Nothing too bad, but the context clues are there for those who read between the lines.
Chapter Warnings: Kidnapping, Implied sexual assault
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Within an hour, a team of police officers was staked out in front of the house Bridgette and her brothers lived in.
Questions directed at the neighbors yielded promising results. With reports of seeing the brothers pull the back of their car into the garage the evening Palette disappeared, as well as some yelps and yelling they hadn't thought was suspicious at the time, it was probable that Palette was here.
The trio of kidnappers had already arrived home and they were confirmed to be in the living room and kitchen.
Goth and Palette's parents had been forced to stay behind with the chief and the radio communication officer, not wanting to risk their safety with an unknown situation. They watched as the officer tested the transmissions between the chief and the officers he was sending in.
Goth's soul pounded as the rescue operation commenced, listening intently to the broadcast being transmitted from the squad's headsets.
There was a bang followed by shouting, "Male one subdued, Male two resisting arrest, Female one fleeing... Male two subdued, persuing Female one..."
Goth clenched his scarf as the updates came through, "Female one fleeing downstairs... victim located, repeat, victim located...!"
Muffled screams could be heard in the background as the officer relayed, "Female one is holding victim hostage by knifepoint-"
Goth's breath hitched as he tore off toward the house's front door, ducking under the chief's and Dream's outstretched arms and ignoring the frantic yells behind him.
Please... please, let me make it...
Reaching the foyer, Goth followed the shrill screams to a set of stairs leading downward. His feet took him down into a wide, gray stone basement... crowded with police officers pointing weapons towards Bridgette, who was holding a knife to Palette's neck.
Palette, who was tied by his wrists and ankles to a wooden chair, his jacket unbuttoned and bunched at his elbows to reveal a torn and rumpled white shirt sporting questionable stains.
He was noticeably trembling, with tears retracing worn lines on his cheeks from clenched eye sockets, taking staggered breaths while leaning as far as he could from the knife against his neck.
"Oh, stars... Palette!" Goth cried, rushing forward only to be held back by one of the officers.
The taller skeleton's sockets shot open, shock, fear, and relief mixed in his expression, "... Goth?"
"You!" Bridgette snarled, glaring daggers at the hooded monster, "This is all your fault! This wouldn't be happening if you hadn't gotten in the way of our love!"
Goth's eye socket twitched, "Love? You call this love? You're holding a weapon to his neck, not to mention you have him tied up against his will! This isn't love, it's a sick obsession!"
"Kid, don't antagonize her!" one of the officers warned.
"You're wrong!" She cried out, her paw with the weapon shaking, "He loves me, he just can't see it because you poisoned him! And... and you can't take him from me! We'll die before we're torn apart!"
The knife pressed into Palette's neck, drawing a small trickle of marrow and a whimper from the restrained skeleton.
*SNAP*
A dangerous aura blanketed the room. The officer holding Goth backed up when he realized the small monster was the source.
With his face shrouded by his hood, he padded forward slowly, raising himself so he was floating until he was three feet off the ground, continuing forward.
His right arm extended out, a scythe materializing in his hand, his left eye light glowing a venomous purple. He raised his skull, his gaze menacing with the shadows of sleep deprivation under his sockets.
His single eye light honed in on the dog monster before him.
"I'm going to say this one time and one time only, " Goth spoke as he floated toward a cowering Bridgette, his voice cold and calm and his expression promising vengeance, "if you dare to touch another bone on his body, I will not rest until I put you down like the dog you are, the legal system be damned. That, I can promise you."
"N... no! Get away from me!" In a panic, she threw her knife at Goth, stopping his progress and producing a wince from the floating monster and a gasp from Palette as the knife sliced into the smaller's right cheek and ripped through his hood.
The officers jumped once Bridgette discarded her weapon, moving in to pin her to the floor as she howled in fear and misery. Goth dropped back to the ground, dissipating his own weapon and rushing to Palette's side, anger completely forgotten in place of worry.
"Oh Palette, thank goodness you're alive! Did she hurt you?" Goth asked, two skeletal hands cradling the captive monster's face as relieved tears fell, stinging against the cut on his cheek.
Two of the officers began untying the ropes holding Palette's arms and legs.
Palette hiccuped, tears flowing as he replied tiredly, "I.. I'm fine now... but that... that was.. so reckless of you! S... she could have... really hurt you!"
Goth chuckled, sniffling softly as he attempted to wipe away the tear tracks on the taller's face with his thumbs.
Palette's worth it. If it meant getting Palette back safely, I probably would have let myself be cut to ribbons if she'd demanded it.
Not like it would kill me anyway. I probably shouldn't say that out loud... at least, not right now. It would only upset Palette.
"I figured the only way she was going to drop the knife was if I gave her another target to use it on. It was pretty reckless...," The small skeleton admitted.
His voice fell to a whisper as he continued with a blush,"... but they say we do crazy things when we're in love."
Goth's eye light nervously gauged Palette's reaction to his confession. The taller skeleton averted his own anxiously.
"L... love...? I'm not... not sure if I'm ready for... love... right now...," Palette stuttered, wrapping his arms around his trembling frame once his wrists were free, "But... maybe after... all of this... calms down...?"
Goth removed his hands from the other as if he had been burned, his blush fading and his gaze falling as he pulled back and shrank into himself, "Of course... yeah... you wouldn't be comfortable... not after... all of that. It was dumb... to say that, I mean. Forget I said anything. Stars, I'm sorry... I'm so stupid. I won't-"
Palette stopped Goth's rambling by embracing him, pulling the smaller skeleton close as he draped his chin over their shoulder, "It... it wasn't dumb... you're not stupid... and I don't want to forget. Any other time, I... I..."
He took a deep, shaky breath before continuing, "Anyway, thank you... for not giving up on me... and showing me what... what love should be. Thank you, Goth."
Goth hesitated to return the hug at first, sensing that Palette was forcing himself and really didn't want the physical contact. After a tense few seconds went by without being pushed away, he slowly and carefully embraced his companion as he murmured, "Anytime. Forever and always."
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Word Count: 1,183