5 Cracks

Patton looked around at where the hand had taken him.

The world was full of colour, so bright and vibrant and alive.

Patton laughed in disbelief; after the darkness of the last place, the terrifying glitching of the path and the door, this place gave Patton a feeling, like here was where he was meant to be.

Someone cleared their throat behind him, and he turned around to see who it was.

Deceit.

He was.. Glowing slightly, scales shining and gloves bright yellow. He extended a hand to Patton. "I can help you, I can can protect you from them, we'll show them who they cast out." He smiled warmly.

Patton stepped forward and took his hand without hesitation.

Instantly, a splitting crack rent the air, and Patton fell to his knees in pain, clutching his cheek, where a giant fracture had appeared.

"What happened?" he asked desperately, tears filling his eyes.

Deceit was kneeling next to him. Patton didn't remember him moving. Deceit rubbed a hand on Patton's back. "It's going to hurt for a while. It's perfectly normal. I know, it's not nice, but it must happen." Suddenly Deceit was holding a steaming mug of something that smelled amazing. He handed it to Patton. "This will help, but it will happen again."

Patton took a tentative sip and felt the pain recede. He smiled weakly at the Side next to him. "Th-thanks Dee."

Deceit gripped both Patton's arm and shoulder, helping him to stand. "Come on, let's get you a change of clothes."

Patton's head was still spinning slightly from the pain, and just nodded, allowing himself to be guided wherever Deceit was taking him.

Deceit guided him down paths and through doorways that Patton could have sworn weren't there a second before, before pushing him gently through two large black curtains with the words, "Choose whatever you want."

Patton looked around at the racks and shelves and hooks, covered in clothes.

He raked his eyes over everything, searching for a change of clothes. He didn't want to stay in these clothes, the ones that reminded him so much of the Light Sides, the ones who had cast him out.

He was about to decide on a dark brown shirt when he saw a purple shirt, with a broken heart over the left breast. He picked it up, dropping his cardigan off his shoulders onto the floor, and replacing his blue shirt with the purple one. He looked at the rack of jackets and pulled off a black one that reminded him of Thomas's JD performance in Heathers, back in 2015. He pulled it on and looked at himself in a mirror, the spinning in his head now completely gone.

This looked like him.

He threw open the curtains and walked back to Deceit, who looked at him for a moment before saying, "I like it! Nice outfit!"

Patton smiled in response as another head-splitting pain rocketed through his head, another crack like a gunshot broke the air and he clutched his forehead, falling almost completely over before Deceit caught him.

He summoned another cup and gave it to Patton, who drained it as fast as he could.

Deceit held his arms out slightly, helping Patton stand on his own, pain already fading.

"How often is that going to happen?" asked Patton, voice shaking.

Deceit looked at him sympathetically. "That's going to happen quite often, for maybe three weeks or so."

Patton sighed. "But why is it happening? What is it?"

Deceit took a moment before answering. "It's your Changing. I don't think you're going to be Morality for much longer."

Patton looked stricken. As much as Patton wanted to get away from the Light Sides, he couldn't leave Thomas without Morality! "I can't change! Thomas needs his Morality, he needs to know his rights and wrongs, I-" Patton fell silent as Deceit placed a hand on his chin, gently, lifting his head up ever so slightly.

"Oh Patton," Deceit said lightly. "I'm afraid you have no choice."

And then he blew at Patton like a candle, glittering yellow dust flying out from his hand and into Patton's face. Patton coughed and spluttered as the world went black and he fell to the ground.

Roman looked at the others. "Find anything?"

Logan and Virgil shook their heads.

"Maybe Deceit has something to do with it? He did show up a few weeks ago when Patton was alone," Logan suggested.

Virgil clenched his hands into fists. "If he has anything to do with this, I'm going to kill him." He felt something shift inside his mouth and quickly shut it.

Not now, he thought. They can't find out now.

"I say we go and ask!" Roman said.

Virgil nodded, hands still fists.

Logan nodded too, and they sank down together.

Patton's head was swirling as he lifted himself up onto his elbows. He was lying on a couch of some sort.

"Ah, you're awake!" Patton turned and saw Deceit walking towards him with a cup of water. "How do you feel?"

Patton took the glass and pushed himself into a sitting position. "Kinda dizzy.. What happened?"

Deceit sat on the couch next to Patton's legs. He indicated just under Patton's right eye. "You got another crack, and it made you pass out."

"Oh... Okay," replied Patton.

Deceit's head whipped around. "I can sense the Lights coming. Feel like talking to them, or do you want to head upstairs?"

Patton thought for a moment. "I want to go upstairs."

Deceit nodded. "Okay." He offered his arm to Patton, which Patton took.

"Thanks Dee.."

Deceit smiled, helping him across the room and up the stairs to the spare room down the hall.

Patton sat heavily on the bed.

"You can stay as long as you need, Pat, okay? I'll be back upstairs in maybe ten minutes."

Patton nodded as Deceit left the room.

The three Lights rose up into the Dark Side's living room, looking around as Deceit came down the stairs.

"Ah, Deceit," said Logan. "Have you seen Patton today?"

Deceit looked confused. "No. He's normally with you, where were you?"

"We were getting certain items for Patton's upcoming birthday," replied Logan. "So he was home alone for a majority of the morning."

"Well, I haven't seen him."

Virgil narrowed his eyes at the Side. "I don't believe you." He started towards him.

Roman touched his arm. "Virgil. We can look again, and then if we need to come back, and then you can beat him up. Okay?"

Virgil took a breath, breathing slowly out his mouth. "Fine." He glared at Deceit and lowered his voice. "If you did anything to him, you know what'll happen." His eyes flashed purple.

For the first time, Deceit looked scared. He swallowed and forced himself to look back at Virgil, unbothered.

"Let's go, Virge," said Roman.

Virgil stepped back and the trio sank down.

Deceit made his way back upstairs, taking a moment at the top to compose himself, before walking down to the room Patton was in. He creaked open the door to see Patton had gone back to sleep. The Changing was tiring, after all.

Deceit smiled, not the warm, kind smile he had used with Patton earlier, a cold one, a cruel one.

He flicked the light off and quietly shut the door, heading back to his own room. "Soon.." he muttered to himself. "Not much longer..."