Brighten the Mind

Warning: character death

It took a long time and a lot of vagueness used as excuses, but Virgil managed to find the spell book buried in the dark depths of Thomas's mind. He didn't need the influence of the Light Sides spiking his uneasiness. Not only that, but, as far as the other Dark Sides knew, the storm cloud was suffocated by a never-ending panic attack upon entering the depths (hence why Remus used to always find it funny to dare Virgil to take a dive when they were in Thomas's teen years), so he didn't have to worry about them stopping him from achieving his plan with the artifact in his possession.

When Thomas was born, the book was made with multiple spells that were meant to be used in extreme situations within the Thomasphere; these situations would include leaving behind a shadow of power and being completely human for a finite period of time, as well as making Thomas have fainting spells as a way to stall for time to reevaluate a situation. As Virgil was skimming through the book, he eventually came across a spell that he knew would be in there: the spell for ridding Thomas of the Dark Sides for good.

If Virgil was the kind of person that would leap into action without thinking, he'd say the spell before returning home. However, a lot of thoughts were swarming in his head and he was almost surprised that he didn't end up with a headache. For the majority of Thomas's early years, Virgil grew up in the coldness of the Dark Side of Thomas's mind where there were lifeforms who wanted to take control without caring about who got hurt or if Thomas would lose more than he'd gain. When juxtaposed to the Light Side of Thomas's mind, well, neither side was exactly perfect, but there was a warmer and more loving aura from the Light Side while the denizens of the Dark Side either just tolerated each other or used each other in various ways. Virgil could only do so much on his own to protect Thomas and everyone else from that toxic atmosphere before he could somehow screw up again.

As Virgil gazed at the spell, some consequences popped into his head. However, he managed to push them aside and focus on his main goal: protecting Thomas and those he loved. Even with the determination, Virgil felt scared of his upcoming actions. He just wanted to curl up into Patton's arms and have his worries melt away with the power of the personified sunshine. However, he knew that Patton would have him reconsider his actions, so it felt bittersweet for Virgil that his best friend wasn't around to witness his deed. The emo took a deep breath and recited the spell before him.

Logan was the first to take notice, but they all eventually noticed there was some kind of change in the mind. They knew that it wasn't Thomas that interfered with something, so they figured that it was caused by some sort of... disturbance somewhere in the mind. Roman grabbed his sword and teleported himself to the Dark Side of the mind in case the fiends were planning something again. As Roman left, Patton felt bothersome to the point of grabbing Logan's arm without much thought. He was also thinking about the fact that Virgil would be a first responder if something bad was about to happen. Patton was about to let go of Logan's arm and head for Virgil's room when Roman returned with a pale face. With as few words as possible, he revealed that the Dark Sides possessed no pulse and there was a light there that grew brighter and brighter.

Logan led the way to Virgil's room, wordlessly, while Patton was still clinging to him. As Logan opened the door, what they saw in Virgil's room was... it was just like how the fanders knew it in the beginning: the three of them functioning as parts of Thomas's personality without worries about attacks from the Dark Side of Thomas's mind. Unlike the old days, however, they possessed the knowledge that, not only did Patton lose a parallel and Roman lose a brother, but they all lost whom they considered a friend, a son, a valuable member of the family. They did everything they could to assure Virgil he was heard and appreciated, that he could function without causing pain. As much as Nurture pulled Virgil into the light, however, he always had Dark blood courtesy of Nature.