Chapter Warnings: Mugging, violence, injury, blood (and marrow)

The featured song is Sealed Vessel from the Hollow Knight OST (written by Christopher Larkin)

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Of all things, it had to be a knife!

Everything around Goth was a cloudy haze save for the knife in the bear monster's paw and Palette's presence in front of him. He grasped onto the back of his companion's jacket as if it were a lifeline. He heard the monster mumble something, pushing him back slightly with their left arm and he was all-too-happy to oblige with unsteady steps.

Bits and pieces of the conversation made their way through the haze, but he couldn't process any of them, the flash of the knife thoroughly distracting him from rational thought... then the weapon glinted in the sunlight and Goth tensed alongside Palette as it came rushing toward them.

He had to move... move...... MOVE!

Goth felt his feet leave the ground as he was pushed, grunting as his back collided with the nearby brick wall and snapped him out of his trance. Looking up, he caught sight of Palette raising his arm to throw a bone barrage at the bear.

Why was Palette fighting?! Weren't they supposed to be trying to escape? Trying to process what was happening, movement to his right pulled his attention away from the fight; there were more monster... were they the bear's friends? The group rushed forward, completely ignoring Goth; one of them, a demon with horns, took a swing at his crush and they managed to just barely dodge the attack.

"No!" Goth's eye light flared to life as he summoned his scythe. Launching off the wall and leaping into the fray, he slashed downward, cutting off the rabbit monster's attempt to strike his companion. "Get away from him!" he shouted with as much bravado as he could muster, swinging his weapon out to create some space. The group backed up... and began laughing.

He heard Palette call out behind him, but he ignored it.

"Well, little sssskellie'ssss got ssssome bark," the snake monster hissed, eyes narrowing, "let'ssss ssssee if he can back it up with ssssome bite!" The serpent lunged, fangs bared, and Goth swung once more to ward it off. His cut did the job but was jarred to a halt before its completion as his scythe collided with the wall. There wasn't enough space for his scythe; that explained why the only weapons looked to be the bear's knife and a pair of brass knuckles on one of the humans.

De-summoning the weapon, the skeleton opted for his bone attacks instead. He dodged when he could and blocked with bones when he couldn't, returning fire in between; lessons Uncle Edge had taught him when he was younger. One of his bones managed to hit the rabbit's right shoulder, incapacitating the monster; the demon was also leaning against the wall farther away with a gash on their right calf. Goth had grazed the red-headed human's torso, but not enough to dissuade them; the snake and brunette were matching him dodge-for-dodge, though.

Quick glances toward Palette every so often proved he was still fighting the leader and had landed a few hits, but his clothed looked torn in a few places and he was struggling. Goth had to finish his fight so he could-

His feet were swept out from under him, the air forced out of his chest as his back collided with the pavement. "Goth!" he heard Palette yell.

Blinking the stars from his vision, the snake monster towered above him. "Oopssss," the monster chortled as their two remaining human friends stepped into view.

The brunette cackled as he raised his left foot up, "You shouldn't let your mind wander!"

The small skeleton rolled out of the way as the foot stomped down where his chest had been. He continued rolling as the snake lunged for another attack, smashing its face into the ground. Goth latched onto the serpent's head and cranked his energy drain ability to maximum output. The monster writhed, whipping around to throw him off; the movement managed to slam him into a wall, but he gritted his teeth and held on regardless.

In the struggle, the snake slammed the brunette in the chest with their tail and threw them into a wall, knocking them out. Seconds later, the monster's movements slowed as Goth's intent quickly sapped its energy; he let go of the serpent as they slumped to the ground, panting slightly from the effort. He turned toward the remaining red-headed human; calloused hands came up in a placating gesture, indicating the man knew he stood no chance on his own.

The bear behind him snarled, "Why you little-"

He started to turn toward them when another, a female voice, shouted, "Hey! Stop this instant!" Everyone who was still conscious jumped at the new voice; all eyes turned toward a human police officer, reaching for her gun.

"Shit! Everybody scram!" the bear yelled, sounding more than a little winded. The snake hissed, grudgingly picking himself up to dart into the alley while snatching up the demon in the process; the spiky-haired human pulled the brunette off the wall, dragging them into the alley as well with the rabbit monster quickly giving chase.

The bear turned tail, rounding the corner and disappearing without a trace. The crowded sidewalk was abandoned as quickly as it had become occupied earlier, leaving the two skeletons and the police officer alone.

Goth let out a relieved laugh, "I guess we showed-!" The words died in his throat as Palette struggled to keep his feet under him, littered with cuts; the most prominent was a gash across his chest, leaving a wide, dark stain across his black shirt and along the edges of his grey jacket. Attempting to stagger forward while clutching the wound, his knees buckled as he collapsed.

"PALETTE!" the small monster screeched, throwing himself toward the skeleton and just barely managing to catch his friend before their body made contact with the ground. The officer was yelling at him, but her words were drowned out by panic as he gently laid the bleeding skeleton down.

There was too much blood; how long had Palette been bleeding? He had to stop it, or-

He shook the thought from his mind, pressing his holed hands against Palette's chest as a purple glow lit around them as energy poured into the would. Goth's vision blurred around the edges as he willed the injury to heal, but he kept going. He might not be able to use healing magic as well as Dream, but he was damn well going to try! Even if he was bad at it; even if his magic wasn't suited for healing, he couldn't afford to give up.

"Goth...," Palette rasped, a trail of blood dripping from his mouth as it curled into a worried frown, "s-stop..." He tried to move his hand upward, but even that seemed to be too much for him.

"No! I won't! I can't lose you!" Goth wailed, his tears hindering his sight further as he pumped more energy into the dying skeleton.

Palette's face crinkled into a shaky smile as he choked out, "Please, Goth... it's... it's enough... you... can't..." His eye lights flickered and dulled.

"I can and I will, so stop talking!" Goth countered angrily, fighting the way his body wanted to sway as exhaustion slowly crept into him. For a moment, he thought Palette was listening to him and was saving their strength... but the skeleton's shut sockets and the slack expression alluded to something much worse.

"Palette? Palette... come on, I... I didn't mean it like that... say something!" Goth stammered, his soul hammering furiously in his chest as seconds ticked by in silence, "no... NO!" Magic engulfed him as he poured everything he had into the unconscious skeleton.

He couldn't let them die! Palette... he was everything to Goth! He... couldn't......

Tears fell and the sound of a siren could be heard in the distance as Goth crumpled next to Palette's left shoulder, his energy spent.

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Word Count: 1,327