Forbidden Flame (Mafiatale Grillby x Reader)

Chapter 18- Pain Of The Past

(~Grillby's POV~)

I don't have time to deal with my brother. Y/N runs out of the training room and to the left side of the hall. I drop him and run after Y/N. Papyrus and Undyne follow right behind me. At this rate, she'll be out the base's door in seconds.

When the three of us round the corner, Y/N is a few mere steps from the door as I suspected. Much to my relief, Sans appears in front of it to stop her. "Y/N, hear 'em out." His gaze suddenly shifts from complete seriousness to worried confusion. Both of his sockets narrow as if he's unable to read her. "Y/N?" He asks slowly. At that moment I feel a total shift in her soul.

'She's not herself.'

Her arms limply hang at her side. All of us can hear her staggered breathing grow worse. Papyrus takes a step forward to my side, trying to console her, "MISS Y/N, I KNOW IT MUST SOUND SCARY BUT IT'S REALLY NOT WHAT YOU THINK-" "Pap, wait." Sans commands that he not come any closer. Y/N's magic materializes in her hand, taking the shape of an umbrella.

'Why would she-'

Y/N turns around towards us. Her pupils are sparked with a bright (s/c) glow. Her stare is unfocused and even crazed to a certain extent. "An umbrella? Ha! What ya gonna do with that, punk?!" Undyne taunts loudly. I really wish she hadn't. Pap seems to notice the change in her too, keeping himself quiet. At least my nephews and I are aware of her current condition. The glare she's giving looks very much like Sans does when he unconsciously attacks us in his sleep. With one swift motion, Y/N separates the curved handle from the umbrella and points its end at us. The front of the piece quickly shifts to the barrel of a gun. All three of us stretch our arms towards her in fear.

'HER MAGIC TRANSFORMS!'

Considering that Y/N didn't mention such a thing before, I doubt she even knew that it could. "WOAH wOAh WOaH- Y/N! PUT IT DOWN!" Undyne shouts in a threatening manner. "MISS Y/N- WE DO NOT WANT TO RESOLVE TO ANY FORM OF VIOLENCE!" Papyrus raises his voice. "STOP. SHOUTING. AT. HER." Sans says low but sternly. He's right. Whether she's in her right mind or not, yelling is the last thing anyone should be doing. Things go quiet for what seems like forever. Y/N doesn't budge an inch. Her soul's aura is so tense that it feels like she'll shoot the next person who blinks.

I try to use our bond to reach through to her. My soul calls out to her as I speak softly, "Y/N, no one is here to hurt you. Please, talk to us." "LET HER GO." She mutters soon after.

"Heh. Do it, kid. I dare ya." A rough voice unknown to me echoes inside my head. It sounds like he's right behind me. I flinch and turn around. The scenery around me has changed completely. Papyrus and Undyne have disappeared and so has the base. Instead, there's a park. Countless shots fire through the air as armed men hunt down anyone in sight. Screams echo and wail through the air until each one comes to its end by gunshots. A guy with dark hair and multiple scars to his face is facing me. Being held in front of him against her will is a woman. The more she struggled, the more he pressed the end of a blade to her neck. "Y/N, my sweet cHiLd, pLeAse! gO! RuN!" The woman sobs desperately.

'Her mother? That must mean..'

I turn around to face Y/N again. I find her to be in the same place, except she's much younger. She's only a child. "Let HeR Go!" She screams in both desperation and frustration. She's looking right through me. Her trembling form is clutching to a pistol to which she has pointed at the attacker. Where she managed to get one? I can only assume that she pulled it from the corpse of another human. I can see the blood still on it. In fact, I come to realize that I'm seeing everything through her soul.

'This isn't some hallucination. This is her memory.'

"Y/N.." I step forward towards her. I flinch as a bullet is released from her gun. Evidenced from the screams of horror that erupt from her mother, Y/N missed. I don't dare to turn around. Whether her mother was shot by Y/N or brought to a brutal demise by the attacker, I don't know. I rush to Y/N and hug her small form. She cries and screams out at the top of her lungs. I may of had the choice but she didn't. Y/N, only being a child, was subjected to all of it. I can only imagine the pain that drove her for so long simply because she had to watch.

"I'm so sorry, Y/N. No child should ever have to go through this. I'm sO sOrrY." My voice threatens to choke up. Y/N doesn't hear me and only screams out for her mother. Her rapid breathing, uncontrolled cries, and struggling heartbeat is enough to make me want to turn around and incinerate the guy even though doing such a thing holds no point.

"Y/N. Y/N, listen to me." I put some space between her and I. Next, I cup both hands around her tiny tear-stained cheeks. "I know it's very scary, but you're not supposed to be here. It's just a flashback, Y/N." Finally, she acknowledges me being here with her. Her widened eyes lock with mine. There it is, a piece of her consciousness.

'Now's my chance.'

"It's time to wake up, Y/N." I say firmly. Using the same bond, I send a pulse of magic from my soul to hers. In theory, with her gaining some awareness back, this pulse should give her enough of an adrenaline rush to snap out of it. The world around us soon returns back to the way it was. Her soul had responded to my efforts. Y/N soon comes to realize what she's doing and what's in her hand. She gasps in terror and immediately drops her weapon. A trace of (s/c) magic smoke pours out of the end.

'Wait, she actually fired?!'

Y/N must've done it in the same moment she fired in accordance with her memory. My thoughts suddenly take a darker turn.

'Where did the bullet go?'

"I-IT'S OKAY.." Papyrus speaks in a soft and broken manner. Sans is looking to his brother with blazing pupils of blue, but he's unable to move from the door or else Y/N might run. Undyne has gone speechless and can only manage to stare past me at Pap. I turn to my nephew in full blown panic.

'NOT PAPYRUS-'

A fresh cut runs along his cheekbone with small traces of blood dripping from it gradually. Papyrus puts his hand to the side of his face and then observes the blood imprinted on his fingertips. "S-SHE.. SHE M-MISSED.." He states shakily. The metal floor groans as Y/N collapses to her knees. She hugs her arms around herself so tightly that it appears she could break them. Loud sobs and pained screams escape her throat as she slumps forward and places her forehead to the floor.

I can't deny that the whole situation has me weak. My soul feels her pain, every ounce of it. I stagger to her side and sit down beside her. I bend my torso over hers as if making an attempt to try and shield her from the rest of the world. From what she and I saw, Y/N desperately needs it.

'She's been through enough.'

I press my face into her hair, mumbling soft apologies to her over and over again. For a while, no one else moved from their place. I ignore their presence completely. My only concern is my soulmate. I console Y/N the best that I can.

I stay by Y/N's side until she didn't have the strength to cry anymore.