Goth POV

"Palette! Put me down silly!"I yell

"No! I don't wanna!"Palette whines happily

"Palette, you put me down now or else!"I snap

"Or else what?"Palette asks

"Do you really wanna find out?"I tell him

"Hmm, I dunno? What if I do?"Palette asks, winking

I raise a hand and my scythe appears. I turn it so its edge is at his chin. I smirk.

"Put. Me. Down."I say

"G-Gothy?"He stutters

I have a flashback to the nightmare again. More of it though. Him, turning to dust, then the messages. I frown. My eye-light shrinks. I drop my scythe. Tears swell. N-No... I grip him as tight as I could. He looks at me, his eyes filled with worry.

"You okay?"He asks

"Ya, I just had some odd flashbacks..."I reply

"Must've been real bad, telling by thoughts you've had."He tells me

"Stop reading my thoughts, Palette!"I snap

"Sorry, I get worried so I used it to help....I just want you to be happy and okay."Palette sighs

He sets me down. I smile and hold him close still. His eyes keep changing shape. I lean close and he looks at me confusedly. I give him a reassuring grin. I hold his hand and wrap a hand behind his back.

"Oh, but don't you see, Palette?"I say

"See what?"He asks

"Now that I'm with you, I am happy and ok!"I cheer

I drop him into a dip, lean in and give the kiss. I hold us close and feel my face warm. I see his face light up and his eyes become hearts. I then shut my eyes. I hold it there and feel my face warm. I break away and gaze at him. His face was bright. I could feel him shake.

"You okay?"I ask

Palette does not respond.

"Palette? Are you okay?"I ask

He slowly nods.

"Best...Rainy day...Ever."Palette mutters, seeming dazed.

"It sure is, Palette. It sure is."I say

"I love you, Gothy."Palette says

"I love you, too, silly!"I tell him, giggling a bit

He seemed really shaky. He sways a bit side to side. Hi feet then give out and I hold him even tighter to keep him from falling. He looks at me and his face was bright. He still has that dazed look in his eyes. I know he's tired and so was I. Maybe he was beginning to shut down again. I hold him close and sit down. He sits and smiles at me. He shuts his eyes and seems to doze. I shrug, then shut my eyes to do the same. I lean against him sleepily. I suddenly feel Palette's grip tighten. I hear footsteps and open my eyes. I look at him and see his eyes narrow with his gaze up. I look up and see Error standing there. But he was blocked off. Palette held my scythe, blocking him from us protectively. I take one look at Error and have a flashback to the nightmares. My grip on Palette tightens.

"Stay away."Palette growls

"I sEe GoTh is bAcK."Error says

"Yep and there's nothing you can say or do that will change that! Don't try anything or else!"Palette snaps

"Or wHat?"Error asks

"You're just starting to get back on Ink's good side, let alone Geno's or Reaper's. And good luck when Raven finds out! Don't ruin that. Plus they'll have to wait in line to deal with you if you try anything."Palette snaps, shooting a glare

"GoOd pOINt. BuT whO's RaVen?"Error asks

"ERROR!"Raven yells

"His brother. Warning, Raven is the more hostile one. C'mon Gothy, Science fixed your soul."Palette says, helping me up.

He leads me inside and shuts the door on Raven and his yells at Error. He leads me upstairs to Science's room. Science let's us in. It was very high tech with computers and experiments happening everywhere, a small bed in the corner with a desk in the center. On the desk was a container that was glowing yet couldn't show what's in it. Science was looking at a computer while Ink sat on the corner of the desk. Ink looks at me and shock mixed with joy spread on his face. He hops off the desk and hugs me. He actually hugged me. Flashback to the nightmare hit again and tears fill my eyes. Ink wipes them and tries to comfort me. He told me everything is okay. Palette went and begins talking with Science.

"Sssh, it's okay, Goth. It's okay. It's good to have you back. I'm so happy that you are okay. Geno told me what you did. He's thankful to you and trust me, it's hard for him to admit that and that he was scared. Even Reaper thanks ya. You did good."Ink tells me

I stay silent. I only nod. I had nothing to say. I didn't know what to say. I feel something get jabbed into my back and freeze up. My grip on Ink tightens greatly. But his grip releases on me.

"There we go. Your soul is back where it belongs. Well, most of it."Ink says

I step back and see he holds the container from the table, now open and empty. I check my stats and see I had half my soul. I look back at him in confusion.

"Whatever Nightmare did to you and your soul was bad. It was breaking your soul down and it didn't help that Error stepped on the box containing it, crushing it as well. Science is trying to recreate the other half, but I thought you deserve at least the recovered half after what you've gone through."Ink explains

"Ink!"Science exclaims

"You said it was stable. Your computers do too."Ink says

Science sighs and continues talking to Palette.

"Wait, Ink! How are you back?"I ask

"Heh, Science simply did some experiment that somehow recreated me back to being a supposed 'soulless' being. I don't exactly know. But speaking of Error, where is he? Has he caused you any issues? I'm trying to change that with him." Ink says

"He's getting yelled at by Raven for throwing Gothy in the river!"Palette says

"Ah, I see. Who's Raven?"Ink asks

"My brother. He's....very protective when it comes to family."I reply

"Ooh! Well I'll go say hi. Maybe I'll even stop them before either of them get outta hand. Knowing how Error is. I suggest you go and rest, Goth. You seem tired. But first.."Ink states

Ink looks at me and then whacks me with his brush. I jolt from surprise. I couldn't see anything.

"There we go!"Ink says

"Ink What the hell?!"Palette exclaims

I wipe the paint away from my eyes and look around confusedly. Ink snaps and the paint sank off me and back to the brush.

"What? I was healing him! I couldn't have been the only one here that saw the burn marks! Seriously! He couldn't be left like that! Also who taught you that word?"Ink defends himself

"...I heard Error say it! Wait, those were burn marks?"Palette says

Ink facepalms.

"Don't say that loosely, Palette. What did you think they were?" Ink says

"I dunno."Palette claims

Ink looks at me. I check my arms and hands to see the burn marks from the fire are gone. I give a small smile. That did make things seem better. But then the questions came.

"Where were you? Were you okay? How'd you get those marks? Were you attacked? How'd you get here?" Ink asks

"....I was somewhere and now I'm here. I'm okay and was okay. I traveled. I don't want to talk about the situation causing the burn marks."I says, rolling down my sleeves again

"Killer may be burned."Palette whispers to Science, though I heard.

"Well, Okay. Go and rest. I'll deal with Error and Raven."Ink says

I nod and head down the hall. Ink followed behind me to get to the stairs. I watch him open the front door and step outside.

"ERROR! PUT HIM DOWN! BOTH OF YOU DROP YOUR STRINGS AND SCYTHE!"Ink yells

"Hi, Ink!"Raven cheers

"OkAy...."Error reluctantly says

The door shut and I continue down the hall to my room. I go in and try to sleep. Key word is try. Because I failed. The same nightmare came and woke me up. I sigh and fail every single time I tried to sleep. A few nights this repeats before I get the idea to just give up on rest. I didn't sleep for a solid week from there. Instead, I'd read. Since it's October, I now read Halloween or horror stories. They were good stories. I'd usually be the only one up. I didn't go to anyone since, they're asleep and probably couldn't help me with the nightmares. Plus it helped me keep security on everyone, no attacks. But tonight was gonna be different. And I don't even know how but I can sense it. 

I was in my room, sitting in bed. I was reading a book with another stack on the nightstand. In order to not cause worry or give away that I was awake by having a light on in the room with the door shut, I simply kept my window locked but the blinds open. I read by the moonlight. I check the time. It is 2 AM. I shrug and keep reading.  Only five more hours until everyone else wakes up. I finish a chapter before I hear a knock at my door. I quickly look to the bottom of the door where the hallway light was crawling in from underneath. The light was being blocked in two spots, meaning someone was standing there on the other side. Did someone know I was awake? I quickly set the book on the stack and lay down, shutting my eyes to make it seem I was asleep if anyone peeks in. I wait silently for a few moments.

"Gothy?"a voice calls quietly from the other side,"Are you awake?"

I know that it is Palette. What is he doing awake at this time?! Welp, time for me to pretend and act.

"Mmm? Huh? Oh, I'm up. What's... up, Palette?"I say, trying to sound like I just woke up and am still half asleep

Not so hard when I'm really tired.

"Can I come in? I can't sleep. I had a nightmare."Palette says

I sit up and turn on the nightstand lamp. I get up slowly and open the door. I rub one of my eyes to seem tired. There was Palette, looking very tired but nervous in a cloud-patterned set of pajamas.

"Sure! Come on in!"I say

I sit on the bed and he sits beside me. I grab the book I was reading and opened up to where I was. I notice he was glancing at the stack on my nightstand.

"You've got quite the reading set ahead."He says

"Yep, a good book can't hurt."I say

He glances at the book in my hand.

"Vampires?"He inquires

"Yep. It's quite interesting and entertaining to read of how some interpret them, especially after I encountered one."I tell him

"I see."Palette says

I continue to read as he lays down. He leans against me with his head against my shoulder. He keeps peeking at what I read curiously. I look at him to see he is indeed tired but look distressed. He gazes up at me.

"Are you okay? You seem tired as well. Have you been having nightmares?"Palette asks

"Asks the tired one who had a nightmare."I say to dodge the question

"True, but that doesn't answer my questions."He tells me

"I'm okay. I haven't had a nightmare in weeks. I am just very determined to read."I lie, being the opposite of what I say

"Okay..."Palette says

"And speaking of nightmares, what was yours of?"I ask

"It was filled with my worries and fears. It started out with the memory of Raven yelling at me, then all kinds of things. It focuses on ways I could lose ya and one right before I woke up was you getting thrown off a cliff. I don't want to lose you, Gothy."He tells me

I look at him. I shut my book and set it aside. I turn to him and pull him into my hold. He grips my arms. I nuzzle his head.

"Don't worry Palette. What he yelled at you for was wrong and you shouldn't worry over his lies. I won't leave you. I'm staying by your side. No matter what, I love you. We have each other's backs, right?"I assure him

"Right...Thanks for the reassurance Gothy. I love you too."Palette tells me

"Now why don't you try to sleep? Surely you're tired. I'll be right here beside you in case you're having another bad dream."I tell him

He nods and lays down. He pulls me down with him and hugs me. I look at him, feeling my face warm up. This was a lot like when I woke up beside Palette.

"You rest as well. I can tell you are very tired too. I know how you are, Gothy. So I won't rest until you do. I'm gonna keep you close, I won't let you go. Something just tells me that I should keep you close or I'll regret it. I will protect you, precious Gothy."Palette says

"B-But-"I begin

"No but's. You rest or I stay up."Palette tells me

"O-Okay."I say, shutting my eyes

He pulls me close protectively. He does indeed hold me tight, refusing to let go. Just like he said. But as I doze, I feel his grip loosen. Soon as I was asleep, the nightmare begins. Except this one was different. At one point I find myself running through pure darkness. I look over my shoulder but nobody is there. I see that I am at a cliff. I feel something slash and stab me. Then I fall off the cliff and hear Palette yell my name. It then switched to show Palette and I in bed resting. He held me close still.

The view shifts to a wall in the dark. Creak. A light creeps up the wall. Then a shadow. The shadow lifts a silhouette of a weapon. Palette sat up, looks around and a shadow of him appears in the doorway as well. The shadow swings the weapon and Palette's shadow falls with a yell. That does it. I wake up, shooting from the pillow and find my soul beating very fast. I turn and see Palette was laying beside me still, but he wasn't moving. His back was to me. I nudge and shake him gently.

"Palette....Palette? Can you wake up? Or move? Or say something? Please, wake up."I say worriedly.

He weakly rolled backwards to face me. He's out cold with a tear in his shirt, showing a wound and bleeding out. I tear my sleeve and wrap it on his wound, pressing down to put pressure on the wound and reduce the bleeding.

"Come on Palette! Stay with me!"I cry

I hold him close and kept trying to aid his wound, but nothing seemed to work. Then I hear footsteps. I turn and look. A shadowy figures swings a weapon back and swings it at me. I get knocked out.

When I come back to consciousness, I look around. I do not see any recognizable surroundings. I couldn't move. I quickly remember the events that happened.

"Palette! You here? Can you hear me? Are you okay? Palette!"I yell into the dark

I feel something strain my wrists. I look up and see ropes tied around my wrists, dangling from the ceiling I could not see. I couldn't move my hands or even my fingers, meaning I couldn't hold or summon my scythe. I look around again and sigh. Palette was nowhere to be seen and had not answered my yells. I fear the worst for him.

"Sorry, but he's in a different building. Somewhere in the mountains from what I hear. Or I may be mixing him up with you."A voice says

I look around and see my replacement standing there. He approaches me and grins.

"What do you want?"I ask

"Oh, just following Nightmare's orders. He wants you to pay for being a snitch. He didn't like having to replace you or your power. He thinks he can convince to get ya back in his control. I'm just the process to get him that. Through experiments. How have your nightmares been when you sleep?"He says

"Fat chance. My nightmares have been non-existent."I snap

"May be higher of a chance than you think. Hm, well, I think this will fix that."He says smoothly

He steps closer. He reaches into his pocket and takes out a syringe. He injects it and its contents into my neck. I yell in pain and my head swings down, knocking into his instantly by mistake but part of me was glad to knock him away. A large part. He didn't stay away though.

"Let's see that soul of yours up close."He says, grabbing my cloak.

I know what he's trying so I quickly head-butt and kick him twice. He falls back but a knife comes flying from his hand. It hits and gets stuck in the wall. I swing and use it to cut myself down. I drop down and land on the floor roughly. I tear the rope from my wrists and summon my scythe. I notice a single window with light shining in. I use my scythe to break it and climb through. I find my scarf on the ground outside and pick it up. I run as fast as I could. It sure did seem I was at some mountain, based on the rocky and steep surroundings. I see someone up ahead. Maybe they could help! I still hold my scythe tight. The person notices me and runs to me as well. They seem to be Palette. I just can't tell if he's the one I know and love yet. His starry eyes are nothing more than pale grays as he gazed at me. He wears a dark blue shirt and indigo pants with no shoes. Something was on his back that I couldn't see clearly. He smiles and that's when I see it. The fang. He leans in close with a smile while I on the other hand lean and step back, feeling a chill go down my spine. Of all people to run into now, it has to be him?!

"Gothy!"He cheers

"Y-You! What are you doing here?"I exclaim

"I was taken! I broke out! I'm so glad to have found you!"He replies, grabbing my wrist

"Let go of me!"I snap, yanking my hand away

"But Gothy, it's me."He says, looking hurt by my actions

"I know who you are and I want nothing to do with you! You hurt me enough!"I growl

"I never hurt you."He tells me

"Oh ya? Then how'd this get here last time we met?"I say, pointing to the mark on my neck

"G-Gothy?"He stutters, reaching out to me

"I said stay away from me!"I say, swinging my scythe

I realize what I'm doing and get reminded of the nightmares. I quickly shift the scythe to have it hit the ground just to the side of him. I look at him and he seems terrified. I get up and look at him. I narrow my eyes.

"I'll be going now. I have someone to find and heal." I say, turning and running.

"Bleh bleh bleh!"He yells

I stop in my tracks. I turn slightly and look at him.

"What did you say?"I ask

"Bleh bleh bleh! Like in the book you read!"He says with a smile

"How do you know I read those kinds of books?"I ask

"Because I've seen you read them in your room by the window."He says

I look at him confusedly and nervously. I feel a pain hit me hard. I drop down and grip the ground with one hand, my chest with the other. Something was off. Really off. And it hurt.

"Goth? Where are you? Come out, come out wherever you are. I've gotten new orders from Nightmare and some hearts are gonna break again."A voice calls

"Oh shoot..."I mutter, trying to get up

"He's after you?!"Palette says

"You know him?!"I ask

"Ya, met him in a market. He kept bragging to me about how he's gonna break hearts, including mine and the closest person to me. Then I saw him kiss some dude in a hoodie. I feel bad for whoever's loving that dude. Though the dude didn't seem happy, cause they shoved him away."Palette explains

I remember those events and relief washes over me that this Palette or any Palette for that matter was clueless to the fact that the dude was me.

"Ah....ok."I say

"I see you!" The voice cheers

I take off into a run but soon reach a cliff. Just like in my nightmare. Shoot. I turn around and there was the jerk right behind me. He reaches out and grabs me by the neck. He lifts me up and I panic. I kick and swipe at him and his grip, trying to free myself. It was no use. He takes a single step forward. I look down, I was hanging in his grip over the edge now. I look at him and he has a sinister grin on his face. I see a knife in his other hand.

"Have a nice fall, Goth!"He says

He whacks me across the chest with the knife and grabs my soul. He slashed my soul and it breaks, dropping below the cliff. He then drops me. The pain was so great that my eyes grew tired and I already grew numb or limp. I begin to shut my eyes while everything begins to darken around me anyway. I put on my scarf and smile. If I'm gone, Nightmare or anyone won't be able to use me to their dark deeds. I then frown, knowing the cost of it. But then, I hear a yell. One matching my nightmare's.

"Gothy!"A voice yells

I couldn't move or speak. I flinch though, feeling each piece of my soul painfully hit something. I then feel something grab me but couldn't react. Then I feel something pierce me. My eyes open quickly and I look around. Wings were gently flapping by my dangling arms. I become face to face with Palette. The one from before. He was gazing up ahead though, away from me. He has tears in his eyes which moved something in me. I try to speak, but nothing comes out. Something was off about him. I check his soul and see part of it was mine. But that could only mean..We begin to plummet downward. I panic, clinging to Palette, terrified. I feel the weight of gravity lighten up and hear wings flap peacefully again. I look at him and he was gazing at me with a little joy.

"Gothy! You're ok?! You're awake?"He asks

I nod. His wings freeze and we begin to fall again. I grip him tightly and nervously. He soon began to fly again.

"Sorry about that."He says while I was still shaking from fear.

"It's ok..."I say, then realize something

I remember what I had yelled at him. I know who you are and I want nothing to do with you! I bow my head, feeling guilt for saying that without giving him a chance to explain.

"Something wrong, Goth?"He asks

"I'm sorry, Palette for what I did. What I said. It was wrong of me a-and-"I say

"Don't be. You were scared and in a panic. You didn't recognize me. It's completely understandable. I'm just sorry that some Vampire version of me hurt you. I'm so sorry that you dealt with that. I...."Palette assures me

"Ok...but don't apologize for something you didn't do. You didn't hurt me, and you shouldn't apologize for that. I'm just so glad you're okay, Palette."I tell him.

"Heh, same to you. I....I didn't freeze this time! I actually did something!"Palette cheers

"I, well, 'Reno' told you that doesn't matter. Don't feel guilt for that."I remind him

"I know that Reno was you. And thank you."Palette says

I smile. Then I see blood trickling down from his mouth. I get worried and reach up to him.

"Are you okay? You seem hurt. You're bleeding."I tell him

"I am? Oh right I am! Don't worry about it."He says, placing me on his back and wiping his mouth.

I look and see that we're high above the ground,nearly at the clouds. It was probably nearly dawn time. He continues to fly but then tensed. Then he spins and I lose my grip. I fall but the quickly find myself in his arms again. He chuckles slightly.

"That wasn't funny."I tell him

"Sorry. I blanked out for a second. You know I would never lose my world that easily, right, Gothy?"He says

"Then why are you here with me?"I ask

"You are my world, silly Gothy."He says

I feel my face warm up extremely. I bury my face out of his sight. I say nothing. Then, it all disappears, even Palette. I blink a few times and see the ground far below me, but I wasn't falling. I look around. It was as if I was flying, but I couldn't see anything but the ground and sky.

Gothy! Gothy where are you?

I jump at this. Again?! I feel a hand grab my arm.

Gothy? I'm scared. I don't want to lose you...but I know I didn't drop you.

Ya, I know too since you're grabbing my arm.

I am? But how is that possible? You're not beside me! I'm grabbing my left arm!

Well somehow your left arm is mine! Or someone is grabbing me while flying with an exact replica of your arm, hand and sleeve!

I look ahead and see a building. One of my eyes close but it wasn't my instinct or me closing it. 

Wait...does that mean....Gothy!

The arm pulls my arm and hugs it. I look left and right and see Palette's wings. On my back...What is going on? I feel something change and see my soul in front of me. The outline of it at least. In it is Palette's soul and the small piece I gave him.

Gothy....I think we....fused...

Like Error and Ink?

Yep..

Interesting. Well, at least I'm with you.

Ya. You're the best person I would've wanted to fuse with.

Oh quiet you.

What? I was only just-

Building!

I had just looked back up to see we were coming very close to the building. Towards a window to be exact, an open one. 

Home!

I see Error looking out of another window curiously. I look at him and our gazes meet. Palette's hand waved and he smiled. Error frowns, an alarmed look in his eyes. We then tumble through the window, hitting a wall and unfusing. He folds his wings and chuckles. Though I on the other hand, only smile. I could hear yells traveling around the house. Boy were we in trouble.