***Here we are, chapter ten! I really couldn't help but come back to this because I was so ready to write the next part. Anyways, Kabel belongs to me, Sans, Papyrus, Gaster, and Grillby belong to Toby Fox, and let's roll!
Chapter Ten: Secrets Unveiled
It was no surprise to see Papyrus' shocked expression. It was a bit more of an impact to see Sans in surprise.
Kabel sighed. "Any words? Or are you just gonna sit there?" she asked. "Why did you lie to us? The Great Papyrus cannot believe that he was duped in such a way-and by his own sister!" Papyrus cried.
"Sorry, Paps. But I'm surprised you didn't ask sooner," Kabel said. That was confusing. "Pardon me?" Papyrus asked.
"Come on. Staying in the Waterfall dump? I'm crazy, and more often than not happy on a cigarette. But even I'm not that far out of my mind to live in a dump when I could've easily walked around the Underground and found the both of you. Wherever you wound up living," Kabel explained.
"So... where did you go after Gaster disappeared?" Sans asked. Kabel looked between them both, her expression hard.
"Prison."
Although Papyrus was silent, Sans asked, "And is that the reason it took you two and a half years on the surface to find us?"
Kabel nodded. She opened up her window and lit up a cigarette, smoking it so that the traces of her breaking one of the house rules were pretty much gone. When she was done, she flicked the cigarette out and shut her window. "I needed that. Don't tell Toriel," she said.
"But what did you do to land yourself in prison?" Papyrus asked.
"In the Underground, I did spend God-knows-how-long in Dad's lab. That's true. But... I did manage to get out. Even if it was by force. I'm not as weak as I explained when I showed up. That was a story, one true enough to fill in your questions but fake enough to hold up a... decent... reputation," Kabel said.
"Tell us what got you thrown in the cooler," Sans pressed.
"When you guys were there, you know that we talked crap about Dad. Which was well justified. When you left, I started getting violent. I started attacking him when I could. With and without magic. I didn't want to be his little toy. His little science experiment. Eventually, he had to stop me from the magic attack. With a magic restrictor... that had to be removed," Kabel went on. She rolled up her sweater enough to reveal her bottom pair of rids. On the right one was a piece missing. She dropped her shirt.
"It hurt like a bench to cut the bone off. Anyways, one night, I just... I just lost it. I went crazy. So much of a blur that I can barely remember it. But what I do remember is that I broke everything... broke up Dad pretty badly too. He couldn't stop me. That's how I made my escape; with him knocked out, I took his keys and ditched the lab. I did plan on setting up camp for maybe a week in Waterfall at the dump. But I was there for a two days I before I learned that nearly killing the Royal Scientist is an offense you can be arrested for," she explained. She moved and leaned against the wall, rubbing her face in exasperation.
"You... you didn't tell us about what you did up here," Papyrus managed.
"Once we got to the surface, I was adamant to find you guys. I would do anything, anything, to find you both again. That included breaking into the Town Hall and searching through private records. But I found Papyrus' name on the record first-P before S-and found everything. Including his address. Before I could get out, I was caught. I could've fought back, but I was already in hot water. I had been in the slammer before for nearly murdering my own dad, so what was a little more time gonna hurt? After I got out, after I was off of parole, I cleaned up, found some suitable clothes, and set up camp in the dump. When my name was clear from the past, I came here. To fix myself. But... I really can't. We really can't. You two may act happy, but we all have the memories. We all three do, whether you like it or not," Kabel went on. She felt herself want to break... but she couldn't.
Sans and Papyrus knew that they were being told the truth, even if they didn't want to believe it. "I never thought you'd lie to me. Tibia honest, I would've hope you had enough trust in us to tell us the actual truth," Sans said. He stood up. "I'm heading off. But let's keep what we discussed here as a skeleton in the closet, shall we?" Then, he walked away, and out of the room.
"Aren't you gonna leave me too? I brought up how terrible things were before, and even how bad I was before," Kabel said grimly. She was surprised to be hugged.
"You might have done bad things in the past, but that doesn't mean you're a bad person. Everyone has good in them... even if they don't think so. I believe that you're good, even if you don't think so. And I, the Great Papyrus, believe that you're good. That you can be great," Papyrus said.
Upon initial contact, Kabel had tensed. But when she heard what was said to her, she relaxed a bit. "...thanks, Papyrus. But I have to go somewhere," she said solemnly.
"Okay. But be back soon," Papyrus said. Kabel only hummed in reply as she walked out.
XxX
Grillby was wiping down the tables at his closed bar. He finished the last one and was about to head home for the night. Until he heard someone knocking on the locked doors.
Kabel was standing there. Surprised, Grillby let her in. "Hey," he said.
"Heya… sorry. I came in outta nowhere," Kabel said. "It's fine. I was about to lock up, though," Grillby shrugged.
"Oh. I just wanted to, y'know, see you. I just want to be with someone who cares about me that doesn't hate me right now... even if one of them didn't explicitly say it," Kabel said.
"Since I was about to lock up, maybe you'd rather go out to my car," Grillby suggested. Kabel nodded to agree.
XxX
The flame and the skeleton sat out back in the only car parked in the bar's parking lot.
"What did you do that caused people to hate you?" Grillby asked.
"Lots of stuff that I'm not getting into right now. I've already poured my SOUL out today. I'll pour it out again later... eventually," Kabel said. She felt a warm hand tentatively rest over hers, but then relax.
"Well... can I do anything to make you feel better?" Grillby asked.
Kabel took his arm and gingerly adjusted it to where it was around her. It made her smile when he kept his arm there and even smiled back. "Be honest with me-do you really care about me?" Kabel asked.
"Yes. I wouldn't do this if I didn't," Grillby said. He leaned over and kissed his partner.
Kabel was internally praying that she wasn't blushing, but she knew that she most likely was. "I... I want that to last," she said quietly.
"I'll make it last," Grillby assured. Kabel was happy to be kissed again, and to have her boyfriend's arm around her. She hoped that it would last. But for her...
Nothing lasts, now, does it?
***I know, I'm kinda mean, but that's what makes the story interesting! Anyways, be sure to leave a review on the way out, and I'll see you all in the next one! Bye!