Aftermath and Apathy - An Orange Side Theory

 Set directly after SvSR

Warnings: Spoilers for the latest episode, minor cussing, sympathetic Remus, and lots of angst

Roman appears in the commons of the mind palace as Logan is getting his third cup of coffee for the day.

“Where’s Patton? Shouldn’t you have come back together?” asks Logan. He looks up from the coffee pot and immediately regrets even asking. “Are you - are you alright, Roman?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m just peachy, Logan. Just. Peachy.” He snaps back, somewhat unintentionally.

“You clearly aren’t doing adequately--”

“Just shut up, Nerdy Wolverine. I don’t want to talk about it.” Roman proceeds to teleport down the hall, storm into his room, and slam the door.

That was unnecessary, Logan thought to himself. He continued to sip his coffee when Patton appeared in the commons, looking satisfied and slightly distraught.

“Hey Lo, where’s Roman? I-I need to talk to him.” He looks at Logan with his sad puppy-dog eyes, and Logan finally gives in.

“He’s in his room, Pat.”

“Thanks, Lo.”

Patton passes Virgil on his way to Roman’s room, and Virgil starts to ask him about the episode but Patton stops him.

“Kiddo, trust me when I tell you that you may want to go to the commons and listen to your music or something.”

“But-”

“Please, kiddo. I’ll explain later, but we don’t want Thomas to have a panic attack right now.”

“Okay, Pat. I trust you.”

“I promise that I will explain everything later, Virge. I love you.”

Patton proceeds to Roman’s room which, as he predicted, is locked. He knocks, and starts tripping over his words while trying to apologize, until he hears Roman say something though the door.

“What was that, kiddo?”

“I said,” Roman opens his door and screams “I’m not Thomas’s hero anymore, Janus--no--Deceit is your new best friend, and I want all of you to stay the f*** away from me!” He slams his door in Patton’s face and Patton runs, crying, to his own room. He doesn’t realize that Virgil is peering around the corner eavesdropping on the whole conversation, even though the whole mind palace heard Roman’s exclamation.

***

It’s been three days since any of the sides, Light or Dark, have seen Roman. They are all almost positive that he hasn’t left his room at all, and Remus swears he died. They all know better, but it keeps Remus occupied. Virgil stays in his room more now than ever, after finding out that Deceit-no, Janus- is now considered a Light Side. Logan started expressing (gasp) feelings and Patton is still depressed because of how Roman snapped at him. 

***

Two days later, still no side has seen Princy. Logan even asked Thomas to summon Roman, but he refused to show himself. The Sides are getting worried, especially since Janus’s Light Side room appeared right next to Roman’s. If Roman realizes, he hasn’t done anything, but they all assume that he hasn’t realized yet.

As the Sides (excluding Roman and Virgil) were having their weekly Disney movie marathon in the commons, Roman decides that it’s time to stop sulking and try to befriend Janus and make up with Patton. He hates how he yelled at Patton, but he didn’t want to face his problems directly after the disastrous video filming.

Roman creeps out of his room, being careful to not make a ton of noise, when Janus’s overly extra door catches his eye. 

Aww, hell no. There is no way that he became a light side this quickly, Roman thinks to himself. Another wave of anger rushes over the Creative Side, and he makes a very irrational decision. He decided to trash Janus’s room, thinking: that’ll show him not to try and steal my friends. He quickly stole into the Snake Boy’s room, and heckedy heck five abs in one peck it’s beautiful. Even Roman’s room isn’t this eloquent.

But he came here for a reason, and he will not leave until he is satisfied. So he trashed the room worse than his twin’s room looks on a bad day. But he has been in there too long. He starts thinking extremely selfishly, expanding his ego.

Then, he hears a knock on his own door next door, freaks out, and teleports back to his own room  to not draw suspicion. He cracks the door open, seeing Virgil’s face, and swings the door the rest of the way open. Reluctantly, Virgil steps over the threshold into Roman’s room and immediately things go wrong. Roman goes into a sort of trance, his irises turning a violent shade of neon orange, his back arches, and he screams in agony before he slumps to hands and knees on the floor. An ink-like stain starts spreading across his normally pristine white prince’s uniform, turning it completely black. His sash lightens to orange, and the other Sides come running into the room as Virgil screams in terror.

“What’s going on in-” Logan sees Princy and stifles a scream of his own, then runs towards Roman. He was a second too late and the floor crumbled right where Roman was slumped, causing him to fall into the Dark Sides territory, a place none of them but Remus ever wanted to go. That said, Remus happily jumped in right after him.

***

Two more days, and Roman has yet to show his face again after the mind palace moved his room downstairs. Remus, who had enough shenanigans and wanted to hang out with his brother, busted down Roman’s door that was so elegantly carved with his new title. Apathy. Such a dreary title, but Remus was sure that his brother was still the same old high maintenance Side he always was. Remus made his way over to the seemingly sleeping figure, of whom he pulled out of bed and prodded until he was sure that Roman was just ignoring him. 

“Rude,” Remus whispered under his breath. “You really have changed, haven’t you?”

“Go away, Remus, I don’t want to hang out with you. You’d probably blow me up, which sounds like such a drag.”

“He speaks!” Remus exclaims triumphantly. “I thought you had gone mute.”

Roman doesn’t answer, but just curls up where he is and goes back to sleep. Remus isn’t happy that his brother isn’t any fun anymore, but leaves him alone in fear that he might endanger Thomas if he hurts his brother. Wait, where did that thought come from? Remus wondered, I never worried about endangering a Side or Thomas before…

***

Over the following weeks, Remus changed. His appearance grew to a half-and-half look, his outfit turned a grey color from black with his signature green sash. He lost the grey streak in his hair but kept his mustache, to his relief. His room even moved upstairs, which he didn’t like as much. He didn’t like the idea of leaving Roman alone in the Dark Sides territory, but Roman didn’t notice or care anyway. Thomas was about to start shooting for the new video, and all the Sides were a little scared of how it was going to turn out. Especially Remus, who was shunned the last time he turned up in a video. And Virgil, worrywart as he was, stayed in his room to avoid everyone as to not get them on edge. The last thing Thomas needed was to get extremely worried right now.

***

Filming for the new video starts now.

“What is up everybody,” Thomas says, making his classic intro. He looks tired, he’s jittery, and overall seems off. “So let's just get this out of the way, I feel like a fiery, raging, gasoline fire that is about to make something explode, and I don’t know why. I’ve felt off for weeks, and I am hoping that my Sides can help me out here. Guys?”

Logan rises up and states “I have the solution and the answer you seek, but you are not going to like it in the slightest.”

“What exactly do you mean, Lo?”

“Exactly what he said, Thomas,” retorts Janus. “The answers you seek aren’t very, well, pretty.”

“No,” says Remus who looks depressed, “none of the Sides like the solution.”

“Remus, what are you doing here?” asks Thomas, surprised, “and are you alright?”

“If your brother switched sides with you and made you the almighty Creativity while he naps all day everyday, you’d be this way too. But no, I, the Stinky Trash Man am not alright.”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. WHAT!!!”

“Roman kinda-sorta well, changed after you accepted me,” Janus mumbled guiltily and continues with “He now goes by the title Apathy, and Remus is now your only creativity.”

“Remus, is that true?” Thomas looks at Remus with concern, “Is Roman-”

Remus flinches at the amount of concern in Thomas’s eyes, but nods his head. “Yeah, T man. Roman is a heap of useless Side who mopes around all day and only speaks when he feels like it. If you try to summon him, he probably won’t even show up.”

“Well, is there a way to visit him against his will, maybe go to his room?” Thomas looks hopeful.

“I wouldn’t recommend it, but I never want you to go to anyone’s room, so...”

“Thanks for the concern, Virge, but we need to find him, and probably kickstart his creative nature somehow.”

“Then I guess we’re going, so think of nothing,” says Logan matter-of-factly.

“Lo, you realize that’s really difficult for me, right?”

“You must, if you want to find Apathy.”

“Then let’s go. Thinking of nothing…”

***

In contrast to his door, Roman’s new room is blatantly plain. As the Sides and Thomas appear in Roman’s room, they all slump in a sense of false sleepiness. 

“Aha, I knew you’d come. Now please leave, I’m not coming back with you.”

“Roman, please-” pleads Thomas.

“I said no,” Roman replies lazily.

“Hey, Virge?” Thomas glances towards the Anxious Side, “Your room still causes stifling fear, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah...wait, Thomas no. It’s too risky-” but Virgil is cut off by a forced sink-out, taking all the Sides and Thomas to Virgil’s room.

***

As they all rise up into Virgil’s room (Remus has Roman by the sash forcing him to come), everyone starts slowly gaining eyeshadow under their eyes.

“Roman, look I’m sorry-” started Thomas.

“SHUT UP!!!” Roman shouts, and visible yellow scales fall from his eyes as his costume changes back to the one all the Sides know and love.

“Bro, you are totally helpless without us, aren’t you?”

“You wanna go? Imagination, now, if you aren’t too much of a chicken!” Roman exclaims.

“You’d lose in this state, Ro.”

“Whatever, you’re just-”

Then, the twins both cry out in pain. They clutch at each other desperately as terror passes through the group. As soon as it starts the pain stops, and the twins start to shimmer. *They disappear completely, only to be replaced by a singular being.

“At last! I am whole again. King Creativity shall reign again!”*

The end

(I think. This was planned to be a one-shot)

*Alternate Ending*-

The twins finally could read each other's minds again, and they came up with the best idea for a prank to welcome Roman back. They blinked out of existence, only to come back hidden under a giant replica of Joan’s orange beanie. The other Sides start crying, Thomas has a mental breakdown, and Roman and Remus teleport behind the mourning group counting silently down from three. 3...2...1...The twins wrap the others in a tight embrace, creating an anxiety-filled hissy fit that ends with Roman pinned to the floor promising to get along with everyone so as to not scare them again.