Drawing above shows two more new introductions in this chapter. First time drawing them(outfits change will be explained soon)

Sprinkle's POV weeks later

"Come on!"A voice shouts into the night

Our hasty footsteps crunched into the snow.

"Quickly! Don't stop running, Sprinkle!"The voice says

I hold my head wound with one hand and his hand with the other.

"We'll be okay! But we need to keep moving!"Blueprint says

"Got it."I tell him

He has plenty of wounds on him.

He is running out of breath but pushing forward. Bone attacks and other things fire past us. I frown and keep moving. We cannot stop now.

Backtrack a little while. We come through the hole to a locked chamber. Days we were stuck there with nothing more than isolation and darkness. Then, a skeleton Blueprint identifies as Cipher comes in week after week, beating us and demanding info or deals. We did not give in. Cipher slipped up and one of his tools went flying, breaking the bars on the window. We noticed, but he did not. Once he left, Blueprint put me on his shoulders and I reached the ledge of the window. I peeked out and we were all clear. I help him up and then we hopped down the other side. Didn't take long for us to be discovered out of our isolation. From there, we've been running for days at a time, taking breaks only in hiding or at secret places that the owners lead us to for rest. Currently, we've been running for 9 days straight without this luxury of a break.

We reach a fork in the road and have to make a quick decision. Blueprint looks at me and frowns. He takes his scarf off and puts it on me instead. And Blueprint had already made it.

"Listen, Sprinkle. You're hurt worse than me, so I'll go left and keep them off your track. Don't stop running. Just keep going. Do not stop unless you found a safe place to rest. Keep running until you are safe or with everyone. And when you get back to everyone, make sure people don't do anything stupid. Like Raven, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid that puts him in danger. Now go!"He tells me, shoving me down the right trail

I look at him, not wanting to split up.

"Go! RUN!"He orders

But I can't argue with him either. I start running again, but I can hear him in the distance behind me.

"Hey, over here! Catch me if ya can idiots! You won't ever know what I know!"Blueprint yells

"Why you little!"Voices yell

It goes dead quiet. I have gone out of hearing range. Now I only hear my feet crunching the snow and the wind whistling with the occassional noise from an animal, like a cricket's chirp or an owl's hoot. I check behind me and find nobody following. Not even a trail. I keep moving, convincing myself that Blueprint will meet me somewhere somehow, maybe where these two trails reconnect. But the trails never reconnect. And suddenly, I hear a big booming noise. I look in the direction of it, which was where the left trail would be. I see smoke and dust fly up, forming something like the mushroom cloud you would see after an explosion, but smaller. I fear the worst. I try to think it wasn't Blueprint who became the victim of the explosion, but that's hard to do. A gust of wind blows from west to east now, creating a sad howl to be heard. Then two things hit me. Raven's scarf and a list of phone numbers. I don't know who the numbers belong to, but Blueprint did tell me he had it. And Raven DID give Blueprint part of his scarf as a bandage for his past wounds. And now this piece of scarf is covered in dust. It is still tied like it's wrapped around an arm. The dust is not on the outside part of the scarf, it was on the inside, where an arm would go. 

That settled it.

Blueprint is gone.

It becomes impossible to think otherwise. 

And this broke me.

I start crying, right there, right then. I stop running. I stand there, all alone, in the snow, wounded and crying. I do not know what to do. Heck I don't even know where I am going! I quickly reach that phase of self-blame. Maybe if I went against his word, he may be ok. Maybe if I fought more, he would be ok. Maybe if I protected him instead of him protecting me, he'd be with me. Maybe if I did something, anything MORE, somehow he'd be ok.

But then my mind went back to what he said. I can't fail him now. Can't turn back now. So, I keep running. I run faster than I ever have before. I didn't stop. I didn't take breaks. I just kept going. Because I know one thing. To get out to safety. Keep running. Get out of this stupid forest! That's all I have to do. It is all I can do right now. 

The sun starts to rise and shine through the branches of the trees painted white by snow. Dawn has come and the morning light shines on me. It gives me a sense of security. I may not be out of the woods, but I'm out of the dark. I keep moving. 

Then, my phone rings. These attackers never knew I had a phone. While running, I take it out and see it's one of the numbers on the list. I answer it, taking my chances.

"Hello? Is this Sprinkle?"A voice asks

"Yes, yes it is. Who am I speaking to?"I ask

"My name is David. My friends and I are your friend Blueprint's friend. Are you alright?"The voice says

"Wounded and running, but otherwise ok.....Have you heard from Blueprint?"I ask

"I got a call from him a while ago. He told me to call you in about 15 minutes, so here we are. Then I heard a big boom and he wouldn't answer me......We are making plans to come out and get you to safety, don't worry. Blueprint had a plan."He says

I focus on the bright side of this info. I already know what the bad side of it meant or could mean..

Pfft, when doesn't he have a plan?

That lifted my spirits a bit.

"Alright."I say

"You just need to get out of the forest."He says

"Got it."I say

"My phone is gonna die. Cya soon!"He says

"Cya."I say

He hangs up. I save the contact in my phone. 

I tuck my phone away and keep running. But then an axe goes flying and I duck down before it could hit me. Doing this set me off balance and I fall into the snow. I get to my feet again and two arms wrap around me.

"You aren't going anywhere. Maybe you'd make a good head dog...."A voice says

I recognize it. It sounds like Mr. Horror's voice. I look and see him behind me. I feel a chill go down my spine. The adults told me that their timeline's Horror was NOT much of a talkative or merciful guy. And he was no parent or lover as far as they knew. Good friend or ally, but dangerous. Is this that Horror? Am I done for?

"Hey, wait a second....Aren't you that Sprinkle kid?"Horror asks

"Y-Yes."I say nervously

"The same Sprinkle that is Desire's friend?"He asks

"Yes."I say

"Woah okay. Sorry kid. Are you okay? You seem to be beaten pretty bad. And you've been crying? What's wrong?"He asks

"Y-You're not gonna make a head dog from me?"I ask

"Hell no. I don't want my son mad at me."He says

(*Sidenote-Error:I am NOT taking the blame if Sprinkle starts saying hell because of what that Horror said! You people better defend me against Inky!)

"I'm....I dunno if I am ok. Yes....It's a long story."I say

"Well, where are you heading?"He asks

"Out of this forest. Some friends are coming to take me to everyone."I reply

"And by everyone, does that include Desire?"He asks

I nod.

He releases his grip on me. 

I wipe my tears.

He goes over and rips his axe from the tree.

"Where have you and Mr. Lust been?"I ask

"We've been hiding out and just trying to stay out of trouble. And we've been looking for Desire after he disappeared one night. I'm glad he found a safe place with you and your friends in this chaos."He says

"Did I just hear Desire and found in the same sentence?"A voice asks

In comes Lust to the scene.

"Oh! You must be Sprinkle! We have heard plenty about you!"He says with a smirk

"That's true."Horror says

Horror fills Lust in on what's going on. Then they lead me through a quicker way out of the forest. We meet a crowd of kids. Within the crowd was a mix of monsters and humans. They all hold pillowcases.

"We're here to protect Sprinkle!"They cheer

Lust and Horror look at each other.

"This will be an interesting pillow fight...."Lust says

"Oh! This was the only way to smuggle the stuff we bought at the landscaping store next door out of our rooms. The caretakers think we're going to the ice cream store with money."One says

Then they all take stuff out of the pillowcases. Weapons and medical supplies. Med kits, swords, bones, and a majority of axes. We witness this and Horror smiles.

"I like these kids already."Horror chuckles

This crowd swallowed us whole, surrounding us protectively. The ones with medical kits come over and try to heal or bandage me. I fill them all in on what I know with everyone, about each of my friends or the adults and their views. Horror sees Killer on the front porch and smiles again. Killer has this freaked out expression that just says what-the-funk-am-I-witnessing?

Killer spots me and comes over. The kids ask if he's a friend and I nod. They part and I come over to him.

"What are you doing?"He asks, looking at Lust and Horror

"I'm just coming home. Don't worry, these are Desire's parents. They are from a different timeline. And these kids are from the child center Blueprint and S!Pap were at."I explain

"From where tho-"He begins

(The kids have kept the situation a secret from the adults)

"Sprinkle!"Ghastly cheers, coming over

"You didn't know? He and Blueprint were taken. They were taken by a portal in their room apparently. They managed to escape luckily."Horror says

"What?"Killer says

"RUN!"Ghastly says, taking me away

He pulls me to his room. He gives me a fresh outfit and I put it on. I smile but only for a moment.

"We never told the adults. We didn't want to worry them right after the last incident. Can we talk in private?"He says

I nod.

He takes me through a secret tunnel.

"So what happened?"He asks 

I explain what went down.

"But...Blueprint is nearby right? You have the scarves he had and you were with him last, right?"Ghastly asks

I hesitate. I look at Raven's scarf, then Ghastly puts Blueprint's scarf back on me.

"Y-Ya...."I say, though don't believe myself

Guilt is eating away at me. With huge bites. While regret whispers to me. There's pieces that I left out.

"Alright. Desire is in this kitchen washing dishes. He got worried the moment he heard you were missing."He says, pointing to a tunnel

I nod and go through it. 

He is on a step stool washing dishes with a sponge. I look and smile. I shut the door to the tunnel. His head goes up.

"Shino, I told you that I don't need a cookie. I uh-Sprinkle?!"He says, spotting me and tears coming to his eyes

"Hey..."I say

"What happened? Are you and Blueprint-?"He begins

"Blueprint could be gone and it's my fault."I say

He frowns.

"What do you mean?"He asks

"He...I..."I struggle to say

"Aww, come here."He says, setting the dish and sponge aside

He uses a towel to dry his hands. He puts his arms out, offering an embrace.

I approach him and he pulls me into a hug. I break into tears, the guilt eating too much of me for me to handle. I never felt like this. But I understand it. I could've lost a friend or alternate brother. And that is really upsetting.

"Can you explain?"He asks

I explain as asked. I tell him everything, leaving nothing out like I did with Ghastly. I tell him how I feel, what I think and fear now. But he comforts me and tells me that it isn't that way.  That there has to be something else going on here. That it will be okay even.

"B-But...."I say

He shushes me, not wanting me to argue.

"Fury, get in here!"He says

"What?"Fury calls

"Your bro's crying!"He says

"He's back?!?"Fury says

"Yep!"He says

I take off Blueprint's scarf as well as set the piece of Raven's aside. Desire continues to hug me. Fury enters the room and runs over. Desire fills Fury in. 

Fury grabs me, hugging me and wiping my tears.

"Don't cry. Please. And don't blame yourself."He says

"O-Okay."I say

He then gets serious. He looks me dead in the eyes and starts to rant. Rant against the guilt and regret I'm feeling. All of it.

Dust comes in.

"Hey, Sprinkle."He says

"Hello..."I say

"How are you?"He asks

"I'm....ok."I say

"So, can I take that scarf piece?"He asks, pointing to Raven's piece of the scarf

I nod.

He picks it up and walks away.

I smile as Fury wraps up his seemingly endless rant.

Fury has me leave the kitchen. He wanted to "help Desire with dishes". I complied and left.

"Oh ya, Desire! Your parents are here! They came with the kids to get me home!"I say

"Oh dear...."He says

I nod.

"Did he try to make a head dog out of you?"He asks

"No, he recognized me and spared me. He didn't want to upset you. And according to them, you talked a LOT about your friends."I say

"Oh really?"Fury says

"Ok then..."He says

I leave the room and reunite with all the other kiddos. I greet any adult I cross paths with, none of them really aware of what went down besides Killer, who hugged me, glad that I'm okay. But there is one person who I haven't seen. 

Raven.

It is bound to come.

I sit in a tunnel and soon overhear a conversation. Raven was part of it.

"Any updates?"Raven asks

"Well, Sprinkle is back."Another says

"Cool! That's awesome! I bet Desire is overjoyed!"Raven says

"No news on your Printy."The other says

"Well, let's focus on the bright side. I'm sure he will be back soon."He says

I get up and go over to Raven. With him was Shino. Shino looks at me and leaves. Raven looks at me and smiles.

"Hey Sprinkle, glad to see you're ok. What's up?"He asks

"Umm...I have something to explain to you. But just don't try to do anything stupid afterwards....Blueprint wanted me to make sure you don't."I say

He nods and leans against the wall. I proceed to tell him what went down. He listens. I had to keep him from using his scythe to go after Cipher or someone else. Once he calmed down, I apologized but that set him off. He grabs me and pulls me into a hug.

"Don't apologize for anything. None of this is on you. We'll find him, I promise. You just did what he wanted, and he wanted to protect you."He tells me

"Ok...."I sigh

"So, what are Desire's parents like?"He asks

"Very nice, I'd say."I say

"Alright. How about we go have some dinner?"He suggests

"Okay."I agree

We exit the tunnel and almost immediately Dust comes over to Raven.

"Mind explaining why fake monster dust is on your scarf here? Or why it isn't a part of the rest of your scarf?"Dust says, showing the scarf piece

"Wait, that's not real monster dust?"I ask

"Nope. It's just regular dust that forms in uncleaned old places or places that aren't dusted."Dust says

"I gave that part to Blueprint to help one of his wounds weeks ago."Raven says

"Well, it seems he put the dust here to fool someone."He says

Had me fooled for sure.

"So he's still out there?"I ask

"Yep, and now I know the situation. Horror and Killer filled me in on what they know."He says

I smile.

Dust hugs me, saying again welcome home and how glad he is that I'm ok. Then we sit for dinner. Taco Tuesday. All the kids returned to the child center, but told us they'd be here at a single call. Raven went to his house through the tunnels for dinner. Dust reassured me to keep this classified, knowing how the others could get. So only the kids, Horror, Lust, me, Killer and him know the situation. Not even Allsun knows, Killer swore to secrecy.

I just hope Blueprint is okay.

Later that night at like 2 AM

"Bro, what the heck are you doing in this passageway?"Goth asks

"Just checking something."Raven responds, curled up with a pillow, blanket and small tablet

"Do you even realize what time it is? Aren't you tired?"Goth asks

"Eh, I had some ice cream. I feel wide awake."Raven replies

"Well I'm staying with you just in case."Goth says, setting a pillow and blanket down

"What about Shino?"Raven asks

"Radier is with her again. I think she'll be fine."Goth says

(Meanwhile, Radier is in a sleeping bag beside Shino's bed.)

Goth lays down beside his brother, with only the tablet to provide light. It is dim and most of it shines onto Raven's face.

"What are you even checking?"He asks Raven

"Checking in with Science. Apparently to keep all the kids safe and accounted for, he hid trackers on each of them..."Raven says

"Are we sure that's a secure idea? I mean, this IS Science we're talking about. And him putting trackers on us....Ehhhh."Goth says

"I took mine off for those reasons. I suggest checking the back of your skull."Raven says

Goth felt something. He tore it off and it was a tracking device. He breaks it quickly.

"And why are you so interested in his trackers?"Goth asks

"He SOMEHOW learned about Printy's disappearance and has been spamming me with reports from the tracker. I'm talking about not every hour updates, not every half hour updates, but every 2 minute updates."Raven says

"Wow, he sure is trying hard to keep you in the loop of what's happening."Goth says

"Ya well I kinda was the first one to find out that he put a tracker on me and other kids without their permission. Plus, the adults don't know either."Raven says

"Pfft, he's trying to please you to keep ya quiet!"Goth says

"I mean, the adults did say that if he tried anything risky again there will be trouble. And his history with chemicals and experiments doesn't help him really."Raven says

Goth nods.

"Well, enjoy the updates."Goth says with a yawn

Goth rests his head and dozes while Raven continues to see the updates. Searching. Searching for Blueprint.

But he was not alone searching for Blueprint.

Both fortunately and unfortunately.

Elsewhere

A figure enters the Mid-Void. They wander through the seemingly endless hall of doors. The figure finds a seperate hallway, but walks as if they are familiar with the layout.  This hall was old and abandoned, with cobwebs and holes in the walls everywhere. It clearly wasn't used recently. Not even Radier knew about this hall, and he spent a lot of time in the Mid Void. 

They go to the end of the hall where a single desk and computer awaits them. They turn it on and enter some words. They were clearly searching for something.

The void rattles. Then, a bunch of doors shift into the hall towards the figure and computer as if it were the Monsters Inc workplace.(Where the doors come in for the monsters to enter and scare the kids.) Only 8 doors show up. The figure types some more and 7 doors leave. 

The figure chuckles.

"Found you."They say

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TBC

Next chapter introduces someone new :3

Hope you enjoyed this chapter.