Goth's POV

"You can't go straight after him with your intentions. And the plan shouldn't to just keep confessing and proving your love until he says yes. Part of him trusts you and knows that you love him, he just doesn't trust himself."Tina says

"So the plan should be...?"I ask curiously

"To show him that he can trust himself. To show that it's okay to feel without getting hurt. Giving security to do that will open him up and allow him to accept things as they are. That he won't get hurt or hurt others. Make it clear and comfortable that feeling anything, good or bad, isn't going to be a bomb about to blow up in his face if you get what I mean. He fears feeling too much or too little and he is trying to find a middle ground that feels stable. Once he reaches that, then the rest can naturally happen."She explains

"Oh...I see..."I say, nodding as I take her tips in

Our surroundings turn darker and I pause in surprise.

"That's not good....Oh dear...."I mutter

"He might be asleep. Wait....Palette hasn't had good dreams for weeks!"She says

We hear something swish around us. I turn to the left but see nothing. I turn to my right. Nothing. I look behind me and see a towering figure. It looks like Palette. His eyes are a pale white as he stares at me, his body a mix of goo and paint that keeps dripping. His back sprouts with similar tentacles, his eyes glowing coldly.

"P-Palette..?"I say, backing up.

A smaller figure runs out in front of us and raises a small paint roller. It glows and a shield forms in front of us. The small figure hides behind a mask and motions for us to go. Tina grabs my hand and runs until we find a door to a bright room. The figure follows, shutting the door, though a tentacle did slap them and it seemed to sting. The little figure's clothes change to an imitation of Ink's shirt, gloves with Dream's belt and lower clothes. I catch the masked stranger before they fell. Their body trembles as I notice multiple scars and wounds on their bones.

"Don't worry, I got you. Nothing is going to hurt you."I say

I see two eyes looking back at me through the mask which is really nothing more than a piece of wood carved and painted green with a string around it. These beautiful eyes twinkle and remind me of Palette.

"I think that was his demon...demons? It's exactly what he doesn't want to turn into."Tina says

I glance over at her with a nod.

"Then who is this little guy?"I wonder as he buries his head in my chest

"His hopes perhaps....Certainly makes the room brighter."She says

Tiny hands grip my back as he hugs me closer. I smile happily at the little boy that's meant to be part of Palette.

Cute...

He looks up at me with twinkling eyes behind the mask.

"Gothy...? It's truly you?"He asks

I nod and his eyes turn to hearts.

"I missed you..."He mumbles

"I missed you too, Palette. I'm so glad that you're ok."I say

"You missed me...?"He says quietly

I nod. He takes off the mask and gazes up at me, his cheeks glowing as he lights up the room even more.

"Did you...like the letter?"He asks

I smile.

"I loved it, Palette."I tell him

His eyes glow brightly and he grips his chest as if his soul went faster. With a snap of his fingers the necklace appears in its broken state. He smiles at me, holding it in his hands.

"This...can be fixed...Just like what it represents..."He says

He looks to Tina and smiles.

"I love you,bestie!"He says

She smiles.

Our surroundings glow a bright blue.

"Oooo! The sorcerer's spell is working! Byeee!"He says

Within an instant and a blinding light, everything disappears. I open my eyes to find that I'm in a large bedroom, a man in robes with a wand sitting nearby. I hear a groan and see Tina sitting up a few steps away from me. I hear a creak of a bed and sleepy muttering so I turn to see Palette asleep in bed, sleepily muttering as he shifts in the bed. He stops after a few moments, smiling peacefully. I notice on the nightstand he had the broken necklace on it. Not a piece missing. I must've dropped it when Dream sent me in his head.

We're out....We're free. I learned more too but why do I feel so weird? Like something is wrong?

"Hello, Madame and Lady. Glad to have you both back safely."The sorcerer says

Lady?!

Tina looks over at me and hey eyes widen in surprise.

"Um, there seems to be a mistake. What spell did you cast, Sir?"She asks

"A Free Mind Spell. It requires knowledge of who is being taken from the mind and Captain said his two best friends before I put him to sleep. You're one of his best friends so I assumed one of your ladies was the other best bud, like the gardeners he likes to chat with. I did my best going off of the info I had. What's the mistake?"He says

I glance down, seeing that my bones are now covered with flesh and scales, still in a pale white color like bones. My fingers now had claws at the tips and yet I still have my wings on my back, completely unchanged. Long strands of black hair with red tips rest on my shoulders. They fold around my body, especially once I noticed that the clothes I had on before tore under the weight of this transformation.

"His other best friend is Goth, a male best friend. Adding in the assumption caused the spell to change him to match it. Is there a way to reverse the transformation?"She asks

"I'll have to review my books."He says

"You certainly should. Thank you for freeing us. Now, Goth. Let's get you a place to stay and some clothes. It's been a long day."She says, glancing out the window at the night sky

I spot the yellow rose that I left on his windowsill still there. I frown, reminded of my mistake and find some relief that he didn't know or see it. At least he acted like he didn't know about it. Tina takes my hand and leads me down the hallway as Palette remains asleep.

I smile though, recalling what his inner hope said.

It's broken....Fractured, cracked, whatever way we can put it. But it can be fixed. There's still a chance. And that's all I look for.

TBC