are going, Rem," Virgil said. "You're in no state to go alone."

Those words cut Remus because he knew they were true. He was still suffering from oxytocin withdrawal, and shame warred with disgust in himself. How could he do this? Roman had asked again and again to have an adventure with him, and he should have gone. But he wasn't supposed to go into the dark half! Especially not alone! Though Remus was well-versed in the light half's Imagination, Roman hadn't been exposed to enough of the dark half to know how it was different.

"Remus?" Virgil said.

He grunted. "What?"

"Get ready. We'll leave in fifteen minutes."

At that moment, Remus had as much fight in him as his brother did. So he simply nodded and began to get ready. When the others had gathered, Patton with food, the others with nothing more than grim determination, Remus walked over to the portal. He could feel that an adventure was in progress, and though he knew it wouldn't work, he reached in and tried to force it apart. It held and suddenly a low, menacing laugh filled the room. The others shivered and stepped back in surprise, but Remus stood tall.

"Nice try, Remus," a mocking voice that wasn't quite Roman's said. "You aren't getting him back that easily. Come and fight, Remus. Come and face the villain of the story."

Remus huffed. "Of course it didn't work," he said dully. "Well, come on."

Without another word, he stepped into the black doorway and began to fall. He heard the others shout with surprise as they plummeted downward. Remus landed with a grunt on his feet and straightened, peering around. He wasn't surprised to see the Wicked Woods. Of course Ego would be at the castle. The others didn't land as gracefully as he did. Patton and Logan crumpled as they hit the ground, and Janus sat down hard. Virgil managed to fall to his knees before standing up again on shaky legs.

"I forgot we fall into adventures," Janus grumbled.

"Hey, what can I say?" Remus said. "Adventures often befall you. Most of the heroes didn't choose their adventures. So Romy and I decided that whenever there's an adventure, we get to fall into it. That's one of the rules."

"You keep mentioning rules," Logan said, standing up and wincing. "I thought the Imagination had no rules."

"You're wrong, Pocket Protector, but right now I'm talking about the Adventure Rules," Remus said, helping Patton to his feet. "One: we fall into the adventure. Two: there are four obstacles before your goal. Three: if all parties are in agreement, the adventure can end anytime. Four: the defeated enemies must tell you what they know about the adventure and help you." Remus shrugged. "There are other rules, but those are the main ones."

"So if you and Roman want to end the adventure…" Virgil began hopefully.

"Ego is a part of this adventure. And he says no," Remus said flatly. "I tried. You all heard him. So let's stop talking and just get ready. What weapons do you want?"

Virgil grinned and flexed his fingers as Logan and Patton blanched. "Ooh, let me see…"

Janus snorted and waved his hand. A slim sword appeared, different from Roman's. "Katana for me. A cutting choice, I know."

"I'll take tiger's claws," Virgil finally decided, and he flexed his fingers as the sturdy metal rings appeared on his hands.

"I-I want no part in fighting," Logan stammered.

"Too bad. You're here, you came, you insisted. Pick a #&$% weapon," Remus snapped.

"I don't know," Logan said helplessly. "I don't want to get too close, as I have no hand-to-hand combat skills. But I'm not too good at distance with my eyesight…"

Virgil considered this. "How about a neuronic whip?"

Remus nodded and Janus grinned. "Nice. And it will be shocking to our adversaries."

Remus created a pair of thin whips with heavy handles and handed them to Logan. He walked over and stood several feet away. "Try it."

Logan paled. "I'll hurt you…"

"Don't care. Try it."

Logan hesitated then flung a whip forward half heartedly. Remus caught the tail end and jerked it hard. It flew from Logan's hand and he winced.

"Harder. Like you want to %#*&ing end me," Remus ordered.

Logan still hesitated. So Remus lunged forward, baring his teeth in a grimace. Logan yelled in surprise and instinctively flung the other whip forward to protect himself. It wrapped around Remus's arm with a snap and Remus winced.

"Better. Don't forget to use the electricity. Tap the button and it'll shock your enemies," Virgil said.

That piqued Logan's interest. "Really?"

Janus smiled as Remus unwrapped the whip from his arm. "Of course."

"Don't hesitate to use force or conjure other weapons," Remus said grimly. "Because they won't hesitate to hurt you." He turned to Patton. "You're not gonna like this, Pop Star, but you need a weapon."

Patton licked his lips. "I have a question." Remus nodded, so Patton continued. "Is this the only way to save Roman?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Remus said.

"And Ego has captured him?"

"He was torturing him, as far as I could tell," Remus replied.

A hard look came into Patton's face and he nodded. "Okay then. I'll take a bat. A metal one."

Remus snapped his fingers and a sturdy metal bat appeared in his hands. He handed it to Patton, who swung it experimentally. He nodded in satisfaction.

"Okay. Into the Wicked Woods then," Remus said. "Don't be afraid to hurt, maim, or kill. Remember we're in the Imagination, my half of the Imagination, and it can be %#*&ing brutal. So don't hesitate to do what you have to. Nothing is permanent. It can all either be reversed or it can be utterly destroyed."

"Very well," Logan said, swallowing hard. "Lead the way."

Remus nodded and turned to head into the Wicked Wood. He marched with purpose through the trees, on alert for any movement. The leaves brushed together, hissing and whispering. Janus and Virgil walked with him, their eyes dashing around. How many adventures had he been on with them? He'd lost track years ago. But Patton and Logan were new. As far as he knew, they had never been on an adventure. Roman hadn't taught them the basics, so why would he have taken them on an adventure?

There was the soft patter of feet, and Remus stopped and held out his hand, peering around. Janus readied his katana, his pupils constricting as his nostril's flared. Virgil's pupils dilated and he bared his teeth. His canines flashed into view and he was tense, prepared to strike. Logan and Patton stopped, and Logan didn't know what to do. Patton's hold on the bat tightened and he gripped it with both hands, and he looked around, squinting into the dim forest around them.

There was a rush of heavy footsteps and a tall, muscular figure came rushing toward them. Janus and Virgil were bowled over with one swing of a club, and the man tackled Remus and raised a dagger into the air.

"Ego wants you dead, pretty boy," he hissed, and plunged the blade toward Remus's throat.