#ep 29 was more action than horror but this one has enough for the both of them | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

miguel-manbemel · 4 years

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Aspects & Fanfics Ep. 29: A Side is Born Part 4: The Labyrinth

New part of this weekly-serialized story from this fanfic inspired on Sanders Sides, by Thomas Sanders, Joan S. and the Foster Dawg Team. The Sides get moving to rescue Roman and Virgil’s son from the Dark Master. The story is slowly approaching the end, but we have still something to go through before we get there. I just realized the story has become really romantic in the last few episodes, but there’s no epic story with some romance here and there, I guess. I hope you enjoy this part and see you next week in the finale of this serialized story. Until next week.

SYNOPSIS: The gang gets moving to rescue Chris from the Dark Master. They need to get to the Mind Palace Center before it’s too late, or they’ll lose him for good. But before they can get there, they’re gonna need special help, from the original Light Master that lies within Thomas, who will lead them to their final task, the labyrinth that surrounds the Mind Palace Center, full of dangers they’ll have to defeat, in less than one hour.

WARNINGS: Romantic prinxiety, romantic logicality, romantic anxceit. Some implied innuendo. Off-screen violence not directly featured, but implied.

EPISODE INDEX

[The gang is in the royal carriage. For some reason, it goes fast, but not as fast as other times]

THOMAS: This is the Dark Master’s doing, I’m sure. He’s been messing with the car.

VIRGIL: If he thinks this is gonna stop us…

REMUS: Well, you can use the extra time to bring me up to date, Roman. What happened after I left Thomas’ living room?

ROMAN: Oh, yes, of course. You see, after you left, Chris started growing at great speed. As I wanted Roland and Ira to see him before he was an adult, we went to the castle, where he completed his growth.

REMUS: So now Chris is an adult? But the last time I saw him he was still a baby! Wow, I know they say they grow fast, but this is ridiculous, even for me!

ROMAN: Just when he became an adult, the Dark Master appeared, locked him in a black bubble and took him away. Before he did that, he did something to Patton.

REMUS: To Patton?

ROMAN: It seems he was holding captive some of Patton’s memories of the past, specifically… that the Dark Master is Virgil’s other father.

REMUS: What? And Patton looked so naive and innocent! I thought I was the one with a taste for wild relationships, but this kitty-boy has defeated me in my own ground with this!

ROMAN: It all started long ago when Thomas was still in the womb. That’s when the Mind Palace started forming, and the first three entities that appeared there were the Light Master, the Dark Master and the Master Side, Patton. Patton took care of classifying everything that came from the outside as good or bad and sent it to the Masters so that they could process it, thus making the Realms and the Mind Palace bigger. When Patton started feeling lonely, the Dark Master, who was already longing for power, took advantage of that, seduced him and made him fall for him, and as a result Patton got pregnant with the Dark Master’s son, Virgil.

REMUS: This telenovela is more interesting than a greatest moments special episode of “Jackass”! Keep going.

ROMAN: After Virgil was born, the Dark Master tried to convince Patton to join him in his plans of overthrowing the Light Master and conquering the whole Mind Palace for himself, but he refused. As such, he stole Patton’s son, turned him into a Dark Side and sent him to the Dark Realm to use him in his plans when he was old and strong enough. Then, he started wiping Patton’s memories, but the Light Master arrived on time and banished the Dark Master to the Dark Realm, never allowing him to come back again.

REMUS: So that’s why the Dark Master was stuck in the Dark Realm at first.

ROMAN: He had already stolen a portion of Patton’s memories, so he woke up with the personality we’ve known of him for so long, with no recollection of Virgil’s existence other than his obsession with being a dad for anyone he ever met and befriended. The Light Master, knowing that a battle against the Dark Master and Virgil together could be fatal for Thomas, fused with the Mind Palace itself to be a match for them. As such, he ceased to exist as an independent entity and became a part of Thomas. And that’s all he told us. You arrived just as he finished this story.

REMUS: Okay, gotcha. Well, the Dark Master will regret taking my nephew, I can tell you that. Now, what is the plan?

ROMAN: Plan? Um…

REMUS: [serious] Because you’ve devised a plan against the Dark Master, right? Not even I would dare to attack him thoughtlessly, he’s too dangerous.

ROMAN: Yes… a plan… well…

REMUS: You are jumping right into the lion’s dent and you don’t have a plan of action!? [sighs] Why am I not surprised?

[intro sequence]

THOMAS: Well, Remus usually has crazy, unhelpful ideas…

REMUS: Thanks, I love you too, Thomas.

THOMAS: …but this one is actually sound. Once we get to the Dark Master what can we do to force him to release Chris?

REMUS: I say off with his head!

LOGAN: Impossible. If the Dark Master dies, Thomas will die too, and with him, all of us. Besides, he’s so low he’d try to use Chris as a shield or hostage.

ROMAN: And besides, we already tried and failed twice. He always comes back, like mosquitoes in the summer, and each bite of his is itchier than the previous one.

THOMAS: What I don’t understand is… I thought the Dark Master was trapped in Sandersia after our repeated attacks. How is he going to get out of here, back to the Mind Palace?

PATTON: He’s gonna use Chris, of course. It’s his grandson and therefore they share some dark energy. He can very well take some energy off of Chris to regenerate himself. If he does that, he’ll be free to go wherever he wants, no longer affected by the restrictions imposed by the original Light Master.

VIRGIL: Oh, great, so now he’s gonna be as dangerous as he was in the Dark Realm, but now there’s nowhere we can escape from him. Sweet, just what we needed.

PATTON: It wouldn’t be a permanent solution for him, though. Eventually, the restrictions imposed on him would return into effect and he would be trapped again in the Dark Realm. But I’m sure he has a plan to avoid that. He wouldn’t have taken your son just to escape Sandersia and then be trapped again somewhere else.

VIRGIL: What could it be? I bet Chris will be involved in that plan, but how?

LOGAN: Applying logic, if the Dark Master can absorb the memories from a victim, like he almost did to Patton, he would try to do the same with Chris. Wiping his memories out of him, he could manipulate him like a puppet to follow his plans. I guess that’s what he planned to do with you, Virgil, but you ran away before you got to be useful for him. It’s just a guess, though, and I could be wrong. Who knows what happens in the Dark Master’s mind, after all.

VIRGIL: Yeah… I don’t understand why he didn’t take me instead. I’m much stronger than Chris and would have been of more use for him. He’s only a one-day-old child, despite having the shape of a 30-something adult.

LOGAN: That’s exactly the reason why he didn’t get you, Virgil. Now, you are too strong for him to be easily manipulated, and I guess he doesn’t trust you to give yourself up on your own free will. Chris, on the other hand, is, figuratively, like a white canvas, too young and inexperienced to resist him.

VIRGIL: [angry and distressed] Logan, would you like to stop being right for a change?

LOGAN: [confused] What? I…

VIRGIL: [groans in frustration, then with a voice of remorse] It’s okay, I’m sorry, Logan. It’s just that it’s too distressing to hear that so directly. But avoiding the truth is not only dangerous, but also stupid and useless. I apologize.

LOGAN: That’s okay. I’m sorry if I hurt you in any way.

ROMAN: Guys, we’re reaching the door to my room.

VIRGIL: It was time!

[the carriage stops and the gang rushes to the door to Roman’s room. Roman puts a face of huge shock upon seeing his room]

ROMAN: What… in the world… has happened to my room!?

[there’s a huge mess in the room. All the furniture is scattered everywhere, the paintings on the wall are broken and there are burnt holes on the walls as if a huge battle had happened there]

PATTON: What could have possibly happened here?

VIRGIL: [pointing at something on the floor, with a face of horror] Guys, look!

[Virgil kneels down to grab something, then shows it to the others. Its a sword, broken in half, a piece of a shield and a shred of magenta fabric]

VIRGIL: This is Chris’ sword, and this seems to be a fragment of his shield and a piece of his cape! [yelling, distressed] What has that son of a b… [bleep] done to my son!

PATTON: Relax, kiddo. He needs him, he would never destroy him.

VIRGIL: Then how do you explain this, dad?

PATTON: Perhaps the bubble that held him got weaker or the Dark Master had to lift it for some reason. Maybe he had to remove the bubble to recharge himself out of Chris’ energy, and Chris took this chance to attack the Dark Master. He was still carrying his sword and shield when he was imprisoned, remember? [noticing something on the floor as well, he shows a smirk] He was probably not strong enough, but I guess he let him have it. Look at this.

[Patton kneels down and picks something up. It’s a huge singed thread of fabric from the black cloak the Dark Master was wearing, from the upper part, it seems, as it has a piece of the hood and the shoulder]

PATTON: Roman, Virgil, you both should be proud of your son. He’s a valiant prince, and he’s not gonna let himself get carried away like a lamb. If he sees a chance to fight, he’s gonna take it.

VIRGIL: But now Chris is wounded, who knows how serious!

PATTON: So is the Dark Master, and that could give us a chance. Virgil, I know, as Vigilance you always expect the worse, but try to see things my way. If you grab to the positive things we find, you could grab more strength to fight. And this is something really positive, you don’t know how much.

VIRGIL: I try, but it’s not easy.

ROMAN: What do you mean it could give us a chance, Patton?

PATTON: Well, there’s one thing I was too ashamed to confess earlier, not only because some details are better kept private, but also because I didn’t want to hurt Logan’s feelings disclosing intimate details from a past relationship. But there’s one tiny detail that is important that I disclose to you. When the Dark Master and I were… together, I had a chance to examine his body, and I noticed a dark spot on his skin, right here…

[Patton points at his own chest, between the neck and the left shoulder, but a little lower]

LOGAN: That’s where the pectoralis minor muscle lies, approximately.

PATTON: I don’t know, but there it was, an irregular purple spot, the size of an apricot. When I touched that spot, he groaned in pain and asked me not touch that spot ever again. It’s certainly a weak point for him, something we can use against him. If a gentle, sweet caress in that spot like mine caused him that pain, imagine what would happen if we punched, hit or even stabbed him there.

ROMAN: It’s a good thing that he returned your memories back to you. I bet he didn’t remember you had that piece of information in them.

PATTON: And see this piece of fabric. See that silver garment. It’s from that part of the cloak that covered exactly that part of the chest. Something has guided Chris’ hand to hit him right in his weakest spot. I don’t know if it was a coincidence or someone we don’t know helped him but that’s our chance for victory. I’m sure the Dark Master will not be 100% powerful if he has to endure the pain he’s surely going through.

ROMAN: Okay, so we hit him with something there, but do you think he won’t be protecting that spot with his life? Especially if he’s already been wounded?

PATTON: Perhaps. We’ll know when we get here.

LOGAN: Patton, can I speak to you for a second in private? There’s something I need to tell you that doesn’t stop distracting me, and I want to let it go before it can be a cause for trouble.

PATTON: Sure.

[Patton and Logan move a few steps away. They try to speak in a low voice, but Thomas and the others can’t help hearing them still]

LOGAN: Were you serious about… about not wanting to hurt my feelings?

PATTON: Of course I was, I would never want to hurt you. You mean too much for me. Why do you ask?

LOGAN: It’s just that… I thought…

PATTON: What?

LOGAN: I thought after you recovered your memories, you had stopped loving me.

PATTON: [horrified] Why on Earth would you think that!?

LOGAN: Well, you said it yourself, that I had fallen in love with a lie. I thought you were implying that your love was a lie and you didn’t love me anymore.

PATTON: No, Logan. I said that I thought that I wasn’t worthy of any love. I never said I didn’t love you. Listen, I’m still the same, only that with some extra information on my mind that makes me slightly more mature than before. But my feelings for you haven’t changed a bit. That has always been and forever will be real. And it’s very real that I have loved you from the very first moment I put my eyes on you, and I also knew you always loved me to some extent, but you were so in denial of having feelings at all that you didn’t even notice. I’m the one that was afraid that you wouldn’t love me anymore when you knew the truth, and that’s what I meant when I said that.

LOGAN: [letting go a nervous faint smile of relief and joy] So you still love me… for real?

[Patton kisses Logan]

PATTON: Does that answer your question, you fool?

[Logan hugs Patton with a wide smile of joy and happiness, the first time he ever smiled like that. The others look from a distance. They’ve heard everything, of course, but they don’t want to spoil the moment for them]

VIRGIL: [sighs] I can’t wait to hug my son like that when we rescue him.

ROMAN: That moment will come sooner than we think, you’ll see.

THOMAS: [to Logan and Patton] Okay, guys. I’m happy that you have resolved your misunderstandings, but time is short.

PATTON: You’re right. Let’s get moving.

THOMAS: But Patton, where exactly do we need to go and how do we get there?

PATTON: It’s not gonna be an easy path, Thomas. I haven’t been there since the Light Master sent me to my room 30 years ago. To be honest, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get us there. From the moment Virgil was born, I lost part of my energy to bring him to life, and as a result I turned into a normal Side.

VIRGIL: I’m so sorry, dad.

PATTON: It’s okay, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. I gave up to that life, but look all that you’ve given me in return, kiddo. My life is blessed by your presence everyday… But as I was saying, I don’t know if I have the capacity to enter the Mind Palace Center anymore… [face of realization] Wait a minute.

THOMAS: What?

PATTON: I may not be able to get us there, but you are, Thomas!

THOMAS: Me?

PATTON: Of course! The Light Master is within you, so you can get us there!

THOMAS: But how?

PATTON: First enter in Light Master mode, and I’ll do the rest.

THOMAS: Wow… You know what? I like seeing you leading the team for a change. Okay, here we go. Now that I’m not hindered by exhaustion, it’s gonna be a lot easier than yesterday.

[Thomas closes his eyes. It only takes him a few seconds till he opens them again and they’ve turned light-blue]

PATTON: Good, now take my hand.

[Thomas holds Patton’s hand]

THOMAS: I’m feeling a strange tingling sensation all over my body…

PATTON: Don’t speak, please. Concentrate. And if you feel something weird inside, just get carried away. It won’t harm you, I promise. Trust me.

THOMAS: [a little unsettled] Okay…

[Patton closes his eyes while holding Thomas’ hand. Thomas has a little spasm as if he had felt a shiver. After some time, his expression changes and his eyes start glowing in blue]

HONESTY: What… what is happening here?

DECEIT: This is new.

THOMAS: [with a warm gesture and a strange voice that sounds strong but gentle at the same time] Patton… I’m so happy to speak to you again.

PATTON: And I’m glad to speak to you again, Light Master. It’s been so long.

LIGHT MASTER: Too long, indeed. I’m sorry I had to leave you all alone in the Mind Palace, but I didn’t have a choice.

PATTON: I know, Light Master. Now that I’ve got my memories back, I fully understand.

LIGHT MASTER: [noticing the other Sides] And look at how much company you’ve gathered over the years. So many Sides with so many different purposes. Nice to meet you all.

LOGAN: Nice… to meet you, Light Master? I’m confused…

PATTON: It’s okay, Logan. You see, with my memories fully restored, I remembered that I can allow the Light Master to take control of Thomas’ body for short amounts of time. [to the Light Master] I’m sorry I can’t make it permanent, but this is Thomas’ body after all.

LIGHT MASTER: It’s okay. As a part of Thomas, I have always been sentient of everything he’s seen, heard or felt in his lifetime and I’ll always be. I may not be in control but it doesn’t matter. What really matters is that Thomas is doing fine and that, with his rights and wrongs, he’s a good human being.

PATTON: So, if you’ve seen everything, you know what’s just happened, right?

LIGHT MASTER: Yes, I’m aware. Your mission is really dangerous, but it’s mandatory for you to succeed or the equilibrium would be broken and Thomas as you know him would cease to exist. There’s something you must know, though, and it will not be pleasant to hear. Virgil?

VIRGIL: Yes?

LIGHT MASTER: There was one reason for the Dark Master to take your son. It wasn’t only to regenerate himself. He wants to take control of your son’s whole body, to form an entity strong enough to defeat me, just as he had originally planned to do with you. And he has already started the process. If you don’t stop it before it’s too late, your son will be lost forever.

VIRGIL: Oh, no!

PATTON: How can we do this? I know we must go the Mind Palace Center, and that you can get us there, but afterwards, it’s gonna be a hell, I can feel it.

LIGHT MASTER: Don’t despair. As I told you, I’ll always be with you as part of Thomas. I trust that he’ll be able to handle the situation with my help, and so should you. There are many tasks in this journey. Some of you, like Virgil when he overcame his grief, have already faced them. Others have their tasks ahead of them. Don’t lose your hope and you’ll be triumphant. And Virgil…

VIRGIL: Yes?

LIGHT MASTER: It was an honor for me to be present at your birth, as a godfather of sorts. You are the only good thing that came out of that mess 30 years ago and I want you to make it count, starting today. You’re gonna rescue your son and you’re gonna make a happy family of Sides. Just stay strong and you’ll do it.

VIRGIL: I’ll try. No, I will.

LIGHT MASTER: That’s the spirit. Well, I think it’s time for me to take you there. One final warning, the Dark Master has placed a labyrinth around the Mind Palace Center, to try and slow you down, and it will try by sending some of you, the ones with pending accounts of some kind, to bubble dream scenarios to face them, scenarios from which you won’t be able to get out until you face and move on from these pending accounts. I know that it’s a mission that will delay you a lot, but I can’t send you beyond that labyrinth. You’ll have to cross it by foot and conquer your demons.

ROMAN: We will conquer anything if need be. How much time do we have before the point of no return for Chris.

LIGHT MASTER: You have one hour before it’s too late… What are you doing?

ROMAN: [tapping on his phone] I’m setting a countdown on my phone to know how much time we have left. I’m tired of sand clocks and other obsolete stuff, you know?

LIGHT MASTER: Okay… Now, this is important: when you’re in the labyrinth and get on a crossroad, don’t spread out, no matter how tempting that option gets to be. If someone gets lost and away from the others, he’ll never get out of the labyrinth. And you need to reach the Mind Palace Center all together to be a match for the Dark Master. Thomas. I know you can’t speak right now but you can hear me. I trust that you’ll have the courage and the will to guide them through this ordeal. You can do it, if you work with them as a team. Because all of you are the foundation itself of this Mind Palace and nothing here is stronger than all of your strengths combined. If you work together, nothing, not even the Dark Master, can stop you. Good luck. Now, everybody, come closer to me and hold my hand, like Patton is doing. I’ll lead the way. Goodbye. Until we meet again.

PATTON: Goodbye, my dearest friend…

[all the Sides grab Thomas’ hand. He looks up and they all start rising up, disappearing from the higher edge of the screen instead of sinking down as usual. Then they rise up in front of a gate on a huge wall. Thomas’ eyes stop glowing and turn back to brown]

THOMAS: Wow…

DECEIT: Thomas, are you okay?

THOMAS: I’m better than ever. It was such a pleasant sensation, even when I couldn’t control my body.

VIRGIL: I think I know what you mean. The Light Master’s presence was so invigorating, so inspiring. It filled me with hope when I thought I had lost it for good.

PATTON: Yes, that’s the effect he has on people. Maybe that’s why you’re so inspiring for so many people, Thomas. He’s part of you after all. But only a part, most of your charm is provided by yourself.

THOMAS: You play a good part if not all the part of that charm too, you all are me, remember? But let’s get cracking. We’ve got a labyrinth to cross and only one hour left.

[the gang crosses the gate and enters the labyrinth. Then they start walking and walking. Every corridor looks exactly the same as the previous one. It’s five minutes later when they start getting confused]

DECEIT: Guys, don’t you have the feeling we’re walking in circles?

VIRGIL: I’m starting to have that feeling too.

PATTON: But how could we be sure of that?

ROMAN: I’ve got the solution.

[Roman invokes a briefcase]

DECEIT: What is that?

ROMAN: It’s my theatrical makeup briefcase. I never get out of my room without it.

DECEIT: And what are you planning to do, making an extreme makeover to the bricks around us?

ROMAN: Very funny… but actually you’re not too far off.

DECEIT: What?

ROMAN: [opens the briefcase] I’ve got all this selection of lipsticks with all the colors you could ever imagine, and some that don’t even exist in the real world.

THOMAS: Yeah, wow…

ROMAN: Each of you, grab one and draw some kind of mark on each wall we’re going through. If after some walking we see the mark again, we can confirm we’re going in circles.

VIRGIL: Brilliant.

ROMAN: I know.

[everyone grabs one lipstick. Roman then summons away the briefcase and they keep on walking. Every few steps, some of them draws a symbol on a brick around them. After a couple of minutes, they start finding the same drawings]

THOMAS: So, it was true! We’ve lost ten minutes by walking on circles!

PATTON: But how could that be? If we’re walking on circles, we should have seen the front gate at some point and we didn’t!

VIRGIL: Deceit? Are you okay?

[everyone looks at Deceit, he’s looking right at a wall, apparently not hearing Virgil]

THOMAS: Dee, whats wrong with you?

[Deceit doesn’t answer. Remus waves his hand over Deceit’s face and he doesn’t react. Then he slaps him in the face. Not even that works. He’s about to hit him with his mace when Thomas starts yelling]

THOMAS: Whoa, whoa, whoa! We want to wake him up, not to send him into a coma!

REMUS: [putting the mace away, with a face of disappointment] Okay, if you say so…

THOMAS: Logan, you’re our Side doctor, can you check him out?

LOGAN: Okay. Let me see…

[as usual, Logan puts his hand on Deceit’s chest and starts shaking for a while, then takes his hand off]

LOGAN: He’s living in a dream-scenario. Just as the Light Master said, something here has disconnected him from reality, if we can call the Mind Palace reality. It’s as if he was somewhere else in spirit.

ROMAN: Like an out of body experience?

LOGAN: Kind of. Roman, can you summon one of your orbs but connect it to another Side instead of yourself?

ROMAN: Sure, that’s easy.

[Roman grabs Deceit’s hand]

ROMAN: Wow, his hand is cold as ice.

[Roman rises the other hand and a yellow orb appears]

ROMAN: There we go. Now we can see what is going on with Deceit through this orb.

[the orb turns on and they see Deceit in the same place where they are. He’s looking at a door that isn’t there in reality]

DECEIT: Guys, where are you? I think I found a door. Where have you gone, don’t leave me behind! The Light Master said we couldn’t spread out!

[the door opens. Virgil crosses it]

DECEIT: Oh, there you are Virgil. I was beginning to worry.

ORB-VIRGIL: Don’t be afraid. I’m here for you, and I always will be.

DECEIT: Are you… okay? You sound strange.

VIRGIL: [yelling at the orb on the verge of hysteria] Of course he sounds strange! That’s not me, Deceit!

ROMAN: Look out, it’s a crystal ball, you’re gonna crack it!

REMUS: The other time he did the same with my crystal ball. Why does Virgil always get overexcited when he looks at our balls? Wow, that didn’t come out as intended… [smirks] and I love it.

ORB-VIRGIL: What do you mean, my dear Dee? I’m totally fine. Don’t you agree? You always thought I was… fine.

DECEIT: Well… it’s not the time for that now, we have a rescue to do, remember?

ORB-VIRGIL: I know, but since we’re running on circles, I figured we should try to… relax. That’s what you’ve always wanted, right?

DECEIT: You… you’re confusing me.

[the Virgil from the orb approaches Deceit and tries to kiss him. Deceit steps back]

DECEIT: Whoa, what the f…! What are you doing!?

ORB-VIRGIL: Just what you’ve always wanted. Because you still want it, right? I know you want it.

DECEIT: No, I don’t!

ORB-VIRGIL: [provocative smirk] Once a liar… always a liar. You can’t fool me, my little snake. I can see in your eyes that you want this as much as I do.

[the Virgil from the orb approaches Deceit again. This time he manages to kiss him. For a brief second, Deceit gets carried away and kisses him back, but then he opens his eyes and pushes the fake Virgil away]

DECEIT: Step back! This has to be an illusion! It has to be! You’re not the real Virgil! I know him! He would never betray Roman like this, and certainly he wouldn’t waste time making out with me when his son is endangered!

[Virgil changes his gesture to a mocking evil giggle]

ORB-VIRGIL: You’re very observant, little snake. However there’s one thing I said that was true. You really wanted to do this, didn’t you? [mocking voice] Did you like it?

DECEIT: [makes a pause, then with a face of regret] Maybe so. A part of me would have wished for this to be real. Virgil still is and forever will be the only one I’ll ever love. [Remus shows a face of hurt when he hears this] But before anything else, I’m his friend. That’s the only way he sees me and if he sees me like that I’m gonna do my best to be the best friend he could ever ask for. And even if it took me time to think so, Roman is my friend too, I would never do that to him. Also, with Chris’ arrival, now he has a family that I’m not willing to disturb. I could never look at the others in the face if I was the cause of breaking this family apart! So go away, whoever you are! You can’t fool me anymore!

[the Virgil from the orb disappears with a high-pitch demonic giggle. Then the orb turns off and Deceit turns back to life. The door that until then was only visible in the orb appears before them for real]

DECEIT: Oof… my head… Why is my face so itchy?

REMUS: My bad…

VIRGIL: Are you okay, Dee?

DECEIT: I think so… [Virgil hugs Deceit] What is this for?

VIRGIL: Thank you so much, dear friend. Now I know I can always count on you.

ROMAN: Thank you. You are a good friend.

DECEIT: Wait, did you see…?

VIRGIL: Yes.

PATTON: And we’re so proud of you.

DECEIT: [blushing] Stop it, please, you know I always know how to respond to compliments. Drat, here I am, telling the truth again out of nervousness… shoot!

THOMAS: Well, thanks to Deceit completing his task, a new door has opened for us.

LOGAN: It seems some of us will have to go through these tasks to advance through the labyrinth. Roman, how many orbs can you create at the same time?

DECEIT: So that’s how you saw it all…

ROMAN: I can create one for each of us.

LOGAN: Then do it. We don’t know who’s already faced his task and who hasn’t. We’re gonna need these orbs and you may not be available at some point to make them.

ROMAN: Okay…

[Roman creates one orb for each of the others except Thomas]

THOMAS: Why not me?

ROMAN: You’re a human being, Thomas, I can’t create an orb for you. The whole Mind Palace is your orb, in fact, and it’s too much to condense in one tiny crystal ball.

THOMAS: Okay…

ROMAN: Well, now that we’re all ready… the rest of the labyrinth awaits us. Let’s go.

[Roman opens the door. They all cross it. When the last one crosses it, it closes and disappears. A sign reading “To be concluded, guys, gals and non binary pals” appears]

[end card]

[The Dark Master and Chris are in the Mind Palace Center. Chris is tied to some pedestal and the Dark Master is watching from a screen what the gang has just accomplished in the labyrinth]

DARK MASTER: Well, these fools surely have some guts, I must admit it. But it won’t do them any good, anyway. This has already started and by the time they get here, if they ever get here, it will be too late for them to save you.

CHRIS: That’s what you think. [mocking voice] How is that wound under your shoulder? Did you like it? Release me now and I’ll make you another one on the other shoulder to match!

DARK MASTER: When I’m done with you, you won’t be so insolent. You are lucky that this wound is buying you some time. The process would have been much faster if I wasn’t wounded. But it will be worse for you anyway. You’ll have one full hour, 45 minutes now, to suffer, while your senses slowly get more and more numb, until you’re ready to be my vessel. Then they won’t have anything to save and I’ll be too powerful to be stopped.

CHRIS: Dream on. My parents and their friends will ruin your plans. I know I can trust them my life and they will oblige.

DARK MASTER: We’ll see. It’s only 45 minutes left, boy. Start counting…

[the Dark Master giggles evilly. Chris looks at the screen]

CHRIS: Dad, father, guys… I know you’ll get here on time… but please, hurry up. I don’t know how much I can resist…

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