Chapter 7:
"What do you mean, 'This isn't good', Logan?" Thomas asked, getting more worried.
"That's his Core." Logan said, and then looked at Patton. "Patton. I want you to sink out to your room." The Logical Side instructed, ignoring Thomas for the time being. All eyes turned to the Moral Side.
Patton nodded and stood there a minute before looking down at his feet and back to Logan. "I can't!" He said, panicked.
"Don't be ridiculous Padre!" Roman scoffed, before trying to sink out himself. "What in the-? I can't sink out! We're stuck here!" He screeched horrified. "I don't want to be stuck here! No offense Virgil." He added quickly in the end.
"Thomas should be able to at least get out of here." Logan hummed, looking to Thomas, who was looking very bothered by the ever growing complicated situation.
"I'm not leaving you guys!" Thomas denied, sounding offended by the suggestion. He wasn't going to leave his Sides on the Dark Side.
Virgil hunched in on himself. "I didn't know he could trap you guys here too." He mumbled. Eyes looking everywhere. "Things are not okay here." He warned.
"Wait! Janus is the one doing this?" Patton asked. "But why? I thought he couldn't do anything like that, hurt like he is?"
"I believe that by removing his Core, he removed, all the turmoil that having a consciousness brings. This way his task weighs lesser on him. He would be able to heal while working. But that brings to question as to why this particular wall?" They all turned to the wall with the split core, the two snakes on it looking more ominous than before. "The details on these are amazing!" Logan examined. "Look at the sharp angles on this one and the more softer angles on this one. They represent something, I'm sure." He pointed out. "Virgil has Janus ever done this before? This is truly fascinating." Logan asked.
"Only once, but he didn't take his Core out from what I remember. It was when the line was drawn between what is good and bad. He locked everything away back then and only let us out when Thomas needed and wanted us. Janus can't hide what Thomas wants to know." Virgil said, sounding reluctant to talk about what happened in the past. "This is new. Before with Remus, that wasn't Janus."
"But it looked like Janus." Patton insisted.
"Yes, but it wasn't!" Virgil insisted back.
"Virgil is right." Logan answered. "Janus not only removed his Core, but split it, with the cracks. He could have destroyed himself. But it seems he has only went dormant. Meaning what we witness was nothing but an instinct, with no personality. Janus put himself away, without Thomas suffering from his absences."
"He ducked out without ducking out?" Patton asked, fiddling with his hands worriedly.
Logan shook his head. "No. He try to lock this side and himself away, without Thomas feeling the effects." He corrected.
"But why would he do that?" Thomas asked. "I need all of you." He was starting to pace as he worried more about the situation.
"You still have all of us, technically." Logan corrected. "Janus, just isn't himself, the way we all know him."
"You mean like he's sleeping, but also working?" Patton asked, trying to sound hopeful.
Logan looked pained at the Moral Sides own explanation. "I guess, that is an adequate way of putting it. He must have done this so that he would be able to continue without cracking his Core more. He must have felt this was the best way." He reasoned.
The other Sides nodded along with Logan's explanation.
"You all are a bunch of idiots. I'd murder you all if I was Janus. It would be the least you'd deserve." Remus said, from behind the group having crept up as they discussed Janus's condition. He looked pissed and was holding the wrist with the metal around it, as if trying to hold himself from acting out.
"I'd watch it Remus. Remember you act out one more time, you get locked away again." Roman cautioned, his brother. The others, looking wary in case the Duke acted on his words.
"But that's why I moved them over, so no one would have to deal with this Side anymore. Light Sides and Dark Sides don't need to exist anymore!" Thomas insisted, trying to move away from the Dukes words. Trying to get back to discussing how they get Janus and everything back to normal.
The Duke scoffed as they started the pity party again, before storming his way back to Janus's room, without them. He didn't want to hear anything they had to say. All Janus ever wanted; whether the Snake Side would ever admit it or not, was to have Thomas to truly accept him. Remus could understand that feeling. The Duke didn't really care if he was accepted or not, but Janus did to much for the sake of Thomas to not be accepted. It hurt him to see the Deceitful Side with a hole in his chest, but it also excited him. However, he knew that no matter how much he wanted to test the boundaries and maybe annoy Janus back to his normal self; although he wasn't so sure if that would work anyway, to not do any of the stuff that felt natural to him. Janus was hurt and Remus was determine to return the favor for all the time Janus took care of him.
"Jan, please wake up. Don't lock me up okay?" He pleaded, as he stood over the bed, the Snake Side laid on. Still as a corpse.
"Poor, Intrussssive Thoughtsss." Janus's voice spoke, sickly sweet as and greenish yellow version of him cover in scales appeared, casting the room in the glow. "No one lissstensss do they? But maybe itsss a good thing their ssstuck too, right?" The fully scaled phantom Janus asked, circling Remus, who was listening. It was good that Janus was able to still work and obviously this part of him had work for Remus to do. The fully scaled version of Janus stopped right in front of the Duke, with a slick confident smile on his face. "Not that we need them here. They think I need their help. What they don't realize, isss that I got you. You will watch over me, won't you?" Janus hissed sweetly. I don't want thossse pesssky Light Sssidesss to enter my room. Underssstand?"
Remus smiled, and stroked the scaled face of Janus. "Damn your so sexy when your all scaly and evil." He held up his wrist with the metal band on his wrist. "Now what about this, my slithering Noodle. I thought you weren't into kinks like that?"
"Oh, darling. You know I never mean sssuch thingsss. I'll take it off, if you help me." He assured, with a sly smile.
Remus, smiled back. He loved it when Janus played into his Snake self. It was a turn on for the Duke. And whenever Janus acted more Snake than well, civilized, it was always a promise of fun. This Janus was planning something. "Deal." He agreed.
"Fantassstic." The scaly Deceitful hissed as he vanished.
The door to the room slamming shut with a click of the lock.
Remus let out a cackle of anticipation and dropped to the floor in front of the bed that held his sleeping Snake. Janus wanted him to watch. Then Remus was going to sit and watch.
.....
For like two seconds.
"Ugh Fuck! Being a guard is boring!!" He groaned, letting his head fall back on the bed and looked at the Deceitful Sides body, with wide eyes. "Hmm...." He hummed in thought, as his many thoughts raced to the surface.
(At the same time back with Thomas and the Light Sides)
As soon as they had noticed Remus had left, Patton went into Dad mode on the Creative Side "Roman you shouldn't have said that to Remus." Patton scolded, while Virgil, Thomas, and Logan pulled at the split Core on the wall trying to remove it. Logan had hypothesized that if they could fit them back, Janus might go back to his body. And not wanting to risk anyone else getting a metal band on their wrist they had all agreed on Logan's hypothesis.
"I know, but I was just trying to warn him." Roman insisted.
"Well, he didn't take it that way. In fact, it sounded like a threat." Virgil grunted. "You don't joke about that on this side, Princey."
"Oh, come on!" Roman said, exasperated, flinging his arms up his hand coming close to hitting Patton in the face had the Moral Side not flinched back in time.
A yellow light came back, revealing Janus with no scale, looking dead at Roman. His presence immediately gaining everyone's attention.
"Janus! Thank God! Tell us how to help you. None of us can get out. And I'm not leaving without you. Any of you!" The Janus before them, took his eyes off Roman and glanced at Thomas. "I will give you what you want. You are free to leave, Thomas." He said, waving his hand toward Thomas making a door to appear and open, off to the side on a different wall near him.
Virgil was the first to try and go through only to be repelled. "Ouch!" He shouted, his head whipping back tot he Phantom and scaleless version of Janus.
"I think he means only Thomas is allowed to leave. Make sense, Thomas is the only one he is totally loyal to." Logan hummed.
"Then I'm not going without you guys." Thomas stated, crossing his arms. "Come on Janus let's go, Don't you want to go back to your body?" Thomas asked, only for the glowing yellow Side to blankly stare at him as if he hadn't heard him.
"This isn't Janus, remember, this is only his Core acting out its purpose." Logan reminded.
"This is getting ridiculous! I don't want to stay here!" Roman groan. And made a grab for the Deceitful Side only to move right through him, causing the Princely Side's outreached hand to hit Virgil in the jaw.
"Ow!" Virgil yelped, holding his nose.
"Sorry Virgil." Roman panicked. "I-i didn't mean to!" He said, sounding surprised that he had went through the Deceitful Side.
"Its chill. Just watch it next time." Virgil waved it off, holding his head up with his eyes closed trying to stop the tears that were trying to escape from the sudden hit. A bruise was already starting to form.
"Creativity." Janus said, causing everyone to look at the glowing Side as he stared blankly at Roman. "Violence against another is not permitted. It is a danger to Thomas, should one of us get hurt." He said, as he grabbed hold of the Princely Sides wrist, making a metal band similar to Remus's to appear.
"WHAT?!"Roman yelled, snatching his hand back and trying to rip the metal off. "NO! TAKE IT OFF!!"
"This will be your only warning. I will have no choice then, but to lock you away." Janus finished, turning his head to Virgil and moving to the Anxious Side who backed himself as far as he could go until the wall wall behind him stopped his The Yellow glowing version of Janus reached up and touched where Roman had accidentally hit the Emo that was already starting to bruise only slightly. As soon as his hand touched Virgil the slight bruise vanished along with Janus himself. The Core piece on the softer looking Snake cracking even more.
Virgil seemed frozen in his pace with is eyes wide, in shock or surprise. Patton ran over to him as soon as the yellow like of the Scaleless Janus disappeared. "Kiddo, you alright?"
Virgil nodded, finding himself unable to speak, his eye-shadowvery dark.
"Well, I'm not!" Roman shouted. "Get it off!" He said, pulling at the metal band on his wrist. "What even is this?!"
"Calm down Roman, or you may call him back." Logan cautioned.
"I don't know. Its new." Virgil answered, doing a breathing exercise to calm himself.
"Okay, okay. Let's calm down. Roman just bare with it for right now. And also, did anyone just see that?" Thomas asked, looking at the others as he pointed to the core half that now had more cracks in it.
"His Core cracked more!" Patton nodded, absently taking hold of Virgil's hand. "But why?"
"How are we going to fix this?" Logan mumbled mostly to himself, as he took in everything that had happened so far. "The only conclusion that I can think of is if we bring Janus back here. Let's go back to his room." He suggested.
The others and Thomas followed the Logical Side's lead, except when they got there, Janus's room was shut and locked to them. Not even Remus was answering them. "Now what?" Patton asked. After a few minutes of banging and shouting for some type of response from the Duke inside. They even had Thomas try to get in, but all that accomplished was for the door to turn from wood to metal with a large lock on it.
"There's got to be another way in." Logan said, looking to Virgil, who would know this side of the brain better than anyone.
"There is, but no one uses it, but Janus. Plus, we would have to go through Remus's territory in the Imagination." Virgil said, looking very uneasy.
"We can't go through there.! Remus isn't going to just willingly escort us. And let's not forget, I can't defend you! Jekyll and Lies slap the cuff on me!" Roman shook his head, not like the idea either of going to his brother side of the Imagination.
"I'm pretty sure you shouldn't get in trouble for defending Thomas from the creature of the Imagination. Surely Janus's Core would recognize you are protecting him." Logan assure.
"Plus, even if you do, we an always get Janus to let you back out once we get him to normal." Virgil added.
"Then its decided." Logan stated.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I don't to this! I am not going to be sent to my room and locked in like a grounded child, until the Lying King decides to let me out." He argued, crossing his arms.
"Also, there's a problem." Patton, said. "We can't leave the Dark Side, so that mean we can't summon anything from our side, to help us, including moving Remus's room back here to get into the Imagination."
Logan took a second before he scratch his eyebrow and fixed his glasses in annoyance at the oversight. "Patton is correct. So that means we wait."
"That can't be it! I can't leave you guys like this! We can't leave Janus split and not himself! We gotta do something!" Thomas insisted.
Unbeknownst to the group the other Janus, with no scales appeared and waved a door into existence, and vanished just as fast. The group only realizing when said, door opened up to open land with hedges with roses and bright sunlight.
"Um, Alice in Wonderland much." Roman said, as they all stared at the door.
"It looks like the Imagination." Patton commented, going to peek inside.
"Its not. Feels different." Roman denied, shaking his head and forgetting the metal around his wrist for the time being.
"Its his garden." Virgil said, moving away from the door. "We don't need to go in there." He warned. "Only Janus goes to his garden. Its his."
"Why is it showing itself now then?" Thomas asked, looking inside with Patton at the many plants.
"I believe that was Janus's Core answering your desire to do something." Logan stated, moving pass Patton and Thomas and into the room, stopping only when Patton grabbed his hand. Logan looked back at the Moral Side, who looked worry. "If we weren't meant to enter it wouldn't have opened up. Beside Janus's Core function is to help Thomas. A nd this garden appeared when he insisted we do something."
And with those words everyone followed the Logical Side into the room. The majority of the group jumping when the door slammed shut and vanished. "Great now we can't go back." Virgil hissed, worriedly.
"It feels weird here." Roman commented.
"You seem worried." Logan observed, watching Virgil.
"Janus, never lets anyone near his garden." Virgil insisted, hunched in on himself, as if to make himself smaller to avoid touching any of the plants. "It's a maze anyway. We'll never get out."
"So its like a game!" Patton piped up. "So, there's got to be another exit." He said, trying to sound cheerful enough to reassure Virgil, that they would get out.
"More like mice in a maze." Roman grumbled.
"Exactly like mice in a maze." Virgil agreed. "Only Janus enters his own garden. I don't know what's in here. We're walking in blind here."
"Nonsense, we are not blind. That would only happen if Thomas went blind and his vision is fine."
"He means that we don't know what's in here Logan." Thomas said, phrasing Virgil's sentence another way.
"Ah, yes. That is accurate. There could be many things in here, considering that Janus is also the Side to keep things hidden from you."
"This is Thomas we're talking about here. We shouldn't have anything too terrible walking around." Patton insisted.
"Right. Right, I know this. We know this." Thomas agreed. "So, lets go see his garden and hopefully find a way back to his room." He said, not really sound confident as he started leading the way.
TBC
A/N: So I made his garden a maze, and stuck them in it. So now they aren't just trapped. Their lost too. Lol XD