Meanwhile, with Goth and Palette, Goth's POV
"Was that really the plan or did you just make it up?"Goth asks as he walks with Palette
"Yes, it was planned. I just wanted to find a way to talk with you alone. I decided a walk would be best to do so. I just wanted someone to know as well in case something happens."Palette responds
"O-Okay. What do you want to talk about?"I ask
"I finally got some info about what Change learned. They are getting a new plan together and experimenting with something. Something bad. Gothy, Change has told me a warning that I feel you should hear as well, unlike her."He replies
Panic hits me.
"And what is that?"I ask
"Gothy, Change believes that they want you. I don't know why, but they do. But according to her, they seem to have ideas on how to do so. Dangerous ones. I won't let that happen. So, if anyone starts acting up or out of the ordinairy or you sense something is wrong, tell me. I will make sure you're kept safe. I promise. But if I start acting strange or even attack you for whatever reason, RUN! If fleeing is not an option, fight. Use your weapon if you must."Palette tells me
I freeze in my tracks. I look at him. He stops and looks at me, a serious expression on his face. I felt myself tense and he grips my hand.
"M-My weapon? F-Fight you? Do you realize what you're asking of me right?"I ask
"Yes. Yes. I do. But I'm okay with it. I could not forgive myself if I allowed you to get hurt, Gothy. Because of me or those bad people using me to hurt you. So if you need to fight, fight."Palette tells me
"Palette....I can't.....I can't ever hurt you! You're my best friend! And if I even hit you with my scythe once...you'll...you'll...I don't wanna lose you, Palette."I cry
He grips me tighter. He lifts our hands above between us, intertwined. He had a serious expression on. But I saw worry as well.
"Please...Gothy, promise me, please! Promise me that if it comes to that, you will!"Palette pleas
"B-B-But....*sigh*....Okay. I promise."I tell him, giving in
He smiles. He then pulls me into a hug. I shakily smile. I hug him back and feel my face warm. I get an idea. Since time is limited, maybe I should tell him.
"P-Palette....I need to tell you something."I say
"Run...NOW."Palette orders
"W-What?"I stutter
"I said run! Something is going wrong!"Palette says
I look at him and he shoves me away. I run as fast as I could. I teleport behind a tree and sigh. I then cover my mouth and breathe, holding back a cry. I can't do this. I can't do the promise. I can't hurt him! I don't wanna hurt him! I can't lose Palette! I hear footsteps and tense up. I press against the tree and try to stay quiet and still. I look around but could not see Palette anywhere. I take some deep breaths and keep the promise in mind. But then, I feel a kick hit me hard in the stomach so hard that I fell through at least three solid trees before hitting a fourth. I painfully press against it, but then look for a way to run to. A hand blocks me and a shadow is cast over me.
"My, my, what do we have here? The lone survivor of an AU, running from their best friend! Oh, this is fascinating! Too bad you'll be joining your AU instead of staying."A voice says
I look up and see that it's Palette. Except, it wasn't his voice. It was Renew's. And his eye-lights are gone. Renew's possessing Palette.
"Let Palette go!"I shout
"Aww, you catch on fast. But I'm afraid that would ruin the plan, so no. And let me guess, you were gonna tell him how you feel for him, weren't you? Such a shame you won't be around to ever tell him!"Renew says, placing a hand on my cheek and another on my arm
"Get your hands off me!"I snap
"Don't plan on it. Besides, wouldn't you like this if it were Palette? Wouldn't that be lovely, romantic even? Cause I think you can imagine what would happen next."Renew taunts
"Well, you're not him. And that has nothing to do with anything."I say
The hand shifts to lift my chin up. My arm gets released and goes to Palette's head. I press a hand against the tree to keep myself steady. He looks to the sky.
"Agh! Stop fighting! You're making things harder than it has to be! Your rebellion is useless!"Renew snaps, but didn't seem aimed at me
"No! I won't let you hurt him! He's my Gothy! My best friend! My love! I. Don't. Care! I'd rather have fought than to let you kill him!"Palette yells, his eyes returning for a moment
"Burn in hell!"Renew snaps
"Gladly! Ladies first! After you!"Palette responds
They continue to argue and switch control. They were clearly struggling or fighting for control. I could feel the hand at my chin shake. Tears form in my eyes. Palette was fighting for his life, only to protect me. Tears run down my face. Suddenly, Palette goes silent and stops shaking. He looks right at me. I feel myself tremble.
"Gothy, it's okay! I'm here!"He says
"P-Palette?"I stutter with a shaking voice
"It's me Gothy. I'm holding her off the best I can. I sense bad intentions from her. You need to run. You need to do the p-promise. I c-can't h-hold her for long...I'm s-s-sorry G-Gothy."Palette says, struggling to speak
He then backs up and kneels down. He takes something out of his pocket and shoots it into his arm. He stifles a clear sound of pain. He grips his shoulders with the opposite arms. He looks up at me and smiles. He tilts his head back and when he lowers it again, his eye lights were gone.
"That was harder than expected. Now to finally get rid of you!"Renew cheers
I summon my scythe.
"Oh so you're gonna kill me? I'm controlling your best friend! You idiot! You can't do that! Hah! Wait...That idiot! He paralyzed us!"Renew snaps
I feel my scythe quiver in my grip. She was right. I can't. But I made a promise. I step forward. I raise the scythe. Renew looks at me with a shocked expression. I tighten my grip on it.
"You're right. I can't. But I made a promise. Palette is depending on me. So I must. And I will."I say, tears in my eyes
"W-W-Wait! Goth! W-We can talk about this, ca-!"Renew stutters
I swing the scythe down.
It slashes Palette roughly. He roughly falls backward. A dark red stain was already forming on his clothes. I see a spirit flee Palette. I drop my scythe, crying. I run over and kneel beside him. I hold him gently, lifting him up. He opens his eyes slightly. I see his eye-lights. He was back.
"Good j-job, Gothy. I k-k-knew you could do it. You're safe and that's all that m-m-m-matters."Palette stutters
"No it isn't! What about you? I can't lose you, Palette! Please!"I cry, my hands trembling, fearing I'd hurt him more
"Oh c-come on, Gothy. I'm n-n-nothing special. Any Palette could easily replace me as your best friend."Palette says
"You're wrong! No other Palette can replace you! No matter what world! You're special to me! My Palette! My best friend! My beloved Palette!"I weep, keeping him close to me
"You're t-t-too kind...I love you, Gothy."Palette says, his face brightening as he shuts his eyes
"Nonononononono! Palette! Stay with me! Please! Wake up! Open your eyes!"I plea
His eyes stay shut. His body goes limp. His head falls back. I freeze. No...No! This is all my fault! I did this to him! I should've ran! I should've called for help! Now he's dead because of me!
I hear footsteps behind me. I don't move. I just keep crying. I mourn Palette, holding him tight and close. Then, a hand covers my mouth and pulls me backward. I yelp in surprise, but hold Palette close to me.
"ShUt uP. YoU'rE cOminG wiTh me."A voice says
I know it's E!Gaster. Before I could react, it went dark.
Soon, I wake up. I look around. There was some kind of blank space around me. But only a few feet from me lays Palette. He was unconscious still, yet the stain was gone from his clothes. I crawl over to him and lift him up again. I shake him gently.
"Palette...Wake up...Please...I need you. I need my best friend with me. I need my Palette with me. I need you. I...love you Palette. You don't even realize how much you mean to me. Please..."I cry
He doesn't answer. I drop my grip on him, trembling. I feel tears race down my face. He gently hits the ground again. I cry until I couldn't cry anymore. This is all my fault. Mine. He's gone. Because of me. I hug my knees to my chest.
Palette's POV
Darkness. Nothing but darkness. That's all I could see. I couldn't move. I couldn't see or hear anything. But I was happy. Gothy is safe now. Everything is ok. He'll be happy soon, so I'm happy. That's what I tell myself. But I didn't feel anything. It didn't feel like I was turning to dust. I didn't feel dead or getting sent to wherever. I was just in pure darkness, unable to do anything. But then, I hear crying. I was surprised. Who could be crying? How could I hear this? I hear a voice speak.
"P-P-Palette...I'm h-here. You c-can wake up now...Please? Palette? I need you. I want you by my side."I hear Gothy howls with sorrow
Gothy? How can I be hearing him? Am I a paralyzed spirit? Why's Gothy sad? He deserves happiness! I struggle to open my eyes. I try to move but couldn't. But after a bit of work, I was able to slightly move. I open my eyes and see Gothy beside me, hugging his knees. I could see tears in his eyes and he was gazing right at me.
"Wake up, Palette...Please! Open an eye, move a finger at least.....Give a sign I haven't lost you too."Gothy says
I was upset by this sight. But also confused. Why hasn't he left? Gone home safely? Go to the others? But....Questions later, Palette. You gotta make Gothy happy. MOVE! I try to move, but could hardly do even that. I open my eyes wider and gaze at him.
"Don't....cry......deserve....be....happy."I struggle to say, unable to clearly speak a few words and leave them out
"P-Palette?!"Gothy exclaims
"G-Gothy?"I say
"Palette! I got you buddy!"Goth says, reaching out to me
I see him smile. It was a small one but still a smile. Seeing him happy made me happier. Yet I noticed he was injured. Tears came down his face. He reaches out but once his hands come close to me he swipes them back, gazing at me hesitantly.
"H-How are you....How is this possible? I....I don't understand."Goth stutters
"I don't know either....but...I'm...glad to be...with ya, Gothy."I say, trying to sit up
I feel something in my coat. I reach in and take out a broken bunch of vials. Orange, red, yellow. I remember these were Ink's.
"Ink's gonna kill me. I was looking after his vials for him."I sigh
"Wait! Those took the hit for you! That's how you didn't die! Only partially hurt! Thank the stars!"Goth cheers
I look at the vials and nod. He was right. I look at him again and smile. His smile disappears. I froze up. He jumps forward, hugging me. I feel my face warm. He gazes at me with a worried gaze.
"Don't you ever do that again! Don't you ever make me promise to do something like that again! You could've died! I could've lost you! Killed you! I...can't do that, Palette. And your logic was terrible too! Either way with their plan or yours, someone was gonna be lost! We were gonna get separated! I would've rather die instead of you! You have your world,family and friends waiting for you! I bet people would miss you more than me...Plus, how would I explain it if I went back to everyone? Hey guys! I just murdered my best friend! How are you? Like what the heck? They would not trust a word I said. I know for a fact that your parents in your timeline are suspicious of me enough as it is! I just....can't, Palette. I can't lose you."Goth cries, gripping me tight.
I was silent, taking it in. His hood falls down. I could see his face was bright and tears on his face, falling at a rapid speed. The scarf slides off. He grips me with one hand with the other nervously holding himself. I rub my hand against his skull in an attempt to calm him.
"But you have your world as well. You have your family too. My friends are your friends too, I'm sure they would be worried about you as well. T-"I begin
"No I don't. It's gone. Destroyed. I consider you, Sprinkle, Gradient and PJ the only family I know I have left. And if I lost any of you, especially you, Palette.... I don't know what I'd do."Goth cuts me off
"Gothy, I'm so sorry! I didn't know! But family stays together. Any of them would miss you as well, Gothy. And with the explanation or anyone not trusting you and stuff, I kinda already had an idea of what to do about that."I tell him, hugging him close
"How could you? You would've been gone."Goth asks
"I...would've haunted whoever gave you a problem. I had already gotten some tips from Cross!Chara whenever they got control of Cross."I admit
"How long were you keeping these plans from me?!"Goth snaps
"Ever since Change came back."I tell him
"Well next time make a plan that keeps us both alive. Sacrificing your life is not cool."Goth says
"Okay. Now why didn't you go home? To the others where it's safe? I see you're hurt."I ask
"Kinda hard to do that when E!Gaster attacks. I wasn't gonna leave you. I was still accepting the fact that I fulfilled the promise when he attacked. I woke up here with you, wherever here is."Goth says
And with that, he stand up, pacing around. He examines the surroundings while I struggle to get my balance back at just sitting. My face was burning. He showed so much care for me. His best friend. He considers me family. His words echo in my head. "And if I lost any of you, especially you, Palette....No other Palette can replace you! No matter what world! You're special to me! My Palette! My best friend! My beloved Palette!" He amazes me. I smile. He calls me his Palette. His beloved one too. Then I recall something Renew said while controlling me, as well as all their taunts. "And let me guess, you were gonna tell him how you feel for him, weren't you?" Then, while we were struggling over control. "Heh, You have no clue how your precious Gothy feels for you and yet, you're gonna die and miss out on learning! How idiotic of you! Then again, you're too blind to see the signs!" What did those mean? What was Renew getting at? Was Gothy hiding something from me? Was there something I'm not noticing? I look at Gothy and he's feeling along a wall curiously. I look down and think. I look back at him and take a risk. I readjust my cap.
"Gothy, what was Renew talking about when she said you were gonna tell me something?"I ask
Goth froze. He was silent. He slowly comes over to me and pulls his hood over his face, hiding it. He sits near me.
"How much did you hear? How long were you conscious?"Goth asks
"I heard all the taunts. I was only conscious enough to hear you telling me to give you a sign."I reply.
"Oh phew, that makes it a lot less awkward."Goth sighs
"Awkward? Why would it be awkward?"I ask
"Because one of her taunts was right...I was gonna tell you....Never mind, it's stupid."Goth says
"W-What? Goth, you can tell me. I mean, I was just stupid enough to think dying was a good plan! Come on! It can't be so bad!"I tell him
He nods. His face gets a bright glow, one that has come more frequently nowadays. I don't know what it is or why it keeps appearing. It does seem cute. Though that isn't a surprise. Gothy is cute.
"I....I don't see you as a best friend anymore, Palette. I was gonna tell you how I feel, like Renew said."Goth confides to me
My soul skips a beat. Could this mean what I think it could? I look at him and he now looks at me. He didn't seem happy. He seemed worried. I was silent, gazing at him curiously
"I'm sorry."He says
"For what?"I ask
"I remember what you said when we first met Fell!Palette. You said you know I see you as just a best friend. But even then, I didn't feel like that. But I played along. I lied to you, Palette. I was scared, I didn't know how to tell you...I....I didn't want to ruin what we had. Up until then, I thought you only see me as a best friend. So...I'm sorry for that."He explains
"Oh....So how do you feel about me then?"I ask
"Will it affect your reaction?"He asks
"Course not. As long as we remain friends, or even acquaintances in the very least, I'm okay with it."I say, allowing the possibility of the worst result to come
"Okay. Well...I....How do I say this.....Don't feel like a friend anymore."Goth says
My soul stops. Time seemed to freeze. But the walls surely didn't. Creak, BOOM! The walls begin to close in on us after this noise was heard. Goth ran and tries to shove the walls back.
"Shoot, Shoot Shoot! It's a trap! We're dead! We're dead! We're dead!"Goth shouts, struggling to stand his ground.
"Not if we fight! We can do this! Have some confidence, Gothy! You're one of the best people I know!"I say, trying to stay positive
Goth looks at me over his shoulder, his face getting brighter. He looks amazed at what I said. He blinks and some remaining tears go down his face.
"I...I am?" He stutters, his face getting brighter
I nod. At that moment, the wall gives more force, closing in quicker. It knocks Goth back, where he roughly hit the ground. I reach out and press against the wall behind him. The walls still come in, threatening to crush us both. We were pushed closer together until my arm was against him and he was trying to push against the walls coming down on us.
Goth looks at me in pure panic. The walls were slowing down, but nor stopping. We clearly may not get out. Goth takes out his phone and taps the screen a few times before tucking it away again. I shuffle and press against a wall the best I could across from him. He shifts and presses against that wall.
"Gothy, if this trap is gonna cause the end of us, I just wanna say that I'm sorry for anything I did that hurt you!"I say
"What? No! You don't understand! It's not like that, Palette! I....I...."Goth cries
The walls push us closer together until we were face-to face, inches away from each other.
"I love you Palette! I r-really do! I'm sorry I did not tell you sooner when I had chances to! I...I...I love you like you proved to Fell!Palette that you do."Goth confesses
I was surprised. I could feel my face warm. The walls stop moving. That was not my main focus anymore. I look at him. His face just keeps getting brighter. I realize now that he was blushing. This only causes my face to get warmer.
"W-What? R-R-Really?"I stutter
He nods.
"I wouldn't lie to you, Palette. Not about this."He says
"G-Gothy, I..."I begin, but couldn't think of what to say.
He opens his eyes slightly. He seemed nervous still. I smile, softly placing my hand on his cheek. His face got even brighter.
"I understand, Gothy. I love you and as long as you're happy, I am too. Ya know you're cute when you blush, right?"I say
"P-Palette..."Gothy stutters
I begin to lean towards him, smiling. His eye-light shrinks. I no longer feel the wall behind me. Gothy smiles, his face very bright. We were about to kiss when he suddenly shoves me aside. I hit the floor roughly and turn over to see what's going on. I hear a yell of pain. My eye light's shrink. It was Goth. I look around and quickly see him. Tears come to my eyes. Gothy was stabbed right through his chest by a bone attack. Blood spat from his mouth like Geno. He was looking at the injury with trembling hands
"Gothy!"I yell
He looks up at me and his eye light shrinks. He looks behind him before at me again. Tears come to his eyes.
"P-P-Palette!"He exclaims
He then summons his scythe in one hand. He throws it to me and I catch it. He twirls his hand and I was pulled to him by the grip on his scythe. He gazes at me and I feel my face ignite brightly. He leans close, then whispers to me.
"Keep the scythe. It will protect you. There's a portal a few feet behind you. Go through it and get to safety. Palette, please...Promise me you'll keep yourself safe. Promise me!"Gothy whispers
"Gothy, I...I promise! B-But-!"I say
"Then go!"He says, sending me away with his scythe
He summons a bone wall between us. I press against it, the scythe hovering behind me. I grip the wall and feel the tears run down my face.
"Gothy, I can't leave you. Not when you're hurt! I want to fight by your side! I can't risk losing you!"I cry
"You've said that before and look how that went. I'll be fine, Palette. But you have to. Someone has to go and warn everyone else. I'll be by your side before you know it. I'll be right behind you."Goth says
"I...I...B-B-But-!"I stutter
"But nothing! You have to go now! Please!"Goth orders
"I'll come back for you, Gothy. If you dare not follow or do like you say you will, I will find a way back. I will protect you again."I say
"I do not doubt that, Palette. I know how you are. But first, you have to keep your promise and protect yourself. Scythe, do it."Gothy says
As if reacting to Goth, the scythe quickly swings over, pulling me away from the bone wall. It pushes me through the portal. I fall through the sky, hitting water and sinking. I sink deep, holding my breath. The scythe leaves me, zooming to the surface. But I then feel something wrap around me and pull me deeper. I keep my eyes shut. A hand presses to my chin. Then, I hear talking.
"Hmmm, what a strange one."a voice says
"Goth? What'd ya find?"a second asks
"Just astrange being. He doesn't seem like any pirate or average land creature. Though they seem familiar."The first replies
There was a pause.
"Goth! That's the Palette that's gone missing! We must get him to the surface for air! Quick!"The second exclaims
"Ok!"The first agrees
I soon feel myself break to the surface and get tossed onto land. I open my eyes and look to see a merskeleton version of Ink and Goth. They gaze at me worriedly. I look around and find the scythe beside me. They both question me and I answer honestly. The Goth goes to search for my Gothy. By the time he returns, Ink and Error had arrived to get me. He was silent, but shakes his head. I break into tears. Gothy was nowhere to be found. Ink hugs me, while Error was getting answers to what happened from the other two. The scythe presses against my back, its razor sharp point above us protectively.