Roman sat at the table, his heart crushed by Remus's cold words. He stared at the empty breakfast dishes then stood up. He needed to get away, needed to go and hack apart some vile enemy. Somebody had stolen his brother, and he was determined to free him. As he went to retrieve his sword, he heard Janus speak to Patton.

"Now you be good and sit and read for about half an hour. I need to do something."

"Sure thing, Jan," Patton said, obviously amused.

Janus turned and strode toward the Subconscious when he saw Roman. A half smile tilted his lips as he tipped his hat then he grew serious and walked down the stairs. Roman watched him go, an uneasy feeling in his gut. Something was wrong. But what was it? Was it Remus?

After slipping his sword into its sheath, he strode over to the stairs and went down. He'd ask one more time if Remus wanted to go to the Imagination with him. He walked right to Remus's door and raised his hand to knock when he heard Remus shout from behind the purple door.

"%#*& no! I said I'm fine!"

"You're in its grip, Remus!" Virgil shouted back, an undertone to his voice.

Roman's heart nearly stopped. His brother was in something's grip? Like a dragon? Or a witch? Or the Dragon Witch? Roman hurried over and pressed his ear against the purple door. He heard Janus speaking, his voice low and angry.

"—in the Imagination, and you can't fight it. Roman can help."

"I said no," Remus said. "How can I tell Roman? Or Logan and Patton for that matter?"

"Take Roman with you. Let him see what you can do for him," Janus said softly.

Remus let out a wild bark of laughter. "Are you serious? Take Mr. Romano Cheesy in? If he knew, he'd never forgive me, Janny. He's too %#*&ing perfect. Besides, how can I convince him to come to my half of the Imagination? He wouldn't do that even before we fought. But now? Ha! I'll take my chances and try to break its grip with you two."

Roman pushed away from the door. So something in the Imagination had a grip on his brother? No wonder he'd been acting so strange and cold! Of course! It all made sense. All Roman had to do was challenge whatever this thing was for his brother and when he inevitably won, Remus would thank him and want to spend time with him again. It was all so very simple! He just had to go into the Dark Imagination and go on a journey to the point of conflict, fight whatever kind of fiend that was foolish enough to try and hurt Remus, and everything would be okay between them.

Roman turned and walked over to his brother's room and opened the door. There was a faint, musty, wet odor that tickled his nose, but he ignored it as he walked over to the door of the Imagination. He opened the door and stared intently into the wall of black.

"For you, brother," Roman whispered, then he stepped inside and willed an adventure into existence so that he could face the dastardly creature who dared to hurt his twin.

At once he was in free fall, and his heart leaped in his chest. He landed with a grunt and stood up to survey his surroundings. He was in the Wicked Woods, as he and Remus had called them so many years ago. It was a forest with enormous trees growing glossy black leaves. That meant he was probably heading to the castle! Roman unsheathed his sword and pressed forward, stepping under the boughs without hesitation. He was determined to free his brother from the grip of whatever foul beast had him in its clutches.

The trek through the forest was strangely peaceful. The leaves rustled in a cool, musty breeze, and Roman peered around carefully. He'd lost count of the number of enemies he had faced in the forest. But as he walked, nothing came forward to challenge him. The air was fresh and clear, and Roman began to grow uneasy. Why was there no challenge? What kind of adventure was this? Never before had so much time elapsed between the beginning of a quest and a duel.

The Wicked Woods eventually came to an end, and Roman passed into a treacherous bog. He prepared himself for snakes, and he marched on. But again, no foe came out to meet him. He made it through the bog unharmed and unchallenged. Roman was a bit peeved. What kind of adventure was this? He closed his eyes and flexed his power to order an adventure to present itself to him, but when he opened his eyes, he was still at the end of Foggy Bog. The castle was only two obstacles away, and he'd met nobody and seen nothing. This was highly unusual, and Roman felt irritated. But he was still determined to press on.

The next obstacle turned out to be a horse race to pass the Blue Knave, but the Knave was nowhere in sight. Roman was getting more frustrated as he mounted the horse and ambled down to the finish line. What in the world was going on? Why wasn't adventure presenting itself to him like usual? And where was the knave? He got off his horse and wandered toward the stable.

The knave's stallion was in its pen, and it looked frightened and reared as Roman approached. Roman was puzzled by this, and he took two steps into the straw when his boot hit something. He looked down, almost in slow motion, and saw a blue boot. Kneeling in the straw, he dug out Blue and nearly threw up when he saw his face. It was ashen with pain, and a long gouge tore across his right eye socket, which was open and glistening in the light slanting in through the door. Roman was absolutely horrified.

"Oh, $&!#, what happened to you?!"

Blue stirred. "Roman?" he asked feebly.

"Blue? Blue, what's going on?" Roman squeaked.

Blue stared out of his one bright eye and shook his head. "Can't tell."

"Why not?" Roman demanded.

Blue gave a rueful smile and reached up to touch his face. "Because I lost, Roman."

"To who?" No answer, so Roman clicked his teeth together. "Can you at least tell me why you're injured like this? I've never seen you look so… gruesome."

"It's always like this in this part of the Imagination."

"So you'll be okay?" Roman asked in a small voice.

"Depends on how your adventure goes," Blue said softly.

Roman swallowed and stood up. "I suppose I'd better go. Unless you need help?"

"You can summon Yellow. He's good at binding wounds."

Roman did so then bit his bottom lip. "I guess…"

"Go on. But be careful. You've never faced him before. Usually it's Remus who fights him. I'm honestly surprised you've chosen this. Remus never thought you would."

"Chosen what?"

Blue pursed his lips and shook his head mutely. He couldn't say. It was against the rules. So Roman passed Yellow as he came in, his expression tight, and walked over to the horse. He swung up into the saddle and wheeled the stallion around to see Yellow standing in the doorway. Yellow had never been his favorite enemy, but Roman was sure he saw concern in those usually impassive eyes. Roman nudged the stallion's sides. The stallion began to trot toward the final obstacle before the castle. Roman no longer felt irritated. He felt afraid. Who had fought Blue like that? Who had carved out his eye and forced him to be quiet? And who was this mysterious foe that had Remus in his grip despite having lost to him before? Roman was determined to find out, so he spurred the horse on faster.

He could smell the next obstacle before he saw it. The sulfuric cloud let him know a dragon was ahead. But there was also the scent of burning wood. He got off the stallion and patted its side. The horse snorted and turned to go back to the stables. Roman's heart pounded in his chest as he drew his sword. A soft, distressed noise reached his ears and he suddenly knew what he was going to see. He nudged aside the greenery and wasn't surprised to see that the dragon wasn't ready to attack. In fact, it was barely alive.

A large, purple beast lay bleeding in the dirt. In his half of the Imagination, the wound was a simple slash. But this wasn't Roman's half. It was Remus's and the results were gruesome. The dragon's foreleg was almost hewn clean off, and the glinting white of bone could be seen through a sea of glittering purple blood. The dragon shifted and looked at him, its eyes helpless and pained. Why had it been left alive? To suffer? Roman felt bile rise in his throat. Such a magnificent beast deserved to die in battle.

Steeling himself for what he was about to do, he walked over to the dragon and placed a hand on its long, scaled head. The dragon laid its head down and closed its eyes. It knew what he was about to do. But did it understand why? With tears in his eyes, Roman placed the tip of his sword on the soft patch below the jaw and breathed out. Then he drove it forward. The dragon stiffened briefly in pain then went limp, something like a long sigh coming out as its suffering ended.

Roman took two steps away then turned and vomited in the bushes. He was utterly horrified by what he'd just done. This was why he didn't go into Remus's half. An adventure was supposed to be fun, not mind-alteringly horrifying. Wiping bile from his lips, he cleaned his sword on the grass then sheathed it. Then he turned and strode toward the castle.

Roman's steps were sure as he marched toward the gates. But as he got closer, his rhythm faltered, and he slowed. He wanted this whole debacle over with. He wanted out. He could end this adventure now, before he faced whatever horror lay ahead. Would anybody fault him? Even Remus yielded to him when he got too scared. Roman raised his hand to command that the adventure be over with then stopped. This wasn't just for him. This was for Remus. So he straightened his back and walked on.

He got inside with no issue. There were no guards posted anywhere. It was almost as if the foe wanted to be found. The hallways were quiet as he walked through them, peering into rooms. Finally, as he entered the throne room, he saw his foe. He wore a face wrap of green, and an eye mask of black, and he drew his sword at once.

"There you are!" Roman said, and his mask of bravado held as his voice rang out with indignation. "How dare you capture my brother's spirit! I shall avenge him and make him whole again!"

"Brave words," a low, gruff voice mocked. A gloved hand dipped down into his dark shirt and pulled out a sparkling pendant. "You want it? Come and get it."

Roman's eyes flashed and he leaped forward. The hooded man parried his blow with an expert sword strike and they began to dance. Roman was filled with exhilaration as he fought. This was why he often had adventures. He loved feeling so wild and free! And then he twirled the swords and his enemy's crashed to the ground. Then Roman kicked him squarely in the chest and he tumbled back. As he fell, Roman snagged the pendant and smiled triumphantly. All in all, not a bad adventure.

"You have fought bravely, but you have lost!" Roman declared. "Therefore, I free my brother of your influence." And he threw the pendant down and crushed it with his boot.

Roman hadn't been sure what would happen when he crushed the pendant—perhaps a rush of wind and light—but he didn't expect chains to erupt over his limbs. Yelping, Roman tumbled to the floor and struggled to get the chains off. The hooded man began to laugh, shoving himself to his feet.

"Oh, but it's not that easy, Roman. You forget where you are. You forget the purpose of the adventure. That purpose has not been met yet."

"What do you mean?!" Roman shouted, tugging on the chains.

"You wanted to face the creature who's hurting your twin. That's what you said."

Roman stared up at him, his eyes angry. "So? I faced you and I beat you!"

"I'm not what you think, Roman. And I'm not the whole answer. Are you ready to find out who's been hurting Remus?"

Roman's heart beat faster in his chest, and he suddenly didn't want to know. "No! This adventure is over!"

But nothing changed at his command. The hooded man slipped over and stared down at him. Then he reached up and removed his eye mask.

"I don't want this!" Roman screamed. He was terrified because he knew whatever the answer was, he wasn't ready for it. But his enemy reached up and slipped off the mask on the lower half of his face and smiled. It was Roman. Roman stared in dismay as, with a casual snap of his fingers, the mirror image of himself was suddenly dressed not in black and green, but in white and red.

"You see, Roman," the other Roman said, his eyes glittering. "It's not me that's been hurting Remus. It's you." He approached the chained prince, grinning. "So in this instance, I suppose you are the villain of this story."

Roman gazed in horror as tears filled his eyes. "No," he whispered.

The mirror image smiled at him as he began to hyperventilate. This couldn't be happening. He was Roman, the Prince of the Imagination. The crafter of tales. The victor of battles. The hero of the story. He couldn't be the villain! But memories assaulted him. Him blaming Virgil. Him mocking Janus. Dismissing Patton. Ignoring Logan. And Remus. Good lord, what he'd done to Remus! He suddenly heard Remus sobbing as he beat at Janus's door.

"Janny! It hurts! It hurts bad! Please! I'm a-allergic! Don't leave me alone! You promised! You promised you wouldn't leave like R-Romy did!"

And something deep inside of Roman splintered, shattering along cracks he'd patched and ignored for years. Every bit of fight left him in that moment, and he went dead to the world as the mirror image of himself began to laugh.

"Welcome to Remus's world, Roman," he purred.

Roman had no response.