Believe in Me

Soul

Blue was roused very suddenly from sleep by someone pounding on his front door. He grimaced and sat up. The one time he let himself fall asleep on the couch...

The pounding came again, more insistent this time, and Blue stood slowly, stretching his vertebrae before making his way to the front door. He turned the handle and it swung open, revealing Fell standing on the doorstep. He looked worried, despite his usually emotionless facade. The moment their eyes met, Blue taking in his desperation quickly, he grabbed his scarf and gloves, pulling them on and slipping into his boots. He took a few seconds to turn back into the house and shout, "Papy! I'm going to Fellverse!". He didn't wait for a response before gesturing for Fell to lead on. They hurried to the machine, punching in the right numbers.

The moment it landed, Fell had seized Blue by the elbow and was practically dragging him up the stairs. He wasn't saying a word, but Blue could see the fear in every movement he made.

They went into the house, and Blue pulled his arm back and immediately jogged up the stairs, leaving Fell to pace alone in the living room.

"Red?" he asked softly, easing his bedroom door open. He could just make out his shivering form, curled up on the bare mattress that served as his bed. When there was no response, Blue let himself in anyway, crossing to sit beside him.

Red's sockets were completely empty, and his shaking was making his bones rattle. Blue, very gently, laid a hand on the other's arm. "Red, it's okay. You're safe. Blue is right here."

He continued his stream of assurances, rubbing at Red's humerus comfortingly. Slowly, the shaking started to abate, and Red's eyelights flickered back into existence. He looked around, seeming confused until he made eye contact with Blue, who smiled at him tearily. "Hey, Red. Welcome back!" he said, as brightly as he could manage. Red frowned and tried to sit up, but Blue placed a hand in the middle of his sternum and pushed down firmly. "Don't even think about it, tough guy," he said, trying for a laugh and failing miserably.

Red just looked at him for a moment, seeming confused, before he allowed himself to be pushed back down. One of his hands drifted up and clutched onto Blue's wrist, not pushing or pulling, just holding on tightly, as if to ground himself. "D-did I blank out again?" he asked scratchily.

Blue nodded, then wiped at his tears with his free hand. "Took you a long time to come out of this one, too," he commented, sniffling slightly.

Red took one look at that and let go of his hold on Blue's wrist, reaching out to drag him down so that he could wrap him up in a hug. Blue squeezed back, closing his eyes tightly and fully appreciating the fact that Red was right here, he was right beside him. He'd come back unharmed this time.

When Red reached the kitchen, he saw that his brother was still asleep. Chuckling far more lightly than he really felt, he nudged him with a foot. "Get up, lazyass,"

Fell nearly fell over, catching himself just in time from face planting into the floor. "Lazyass? Speak for yourself," he groaned, standing and stretching.

"Hey, I just thought I'd take the opportunity to return the usual insults you give me. It feels pretty great, actually!"

Fell snorted loudly, then turned to see the way Red was clutching onto the counter again. He sighed quietly, then gripped his brother by the shoulder, turning him to face him. "Did something happen?" he asked quietly.

Red didn't say anything for a moment.

"He attacked me."

Fell's mouth dropped open. "He what? "

"And he saw my LV, and he told me to back off, he couldn't trust a murderer ." There were tears falling down his face again, and Fell looked about ready to join him.

"I suppose I should keep my distance, then, shouldn't I?" he mumbled, mostly to himself.

Suddenly there was a quiet cough from the doorway, and both brothers spun to face the noise, Fell's magic flaring automatically in defense.

Blue stood in the doorway, holding himself up by clutching onto the wall. His legs were trembling slightly, as though the effort of standing was about to be too much. He was still shirtless, but he had tied the orange sweatshirt around his waist.

At the attention from Red and Fell, he seemed to shrink back slightly before attempting to stand up straight and show his confidence in how he was about to handle himself. Red could practically feel his own soul shattering at the fear in his eyes.

"I-I got hungry," he said, trying to sound confident and failing somewhat. "I thought I could make it down here on my own but...my legs aren't really..." He was breathing hard, and Red could see the pain racking its way through his entire body.

He walked forward quickly, ignoring the sounds of protests as he picked the blueberry up and carried him to the table, depositing him in a chair before moving to grab some more lasagna to heat up.

There was an awkward silence hanging over them all, broken only by the sound of the microwave humming.

"Have you slept at all?" asked Fell finally.

Blue looked up at him fearfully and nodded. "Yes. I slept after R-Red?" he looked at Red questioningly, receiving a nod, "Red found me, then I tried before I came down here but I couldn't anymore."

Fell turned to Red and quietly asked, "What was his HP the last you saw? He's shaking like a leaf."

He heard Blue huff in a very familiar way, grumbling under his breath about how he could hear them perfectly well, thank you very much.

Red grinned slightly, then tried to check Blue, only to find there was a block. He looked down at his chest, concerned, before looking at Blue, then back to his brother. "I can't check him," he murmured, trying not to sound panicked.

Fell's eyes narrowed, then he turned to Blue. "Blue, may I perform a check on you? I need to see after your health. We wouldn't want to lose you."

"W-why not?" Blue asked quietly, looking terrified by his own daring.

Fell didn't answer for a few seconds, seeming to be trying to find the right words, and Red broke in quickly. "He was your friend, too. He's my brother."

Blue flicked his gaze to Red, then to the floor, wringing his hands slightly. "Oh." he said. Then he looked back up at Fell. "You can check me."

Fell stepped forward and got to his knees, reaching under Blue's ribs to carefully touch a finger to his soul. He frowned, suddenly, and stepped back quickly. "Blue, can you please pull out your soul so that we can see it? There's something wrong."

Red looked in askance at his brother, but Fell wouldn't meet his eyes. Blue seemed confused, but he obeyed, pulling his soul out carefully and holding it in his hands.

All three of them stared down at the blue, shining, culmination of his being.

The bottom half, where the curves would normally be, was completely missing.