So layla_moonlight inquired about an alternate ending... I hope everyone's prepared, for the plot bunnies are about to be released.
The song above is 'Destiny Bond - Instrumental Cover' by GlitchxCity. The original (with lyrics by Trickywi) is really good too.
***
I can't let Palette die! Palette... he's everything to me! I... won't...
Tears fell and the sound of a siren could be heard in the distance as Goth crumpled onto Palette's left shoulder, his energy spent.
---
Goth groaned as the evening sunset prodded him awake.
Where am I? It feels soft... cozy... as if I could just...
He might have drifted off if not for the sense of urgency clawing at his chest, goading him into action. Unable to ignore the strange feeling, the skeleton forced his eyes open.
He was in a pale orange room, light from the sun was filtering in through a nearby window at just the right angle to shine on his sheets.
How did I get here? And the smell, it's disinfectant... a hospital?
Everything came flooding back, making his skull pound.
The meeting... the fight... Palette!
Goth began to panic as he searched around frantically, unable to locate the other skeleton.
Was I too late? No, it can't be...
"Oh my, you're awake!" Goth's skull shot around to the sight of a middle-aged, greying human woman peeking into the room. She bustled over to the monitor on his left, blipping away a steady rhythm matching his own soul beats, taking note of the readings. "You were in such a nasty sounding fight, dear. You came in, passed out cold with half of your magic drained. Nothing to worry about, though. A small transfusion fixed you right up."
"Ma'am...," the small monster interrupted the woman, receiving a curious look, "Have you seen my friend Palette? He was really hurt earlier and I don't see him."
The nurse quirked her lip in confusion for a few seconds. It cleared moments later, replaced with a look Goth couldn't describe, "Did they have a green hat and a green and gray jacket?"
Goth's face lit up, "Yes, that's him!"
She knows Palette! And he's not in a hospital bed, so he must be alright!
Seconds ticked by and nothing was said, causing a bead of worry to dig into Goth, "So... is he still here or did he go home?
The bead dug in deeper as the woman grimaced, "Oh, dearie... I'm so sorry..." She turned solemnly to a corner of the room and Goth's eye light followed, shrinking as reality sunk in.
A green hat with two white stripes sat pillowed on top of a green and gray jacket. Both laid on a solitary chair, freckled with hints of dried marrow and dust.
Goth could have sworn he felt his soul shatter.
"The poor dear dusted before the paramedics even got there. They said you were laying in a pile of dust, along with that hat and jacket, when they arrived to transport you."
Laying in...! No, I touched Palette when I fell unconscious! No... the energy, I... I...
"I'm so sorry dear," the old woman crooned, placing a hand on his shoulder, "is there someone I can get ahold of for you?" But the skeleton's mind was elsewhere, his sockets never leaving the chair and its contents as silent tears carved a path down his cheeks.
A few hours late, Reaper arrived to pick up his forlorn and silent son. Neither said a word as the hooded skeleton was picked up, tightly grasping his lost love's belongings as they went home.
---
Goth stood in front of Palette's grave. The funeral had ended about half an hour ago, taking place a week after the incident. Everyone else had gone to the reception at Palette's house, but the hooded monster continued to stare at the sculpted stone tablet marking the resting place of his crush.
Everyone had been crying, except for Goth. He wasn't sure he had tears any left to cry.
Palette's dust had been buried in the ground, but Ink and Dream had thought it would be better if Goth kept Palette's favorite hat and scarf, if only to provide some closure. The skeleton had silently donned the hat and replaced his own red scarf with his companion's paint-stained version.
He hadn't taken them off since that day, wearing them even now.
I never got the chance to tell him... I never got the chance to say goodbye and it's all my fault. Palette's gone and I only have myself to blame.
Raising his right hand slightly, Goth summoned his scythe. A broken grin played across his face as he raised the blade to his chest. Finally speaking for the first time all week, he found he did still have tears to shed, "I'm coming, Pal."
Taking one last breath, he ran himself through, marrow splattering against the grass and flowers surrounding the grave as his body crumpled to the ground, his weapon dissipating in the process.
Within seconds, the stains were joined by a cloud of dust covered by a hat, a scarf, and a hoodie.
***
Oof... there's alternate ending #1
The idea behind this plays with the headcanon of Goth not being able to kill Palette through energy drain due to being Dream's child, thus he has Dream's ability to exist (at least temporarily) as soul energy without a body if it's destroyed.
The problem in 'What you Fear' is that his soul was dying from the bear's attack, in addition to his body. So when Goth subconsciously took his energy back, it left Palette's soul without the energy to maintain his core, killing him in the process.
The ending also takes into account that Goth's a demigod, only being able to die from a Reaper's scythe or being trapped in the void.
You've seen the downer ending, now stay tuned for the bittersweet ending~
Word Count: 810