Sanders Sides Ficlets

Fade Away rewritten

(I wrote the original Fade Away when I was fifteen, and I just recently rewrote it. I'm fairly proud of my progress.)

-

Janus drifted through the too-silent halls of their (his, it was only his now) side of the Mind Palace like a ghost, shoulders weighed down with grief and face itching from the tears he had shed. He'd lost Anger last night, and the fear in his baby's eyes as he faded assaulted him every time he closed his eyes (still, it wasn't as bad as what happened to poor Lust. He'd been screaming in pain for weeks before he'd finally gone.) Only he was left now. The last Dark Side.

As he walked, he couldn't keep his eyes from drifting to the open doors of sides who no longer existed. Their rooms were dark, dim,, dilapitated. Despite some of them only having been empty for hours, cobwebs and dust covered every surface. He knew that, soon enough, the rooms would fade like their occupants. Their belongings would vanish. The only thing Deceit would have of his family would be the agonizing memories.

He purposely kept his gaze fixed on the doorway to the kitchen as he passed through the common area, knowing thatif he allowed his gaze to wander, he would see the remnants- Remus's morning star leaning against the couch, Greed's beloved combat boots standing by the doorway, Anger's favourite blanket on his favourite seat, Lust's favourite movie, Legally Blonde, still on the coffee table, Sorrow's little cat plushie still on the sofa- and he knew that if he saw them, he wouldn't be able to hold back the tears that burned at his already bloodshot eyes.

Crying would do the others no good. All Deceit could do was keep moving forward, keep proving his worth to Thomas, and someday, maybe, he could have his family back. A side could always be bought back if their function was used enough... He just had to wait, because if he started demanding darkness of Thomas now, while the other sides hated him, he would only cement their distrust and would likely never get what he wanted. He had to play the long game to get his babies back.

Even though he didn't feel like eating, he grabbed a bowl and the milk, then went to grab a box of cereal. He reached for the first one he saw, but his hand stopped inches away from it. Fruity Pebbles, Lust's favourite. He'd have a bowl every morning, and most of the others never touched them. They were his...

It was ridiculous. Lust wasn't around and, faded or alive, he certainly wouldn't mind if Deceit had a bowl of his beloved Fruity Pebbles, but Deceit just couldn't. It's just... they were Leo's, not his. Only Leo should eat them. And Leo would be back to eat them, of course he would.

He went to grab his own favourite, which had little eggs that melted in milk to reveal marshmallow dinosaurs. And his hand passed right through them.

He wrenched his hand back, staring in horror as his fingers remained translucent for a few seconds more before solidifying again. Tears flooded his eyes again, this time born of fear instead of grief. He was starting to fade...

Anger, more intense than anything he had ever felt, flooded him, not for himself, but for the others. He didn't give a shit about himself, but if he faded, who would advocate to bring them back? Not the light sides, that was for sure.

He yanked on his gloves (ignoring how his fingers no longer filled them) and shoved on his hat. Patton. Patton was the cause of this, so he'd be part of the solution or so help him-

He was going to get the others back. Even if it meant doing something that would prove the others should be scared of him. Even if the price was fading. He would get them back. Failure wasn't an option.

Once he was in his full regalia, he squared his shoulders, lifted his chin, and sank into the Light Side.

They were having breakfast, blueberry pancakes from the smell (Greed always loved blueberry pancakes.) Roman screamed and drew his katana, but Deceit paid him no mind. His mismatched eyes were focused entirely on Patton.