DarkMidnightDragon and myself wrote this like forever ago in an RP, so this is a joint posting after we.. well adjusted work outside the RP without five billion other characters. So, this is not cannon Shell storyline more a what if.

"Oh Ink, hes beautiful," Dream his new mother cried happily, Shell aka Palette Roller the bonelette broke out crying as this was not his reality.

This was not his reality, he didn't even remember dying.

------

Growing up.. was different.

Ink and Dream were rather forgetful absentee parents, which meant that he became more and more alone once he was weaned from dreams magic. Ink was a self proclaimed Creator god.. he wasn't a god, Palette had checked. Ink was just a soulless idiot. Dream the Guardian of Positivity when he did his duty was more likely to tip the balance badly, and the rest of the time trying to 'save' his twin.

Palette was pretty sure Nightmare had the right idea of escaping Dream, as the few times a year he saw his carrier they seemed to forget his actual age and act like he was one.

He was.. pretty sure they didn't even notice he ran away when he was six, and when he ran into Ink and Dream when he was about ten it only hurt a bit that they didn't recognize him.

Still he was lonely, he wanted to go home but had no idea how.

This body was not powerful enough to even use a fraction of the power his soul carried, and he had been slowly adjusting his code as he grew older so he wouldn't explode from having to much power.

"I wonder..." he whispered to himself looking at the night sky, he was sitting on a swing at a park at the moment "If anyone knows I passed."

He grieved, for there was a good chance he'd never get home.

------

By the time he was sixty, Palette still looked ten as his aging was very slow as he'd had to make many code adjustments so he wouldn't accidentally kill himself as unlike his own reality he couldn't just reach out and adjust other things other then his own body.

Oh, he definitely wished he could do everything he could do as Sea but...

At least he could fiddle with some things.

It also helped that as Inks and Dreams child he had access to certain things he usually didn't, even if he had to be self taught because his bio parents were neglectful idiots he was pretty sure still didn't remember him.

"Its like this reality reinforced this Inks and Dreams worst traits," Palette said in disbelief as he watched the news, as the Star Sans fought the bad sans. Blue had long left the Star Sans, having realized how... clueless his teammates are. He did wonder if Blue even knew he existed, as he had never met them when he still lived in the doodlesphere.

Urgh... worse this was all canon set timelines of this reality, except the fact that he as Palette had run off asap.

"Wait..." Palette said as a quick news blast went across the screen, announcing that Reaper and Geno finally had a child. He pulled up Realities codes, he really couldn't effect them much but he could look at them all he wanted.

"Wasn't... Goth suppose to always be ten years older then then Palette?" he mumbled, but here is was Goth being born seventy years later then how it should have worked.

He dismissed the screen and turned off the TV and pulled his laptop towards him, he had work to do as he still had to pay the bills.

He hoped everything was going okay back home.

------

"What.. the fuck..." Palette said staring at the news, as it blasted the news.

The swearing was needed, really,

Ink and Dream ended on his murder list, as the blast was saying they'd just had there first child Palette Roller... seventy years after he himself had been born.

Mind you they were the only ones on his murder list.

He looked up the images of his replacement, bone brows climbing at seeing the child.

"That is the ugliest child ever," he couldn't stop himself from saying, and had to stop in surprise he had said it. Ah... that was it, the disconnected feeling as he was only connected to this Reality via his body with a gaping wound of nothingness where he should feel home. He felt... more mortal then ever here, as the parts of himself that were the sea of soul itself was ripped away from him making him incomplete.

He rubbed his face tiredly looking at the child that had replaced him, while they bore the same name they were not a Palette. Actually, it didn't even look like Dream or Ink.

"What are you hiding..." he mused staring at his 'sibling.'

------

When looking at a mirror and realizing your eighty years old, even a monster expected to see a mature body. Palette only saw a child body about eleven years old, he didn't wear stripes as babybones did.. he was eighty after all and he was a working skeleton. He sometimes wondered if he should wear clothes a Palette was suppose to wear, but when he saw an image of his replacement wearing them he decided definitely not to.

One thing he was happy about, was that his eye lights were no longer star shaped and had shifted to the familiar shade of amber to gold. A piece of home, something familiar. People called Dreams yellow eyes Gold, but his parents eyes had nothing on his own eyes.

Still he wished to see one or his own faces staring back, his Ink face, his Shell or even his Soul or Soulless face. He just wished to see himself reflected back, even if he had grown fond of his new face. It was new, but had come across at a price.

Home.. home was so far away.

'Colorless... Blue.. Dream' he thought leaning his skull against the mirror surface, hopefully only one run was going on back home not multiple. he missed his constant companions and foster child, worried if fate had somehow been uncorrupted.

His phone beeped, reminded he had errands to run.

Moments later his apartment was empty.

------

"Leave me alone!" Goth cried, trying to avoid the bane of his existence.

Palette Roller aka his stalker, the child of Dream and Ink.

Ugly as hell.

How the child of two well looking skeletons, had come out like that Goth did not know. He was also dumb as a brick, and obsessed with his friend.

"Goth.. Goth, lets be friends," Palette said in his squeaky annoying voice, Goth winced at its pitch.

"Go away, stop trying to touch me," Goth cried, the other child was always trying to hug him even though he knew of Goths deathly touch. The other child was a creepy funker.

"What.. do you think you are doing?" a voice said coldly, a form suddenly between Goth and stalker.

"Ack!" Palette cried falling to the ground, apparently having run into whoever it was. Goth turned and blinked as he realized his rescuer was another child, but was missing stripes on his clothes for some reason.

"Well, I clearly heard them asking you to leave them alone. So leave," the other child continued coldly.

"Do you know who I am! Get out of my way or you'll face trouble," Palette squawked.

"Entitled and stupid I see," the child said, then before Palette could protest grabbed him by his overlong scarf and kicked him through a portal.

"Thank you," Goth said in relief, as too many let Palette get away with crap due to who his parents were.

"No problem," the person said turning around, and Goth felt his soul beat hard as his singular purple eye light met eye lights that were like a sea of gold.

"Ah, my name is Goth," he said quickly feeling a blush go across his face.

"You may call me Shell, mostly because I unfortunately share the same name as the idiot... and I wasn't named after him I'm older," the other monster child said with a grin, Shell... he liked that name.

"Your name is also Palette Roller, and how much older?" Goth asked curious and surprised, Sea looked about the same age as Palette and himself and his aging was retarded due to the fact his father was Death and his mother was mortal... or as mortal as Geno wanted to be. He doubted his father would reap Geno's soul anymore.

"I'm eighty years old, see you," Sea laughed, and vanished in a short cut.

"What!" Goth said shocked.

Eighty?

------

Goth sighed, staring down the grassy fields from under the tree's shade where he was relaxing. His father was out doing his job, and he had just managed to lose that clingy artist's child. It had been years now, they were both already adults. Yet, somehow, Palette Roller still acted as though he were a toddler.

Shell...Goth shook his head, trying to get the growing blush to go away. He had only met the other once many years ago, why was his soul acting like this?!

Well, they actually have seen each other since then. Whether it was at coffee shops, or passing by each other at the grocery store. They simply never stopped the talk, but he was sure that Shell had spotted him as well.

"Huh.. we meet again," a voice said cheerfully.

Goth blinked, that voice. "Shell?" he looked up from the ground, eye sockets wide.

"Hey there Goth," Sea chirped amber to gold eyes warm, he was wearing simple jeans, a blue sweatshirt and boots, around his neck was a scarf with gold runes stitched onto it.

Goth could feel the blush returning all over again, "h-hello!"

"I met your mother when I came to reap his soul. It was love at first fight."

Goth and Shell had met when Shell fought Palette off... oh dear. Is this genetic?

"Its a beautiful day outside today, flowers blooming birds singing.. so why aren't you out there enjoying the sun?" Shell asked curious, sitting down beside him.

"ah-" he chuckled nervously, "I'm a bit tired..." he had just been chased through multiple AUs" -and I'm older than I look."

"Still younger then me," Shell teased "I remember seeing the news blast when you were born."

Goth winced, "yeah, the news of the god of death creating life was pretty well known"

"I didn't get one, but my parents forgot about me to much till they forgot me entirely. Your parents love you a lot," Sea hummed.

"oh, I'm sorry." Goth said softly, he didn't mean to bring up a sore subject. "but yes, my father did his best even when busy."

"Nothing to be sorry about, but that makes him a good parent. he wouldn't forget you then replace you with another child. So... what does one do for fun as a child? I never got a chance to play with others?" Shell asked looking up, his golden eyes tracing the trees graceful branches.

"I'm not too sure, most other children avoided me" Goth hummed, "I think they liked to play tag though"

"Well then," Shell said getting up "Tag your it," he said touching Goths shoulder then laughed and ran off.

Goth blinked, baffled. "Surely we're too old to be playing tag?!" He yelled, standing Up.

"you're never too old to have fun, Goth!" Palette yelled back with a laugh.

Goth paused, mulling over Shell's words. He then grinned. "Alright!" he laughed, chasing after the other.

The two ran across the bright green grass, laughing and dodging each other in there game of tag, back and forth the game went till they tumbled down unto some grass exhausted "That was fun," Shell laughed.

"yeah, it was." Goth puffed, "I've never played like that before. Only ever with dad. Thank you, Shell."

"You won the last tag, you should get a prize," Shell mused.

"prize?" Goth looked over at Shell from where he was laying on the grass.

Shell leaned over and kissed Goth on the cheek, just a quick kiss but still a kiss. "Enjoy the rest of your day Gothy, Unfortunately I still have work today," Shell said getting up, smiling and with a wave he shortcut away. He wondered how long it would take for Goth to realize he was unaffected by his death touch.

Goth's face was bright purple. Shell had- he- the skeleton screamed into his mother's scarf. His father was going to never let him live this down.