Chapter Text
THERE WERE CERTAIN pitfalls to living primarily in the Imagination and butted up close against the Subconscious, little quirks that seeped in which might not otherwise effect a Side because they spent just as much if not more time outside the deeper Imagination in the Mindscape proper snuggled up closer to the world beyond the mind of their center. Some (boring, nerdy, buzzkill, oooh what if "Buzz kill" was taken lliteraly, just come into a party and shoot a guy in a Buzz Lightyear costume~?) Sides might say that it made him less grounded in reality and more prone to illogical flights of fancy, though it could also be argued that constant close proximity to the Nightmare Realm was what made him morbid and prone to violence. Remus would argue that he was actually the most realistic out of all of the Sides, thank you very much; after all, not only was he very aware of all the real world dangers and icky, gross, juicy stuff that was actually well documented as happening in the outer world, but he was the most cognizant of the fact that he, and all the other Sides with him, were themselves all Imaginary! They couldn't really die (except that they could cease to exist if shit got really fucked up) and so injuries in the Imagination didn't bother him as much as they did his brother others. (The less said about injuries sustained outside the Imagination, the better, in Remus's humble opinion; "object impermanence" his bouncy and thoroughly fuckable ass!)
And yeah, maybe he didn't have his own official room in the Mindscape (because he was meant to be a they, he was only half of the equation, cast out and turned away from the door, away from his other half) and maybe that was unfair, or maybe it just meant that the Imagination itself was his (living, breathing, opinionated) room, and that really wasn't fair, not to him or anyone else, because why would he need that much space? Besides, Virgie-poo might grumble and complain, but he never begrudged Remus the use of his door to come and go, and he and Jan-Jan had both helped him build the sprawling Keep and massive tower smack dab in the middle of the swamp! He was (fucked up, insecure, neurotic, exhausted) FINE.
Besides, he knew his work was appreciated by some people, even if he had to give up the credit to Roro a lot to get shit past the (Patton-ly ridiculous) censors. (He'd sent a bunch of orchids to hang in the trees at the border to Ro's little kingdom after he actually got Thomas to jump out of a moving car while dressed as Pattonchop for a Vine. That had been gold!) Not all of what he came up with was gonna cut it, he knew; not everything Roboto came up with got approved either since Daddy Downer and No-Touchy Teachy were a couple of fucking prudes who only gave the green light to the raunchy shit if Thommygun's bestie Joan came up with it first. (Thank fuck whatever Side Shakeup they had going on was less riddled with Catholic guilt-shaped bullet holes or those Vines would get pretty damn boring after a while.)
He was lounging in a tree, contemplating different ways to possibly spice up those ideas Thomathy had gotten in the park that got Ro so excited, when Virge found him. "Decided to just hang out today?"
"Think I'd need a rope for that," Remus mused, twisting around to hook his knees over the branch and drop enough to put himself eye to eye with his guardian. "Thought you'd be chillaxing in your room until Thomas gets an unexpected phone call from an unknown number or something."
"It was another telemarketer, he hung up on them," Virgil said with a dismissive wave. "Nah, I came to get you for something actually important. Remember the wardrobe?"
Remus went still. He did remember the wardrobe, created by the King with Awareness and Self-Preservation to be the face of the portal to the Imagination after Thomas's Nana had read him "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" for the first time, but he hadn't seen it since before the Split. "Don't tell me Dudley Do-No-Wrong actually went and destroyed it!"
"It concerns me that both you and Princey actually think that's something that might possibly happen, and we will be discussing that later," Virgil said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "But thankfully no, it's just cracked, which means we can fix it. We just need to all get to your brother's room."
"How's that gonna work?" Remus asked skeptically. Roro's room was in the main part of the Mindscape right next to the Glasses Goons. Virgil could get away with walking around up there when Thomas was all tangled up with worry over shit, but him and Janny? And that was assuming Prince Popular even let them in!
"We've got that covered," Virgil promised him. "Seems when Princey couldn't get the wardrobe to connect to the Imagination because of the cracks, he accidentally made a door into my closet. I just need to bring you out through J's spa and then the three of us go through my room to get to his."
"Ro agreed to that?"
"It was his idea."
That settled it. Virgil wouldn't lie about shit like J did, not even to make Remus feel better, and he was not gonna risk losing this opportunity. Remus flipped his legs off the branch and landed in a crouch, then bounced up and grabbed Virgil's hand as he started off in the direction of Jan's spa. "Let's go, let's go, no time to waste!"
"Re," Virgil sighed as he pulled back on Remus's hand, halting his forward momentum sharply. "Faerie ring?"
Remus paused, blinking back at Virgil, then looked to where the other Side was pointing. Sure enough, there was a perfectly symmetrical circle of Violet Webcap mushrooms not even ten feet away from the tree in which Remus had been perched. "Huh. When did that get there?"
Virgil just rolled his eyes and tugged him towards the circle without actually answering. Remus didn't mind; the question had been rhetorical anyway. Together they stepped over the boundary line and were promptly whisked away.
Traveling by faerie ring like this was always a wild ride to Remus. He didn't have the focus necessary to concentrate on the destination he wanted like Virgil could, so any time he jumped into one it would spin him around and around like a leaf in a wind storm before spitting him out someplace random where Virgil had left one of his rings before. Tons of fun, kinda like an extreme rollercoaster, but not very good at getting him where he actually wanted to go. With V there to keep hold of him, it was less like a whirlwind and more like a playground slide that twisted him around and dropped him down at the end in a couple of seconds flat (without the stumble and splat at the end from getting dizzy). This time was no different, with Virgil striding calmly out of the faerie ring in front of Janus's full service spa resort and Remus staggering after him, giggling and trying not to trip over the mushrooms as he regained his balance.
What was different was seeing Janus pacing agitatedly out in front of the spa.
"Took you both long enough," he huffed as they approached, drawing a cackle from Remus and a raised eyebrow from Virgil.
"Didn't expect you to be so impatient," the normally much more anxious Side remarked as they reached Janus.
"I'm sorry, are you somehow not concerned over the possibility of becoming trapped in the Imagination with no way to leave or return?" Janus snapped back even as he turned and led the way into the spa, waving away the staff who took the hint and continued about their own random, fictional business without bothering to stop them.
"Of course I am," Virgil scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "That's kinda my job. In this case, though, I knew you had the door held open and I refused to let myself even consider you closing it."
"Because I would absolutely close the one working doorway into and out of the Imagination," Janus drawled sarcastically as they came to the beaded curtain marked above the doorway with a gold plaque that read "VIP Lounge". He held the bead strings aside and gestured them through, and Remus found himself inexplicably nervous as he followed Virgil out of the Imagination and into Janus's room. (He didn't even make any suggestive comments about the possible use for the differently sized wooden beads on the strings, even if he still thought it.) Virgil noticed - of course he did - and squeezed the hand he was still holding.
"Just remember to be quiet while we're in your brother's room so we don't attract the nerd brigade," Virgil murmured to Remus, who grimaced a bit (he was capable of being serious and maintaining self-control when he tried, but it was a struggle) but nodded and squeezed back.
"You think he'd notice if I gave his furniture shoes?" he asked, pitching his voice to a softer volume to practice. (Damn, that kinda made him sound all wobbly and vulnerable or something.) Virgil hesitated, head tilted to one side, and then nodded slowly.
"Yeah, pretty sure he'd notice immediately," he said as they left Janus's room and crossed the hall, entering Virgil's own room. Remus's eyes went to the spot where the big satin blackout curtain usually covered up the closet under the stairs. The white door with pink painted flowers stood ajar, but instead of the familiar sight of the dark forest filled with spider webs and even more rings of Violet Webcaps, beyond the open door was a warm golden light and the sound of a pencil scratching across paper. Virgil approached the door silently and then knocked once, three more times in rapid succession, and once more. The sounds of the pencil stopped and then there was the sound of someone knocking back twice.
Virgil relaxed and pushed open the door on the other side of his closet. "Hey, Princey. Mission accomplished on my end."
"No problems here either, aside from the obvious," Remus heard his brother say as he followed Virgil through the door... and suddenly, there he was, looking older than the last time he'd seen him (they were the same age, how did he keep forgetting?) and definitely a lot more prettied up than the time he and Vee-lob had needed to save his ass from an escaped night terror the idiot had tried to fight with a sword. Roman looked up from whatever it was he'd been doing and his eyes met Remus's. His breath caught, and he surged to his feet and opened his mouth... strained, but couldn't speak... tried again.... He grimaced and looked beyond Remus's shoulder. "Can you pull it back? Just for a few minutes, while it's just the four of us here?"
"I haven't the foggiest idea what you're referring to," Janus drawled from behind Remus. The look Roman shot him was so much like one of Virgie's own deadpan stares that Remus couldn't help a giggle. It apparently shook JayJay a bit as well, because he added, a bit more seriously, "It would be less strenuous for everyone to simply release it and then reapply it afterwards."
"Do it," Virgil said when Roman nodded, his throat still visibly trying to work. "We shouldn't have any miscommunications for this anyway."
"As you say," Janus hummed, stepping up to Remus's other side and removing a glove, stretching out his hand. "Open wide, if you please?"
Roman obeyed without question, which surprised Remus (since when did Roman trust Janus at his word?). Janus reached into Roman's mouth and caught his tongue-- no, wait, that was something silvery coating his tongue. He pulled and Roman gagged, coughing as the silvery thing stretched and slid and finally pulled free of Roman's throat. Janus quickly pulled his hand back and away from Roman, studying the thing as Remus found himself conjuring up a glass of water. He handed it to Virgil, who took it and left his side to bring the glass to a trembling, heavily gasping Roman.
"You've been fighting it," Janus said after a moment. "More than just today."
"They don't follow me into the Imagination," Roman rasped, leaning into Virgil's support and accepting the water. "Not without an invitation. But I couldn't even speak of my brother to the spiders, just to tell them how much I value his input and I miss him." He paused and shuddered a little, then looked up straight at Remus. "I miss you, Re.... I miss you like a vital organ was ripped from my guts and left me hemorrhaging while I had to smile and act as if I didn't want to scream."
Remus stared at him, shaken. Of course he had known that Ro appreciated his contributions even if he never said so. (Ever, not even when he was nominally alone in the Imagination, and now he knew why.) He'd kinda thought he was appreciated the way you might appreciate your gut bacteria, though, thankful they're in there doing their fermenting, decomposing jobs, but out of sight so you don't have to really think about it until you suddenly burp or fart and you taste the rot, but this.... This was like trying to shove a cupcake up your butthole to give your gut bacteria a birthday party!
"Drink your water and put the glass down," he said finally, feeling something crackle and pop inside him when Roman did it. He vanished the glass the moment it left his brother's hand and launched himself at Roman, and despite the force and lack of warning Roman caught him. They clung to each other tightly, tight enough that Remus felt his bones creaking, and he had to bite down on his brother's sash-covered shoulder to muffle the howl that wanted to break free of his chest--
"There's gotta be something we can do," he distantly heard Virgil saying. "It's obviously hurting them to be apart like this... what if it starts hurting Thomas, too?"
"It would hurt Thomas worse to have Morality attempt to erase Remus entirely," Janus murmured back. "People will do very stupid things out of ignorance and fear, as you well know."
"So he's the key, then," Virgil sighed. "I've gotta figure out a way to get Morality on our side."
"Eventually," Janus agreed quietly. "For now, we should discuss how to go about repairing the wardrobe."
"Papers," Roman croaked from beside Remus's head. He felt the grip on the back of his shirt shift as his brother presumably pointed towards whatever he was talking about. It was probably something important, but there was nothing in the whole Mindscape that could make Remus let go of his brother right now. (He could be ripped away again at any moment.)
There was a rustle of fabric, then another longer rustling of paper. "Oh, wow.... Dee, get a look at this."
"Oh my.... our prince has been busy whilst he waited," Janus hummed. "Hmmm... a living courtyard and... four back doors?"
"One each for the four of us, see?" Virgil said, and there was another rustle. "It's presuming four external personal rooms in the upper Mindscape - the note says 'public facing' - and then restructuring the wardrobe to be more like the door in 'Howl's Moving Castle' with a dial to set the destination to someplace in each of our specific quadrants."
"You wanna see Big D's spa, huh?" Remus muttered with a snicker into Roman's shoulder.
"I would be honored to be allowed to see all of your domains in the Imagination," Roman murmured back, his grip somehow tightening further. "And to have you come and visit mine, if you wish. The courtyard could also act as a nexus point to quickly reach each other if there was an emergency situation."
"And how would you prevent Logic and Morality from discovering the connection?" Janus asked, sounding honestly regretful. "You did say that they come into the Imagination with you on occasion."
"By invitation only, thankfully," Roman sighed. His grip still hadn't relaxed around Remus, so Remus made no move to pull away. "There is already a courtyard onto which the wardrobe typically opens for my domain, and it has been redecorated more than once. If the new communal courtyard is structured with recessed alcoves with statues in the open spaces and the doors are positioned around turned corners, they would be unnoticed. After all, I am usually too filled with exuberance to show off my newest creation to give either of them time to explore," he added with enough sarcasm that Remus was tempted to pull back to check for scales.
And then he just kind of wanted to hunt down a couple of bespectacled Sides and introduce them to his morningstar.
"Yeah, we're doing it," Virgil said firmly. "We'll have to work in stages, though. Fix the wardrobe as is first, then open it onto the courtyard and build the back doors, then open the door to Princey's room--"
"Roman," Remus's brother interrupted softly. "My name is Roman, if you decide that you wish to use it."
There was a long pause, during which Remus could practically feel the looks being exchanged between Virgil and Janus behind his back (it kinda itched, like a twig caught under his shirt... or maybe there was a twig caught under his shirt; he'd been literally hanging out in a tree, after all), and then Virgil said, "Okay, we then need to open the back door into Roman's room and push the wardrobe through it to the courtyard before changing up its look to match the door it's replacing in the castle and creating the dial. And, I guess, we can follow that up with testing it out and giving you a tour of the other quadrants."
"Anxiety," Janus hissed lowly, making Remus tense in his brother's arms, but Virgil just tsked.
"The walls have ears, Dee," he said tiredly. "We have work to do. Creativity cannot be left locked out of the Imagination, you know this."
"I know," Janus murmured. "We should begin."
That was his cue, Remus knew, and he sighed and slowly drew back from his brother, turning to face the others. Roman caught his hand, apparently just as unwilling to be parted immediately, and Remus laced their fingers together before actually looking around the room. He blinked. "Did someone come and steal all your stuff or what, bro?"
Because the room, the place he had always understood as being a Side's personal space and residence, was practically empty. It didn't even have the general layout of Thomas's apartment the way Virgil's room did! There was a huge desk with several drawers and a wingback chair, and a large L-shaped couch opposite the desk, but the only other thing in the room besides the four Sides themselves was the wardrobe.
....No wonder Virgil had been so sure Ro would notice if he gave all the furniture feet shoes.
"Come on," Virgil urged as he reached through the open wardrobe door to close his closet, then closed the wardrobe door as well. "Hands on the door, eyes closed. We four are the most tied to the Imagination, we can't be kept out. Reach for the feeling of our home and call it back."
Remus placed his free hand on the door next to Virgil's, followed by Roman, and then Janus put his still ungloved hand on the door beside Roman's. For a brief flicker, Remus got an image, flash of memory of three identical hands pressed against a bare wall that slowly formed into a door and then a wardrobe, but then he closed his eyes and Reached.
Let us in, he begged silently. To the castle courtyard... please!
The door shuddered beneath their hands and then clicked, pushing up and open of its own volition beneath Remus's palm. He opened his eyes and stepped back as all four of them curled their fingers around the edge of the door and pulled it open. Remus stared, stunned, at the gray flagstones and ivy-covered stone brick walls with marble accents of the sunny little courtyard. Beside him, Roman laughed in relief and squeezed his hand before tugging him through the door.
"Come on, come on!" he urged, smiling brighter than Remus had ever thought he'd see, so excited for the wardrobe door to work again, to be able to get into his true room again, because now that Remus was through the door he recognized the feeling here. His Keep in the swamp had the same feel, the same deeply rooted connection to him that he felt between this courtyard and Roman. No wonder the other space was so damn empty; his brother didn't live there, it's where he worked and made nice with the stuffed shirt and the prude! This was his room, his home, and he was pulling Remus in like he had wanted him here with him for forever. (Maybe he had.)
The sound of a door closing brought them both up short and they whirled around. Janus was also looking at Virgil in shock, because the anxious Side was the one who had closed the wardrobe door behind them, sealing them into the Imagination with no guaranteed way out again. Despite having all three of them looking at him, he looked... weirdly calm.
"Anxiety...?" Roman started carefully, trailing off when a pale hand lifted.
"Virgil," he said, looking Roman in the eyes. "My name is Virgil. I'm not about to go telling the others my name any time soon, but when we're in here I don't mind you using it."
"Virgil," Roman repeated softly, eyes lighting up. "The Roman poet who guided Dante through Hell. A fitting name for the one charged with guiding Thomas safely through the dangers of the world around him."
"Damn," Remus whistled softly, even as he was grinning at this incredible show of trust from Virgil towards Roman. His guardian was practically a fae with hiding his name around any Side who didn't know it, almost as bad as Jannypoo! "Smooth, Ro-bro, real smooth."
"I suppose under the circumstances you may call me Janus," the final member of the group said with a bored tone that Remus didn't believe for a second. His doubt was proven when the serpentine Side added, "And I will know if you try and use it anywhere else without permission."
"I would expect nothing less," Roman said seriously. "The name of a god should hardly be spoken carelessly, the name of a friend even less so. I asked you once to bind my tongue to keep me from speaking out of turn in ways that could bring harm to any of you, and for all my occasional frustrations I am grateful to you for it. Thank you, Janus."
"Don't thank me for doing my job, my prince," Janus murmured, but Roman shook his head.
"It is a thankless enough job that each of you have, but they are vitally important to Thomas's survival and continued health and wellbeing," he said, looking at each of them in turn. "I may have to hold my tongue against singing your praises in front of the others, but here and now I will not let my gratitude and admiration for you three go unexpressed."
"Only if you let us say thank you to you, too, for being such an excellent front man," Virgil said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his hoodie with a crooked little grin. "Though you make it really damn hard for me to do my job sometimes."
"I am aware that not every dream is worthy of being chased, and your objections help refine those dreams into ones which are possible for Thomas to achieve," Roman said with a slight smirk. "You doing your job so well helps me do my job, so don't ever think that I am ever unappreciative of your efforts, even if I am occasionally forced to say otherwise."
"You're gonna give me cavities from all the syrupy sap," Remus snorted, but he couldn't seem to stop grinning at them all. (It's not like he was trying too hard.) "Let's get this place fixed up all shiny so we can all go exploring already! I wanna see Romie's reaction to the mushrooms!"
"Yours or Virgil's?" Janus asked to Remus's delighted cackle.
"Both!"
"I can hardly wait," Roman said with a matching grin, and Remus believed him.
They were gonna have so much fun!