Goth's POV a day or two later

"Gothy, I'm heading out! I'm just going to grab some groceries for the house!"Palette says

I hop beside him, looking up at him with my wings flapping.

"Gothy, come on. You should stay here where you're safe. Or got to your house."He says

I shake my head and hop a few times. My family already knows about what happened and are looking for solutions to undo it. I have adjusted to this bird form and its abilities. And I can see the stress resting on Palette's soul clearer than anything. I want to help him, as much as he pushes me and everyone else away.

He doesn't have to protect me! I want to help! He doesn't have to be alone as much as he acts like he has to!

He sighs, nodding.

"Let's go then."He says

I smile, eagerly running ahead of him. He shuts the door behind him and I slow down to be able to walk in line with his pace beside him.

"You sure do waddle fast."He says

I smile up at him and we head to the nearby village. We reach the huge supermarket and he puts his arm down to me. I climb up his arm and he puts me in a shopping cart. Then he starts pushing the cart around, collecting items from his list.

"Hey there handsome.~"A voice says

We glance over to see a tall, four armed girl standing in the aisle, gripping Palette's cart. She has pale blue skin with emerald green eyes violet hair running in braids down her shoulders. She smiles, flashing her sharp teeth and two long fangs. She wears a tanktop and a long flowing skirt in shades of yellow. I could see a birthmark on her shoulder, marking her as a member of the LaTweek family. I frown, seeing that she is getting closer to Palette, sliding her fingers across the edge of the cart.

"Can I help you?"Palette asks

"Wow, you can speak a proper sentence! Usually people are stuttering messes when I use that line."She giggles

"That doesn't answer my question."He says

"Because I don't need any help, yet you certainly do. You seem down in the dumps about something. Wanna grab a drink? Perhaps I could help you and tweek a few things to make everything work. My name is Aleena. You're Palette, right?"She says, trying to get closer to him

He backs up, pulling the cart with him.

"How do you know me?"He asks sharply

"Oh! My apologies, I didn't mean to frighten you. My sister Leanna saw you the other day and told me about you."She giggles

"Ooooh! You're Leanna's sibling! Sorry, not interested."He says, pushing the cart past her

"What? Why not?"She whines

"Because you're not inviting me out of genuine care for me. You just want to get something out of me and I'm not interested in that. Don't act like I don't know, Leanna made it very obvious."He says

"Oh please, she is just a silly girl. You can't go by what she says."She insists

"Snapping a picture of me in class to send to you and then saying Are you single? My sibling wants to know since he seems like their type! seems very blunt and clear."He says

"Okay...So maybe she was being honest instead of silly...."She says

"Have a nice day."He says, leaving the aisle

I sigh with relief, looking up at him once she was out of sight.

He just dodged a bullet.

"Gothy? Is everything okay?"He asks

I glance up at him as he stands on the checkout line. I nod and smile at him.

"Good..."He says

Then a letter appears in front of him.

"Ah, it's just Ms. Life checking in. I think we'll go see her next."He says

He finishes bagging and paying for everything. He brings the groceries home with me following close behind him. Then once everything gets unpacked, we go to see my grandmother. We find her sitting in her garden, tending to some flowers.

"Hello, Palette. I can sense a weight on your soul. Tell me what troubles you and what I can do to help."She says

"I....I'm fine now. It's nothing to worry about...."He says

"Don't lie to me. I can sense that your soul is troubled and denial only stirs it up more....You're.....Questioning existence?"She says, patting the spot beside her

I look up at him, horrified at the implications of that.

"If I never.....came here...Maybe things would be different...Some things would've never happened...Should I just leave...?"He sighs

"Would that have made things better?"She asks

"Yes! Maybe? I could've gone anywhere to escape my family...Yet I came here and caused trouble...If I went elsewher, maybe everyone would be safer...."He says

"Hmm...But did you know that those things would happen when you started your new life here?"She asks

"No, if I did I would have never come here!"He says

"And you would never mean for them to do these things, right?"She asks

He shakes his head.

"Then you have nothing to be sorry for. Their actions are their choices and don't reflect on you. You have no active part in their mistakes and have no guilt to weigh on your soul. Instead of thinking of what you consider life mistakes, think of all the good you have found or done. You've changed your life for the better, creating a home with an actual family. You get education, work you love, and friends that have your back. You protected Goth from a life of getting bullied, getting a new friend group as well. You gave Pakeekee a home, took in Gradient and Radier from their abusive homes and have become a role model for them for love and stability. You've changed your life for the better and your family and guilt is just holding you back. If you've gotten through that, you can get through this as well. Especially since you have a stable support network, including that lovely angel that your soul loves so much.~ Things can only go up from here, dear."She explains

He picks me up as I glance at him with a smile, nodding in agreement with her. Also I look at him curiously when she mentions an angel.

Who could she mean? Angel? Is there someone else that he knows out in the multiverse?

"Umm, with that said, could you reverse the transformation done to Gothy?"He asks, extending me to her

She takes me into her lap and smiles.

"Of course."She says

With a wave of her hand and a little humming, my legs stretch out and turn back to white skeletal bones. My wings shift to my back once again, my body growing and reshaping to its proper form. The extra feathers turn into my clothes with my scarf on top of it all. I glance up, seeing Palette gaze at me with hearts in his eyes, sighing with relief.

"Thank you so much..."He sighs

"You can always come to me if anything troubles you, Palette. Nature can be very calming."She says as I get up to my feet.

I quickly go to him, wrapping my arms around him. I pull him close in a hug. Then we hear footsteps coming closer.

"Gaster would like to have a word with you, Life."A little spirit taking the form of a gnome says

She nods and it turns into a ball of fire to leave. She smiles at us, waving goodbye as she rises to her feet to leave. I feel fingers gently intertwine with mine, making me glance over to see Palette glancing at me. For a moment I could've promised that I saw a heart in his eye but then in a blink it is gone, making me question if I even saw it. We walk out of there holding hands. He leads me to a familiar park trail, stopping at the bridge to take in the view of the lake.

"So, who is this angel that she mentioned?"I ask curiously

He tenses up, his cheeks getting covered in a green to yellow shade. He glances away, staring at the water under the bridge.

"D-Don't worry about it."He says

I sigh, placing my hand on his.

"Palette, I love you a lot. It upsets me to see you hurt like this. Please tell me that you're going to stop beating yourself up over this...Or at least open up...Holding it in only makes it worse and seeing that you hold it in...I'm here for you..."I tell him

"How...?"He mutters

I glance at him.

"How are you so calm...? How is anybody so calm? Goth, Dream sent someone after you! They broke into your home and attacked you! I heard you scream! They could've done anything, a multitude of terrible things including killing you and would've been unable to do anything but listen! And all because I got your path to cross with HIS. I don't...I can't lose you, Gothy."He says, physically trembling

I pull him close in a hug.

"My dad says that it's better to focus on what is than what might've been. So don't ruin yourself over what ifs. It will only hurt you more."I tell him

He sighs, nodding.

"Okay, Gothy."He says, smiling a bit at me

"But just so you know, you totally dodged a bullet today."I tell him

"I did?"He says, tilting his head

"Aleena is nothing but trouble. Her family is part of the high council that keeps everything between gods and mortals in check. Heck, they are the ones that punish Gaster lately when he acts out. But she takes this power and sophistication to use for her own means. To manipulate and trick so that she can get her way. She often gets in trouble in school or by her parents. Leanna is a sweet one though, she uses her connections to help people."I explain to him

"So that's why Shino got so upset in class! Pfft, I've never heard her get upset or snap at others but I guess if it's as bad as you say, I understand."He says

His phone dings. He glances at it.

"Speak of the angel."He says

I chuckle.

"You know that it's really said as speak of the devil, right?"I say

"But Shino isn't a devil!"He says

I chuckle and he laughs as well.

"She's looking for you so how about I walk you home?"He says

"Yeah, I'd like that."I say

He holds my hand and we walk off of the bridge. I couldn't help but smile.

He speaks of angels but doesn't realize the one that I see right in front of me.

TBC