#like yes love c1 but ho boi

[ruvi-muffin]

Hmm love it when my brain goes "see i like this. But what if... it was caleb and essek instead"

Im like Shut Uppp have some Patience gd

[coffee-mugz]

Institution of C1-SAS || Chapter 4

TW: child abuse, mild panic attack.

Note: unedited

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Chapter 3

Monsters.

Declyn never really thought about those words much.

Sure, they were those big scary things, things that were unknown, things that people fear. They were the big, bad guys in all those stories he had read in the past.

But, he could never have thought that that word will apply to them. Never in a million years. He never thought there was even a way for them to become a monster.

He was sure he'd never become one. He wouldn't become one, neither would Remus, and Virgil would never ever become one. He would never let any of them become monsters, not ever.

The intense hatred that boiled up inside of him that day was too much. He ended up beating up a few more pillows, all of which were now destroyed and laying on the ground. Though, it never satiated his thirst for something else. He needed something, something soon. He just...needed to feel better.

The day after that, too, he ended up bottling up his anger once again. He was in a bad mood, a terrible mood. He was glad that Remus and Virgil gave him his space that day. He didn't want to hurt anybody, but at the same time he needed something to force his anger onto. The pillows weren't sufficient at all, just another waste of points.

He needed something, anything that wasn't held close to him. He needed- he needed something. "Truth" an eerie voice whispered in his head.

His thoughts became silent in an instant, like that one moment somebody shatters a glass in a loud room. That voice was the loudest thing he heard at the moment. It resounded and echoed in his mind for a few seconds, leaving a trail of...a feeling of guilt? Why...why would he feel guilty? There was nothing to be guilty of.

He was making sure nobody turned into a monster- why would he feel bad for protecting them? Unless...it was something he knew- at least subconsciously- that he couldn't prevent.

He had truly thought there was no way he would willingly become a monster. There was no way he could become one? How could he become this huge, scary monster that hides under beds? What could they possibly do to him? To them? What could they do to Remus, and what about Virgil? He was just a baby... they couldn't do anything to him.

He underestimated what they dared to do to him. He underestimated, believing they couldn't do anything to them. He didn't believe it could happen...until it actually happened.

Today was the first day he and Remus were called into separate rooms with no say, almost a week after Talyn's incident. But, what bothered him the most was the fact thay they couldn't choose.

He was brought into this sickeningly white room, where a lone man was standing. He told him to let him see his snakes in a low, commanding voice, and Declyn's face turned into a frown.

He had adamantly refused to let out one of his snakes to a stranger he had never met. He was tall, bulky, and covered with scars, but he didn't scare Declyn. Not at all. "There were scarier things in the world," he had told himself whenever he felt somewhat nervous. "I'll see scarier things later on, so I shouldn't be scared of something like this."

It was something Remus said to him, minus the stutters, when he was nervous about talking to other people (people from lower districts). He remembered hearing something similar years ago, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. So, he had always kept this quote close to him, in case that memory resurfaces.

So, yes, the man didn't scare him at all. Not even when he threw a punch to his stomach, which left him on the floor, gasping for the air that was knocked out of him. His stomach flipped, but he forced it down.

He was yelled to stand up. He ignored him.

He got kicked in the stomach.

He was told to stand up again, and he refused once again.

A hard kick was delivered to his side.

This cycle continued and continued, until Declyn's entire body ached and hurt. Bruises covered his entire body, and adrenaline shot through him as another kick was delivered to his back. He coughed, feeling the sting of the boot scraping off a layer of his skin. A few tears formed in his eyes as he attempted to shrug off the intense pain coming from his new wound. It didn't work, and Declyn ended up getting a kick to the leg.

If this is what training was, Declyn hated it.

That afternoon, Declyn was in bed. He was huddled up in both his and Remus's blanket, facing the corner as always when he has a bad day. He faintly heard the door open and Remus's loud footsteps, then the unusually quiet shut of the door. Declyn figured Remus must've thought he was sleeping.

"Dee?" The boy whispered to him, and Dee tried to turn to his direction, only for a burst of pain to hit him. He hissed, trying his best to tense up his muscles and stop the pain coming from his scraped, bruised back. It didn't work, not at all, and now Declyn had to push through the pain of relaxing his tense back.

"S-Sorry," Remus quietly mumbled, and placed bottle, looking oddly like a sippy cup, next to Dee's face. Lily, who was wrapped on top of Declyn, flicked her tongue at the drink.

"Ho-Hot Coca. Make the p-pain go 'way. I dwink t-too." Remus then sat on the bed, holding his own cup of hot chocolate. Talyn must've made it, Declyn silently thought. Remus can't even open the fridge without breaking something, nonetheless the microwave.

"The te-teacher got one-man. Loo-Look." Remus hurried to push up the side of his shirt, nearly spilling his hot chocolate. Declyn felt his adrenaline rush once more, seeing the drink so close to spilling on his bed.

Soon enough, his focus shifted from the anxiety-inducing tilted cup towards Remus's right rib cage, wincing as he saw a giant bruise there. It looked as if he was hit with something, not just kicked like Declyn.

"P-Pain go 'way. No-No more pa-pain. Why Dee hu-urt?" Remus asked, carelessly dropping his shirt down and taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

Declyn only shook his head, gritting his teeth at the thought of Remus being hit with a bat- possibly even something worse. It just...knowing Remus got hurt and...knowing he can't do anything- like a useless, redundant person- just didn't sit well in his stomach- or his mind.

There's also the fact Remus isn't in pain anymore. It was a bit weird since the bruise had already turned purple and yellow. It hasn't even been a day since they got back, but Declyn brushed that lingering question away as he had a sudden realization.

Virgil.

What will they do to Virgil?

He's just a child...but so is Remus. They couldn't possibly hurt him, too, right?

A brief scene of Virgil getting hit on the head flashed in the back of his mind. It was a terrible thing to think about, he didn't want to think about it. But- but...

His eyes darted to the door of his room. Ever since he got back, he hadn't heard Virgil. Not a peep, cry, or even sound came from his room. That usually meant he was sleeping, so Declyn originally discarded that idea. But now, almost 5 hours had passed, and still, not a soul could be heard.

Declyn hurled himself up, shocking Remus as he spilled some of his hot chocolate on the floor. A burning sensation could be felt his back, but he ignored it and tried to grit through it all. He unwrapped himself from his cocoon and ignored Remus's questions. He had to- he just had to see Virgil.

Declyn shot up to his legs, eyes and mind still locked onto the door as all other noises were disregarded. He opened the door, maybe a bit too harshly as he watched it bounce back after hitting the wall, and ran towards Virgil's room not 5 feet away from him.

He grasped the doorknob tightly in his hand, twisting it so fast it almost hurt his wrist, and shoved the door open. Time seemed to slow down, painfully so, as he examined the room.

The bookshelf? Empty. Virgil was not playing in it like usual.

The play may? Empty, not a single toy placed on it.

Closet? Also empty- Virgil hated going near it, so he was 110% sure Virgil wouldn't be hiding over there. But most importantly...the bed...

Declyn slowly paced himself towards the bed, every step full of caution. Truthfully, he didn't want to know if Virgil was in there or not. He didn't want to think he could have been taken away and hurt. He didn't want anything to happen to Virgil. If only he'd taken notice earlier, when his bruises ached less.

Every step hurt as he came up to the crib, only to power down and see...

Nothing.

The crib- the crib was empty. Not a blanket or pillow- or even Mr. Bat- the stuffed animal Virgil loves. Where- where?

Declyn felt his heart race again. He just got a friend! He just had one. If Virgil had been taken away- if Virgil-

Declyn choked out few sobs, trying desperately to keep the tears in. He crouched down onto his knees, covering his eyes. He had never cried, not once during his stay in the Institution. Crying was bad. Crying meant he was weak. His parents didn't want him to be weak- he can't- he CAN'T cry. He's strong! He has to be!

He felt a small poke on his shoulder and looked up abruptly. He saw Remus there, seemingly also on the verge of tears, with a small Virgil in tow playing with his hair. Virgil was...here...

"De-Dee not we-weak!" He heard Remus say, his voice shaking. "Dee bery st-strong! Me and-and Dee pro-protect VeeVee! VeeVee he-here!"

Declyn stared in silence for a while, his mind drifting off. That's right- Remus was here. Now that he realized it...Remus had never let anything bad happen to Virgil. Whether it was lack of attention or something like food, Remus made sure Virgil was happy. So did he. Both of them helped Virgil. Both of them...

Declyn quickly wiped away his tears, hoping Remus hadn't seen him. "I'm sorry..." he mumbled out, standing up. He reached his arm out, gesturing for Virgil to come to him, which he did, and held Virgil close to himself. The extra weight caused his arms to ache, and only now did he register how painful his back felt. But that can wait a little while more...just a little.

"Both of us will protect Virgil." Declyn said, looking back at Remus as he held out his pinky. Remus knew what thay meant instantly- a pinky promise! He hadn't made one since...since his brother...

"The three of us forever. Nobody else. We'll protect each other." Declyn said, waiting for Remus to give him his pinky. He noticed Remus look a bit...guilty, but the next second he brightened up and slammed his pinky next to Declyn's.

"Pinky Pwomise!"

Virgil laughed, grabbing the two fingers with his entire hand. Declyn smiled at him, knowing that Virgil may have accidentally sworn to protect them even though he was a baby. He wouldn't hold Virgil up to keep it, though.

He heard Remus start to laugh, and he himself let out a chuckle or two. Virgil joined in, giggling as he tossed and played around with the two of their pinkies.

That's right. Just the three of them. That's all Declyn wants, is for the three of them to stick together.

And luckily, his wish was granted.

(Hey! So after this chapter, there's a major time skip. The first 4 chapters is to just establish their (the dark sides') backstories. Now, we'll be getting on with the main plot that I have planned out. I'm thinking of creating a new blog for this, but I might wait until more people enjoy this story.

So, asks are now open to Virgil, Declyn (Deceit), and Remus! That's right, after the next chapter (or even right now) you can ask them anything! The ask feature will be important since many different views of the story and character traits/background/feelings will not be revealed in the main story~ so ask away as many times as you want! I don't care about spam (until a certain point), NSFW questions, or really anything. Who knows? Maybe you guys can even change the original story line if you try hard enough.

So thank you everybody who followed through the prologue!)

Chapter 5 (WIP)

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