The Curse of Virgil Sanders

Chapter 6

(Trigger Warnings: Panic attack-1st person POV) (please inform me if I need to add more.)

Everything was staring at him, sucking the air out of him, pulling him under further and further. He's being held with no way out.
No way out.
Out.
He wanted to get out. No, he needed to get out. Out of his own skin. Out of his own mind.
He wanted to feel safe again.
Safe.
The word felt so foreign. Felt so unfamiliar that it seemed to not belong. And just like that, the word was gone. It was replaced by the suffocating feeling that left Virgil convinced that he was dying.
He was stuck in a cycle of panic, of fear, of pain.
Everything hurts.
Everything hurts.
Everything hurts.
EVERYTHING HURTS!
SOMEONE HELP!

* * *
"Ready?" Logan asked.
"Let's just get this over with," Roman grumbled.
   The three stepped through the threshold, Patton taking the lead. They had all agreed that Patton would be their best bet in trying to comfort Virgil.
  Slowly, the three neared the closet to see their friend, a member of their family, somehow appearing even more panicked than before. And it was all in his eyes. His unseeing eyes that seemed to reflect fear off of their very irises.
   "Virgil?" Patton cautiously called out.
   Virgil's grip around his ears seemed to tighten at the very sound of the fatherly side's voice. Roman looked over to Logan for an answer, who simply mouthed two words: sensory overload.
   Patton seemed to recognize this too as he spoke much quieter and gentler this time.
   "Kiddo, it's us. Your friends. Your family. I'm Patton, you know me. I make the best puns and try to keep smiling. I am standing directly in front of you wearing my blue polo and cat hoodie. To my right is Logan. You know him, too. He's wearing a black polo and necktie to show that he is serious, which he can be unless he's around Crofter's Jam. Roman is on my left. You know him, as well. He's wearing a dashing white, gold, and red prince outfit. You two bicker a lot, but truly you guys love each other. We all love you, Virgil."
  As Patton spoke, some of the fog cleared in the anxious trait's eyes. He loosened his grip on his head, and his trembling seemed to subside a little. 
   "Kiddo, we can help you. We can make you feel better, but in order to do that, we have to move you," Patton said tentatively.
   Virgil's tremors returned as if the very words were his worst fears.
   "Virge, you are so very brave. I know you aren't feeling up to it, but I also know you can do it. You're so strong, probably stronger than us three combined. We just have to move you in order to help you. And in the end, you will feel better, I promise. You will feel safe."
   Roman noticed that something in Virgil's eyes seemed to snap. The terror seemed to withdraw its attack, and hope seemed to take its place. Then, the greatest thing the Prince has ever heard came to be.
   "Okay."
    It was so quiet the sides almost missed it, but the mere sound of Virgil's voice sent everyone into a state of pure joy. The anxious side was now looking directly at them, clear as day. His body had relaxed a fraction, however he hasn't moved from his feeble position. It looked like he was holding his own panic back somehow.
  "Virgil?" Roman questioned, noticing the frantic movements of his eyes.
   "Make it quick," Virgil whimpered, his body tensing once more. His gaze was becoming a little unfocused again, and Roman knew what was happening.
   "We have to do this now," he declared. He hurried over to Virgil and picked him up bridal style. He had to make this quick before his friend starts to have another disastrous panic attack, or even worse, another period of sensory overload.
   He rushed out of the door, ignoring the quivers from the side in his arms. He hurried to his room, kicking down the door.
   "Oh, Fairy Godmother!" He heard Benny exclaim. Disregarding the mirror, he turned towards his closet.
  "To the Imagination!" Roman roared at the door. The white wood than sparked to life, spinning wildly until it transformed into a portal that led to his world. He barely registered Logan calling his name before jumping through the vertex, Virgil screaming in his arms.