A Broken Bone Can Break Your Mind - A One-Shot Fanfic

Description: AU where Thomas doesn't know about his Dark Sides and Virgil and Janus haven't had a falling-out. Thomas breaks his arm on one of Roman's little adventures and Patton and Logan place all the blame on Roman, telling him that Thomas was better without him anyway.

Warnings: Roman Angst, Sympathetic Dark Sides, Unsympathetic Light Sides, Self-deprecation, Effects of self-deprecation on the Sides, Semi-comatose Side

Word Count: 4,600 words

So there they were, Thomas sitting in the ER waiting room cradling his clearly broken arm; Logan, Patton, and Roman standing invisibly around him. They were arguing, about god knows what, and at some point Thomas had tuned them out.

"Sanders, Thomas?" The nurse said for the fourth time before Thomas acknowledged it, snapping out of his thoughts. Thomas raised his uninjured arm in acknowledgement, standing up and followed the nurse. He didn't notice that his Sides had sunk out until after the bone was reset and cast, and he was in his car on the way home. "Hey Logan," he started to ask, before realizing the logical side wasn't there. He drove home in silence, not wanting to summon Logan in fear that he was mad.

***

At some point, Thomas had sent the three arguing sides to the Mind Palace to work out the issue. That didn't really work for them. It turned from arguing to full-on fighting. 

"Roman, I've told you before and I'll say it again since it didn't get through your thick skull the first time... Thomas going on these "adventures" is terrible for his health. You landed him in that hospital waiting room today. That wasn't due to anyone else but you." This came from Logan, Patton adding on, "Kiddo, it might be best if you and Thomas took a break from these adventures for a while. Like Logie said, it's not great for his health... and it might be better if he didn't do things like, what did you call it? Summer sledding?"

"Okay," Roman responded, "maybe sledding down a ginormous grassy slope in a giant cardboard box wasn't the greatest idea... but Thomas had so much fun doing it!"

"He had fun," Patton fired back, "before he hit a rock, went flying out of the box, and broke his arm."

"It wasn't my fault the rock was there!"

"But it's still fault to your idea that he ended up in the hospital. Maybe it's better if Thomas didn't listen to you at all. Patton and I are fully capable of giving Thomas an ideal life. His heart," Logan gestured at Patton, "and his mind." He gestured at himself.

Roman didn't know what to say, just stunned at what the two of them were saying. "Y-you... don't think I can help Thomas anymore? You're saying... you don't want me around?"

Logan and Patton tried to correct themselves, but Roman wasn't listening. Whatever they were saying was just them trying to cover up the truth that they didn't want him around.

"You don't want me around, fine! You think I'm not healthy for Thomas, whatever! Just... leave me alone. I'll stay out of your way." Roman turned and trudged to his room dejected, quietly closing the door and locking it before flopping on his bed and sobbing.

***

Janus made a sit-down dinner that night, a meal that was normally just fend-for-yourself. When Virgil walked in for a snack that afternoon, he was surprised to see Janus cooking.

"What's the occasion, mamita?" Virgil asked, grabbing some granola and climbing on the table to eat it.

"Another side joining our ranks, Virge. I thought it cause enough to celebrate." Janus answered as he looked up at Virgil, four of his arms continuing to cook while using the other two to gesture.

"New or converted? 'Cause I thought the lights were tighter than a group of prima donnas in a haunted house."

"Actually, I'm surprised." He put down what he was doing and turned completely to face the anxious spiderling. "He's converting. It'll be a while still, I think, but there is a faint outline of a door upstairs. Between yours and Remus's." 

Remus entered the kitchen, drawn by the sound of his name and the smell of food. "What was that, mamacita?"

Janus groaned, annoyed. "I totally don't want you to keep calling me that, Remus. But I was just telling Virge that a new door is forming. Between yours and his. Which is why I was making-"

But Remus had lost interest, running up the stairs to pull Cecil into the loop, which didn't go well for either of them. Janus could hear the racket of the two of them fighting from downstairs, and sent them to the Imagination to wear out each other's energy. Janus had just finished up and put the pork roast in the oven when he heard something, looking over to Virgil to make sure it wasn't just his imagination. But Virgil had his spider legs out, was off the table, and standing in a defensive position. 

From the hallway to the Light Side came a voice. "H-hello?" it called horsley, hollow, and scared. 

Janus looked at Virgil, who was going through his breathing exercises and tucking his spider legs away. "Well, Virge," Janus whispered, "looks like the new recruit is here." As Janus moved into the living room, he willed his extra arms away. Virgil followed, Remus and Cecil making their way downstairs from the Imagination. Virgil was thankful that they had at least the decency to clean up and change before coming downstairs. They all took their places to welcome whoever was coming.

***

Roman felt bad for not feeling bad about leaving, but the more he thought the more he realized Pat and Lo didn't want him around. They'd made that much clear earlier. So when Pat and Lo were downstairs having dinner, or whatever they were doing, Roman decided that he was going to leave. He was going to go down the one hallway he was never allowed down. He didn't care anymore. 

As his eyes adjusted to the utter black of the Middleland, he began descending into the Dark Sides territory. He didn't know what he'd find there, but he uttered a small "hello" after a while. After another few moments (minutes? he wasn't sure) he emerged into a well-lit room. A mirror to his own living room, all the white was replaced with black, the light wasn't harsh. There were four people waiting for him as he crossed the threshold.

Roman didn't know he was crying until the man in yellow came and embraced him. Yellow tried to comfort him, and soon enough the tears stopped rolling and he was able to look at the four figures in front of him.

"Introduce yourself, mamacita!" came the one in green.

"Remus!" shot the one in purple. So greenie is Remus, Roman thought.

Yellow caught Roman's attention again, introducing himself and the others. "I'm Janus, I represent Deceit. The one in purple is Virgil, he represents Anxiety. Orangey (Cecil sneered at that) is Cecil, he's Anger; and Greenie, as you probably guessed, is Remus. He represents Creativity."

"Wait, what? He can't represent Creativity. I'm Creativity," Roman dictated in his confusion.

"No, I'm Creativity!" Remus shot back.

Virgil laughed, loud and hearty, and all of them looked at him. He immediately sombered up, looking around. "Are you serious? Do none of you see this?" The silence and looks he got gave him an answer. He laughed again before saying "Oh boy, this is too good. They're twins you knuckleheads! Can't you see it?" Janus and Cecil looked between the twin Creativities for a moment, before coming to the same realization.

Roman was still a little skeptical, so he conjured a life-size cutout of himself next to Remus, pondering for a second. "Oooh, I see it now!" he exclaimed after a moment.

Remus pouted, mumbling "I saw it before, but I didn't want to acknowledge it. No brother of mine would wear so much white." 

The other three dark sides nodded in agreement. Roman looked at himself in comparison to the rest of them and came to the same conclusion. He looked out of place. He slipped into a more relaxed posture. He knew that they could fix it, make him look less out of place.

"Fix me. I want to stay, but I don't want to make you uncomfortable or stick out like a sore thumb." Roman looked at each of them in turn, and each of them had a wicked grin on their face.

Virgil was the first to go. "You already know," he flicked his wrist, "white isn't our color." Roman looked down, and everything that was white was being covered in inky black. It started where his heart was until it spread over the entire outfit. The seams turned a dark magenta.

Cecil was next. "Gold is good, but not rebel enough." All of Roman's gold embellishments turned a bronzy orange.

Remus didn't say anything, just grinned as he turned Roman's sash forest green. Roman wasn't having that. "Hell naw!" he said. "My sash stays red!" Remus huffed and turned it back, a little darker. It was almost a blood red, with little green accents within. Remus waved his hand again, and all four of the Dark Sides snickered. He couldn't see what Remus did, but he ignored it for the moment.

Janus was last. "You don't have to wear them, but we all have a pair for times we feel weak." Roman felt something form in his hands, and found it was a pair of soft grey gloves. They were long and silky, and Roman slid them on fervently. "And... it gets quite dark here sometimes, so I'm instilling some of my power in you so you'll be able to see."

Roman nodded in appreciation "thank you, for accepting me." He looked around at each of their faces, finding that he was still lacking one thing. The makeup. He conjured a mirror, and snapped. He gasped at the resulting reflection. He had wicked sharp eyeliner and crimson eyeshadow. Best of all, his complexion was about three shades lighter. And then he noticed what Remus had done earlier. Remus had given him an obnoxious grey streak in his bangs. He snickered and thinned it out to just the tips. It was still noticeable, just not obnoxiously so.

Virgil whistled. "I've got competition now, that's for sure. Nice to have you on board."

Roman grinned, "nice to be somewhere that I'm actually wanted."

Janus called for them, dinner having been finished baking, and they all gathered at the dining table. There were four mismatched chairs, and a space for Roman. He assumed that they had all made their own chairs, seeing as Remus was currently sitting on a toilet. Janus had an elegant yet simple traditional mahogany straight-backed dinner chair, Virgil's was welded steel with a patchwork cushion; and Cecil's resembled a greek chariot, a fairly large curved back that dipped into armrests with a bench fastened into it. 

Roman, seeing that they were all watching him in fascination, developed a wicked grin. He created a stunning throne, black with silver design, deep crimson velvet for the seat cushion. To stay in character, he conjured an obsidian crown that sat beautifully in his hair and a heavy silk cape that hung from his shoulders. He sat down regally, the head of the table shifting to him. The four of them looked at him in awe, mouths agape, varying levels of shock on their faces. Roman broke them out of it, asking "are we eating, or not?"

Virgil served the food, and Roman had to admit Janus was a pretty good cook. Maybe even better than Patton, if he said so himself. As they ate, Roman analyzed each of the sides in turn. He noticed they were all very uptight, except Remus, and they looked really uncomfortable. He tried to brush it off, thinking it was just because of the display he had put on, but there was something else... something he couldn't quite name. Fear? Maybe...

Roman cleared his throat, preparing to speak, and glimpsed Janus, Cecil and Virgil visibly flinch. He gestured at them with his fork, "You three are acting fishier than the kraken's crack, what's up?"

The trio looked up at him in unison, eyes full of fear, before looking at each other. It was several seconds before Janus spoke, voice low and trembling.

"T-the... King. You look... so, so much... like him." Janus sighed, continuing "King... Creativity. He was... crude... like Remus, I didn't know he even had a good side. I thought, we thought, when he split it was Remus as Creativity and, well, you as... I dunno. Ego or Pride or something of that nature. It never crossed our mind that there was..." he looked at Remus and then Roman in turn, "a good Creativity."

Roman looked at Remus, who had fallen silent and wouldn't meet anyone's gaze. He looked at Virgil and Cecil, who had relaxed noticeably but were still looking at him warily and with fear in their eyes. His eyes met Janus's and what he saw broke his heart. Janus's eyes were dull and filled with tears, searching Roman's face for an ounce of something to ground him. Roman realized that there was trauma behind their eyes, too. It wasn't just his appearance, but the air of confidence he held all the time that was making them uncomfortable.

In a heartbeat he dropped the entire act. Every lie he had told himself, that he was strong, that he was okay, that he had no room for error ever; he dropped it. He let himself be weak with them. Before he even realized what he was saying, the words came tumbling out.

"He abused the lot of you, didn't he?"

All four of them looked up at that, Remus dumbfounded and looked at the others in turn. Roman made a small wave of his hand, and the crown and cape vanished. He painstakingly tugged at his gloves, pulling them off, posture slumping as he entered the point of weakness with them.

"Hey," he said quietly, soothingly, "I'm not going to hurt you. You took me in when I needed a family, opened yours to me. It'd be cruel to hurt you while you're still hurting." Roman looked down at his hands. "I don't know what the King did to you, but if it's anything like what Pat and Lo did to me, it's valid to still have lasting trauma. You aren't doing yourself any favors by just trying to forget. It's not how it works." He looked back up at each side in turn. "I didn't know about the King, the way I dressed triggered something and I'm sorry for that. I'm willing to start again with this newfound knowledge if you'd like. But I'm willing to accept you, flaws and all. You gave me love I don't deserve, so I'm giving you all I can."

Janus didn't know when he started crying but looking around the table, everyone else was too. When he had composed himself enough to speak, he was answering for all of them. "Roman, there's no need to start over. It was a genuine mistake and there was nothing you could've done better. It would've happened sooner or later. We're glad that you didn't take the situation wrong, I'm not sure what we would have done if you had reacted any other way. We're glad you're here, and that's enough."

"Thank you, all of you, again." Roman looked at Janus with endearment. Realizing they had all finished dinner over the conversation, Janus stood to clear the dishes. "Let me help you with those," Roman told Janus while moving to stand, "it's the least I could do."

Janus obliged, but at that point he already had his extra arms present to clear the table. Roman went silent in awe, standing still as a statue. Janus looked up at Roman, who had gone silent, and immediately understood the confusion. "We all have... extra appendages, Roman. I have a total of six arms, most of which I don't use on a regular basis. I'm sorry if I startled you."

"Uh, not... not at all. It's intriguing. And each of you..." Roman looked to Virgil, Remus, and Cecil, "Also have multiple arms?"

Virgil spoke "Well, not exactly. Janus is the only one with human arms. I have spider legs, and other spider-like tendencies when I'm overly anxious. Remus has octopus tendencies, and Cecil resembles a Japanese Spider Crab."

Roman's eyes lit up in excitement. "Can I see? Please?" Roman asked, sounding like a small child. They obliged hesitantly, and it was a wonder that Roman's squeals of delight weren't heard by the Light Sides.

***

"Logan, he's been gone for two days. Thomas is shutting down despite our efforts. We need Roman back."

"Patton, we've talked about this. Thomas doesn't need Roman, and even if he did we don't know where Roman is. We have to keep Thomas moving, no matter what. There's no other options. End of discussion," Logan snapped defiantly.

"Lo, you know as well as I do exactly where he is. We have to go-" 

Logan cut him off "We can't go. If I leave here, Thomas dies. I control his breathing and movement. If you leave, his heart dies. You leave, he most likely becomes depressed and suicidal. Without you, I don't think I could stop him from trying to take his own life." Logan softens. "I'm sorry, Patton. We're in a lose-lose situation. No matter what move we make, it's game over."

"So we just sit idle and wait for Roman to come to his senses? We hope that he comes back before Thomas taps out? There has to be something else we can do, Logan!" Patton cried, "Anything at all?"

All Logan could do is shake his head and repeat the words "I'm sorry" over and over.

***

Roman fluttered his eyes open and squinted at his alarm clock. It was just past 2 AM, and Roman knew for a fact that he wasn't going to get back to sleep. Ever since he came to the Dark Sides, he had this pain that he couldn't describe. It started out small at first, a pinprick near his heart, a flash of a headache that was gone the next second. He had stopped eating, gradually, as the second tier of pain started. It turned from pinpricks to a stabbing pain, flash headaches to migraines. Had it been a couple of days, a couple months? He wasn't sure, time was hard in the Dark Side territory. But just recently he started finding open wounds and scars, mostly on his arms and legs. He hadn't the courage to bring them up to the others at the time, but the pain was getting worse. Roman had vomited six times in the past five days. The numbing pain was enough to knock out any average human, but somehow Roman found the strength to keep going. He rolled out of bed with a groan and headed to the living room, wearing grey sweats and a crimson short sleeve shirt.

Roman didn't realize anyone was downstairs until Virgil asked Roman if he wanted some coffee. Roman visibly jumped, caught unawares. 

"That'd be great, Virge," he responded.

"It's two in the morning and you look like death, Ro. What's up with you?"

Roman sat on the edge of the couch and sighed, visibly shaking from the pain he was in. He took a moment to answer, "Something's wrong, and I don't know what. I don't know if it's the Territory fighting against me, but ever since I got here I've been in pain. It was almost nonexistent at first, but it grows stronger with each passing moment." There was a moment of silence, and then another wave of pain hit Roman and he bent over double, fell off the couch and curled up on the floor, gasping and groaning, unconscious. 

Virgil ran over in an anxious panic. "Ro, what's going on? Are you alright? Talk to me!" Roman shook his head weakly, crying out in pain. In a heartbeat, the other three were by his side in various states of awareness.

"Virgil, what's going on?" Janus asked.

"I don't know!" the anxious side exclaimed. "He came downstairs a few minutes ago, I was making coffee and attempting to make small talk like one does in the middle of the night when they see another human, and he was talking but I wasn't really paying attention, and all of a sudden hedoubledoverinpainandIdidn'tknowwhattodo andit'sallmyfaultallmyfaultallmyfault-"

"Virgil!" Remus exclaimed. "Breathe... It'll be okay, we'll fix him up. I promise." Remus pulled Virgil away from the commotion, running him through breathing exercises to calm the anxious boi.

"Janus, can I get a look at him?" Cecil whispered. Janus nodded, moving aside to allow Cecil to do his work. Cecil placed a hand on Roman's forehead and pulled it back immediately with a hiss of pain.

"What is it, Cee?" Janus asked in a hushed tone.

"He needs to go back... Now." Cecil verbalized. 

Janus met his eyes, asking "Why are you saying he needs to go back? He doesn't want to. Isn't that enough reason to let him stay?"

"You don't understand, Jan," Cecil explained, turning Roman's arm to where Janus could see the marks. He let Roman's arm go and then rolled up his own sleeve. 

"The marks are identical..." Janus looked at his own forearm and continued, "The three of us have them, does that mean the others do too?" Cecil nodded. Janus, still not completely understanding, added "I still don't know what all this has to do with Roman returning to the Light Sides."

Cecil nodded, "Him being here is hurting Thomas. It's affecting all of us in turn. If Roman doesn't make it back soon, Thomas is going to die."

Remus and a now calm but determined Virgil had made their way back to the group during all of this. Virgil spoke up, "He's not going alone. He wouldn't make it back on his own. Remus and I are going with him."

"No," Janus said and shushed their complaints, "we're all going. Roman came to us and regarded us as family, we take him back there as his family. Understood?" They all nodded. "Then let's go," Janus said with a voice of finality.

***

After what seemed like hours of trudging uphill to and across the Middleland, each Side taking a turn carrying Roman, the horizon started turning lighter at last. The group moved faster, breaking through the barrier to the Light Sides territory. They walked into a scene straight out of a black and white movie. Everything was greyscale, color slowly seeping back from where Remus had laid his brother. Patton and Logan were fighting inaudibly in the kitchen, not having noticed the group. 

Logan must have thought something at Patton that the father figure didn't like, because Patton stalked out of the kitchen fuming. Then he saw them, and anything Logan said immediately left Patton's mind. Several emotions flashed on Patton's face; confusion, shock, anger, fear, disbelief. Janus and Cecil stepped aside so Patton could see Roman, and the father figure brought his hands to his mouth with a sob. He ran to Roman, cradling his head, and called over his shoulder for Logan. 

Logan came running, and stopped in his tracks when he saw Roman. He looked around at the faces of the group that brought him back, pinning leadership on the one in yellow and the one in orange and pulled them aside. He started with a relieved sigh, saying "Thank you" before anything else.

Janus looked at Logan, and then Cecil. He spoke to Logan for the both of them, "Anyone would've done it. I'm Janus, this is Cecil. I gather that you're Logan?" Logan nodded, and Janus continued. "We need to get Roman to the couch, can you get Patton to let go of him long enough for us to move him?"

They finally got Patton off of Roman and moved to the couch. He was still unconscious, but much more relaxed than before. The other six Sides were in various states of distress, but finally calmed down and relaxed in the living room. While waiting for Roman to wake up, they all started talking about what had happened and about each other. 

It was around dinner time when Patton and Janus realized that none of them had eaten anything that day, and went together to make a meal. Roman hadn't woken up yet, but everyone was getting along and having a good time.

Another couple hours and Logan, Cecil, and Patton were asleep. Around 10:30 PM Janus drifted off, leaving Remus and Virgil to their discussion. It was pushing midnight when the duo were pulled out of their conversation (over the best way for Thomas to secretly overthrow the government) by Roman shifting on the couch. They moved to wake up the others as Roman shielded his eyes and groaned. The resting sides quickly arose and formed a loose semicircle around the couch. 

Roman sat up groggily, feeling weak but no pain. He was surprised to find himself surrounded by all of the sides, and in the Light Sides territory no less. If he wasn't already sitting, he would have been tackled to the ground by the force of Patton's hug. All of the others started fussing over him, minus Cecil and Logan. They were deep in conversation, and all of a sudden Thomas was there. In a similar state as Roman, just a little stronger, Thomas was groggy and confused. 

"Guys, it's past midnight, what is so important that you woke me..." Thomas looked around, realizing that there were not just three but seven personas besides himself in the Mind Palace, and finished his thought, "...up?"

"Thomas, how are you feeling right now?" Logan asked.

"I'm... strangely at peace? Relaxed? I dunno. I feel like I'm floating on a happy cloud compared to a few hours ago. Physically I feel more energy I've had in weeks." Thomas says, gaining more strength by the moment and coming back into his confident posture.

Logan looked at Janus and Virgil in turn, and in sync they replied, "he isn't lying."

Hours passed as they all talked, explaining to Thomas what exactly had happened. Patton and Logan admitted that they were wrong and apologized to Roman. They all decided that there was going to be no more Dark or Light Sides, they were all sides of Thomas and they each were important in their own rights. Roman changed back into his normal white attire, but he made sure to keep the old. It was indeed a wonderful outfit, after all. The territories merged, new hallways were formed, and a larger dinner table was made. It truly was a happy ending. Well, almost. They each had their flaws, sure, but they all had forgotten one thing. The Dragon Witch was in the Imagination, plotting in her lair. She wanted her dear King Romulus back, and would stop at nothing to make sure she did. But that's a tale for another day. What they all understood is that there were going to be many more battles ahead, and they had to be ready. After many hours of discussion, they all came to the same conclusion. No more secrets ever again.

As night became day, Thomas finally was starting to understand the truth. And that scared him even more. 

(Cue the Dragon Witch's echoing roar from the Imagination)

End Notes: That was so frickin fun to write! I love one-shots like this because I can use so many prompts at once and it actually makes sense. Incorporating so many aspects of all these characters makes me so happy and I hope y'all enjoy!