Sides of a Hero

3. Lying in Wait

Virgil lent against the bathroom doorframe and waited. Deceit materialised on his bed and grinned up at Virgil. His scales appeared to have faded since Virgil had last seen him; a key indicator that he wasn't holding as much power over Thomas. Deceit and Rage really are shadows of their former selves right now.

"Good to see you, Anxiety. I see you never discovered Rage." Deceit grabbed a pillow from Virgil's bed and threw it towards Rage.

Rage reached an arm up and knocked the pillow away. "I am awake and that was uncalled for." Rage sat up, rubbing his face.

"Great reunion, guys." Virgil swallowed hard and stood up straight to assert himself. "Now, what do you want, Deceit?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to check in and see how the old room is doing."

"Lie" Virgil felt adrenaline rushing into his system as his fight response kicked in. They are up to something. They are going to hurt Thomas. I need to stop them now.

Deceit smiled and stood to move next to Rage, who was now standing and leaning casually against the wall.

Virgil moved forward, "Last time I saw you, you were impersonating Patton." Rage watched on in silence as Virgil grabbed Deceits shoulders and pushed him against the wall. "What do you want, Deceit?"

The smile dropped from Deceit's face as Virgil's left iris flashed purple. Deceit's own eyes faded to Thomas' natural brown and he couldn't help but speak the truth. "I was checking on Depression. I wanted to see how strong the cage was and..."

Rage's eyes flared red and he fused with Deceit and pushed Virgil away. Virgil fell to the ground and snarled at the now fused impulse.

Deceit|Rage spoke in a deep distorted voice, "You are certainly stronger than we thought, Anxiety. But are you strong enough?" Virgil blinked and Deceit|Rage were gone, leaving Virgil alone and shaking as the adrenaline rush started to wear off. But he didn't have time to worry about how he was feeling, he had to check on Depression.

Slowly standing, Virgil looked at the large, black wardrobe and teleported to the room inside. He found himself standing in front of a black, bared cage inside a small dark room. A single light bulb hung from the ceiling, barley lighting the space; thankfully Virgil's eyes were quick to adjust to the light. He scanned the room...nothing looks out of place.

"How kind of you to visit me, Anxiety." Despite Depression being in the cage right in front of him, his voice rang in Virgil's ears, as if coming from all sides of the room. It was twice as nerve wracking in person, Virgil actually preferred to hear Depression's quite whispers in his own head compared to this.

Chains rattled as Depression's dark, cloaked figure moved to the front of the cage. His hair was flat and oily, eyes dark, teeth slightly pointed, and his skin was a grey that should only exist in a bad Instagram filter.

Virgil steadied himself and did his best to keep his voice level. "I heard Deceit came to visit you. Thought it was time I came and checked on you too."

"Don't act tough, Anxiety. You were scared. Scared that I got out. Scared that you failed." Depression sneered. He hadn't seen Virgil, or any impulse, in years. Seeing two in the same day was thrilling.

"Yep. Well, you got me. I was scared. It's what I do." Virgil shrugged his shoulder and did his best to feign confidence. "But it looks like there isn't anything to worry about, so I'm just going to go."

"Are you sure about that, Anxiety?" Virgil froze. "How strong is that seal of yours? How long can you keep me here...in your room?"