Dream Setting

No one had the right to make fun of Virgil for getting the idea from Sharkboy and Lava Girl since they are parts of the same Disney addict. What was this idea? Making a rocket so Thomas could travel to his mind? No, there would be a lot of complications with that suggestion that would give Logan bald spots from pulling his hair. It was actually to dream hard enough that he would be in what he considered his ideal environment to the point where he'd sleep all day long. He knew what ideal environment he had in mind, but he didn't dare tell anyone else since he would be shot with too many questions. When he used to reside with the Dark Sides, he had no problem revealing what thoughts invaded his head; in fact, they just begged him to tell them more. It wasn't until Virgil told the Light Sides about his thoughts so casually that he realized the Dark Sides never really hoped for any good in his wellbeing.

Virgil managed to sneak some ZzzQuil in his room and learn how to lucid dream when he was alone. After he gathered all his resources, he felt that he was ready to try. He downed the ZzzQuil while thinking that Remus would down it with shaving cream and made his way to the bed while putting on music. He figured that the majority of the music would fade off if he were in a deep enough sleep, but he decided it might not matter too much if he was going to have a lucid dream.

Virgil was listening to Brendon Urie's voice as he was falling asleep; the next sense he took in was the feeling of water all over his body. He opened his eyes and realized that he had succeeded. The sight of underwater creatures going about their merry way, the floating sensation, the companionship of a pain in his chest and calmness in his mind could all mean one thing: he was nearly drowning. What made it better for him was the fact that he was aware he was dreaming, so he could control it.

One thing Virgil decided to do was make a school of fish perform a multitude of motions like he was watching a performance of synchronized swimmers. It was a small action compared to what he felt everyone else might consider doing in his situation, but having so much control was new for him. He figured it would be best to try manipulating actions in a way that doesn't change the fact that he was nearly drowning.

After enjoying the swimming done by the school of fish, Virgil thought it would be a good idea to hear some music from all around him, even though he knew it would technically be impossible in reality as Logan seemed to enjoy frustratingly reminding everybody when watching The Little Mermaid. Virgil decided it would be a good idea to listen to the song "Radioactive" since he liked the apocalyptic language and overall message that reminded him of when he was finally accepted by the Light Sides and Thomas. Since he was in a calmer state, he wasn't really in the mood to listen to the regular version of the song, so he opted for a version that consisted of pleasant singing and soft piano music. He wasn't sure if a version like that actually existed, but he certainly wanted to find out when he woke up.

Virgil breathed in more the water as the song was ending and he felt himself get calmer. He decided that he had been asleep long enough and that he'd wake up using the method expressed in Inception. Before he succumbed to the water in his lungs, though, a squid approached him from a distance and slowly manifested into Patton as it got closer. The emo really loved being held by his best friend, so he decided it would be nice to be in Patton's arms as he lost consciousness.

The next time he woke up, Virgil heard the familiar music from his phone and looked down at the blanket he remembered he placed on himself the initial night. He no longer felt water surrounding him and no longer felt the pain in his chest (though it was growing numb in the dream after a while). He looked at his phone to turn off his music and was surprised by the time: it was 7:30, so he got 10 hours of sleep. He knew time had no set certainty in a dream, but he never thought he'd be asleep for that long.

Virgil got up and slowly made his way to the table by the kitchen only to be greeted by his surprised family.

"Umm, good morning," Virgil broke the silence.

"Virgil? It's 7:30 and you don't look tired!" Patton expressed shock.

"What time did you fall asleep?" Logan asked.

"9:30," the emo answered.

"Guess you took a page out of my book and got some beauty sleep," Roman joked.

After the left-brained Sides rolled their eyes, they looked at each other.

"In all seriousness, whatever prompted you to get a decent amount of sleep last night, Virgil, you should keep it up," Logan suggested.

Virgil smiled as a result and has used his secret method ever since. After all, no one was hurt, not even himself, so Patton had no reason to be scared.