The Devil Went Down to the Thomasphere

It was Halloween and the Sides thought it would be a good idea to mix things up a little for their costumes. There was a mixture of dedication (Logan putting a lot of research into looking like a victim of the "Russian Sleep Experiment") dedication mixed with laziness (Roman carrying a syringe with an air bubble, a jar full of bugs, and a bloody knife and referring to himself only as the "Secret Admirer") an attempt to be somewhat fitting for the season (Patton dressed as the Woofman again, but with the description that zombies don't eat dogs), and what was perceived as complete laziness (Virgil dressed in a black and purple western outfit with a violin in his hand and referring to himself as the one thing that can withstand The Devil). The group was chatting around and discussing things from Halloween jokes to films Virgil could trick Roman into watching, even to maximum amount of candy Thomas should have that should keep him away from a multitude of health risks.

Amongst the fun, however, a mummified snake man with a jacket and a flat cap popped up uninvited, but the group didn't give too much of a reaction due to the season.

"Hmm, what are you supposed to be?" Virgil snapped.

"Mr. Mix. Who else?" Deceit answered as his eyes turned yellow.

"Shall we refer to you as ThatCreepyReading for the duration of the night? That's not even what he looks like in his entirety," Logan declared.

"Come to party?" Patton spoke as a way of letting bygones be bygones.

"Ah, you know, see who I can fear, browse the area like an art gallery, take back what is mine," Deceit calmly answered as he walked around until he stopped in front of Virgil and placed a finger on the emo's chin.

Virgil slapped Deceit's hand away from his face and Patton was the only person that looked uneasy.

"Aww, come on. Aren't you guys tired of this sour plum, yet?" Deceit asked upon seeing their expressions.

"You are NOT taking away my son!" Patton shouted and nearly charged at the mummified snake before he was held back Logan.

"Obviously, we care about him no matter how much of him is necessary for Thomas!" Roman proclaimed.

Deceit was about to respond before a dark laugh was heard behind him that gave his human skin goosebumps.

"How about we make a deal? Beat me in a contest of my choosing and I'll go back!" Virgil proclaimed.

Deceit gave a chuckle and Virgil softly smiled Patton's way as a sign of assurance.

"And what, pretell, do you expect to beat me in since you've avoided competition with me for obvious reasons?"

"All you gotta do is beat me at the fiddle."

Deceit laughed before he summoned a fiddle and bow as well as his additional arms. He sounded like a man who had to a fiddle for an orchestra and Logan was starting to understand the story of Virgil's costume. As Deceit finished the fiddle, he was surprised when he saw his competitor look uncharacteristically confident.

"Can someone like you beat someone who has learned from good ol' Beelzebot?" Deceit asked with a few confident hisses in between.

Unlike Deceit, Virgil summoned a case and carefully pulled out a charcoal-black fiddle and bow. He was well aware that he should be worried, but, thanks to Roman, he knew that it wasn't uncharacteristic of him to keep pushing towards a skill due to a worry of falling flat on his face. He played his fiddle and the whole room was amazed by the skill he possessed. It was somewhat similar to Deceit's soubed, yet it had an infinitesimal difference. He was focused on enjoying his fiddle-playing and didn't remember that other Sides were watching and listening until he got an applause. Deceit had an expression of shock and disbelief followed by anger and defeat.

"My my my, objectively speaking, it seems you bested our snake fiend," Logan smugly told him.

"Wha—I mean—How?" Deceit sputtered.

"I've got my fair share of practice, too. However, thanks to being brighter, I've got one thing on my side that you're clearly missing," Virgil bit back.

"What's that?" Patton asked curiously.

"Why, a soul expressed across my strings," Virgil answered.

Deceit cursed under his breath before he sunk down silently. Once he vanished, Patton ran up to his best friend and gave the biggest hug he could ever give. As he pulled away, Virgil's signature nervousness seemed to return.

"I, um, wanted to surprise you guys with the help of this costume and an impromptu show, but I guess that sort of backfired," Virgil explained.

"Actually, Hot Topic, I think it was made better. How about an encore?" Roman responded.

The rest of the fam agreed and it took a while before Virgil decided to have his bow gently kiss the strings and let his passion do the rest.