Ask Emotionless World SS AU

Warning: Slight panic?

 A groan coming from the bed had everyone turning their gazes in that direction. Patton was shifting, groaning in pain as he moved. The others didn’t dare to move and simply held their breaths as they watched Patton slowly open up his eyes.

 Patton was in pain, but that was to be expected. It hurt more than usual, but that didn’t really throw Patton off. Patton also expected to wake up in basement, possibly in a pool of his own blood if he was hurting this bad. But as he opened his eyes he was surprised to find that the room was far too bright. Had Thomas left the light on? But Thomas never turned it on to begin with, so how could he leave it on?

 Something else was different. Instead of opening his eyes to a grey ceiling, he found that the ceiling he was looking at was white. And he wasn’t lying on the cold hard ground, but on something...soft. Something that seemed familiar, from a distant memory. A...bed?

 Patton turned his head to the side, only for him to freeze at the sight that greeted him. Both Thomas and Logan were staring at him. Patton’s heart beat rapidly inside of his chest. What did  this mean? A small noise from his right, caused Patton to look on that side and he was met with Roman and Virgil, also staring at him.

 Patton doesn’t think he’s ever been more terrified.

 He’s frozen in fear until he notices Thomas shift and open his mouth. Before Thomas can even make a sound, Patton is flinching violently away from him, from all of them. Going against the pain and pushing himself up against the back wall, cowering and shaking with fear.

 “I’m sorry, I don’t know how I got here! Please, I’ll go back to the basement just please don’t…” Patton’s plea dissolves into small whimpers and the others exchange shocked and saddened looks. Somehow, Patton believed he had gotten out on his own and was now about to face punishment for being out.

 And if that wasn’t proof enough over how screwed up this all was.

 Thomas opened his mouth to speak, but shut it when Virgil sent him a look that told him to keep quiet. Virgil looked to Patton with sorrow-filled eyes.

 “Pat.” Virgil spoke softly, much softer than anyone had ever heard him speak. It caught Patton’s attention and his gaze snapped over to the anxious side. “I promise Pat, we’re not going to hurt you.”

 Patton blinked, the words spoken not registering in his mind. Not going to hurt him? But that was all they ever did. Why would it suddenly change now? Unless this was a new way of hurting him, in that case Patton didn’t like it very much.

 “I see you are confused, which is understandable.” Logan’s voice rang out, causing Patton’s eyes to snap over to him. Logan’s voice wasn’t as soft as Virgil’s but it was clear he was trying. Patton felt confusion boiling inside him, right alongside the fear. Logan hated him, so why was he acting so...caring?

 “Do you remember what happened?” Logan asked and Patton fidgeted. What was he talking about? Why weren’t they hurting him yet? He was so confused…

 Patton dug deep in his mind and suddenly memories were flowing back to him. Not all of them, but enough for him to get a good idea on what had happened. He looked up, the others were looking at him expectantly and Patton realized he was meant to answer the question out loud.

 “The man, not Thomas, came down and beat me. I was awake for the cuts but fell asleep when he hit me with the bat in the head…” Patton answered, his voice hoarse from all the screaming. He missed how the others winced and exchanged looks, only looking up again when Logan continued to speak.

 “That is...correct.” Logan cleared his throat. “After the agent left and we found you, we...we realized things. We realized that-”

 “I should have never hurt you, ever.” Thomas finally spoke up, cutting Logan off. Patton flinched away at Thomas’ voice, but blinked in shock when he digested the words.

 “W-What?” Patton whispered, hoping he had heard correctly. Hoping that this really wasn’t some new way to hurt him.

 “I know this doesn’t even begin to make up for it Patton, but I am so incredibly sorry I put you through so much pain over the years. I-I regret it so much and will forever regret it for the rest of my life.” Patton was shocked, to say the least. But a new feeling took over him. A feeling he hadn’t felt for a very long time, but one he would recognize anywhere. A small ball of happiness that was slowly growing had come alight in his heart.

 “I don’t expect forgiveness, I don’t even deserve it, but-”

 “I forgive you.” Thomas and the others stared at Patton in utter shock. Patton, however, was actually smiling.

 “I...I can feel how you feel kiddo. I’m your emotions after all, however bad that may be.”

 “Emotions aren’t wrong.” Patton looked up, shocked to find Logan of all people had been the one to say such a thing. “The government just wanted us to believe that, to control us. I’m stupid for not having realized it before.” Logan shook his head, angry at himself for such a thing.

 “It’s true, though I hate to say it took us seeing you half-dead to finally come to that conclusion.” Thomas added sadly. But Patton couldn’t bring himself to care about how long it took. What really mattered was that they finally had.

 “I’m sorry for not caring.” Roman suddenly spoke up, head low.

 “I’m sorry for not doing enough.” Virgil also apologized.

 “I’m sorry for not realizing how important you are.” Logan restated his earlier statement as an apology.

 “I’m so sorry for hurting you.” Thomas said again.

 Patton looked around at the people around him. No. Not just people. They were more than that. Even before this.

 “You’re my family, why wouldn’t I forgive you?” Patton said, a smile crossing his features again. The others once again exchanged shocked looks. Patton was full of surprises. How could one who had endured pain for so long forgive so easily? Logan swallowed as he studied Patton. It wasn’t like he hadn’t noticed how Patton was still curled up, on guard from them all. His body was portraying a very different meaning compared to his words. The hurt Patton felt went even deeper than Logan had initially realized.

 “I think it might be best to leave you alone for a bit, while we cook lunch for all of us. Patton? Will you be alright?” Patton blinked and nodded. With that, the four started to stand and walk towards the door. Logan didn’t miss the way Patton’s body started to relax the farther away they got.

 “We’ll be back up in about 30 minutes. Try to get some more rest.” Patton nodded and Logan closed the door. None of them spoke until they made it down the stairs.

 “How can he just...forgive us like that?” Roman asked, collapsing onto the couch. Logan shook his head.

 “He hasn’t.” Virgil gave him a look.

 “What is that supposed to mean?” Logan sighed at Virgil’s question.

 “It means that while Patton may want to forgive us, he is still very broken. Very afraid. Did none of you see his body language?”

 “I did.” Thomas spoke up, causing Virgil and Roman to nod. Telling Logan that they, too, had noticed it.

 “What are we gonna do?” Virgil whispered, hugging himself. Logan was silent, before he started to move towards the kitchen.

 “We’re going to make lunch.” The others looked at each other before following Logan.

 “How is it only 1:00 pm?” Roman asked as he noticed the oven clock in the kitchen, shining the time in bright green numbers.

 The others shrugged. A lot had happened in the span of only a few hours.

 Everyone turned to Logan, who sighed. He felt sick when thinking about it, but he knew he had to tell the others what he had deduced.

 “From what I could tell while we were cleaning him up...it was bad. The cuts were dirty, messy. I would say a jagged dagger was used, if not that then a piece of glass. The agent definitely hit Patton with his bare hands, but some bruises were too swollen. I say he used a fairly heavy blunt object, possibly a metal bat.” There was more, but the looks on the others faces told him he shouldn’t continue. They all had looks of horror on their faces. Thomas was gripping the edges of his chair, staring hard at the ground.

 “...I would use a pocket or kitchen knife for the cuts. My bare hands or feet for the bruises. We’re not too different I suppose...” Thomas whispered and everyone’s head snapped over to him in mixtures of shock.

 “Thomas, we talked about this-”

 “I know.” Thomas ran a hand over his face, not breaking his gaze away from the floor. “I just wish...wish I could take everything back.” Everyone was silent.

 “You can’t.” Virgil spoke up, after a few moments. Thomas let out a humorless chuckle.

 “Hey, that could work!” Roman yells, but quiets down at the glare suddenly being thrown his way by Logan.

 “If word about this gets out we will indeed be in some serious trouble.” Roman answered, looking around him and locking eyes with the others. Logan sighed.

 They all collectively turned to look at Patton with solemn eyes.

 “No, no it’s fine.” Thomas took a breath and the sides were quiet as Thomas recounted the tale.

 “It happened when I was six. As you should know by now, when a child turns six is when they start learning that emotions are bad. Your world is basically flipped. No more cartoons, no more games, and for me...that also meant no more Patton.” Thomas paused.

 “That was the first time I met Morgan. She pulled me aside as explained some things that didn’t make a whole lot of sense, at least at the time. She then grabbed Patton by the arm and dragged him down to the basement. We all tried stopping her, but it didn’t work of course. She stayed down there with Patton for a long time. I had tears in my eyes but I wasn’t full on crying, yet.” Thomas rubbed at his eyes and he felt a hand start to rub his back. He looked up to see Virgil and smiled at him.

 “A few hours later she came up, without Patton. I questioned her about why she didn’t bring him up and she took the four of us down into the basement. Patton was changed to the wall, bloodied and bruised, but still awake. It looked bad, but not nearly as bad as present day. Still, we cried, even as Morgan took us back up and explained what was happening.” Thomas sighed.

 “Eventually, I guess we just got used to it. We gave into the lies the government was feeding us and we stopped caring.” He stopped to look at his sides, all of them with guilt and sadness on there faces. Expressions mirroring his own.

 “It’s hard to say how Patton will react when he wakes up.” Logan said. They had all gathered some fold out chairs to sit on in the room and wait.

 “Though, most likely we’re talking some physiological damage. Like PTSD.” Roman bit his lip.

 “Well...the things he said about us were nice. Maybe it won’t be that bad?” Logan shook his head and Roman’s shoulders slumped.

 “Patton can say all he wants, can even mean the things he says. But Patton has also known fear his entire life. Fear of being hurt, fear of isolation, fear of us. Things like that don’t just go away.”

 “...The last time I saw him, when I went in with the agent, he looked at me with fear. More fear than with the agent.” Thomas spoke softly, looking down at the floor and messing with his hands. 

“We will be once Patton is all better.” Thomas spoke and then stood up, Virgil doing the same. “I think we got all the wounds cleaned Logan.” Logan hummed and stood with Roman in tow, carrying over the gauze and cream. Carefully, Logan wrapped all of the big wounds and the others placed band-aids on the smaller ones. Once that was done, Logan grabbed the clothes he had placed on the bed earlier.

“Alright, help me get these on him. Try not to jostle him too much, we don’t want anything coming undone.” They all nodded and slowly lifted Patton as need be so Logan could get his clothes on him. When he finished, Patton was wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and white t-shirt. He was looking a lot better than before, that was for sure.

“Now what?” Roman asked. Logan sighed.

 “Emotions still exist.” Virgil spoke up for the first time in a while. “They’re just suppressed. And things like greed or worry aren’t considered emotions. If they were, I’d be in the same place Patton’s in.” Everyone became silent for a long time, the only sound being a gentle snipping and scrubbing.

 “I think that alone proves how much the government is manipulating us.” Logan finally spoke, eyes hard. Roman coughed.

 “Anyway, the news is boring and mostly talks about politics or local store updates or whatever. The concept of ‘fun’ doesn’t really exist.” Virgil finished.

 “I’d be inclined to agree with you, if that were true.” Logan said, still focused on cutting the right length of gauze. 

 “Having sides is a rare thing.” Thomas spoke up softly. He was in the middle of cleaning a wound on the side of Patton’s face. “I’ve been told I’m the only one with them in the entire state of Florida. Maybe even out of the entire east coast.” He sighed. “As for the visits from the government, that’s the first time its happened since Morgan.” Logan nodded.

 Thomas did as told and slowly his breaths evened out. He smiled. “Thank you, I needed that.” 

 It was then the others burst in, Roman carrying what seemed to be a lot more than just a med kit and Virgil, trying to balance the bowl of hot water on a few towels. Logan and Thomas quickly swooped in and helped them, setting the stuff on and around the bed.

 “Roman? Can you remove his clothes for me? Virgil, Thomas, I need you to grab a cloth a get it wet, but make sure you wring it out. We need to clean as much of the wounds as we can.” Logan ordered and Roman quickly yet gently removed everything except Patton’s underwear. Logan watched as he did so, noting that Patton stayed still and silent. 

 It was more than a little worrying.

 “They’re right.” Thomas choked out, throat tightening. “This is all my fault, I shouldn’t have, I should have done something, I-” Logan turned away from Patton and looked Thomas in the eyes.

 “Thomas, do not listen to them. You are not the one to blame in this situation.” Thomas looked toward the floor.

 “But-!”

 “Yes, they are the ones you should be listening to.” Logan sighed. “Thomas, look at me.” Thomas did.

 “I think it is safe to assume we all blame ourselves. I, especially, hate myself for not seeing the truth sooner. For-for hating Patton.” Logan took a deep breath, composing himself.

 “But, truly. None of us are to blame. The sooner you realize that, the sooner we all will.” Thomas swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. Logan mirrored him.

 “P-Please, calm down.” Logan said as Thomas handed him the baggy clothes he had requested. He laid them on the bed.

Warning: Description of injuries and blood

 The scream tore them apart.

 It ripped right through their minds and hearts, feelings of pain, sorrow, and fear all portrayed in that one scream. The four of them covered their ears, but the sound wasn’t muffled one bit. In fact, in was amplified. Thomas fell to his knees, tears staining his face as the scream arguably affected him the most.

 Finally, the scream stopped and a deafening silence followed after. The hard beating of their hearts and their heavy breathing was the only thing breaking the silence. A sob broke the sides out of their trance and they turned to see Thomas, still on his knees with his hands covering his face. He was shaking badly and for a second the others were frozen.

 The last time Thomas had cried was when they were six, a memory they all remembered quite vividly but never talked about. A memory involving a certain someone, a girl, and a closet.

 As another sob broke out, Virgil was the first one to reach Thomas and wrap his arms around him. Thomas accepted the comfort wholeheartedly, turning to lean into Virgil’s chest. Tears formed in Virgil’s eyes and a quick look at Roman would say he was on the verge of crying as well. Logan was the only one who remained anywhere near composed and still, he considered himself a mess at the moment.

 “I-I thought the room was soundproof?” Roman choked out before quickly shutting up. Another word and he was sure he would bawl. Logan’s hand went up to mess with his glasses, but was quickly dropped back to his side when he saw how much he was shaking.

 “I...I do not think that came from the room. From-From what I can tell, the scream came directly from our...our collective mind.” Virgil looked up, rubbing circles into Thomas’ back as he tried to calm himself from having a panic attack.

 “Are you saying Patton screamed to us through the mind?” Logan simply nodded and Thomas let out another choked sob, but he was slowly calming down thanks to Virgil. All of this was becoming too much for Logan. Everything he thought he knew he was questioning, doubting. The law was right, it had to be right. The law, the explanation for the law, was logical. Or...Or was it? Logan groaned, nothing was making sense anymore. Why did that stupid agent have to come and ruin everything!

 Everyone froze when they heard the door start to open.

 Thomas lifted his head with a start, eyes red and tears still in his eyes. He looked like a mess and definitely like he had been crying. Which was not good at all. Quickly, Logan turned to Roman who nodded and ran to the kitchen for a warm cloth. He threw it to Virgil who caught it and wiped their host’s face as quick yet efficient as he could. When Thomas looked presentable they helped him up and then sunk out, having no time to fix their own faces. Thomas steeled himself as the agent stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.

 “There we go, all taken care off.” Milford smiled at him and Thomas tried hard not to wince. “Now, I expect you to keep these injuries up and go up to at least three times a week. It should be everyday, but we can start with that.” He walked to the front door, not at all mentioning the fact that his other sides were now gone. He tipped his hat.

 “I’ll be back in another month or so to check in. Have a good day.” At with that, Agent Milford was gone. As soon as the door clicked shut, his sides returned and he looked them with pure fear in his eyes.

 Before any of them could speak up, Thomas was pushing past them and throwing open the door. He flicked on the light, something he never usually did. He preferred the light off, so he couldn’t see as well. Why was he just now realizing how messed up that was?

 When the lights turned on, he froze in absolute horror.

 There Patton lay in a small puddle of his own blood. His clothes were practically shredded, along with the skin underneath. A long gash ran on the inside of his thigh down to his ankle and bruises covered the rest of the skin not occupied by a cut. Patton’s eyes were closed and he was deathly still.

 Thomas felt the tears return and ran to Patton just as he felt his sides come up behind him and into the room. He kneeled over the broken side, hands hovering over his body, not knowing what to do. He knew his sides couldn't die, but Patton looked like he was teetering over the edge, if he hadn’t already fallen.

 “P-Patton…” He choked out and let out a sob. He was such a terrible person. How could he have let this happen to a part of himself. How could he have hurt the one person who had never done anything wrong. A sharp realization cut through his mind.

 The government was wrong. Society was wrong. Everyone was wrong.

 Patton didn’t deserve this.

 No one deserved this.

 He felt another body pull up next to him. “We-we have to get him out of here. Out of the blood and off the floor.” Thomas blinked, more tears falling as he did so.

 “Logan?” Their eyes met and Thomas realized that his earlier realization had come from Logan. Logan steeled himself.

 “Roman! Come and help me. Virgil, try not to look and help Thomas.” As Roman moved forward, almost in a daze, Thomas felt himself being helped up. He turned to look at Virgil, whose eyes stayed square on his face. The wide eyed look of fear though gave away the fact he had already seen the state Patton was in.

 As Roman and Logan lifted Patton’s body up and started to move him, Thomas wrapped Virgil in a hug. Virgil flinched but returned it, gripping his sides like his life depended on it. Thomas and Virgil kept a hold of each other while they followed the others out and up the stairs. They entered the guest bedroom and gently laid Patton on top of the bed.

 “Roman, go get the first aid kit. Virgil, I need you to get some warm water and towels. Thomas, I need some baggy clothes.” The others nodded and went off. Roman heading towards the bathroom, Virgil to the kitchen and Thomas right there in his closet. Logan turned to look at Patton and gently laid a hand on Patton’s.

 “I’m sorry.” He whispered softly. “I was wrong.”