Core the Apple

Last hurrah

A/N: YIKES. PEOPLE WERE AFTER MY BLOOD. I'm sorry, I am! It had to be done! I'm glad you're enjoying it enough to be torn apart by it.

Anyway, it's time.

It's do or die.

Enjoy(?)

They all sat around in their circle, the repaired dining room deathly quiet. No one drank their hot chocolate, no one wanted to start the conversation they knew they needed to have. They couldn't avoid the topic any longer, and they weren't ready to address the topic.

"For consideration by the Midnight Council..." Killer started quietly, glancing up at the solemn group of skeletons.

"He's dying."

Everyone is quiet again at Cross's words, stung by the revelation they all had been burdened with tonight. "He's dying and we can't stop it." He continued with a glare into his cup. "And I feel like I started it all. I initiated everything that caused it all to come tumbling down. I'm so fucking stupid... I abandoned everyone because of my own stupid emotions. I should be the one-"

"Stop." Horror growled at the other's spiral. "Not... helpful. He's been... bad for a while. Has to... have been." He looked ashamed as well for not having noticed it either. "We all... failed." He felt it was better if they all shoulder the blame on this one.

"I should have seen it..." Error spoke quietly as he hunched over a bit. "It's... fuck, it was so obvious. Looking back on it all, all the red flags were there. All the signs, all the behaviours... I'm sorry."

"Don't do that. None of us saw it." Dust sighed as he sat his cup aside, not even pretending he could stomach anything. "All of us, I'm sure, have gone through something similar. The fact that we didn't see it says a lot."

"We all thought he was larger than life." Killer agreed, jumping straight to the point. "We saw him as above that, untouchable. We didn't even fathom the idea that he could be toppled from his throne. He couldn't be brought down... he was too strong, too determined." He picked at a seam in his pants, trying to keep himself from having to see any of their despondent looks. "He was all of that for us though, wasn't he? It was never about him..."

They all froze at a sudden shift in the atmosphere, sending chills down their spines. The normal warmth they all felt, the comforting blanket of magic that surrounded them on a daily basis simply... vanished. It receded away, leaving only cold and unsuppressed negativity behind. They all looked shaken, eyes wide as they stared at one another.

"I...I can't feel him." Killer whispered, seeing the dawning horror on each of their faces.

"His magic..." Error spoke as he got to his feet, glitches sparking out of control. "It's gone... it's gone, I can't... I can't feel it." His hands were shaking, having long past dropped his cup to the ground where it shattered. "He's..." He hitched his breath, on the verge of a complete crash.

"He's not doing well."