To Be at Peace with Yourself

Chapter 17: Leap of Faith

Chapter Warning: Referenced torture, Attempted murder

***

Palette jogged down the hallways with Goth shivering in his arms. The artist had always been an advocate of creation and knowledge, that all life was sacred... but this place and the people within were irredeemable.

It made him want to break something just thinking about the atrocities he witnessed in the mere seconds he watched Goth being tortured. His agonized screams would likely haunt Palette's deepest nightmares. 

Goth crying for someone to kill him... begging for Palette to save him...

The artist had lost it when Goth was struck across the face by a blonde haired man attempting to silence him. 

Seeing red, Palette let his magic run rampant, tearing open the vent cover and letting his bones fly with the intent to take out as many of the beasts in the room as possible. A few near the door had managed to escape... but his priority was helping Goth. 

His poor Goth, struggling to take in air on the floor while still strapped to a chair, breaking down right in front of him. 

When the artist had retrieved his soul from the ruined machine, it had been breaking, cracking to pieces... shattering. Palette thanked the stars he was able to feed his own magic into the damaged soul, giving it the energy it needed to heal before it was destroyed completely.

Palette wanted this lab to burn, but that wouldn't help the skeleton in his arms right now. 

Once Goth's safe...

"...Palette? You're... shaking...," the small monster murmured, a tired frown marring his face. 

Palette tried his best to give an encouraging smile, "It's okay... it's a bit cold here, that's all." The artist wouldn't worry his companion with his anger or fatigue. 

I can't get caught up in my emotions now. Getting Goth out of here comes first.

As the skeletons turned the corner, a pair of men in armor rounded the opposite corner. Letting out a curse, Palette doubled back as they opened fire, barely missing the pair. 

Goth clutched his hand against the other's shirt, sockets clenched in fear as the monster ran.

Turning down a hallway and racing through the corridor, Palette arrived in a large, open room lined with railed platforms spread out over a dark pit.

Bolting across the closest one, a crackle of electricity was the only warning Palette got as his nerves lit up like a Christmas display, sending him and his cargo crashing to the floor in blinding pain.

The pain stopped as Goth rolled away from him, but the smaller continued to writhe. 

The collar!

Struggling to stand against the numbness, the artist wanted to snarl as the armored men surrounded them. 

Goth's screams died down and one of the men grabbed his arm, bodily lifting the small skeleton from the ground. Two more repeated the action with Palette.

"Pa... le...," Goth groaned, weakly attempting to struggle in the soldier's tight grip.

"I think that is quite enough trouble from you both," the old scientist drawled, stepping forward. Palette glared at him, loathing radiating from his body. 

The man continued speaking, unimpressed, "I was hoping we would be able to find a use for you, however, it seems a backwoods cretin like you is more trouble than you are worth. A lesson needs to be learned for attempting to steal my Angel."

"He's not your anything!" Palette roared, struggling in the two soldier's grips as the scientist looked on in contempt.

He snapped his fingers, and the soldiers holding Palette began to move toward the railing. The man sneered, "I would say it was a pleasure meeting you, but that would be an outright lie. Good riddance to bad rubbish." 

Before the skeleton could reply, he felt his feet leave to ground as he was thrown backward. A weightless sensation overwhelmed him for a moment... then gravity took over, pulling him down into the pit as Goth's screams echoed from above. 

Palette clenched his sockets, lamenting his failure as he awaited the impact from below.

I wasn't strong enough... I couldn't protect you... again... I'm so sorry, Goth...