Abandoned Past

Chapter 1: Taking My Leave

I know what I've done. I remember every excruciating detail, right down to the last scream. I'd listen to them claw at the hard metal their physical body was built upon, their soul pound furiously in a failing attempt to survive. I'd watch their eyes flicker in fear and pain and their hands always reached out. For me. For someone. For someone to save them and rid their newly formed souls and bodies of the horrid pain. But I could never save them. Not even if I tried with all the hope in the world and the amount of scientific equipment I had provided.
I couldn't save them. I had to watch their souls crack and their bodies turn to dust. And I deeply regret having not had the knowledge to introduce them properly into the world.
But that was in the past and I learnt from my mistakes. The first experiment that managed to survive, the first one whose soul pounded and fought to live despite their... circumstances.

"Dad."
The human flinched at the sudden contact on his shoulder, turning slightly to view the figure behind him. Had he zoned out again? He'd been doing that a lot lately. Hopefully they hadn't caught on that he'd been distracted for the past two weeks.

The pink skeleton lightly squeezed his shoulder before moving off to the side of the table.
"You've been staring at that piece of paper for five minutes. Actually, you've been zoning out quite a bit."
The familiar Irish accent was thick on his breath, pulling out a chair from the wooden table and taking a seat.
Shit.
So they had noticed he'd been zoning out.
"Guess you could say I'm a star then. Always spacing out. Heh."
Nice one. Another shit joke to cover up his thoughts. Yet the skeleton sitting just one seat down from him didn't laugh let alone crack a smile.
"Honestly Strawberry I'm fine. Am I not allowed to get lost in my thoughts every so often?"
A faint smile formed on his skull, a faint whistle audible as he sighed heavily through his tooth gap. Twiddling with his phalanges, Strawberry's eyes were downcast to the table that they often sat at for such talks. The wood was stained in some spots where one had spilt a drink and hadn't been quick enough to clean it up. Or the occasional sticker from Pumpkin who had forgotten that stickers couldn't exactly just be put anywhere in the house. It was the meeting table. It was the table they confessed at.

"Well... I can accept that we all zone out but... Mint had to pull you away from the fireplace just the other night. And when Pumpkin went to you after his nightmare, you were standing in the corner of your room. Again."
Well, when he put it like that... A heavy sigh made the cotton mask puff out a bit, drumming his fingertips on the table as a way to think and distract himself. He hadn't thought about his past for so long and now... It all seemed to be flooding back in such a frantic way that it seemed like... He was supposed to remember something.
"It's been... Odd. And I need you to keep quiet about this. For the love of god don't tell Mint."
Strawberry seemed to perk up, sitting up a bit straighter as if attempting to show he was listening. It wasn't often his creator told him to keep this from one of the most trusted skeletons in their home but when he did... He was certainly sure to do exactly that.
"I swear upon my heart and soul. You can trust me."

The drumming on the table stopped, the unfocused hazel eyes of the human eventually making their way to the pink skeleton. Dressed in those same sweatpants with a different sweatshirt, the sweet smell of strawberries pungent in the dining room. Wherever the other kids were... Neither of them knew. Some were working, some had gone over to Mama Paps, some were probably bundled up in their room either doing a hobby or banging one another.

"The reason I've been zoning out. I think my subconscious is attempting to have me remember things of my past. Things I don't want to recall or even believe I did. Things that... I need to go back to."
The faint humming of the dishwasher in the next room replaced the otherwise terrifying silence that followed after. Yet there was more to tell.
"I know that it isn't exactly right for me to keep the fact of where I came from a secret from you all. But it's probably for the best you're kept in the dark. The things I've done... You don't need to know. Yet, I have a feeling I need to go back to...finish whatever I started."
"Will that mean you'll be...leaving?"
A lump formed in Strawberrys non-existent throat. With the way his creator was talking, it sounded like he could be gone a couple of weeks or even a month. At most, the maximum amount of time he had left was three days at most. And everyone knew where he had gone.
"Dad... What happened was in the past. But if it's hindering your ability to live in the present, I agree that you must return. I may not truly understand what it is. But I'm sure it's for a good reason!"
A large grin spread across the skeletons putty like face, the human huffing as he pushed out his chair.
If only it was a good reason.
"If I'm gone longer than three weeks-"
"I'll tell Mint. You want us to track you after that?"
A pause, the human standing before he turned towards the exit of the dining room table.
"Where I'll be going, make sure you bring someone that can teleport."

Strawberry motioned to ask him why, his jaw shutting as his creator disappeared into thin air. Teleportation. The best way to get to places without being tracked or seen. Letting out a sigh, the pink monster stood, pushing in his chair before moving to the kitchen. He didn't want his cake to burn now did he?