To Mourn - A Sanders Sides AU Series About Death (Prinxiety Logicality Dukeceit)

Ch. 1 - Pt. 2 - Save Face

"There's no point. He's dead."

That was the last thing Remus would say for a long time.

Janus froze at the statement, but knew better than to doubt Remus. He could sense no lies.

Remus was right. Roman was dead.

Janus hadn't realized where he was.

They were in the imagination, in a garden. There were beautiful flowers everywhere, but the greenery seemed to slowly be wilting.

It was unclear whether the cause was the deceased Prince or the chillingly silent Duke.

"...We have to tell the others," Janus said solemnly.

Just after he said that, all of the sides - including Remus and Janus - were summoned by Thomas.

"Oh no," Janus blurted. Janus silently cursed himself for it. He hadn't meant to say that out loud.

Remus and Janus stood where Roman would've. Janus knew that Remus would've stayed with Roman's body if he were conscious enough to resist the summon.

"You summoned everyone? This is new, you don't usually do this," Logan said.

"Thomas...what's going on?" Virgil asked. Virgil was clearly extremely anxious, his anxiety growing as he saw Janus and Remus...more notably, Remus's blank facial expression and unusual silence.

"I...I don't know. I was hoping you guys could tell me," Thomas said, confused and concerned.

"How are you feeling?" Patton asked innocently.

"Just...vague. Something is wrong. Like part of my thought process is missing. I don't know," Thomas said. He was trying to focus as hard as he could to get a clearer picture but he just couldn't.

"Wait, where's Roman?" Virgil realized, scanning the room and looking to Thomas.

Remus flinched at the sound of his twin's name.

"I'll try to summon him... That's weird...it was like there was no one there to summon," Thomas said, his worry growing.

"Janus, you and Remus have been uncharacteristically quiet. I heard you say 'oh no' when you popped up, so I have a hunch you know what's going on," Virgil pushed. He was suspicious, but trying to sound less provocative. Something was wrong and he didn't want to add conflict to the situation.

"...Logan, I need to speak with you privately," Janus said, solemn and quiet.

"...Alright," Logan said, trying to hide his concern.

Janus and Logan sank out into Logan's office.

"Janus, what's wrong? What do you know?" Logan asked, now visibly concerned.

"You might want to sit down for this, Logan," Janus says with a worried expression, eyebrows furrowed.

Logan sat down on his desk chair, awaiting explanation.

"I suppose I should just tell you as it is... Roman...Roman is dead."

Logan froze. There was no way Roman was dead. He didn't even think it was possible for sides to die, not really. Yet all of Janus's mannerisms seemed entirely sincere.

Logan could feel the weight of grief and sadness settle in his chest. Tears threatened to blur his vision. He resisted. He had to save face.

"...How did you find out?" Logan asked, pushing away his sudden grief.

Janus knew the calmness in Logan's stature was a lie.

"Remus told me he couldn't feel Roman anymore, that their souls were connected and they were always supposed to sense each other, but he couldn't feel Roman.