no pain, no gain
"See? Look at 'im die," Papyrus murmured, concentrating heavily on the tiny cave roach currently at the mercy of his trusty magnifying glass. The roach squirmed under the concentrated artificial light, starting to smoke a little. Sans sat beside Papyrus looking distressed. "Papy, I know you're trying to cheer me up after last night, but our ideas of fun aren't always the same..." He said. He flinched as the bug burst into flames, Papyrus whooping next to him. "Put it out, put it out!" He chanted, kicking snow onto the small fire.
Giving the blackened mound of snow one last kick, Papyrus turned towards his brother and parked his bony rear on the snow with a loud "Umph!"
"Aw, Sans, ya gotta admit that was a little funny."
Sans curled into himself a little. "Bro...that poor roach..." He continued to look sad about it.
Papyrus cursed himself silently. He didn't know his brother liked bugs so much! He certainly didn't seem to like roaches when they'd crawl around their hiding places at the Capitol. Despite living in Hotland previous, the boys had time for much exploring at the Capitol where their father ended up working sometimes.
He sighed.
Sans had been looking pretty down since dad yelled at Papyrus last night. He figured it was because Sans felt bad for his condition. Which he shouldn't! Because it was not his fault at all! Papyrus had tried to tell him this many times, but it didn't seem to help much. So Papyrus decided to try and show his bro something he thought was cool! But...that didn't seem to help much either.
Hmm, now what...
Papyrus thought for a moment, wracking his brain for something else fun to do.
"You wanna build snow monsters and then punch their heads off?"
Sans smiled, and the snow became a little brighter to Papyrus.
"yeah, alright."
Half an hour and a couple partially-built snow monsters later, other children that were wandering about town started to join the fun. Papyrus was not sure how he felt about this, bitterly wishing it was just him and his brother as more and more kids evaded his yard to eagerly build their own snow monsters. He had never gotten along well with other kids his age...they didn't seem to like him as much as they liked his brother. Papyrus chalked it up to him just not being as good at talking to people as his big bro was, not because he was weird...and bad. He wasn't either of those things! No matter what they called him...He wasn't!
He surveyed his surroundings, wanting to know how many of them were here now so that he could avoid any unnecessary interactions. There's Sans over by the porch... His brother was playing amitably with what looked like a couple of young dog monsters. One seemed to be able to grow his neck to however long he pleased, bouncing it up and down excitedly while patting down a lump of snow with his paws. The other seemed as shifty-eyed as Papyrus felt at the moment, eyes flitting scrutinizingly back and forth before going back to his task at hand. Across from those three, Two Loox were building a snow sculpture in their likeness together. That's dumb... Papyrus thought. Now it'lljust be awkward to kill it. A snowdrake and a shiny lizard monster Papyrus had never seen were screeching as a tall tower of snow they had been carefully adding to came crashing down. Papyrus squinted at the lizard. They looked older than him, and had fangs. They appeared to be wearing a lot of snow gear, probably because they were a cold-blooded reptile. "They look cool..." Papyrus mumbled to himself, zoning out on the snow reflecting off their shiny scales.
"Hey! What're you staring at?" A voice snapped him out of his stupor. Blushing furiously, Papyrus glanced away from the monster quickly, shuffling his feet. "Weirdo!"-Papyrus flinched at the word-"Don't look at me for so long! If you're going to stare, go away!"
This is my house...!
Papyrus gave another hurried glance to Sans, finding out he hadn't noticed the interaction. With a hot flash of embarrassment, he heard the Lizard and the snowdrake stifling their laughter.
He kneeled down grumpily and started making his own sculpture. He was going to make a human! I'll give it terrible teeth, and claws...and it'll be huge and scary. Likehumans are. With a goal in mind, he set to work. He liked making art! Sans said he was good at it. And snow sculptures definitely counted.
"HI!" A voice right beside what would be his ear (if he had them) scared him out of his stupor. The arm he had been working on was broken in half as he jumped, whirling around to face his attacker, hands raised. "Whoa, put yer choppers down, friend. Here," The monster said, reaching down to pick up the other half of Papyrus's sculpture's arm, fixing the claws a bit. "Let me give you a hand." She chuckled at her own joke.
Papyrus took it, and despite being wary around this new person, couldn't help groaning at the pun. "You're just as bad as Sans."
The monster tilted her head, which, like the rest of her body, was covered in blue fur. "I don't know who that is."
"That's my brother," Papyrus said proudly, gesturing to said skeleton. "He's right over there."
"Oh, cool."
There was a moment of silence.
"I'm Yvetty. D'you want any help with your sculpture?"
Papyrus smiled and nodded. "Thanks! I'm Papyrus."
Significant progress had been made on their human sculpture when trouble arose.
"Hey weirdo."
Papyrus patted the head one last time and turned towards the voice, finding the lizard monster and their snowdrake friend much closer to him than before. Papyrus frowned. He didn't like being called a weirdo. "Leave me alone," He growled. "This is my yard."
The lizard faltered, malignant smirk fading for a second. "It is? Well--whatever!" They shoved Papyrus then, earning an indignant "Hey!" from Yvetty. "I don't like you! I don't like it when people stare at me! What are you, a freak?"
"Pearl, that's a little far," The snowdrake said quietly, ruffling his feathers. Pearl whirled on him in a second, scales puffing up in anger. "Shut UP, Drake! For just a second, shut up."
Drake shut up, looking agreived.
Pearl stepped back towards Papyrus, making him flinch. "Well??"
The children around them had started to take notice of the commotion, beginning to wander over. Sans looked more worried than the rest, eyes meeting his brother's for a second before Papyrus looked back at the angry lizard looming slightly above him.
"I thought your scales looked cool, is all!" Papyrus yelled, frustrated.
Pearl stared at Papyrus for a moment, wide-eyed, before wildly shaking their head. "L-liar!" They yelled. Looking even more ticked off than before, they shoved Papyrus again, harder. Papyrus's tailbone landed on the show, cold seeping into his bones. And suddenly Papyrus was in his house again, getting thrown out of his father's room, landing painfully on the floor. The dimensions were twisted this time; the ceiling was bleeding black and the staircase across from him was twisting impossibly upwards. The walls seemed to be closing in, and his father loomed above him, face twisted in a snarl...Papyrus felt his breath quicken. What is this...what is this...?
"STOP!" Papyrus screamed, clutching the sides of his head. He jumped up, startling a concerned Yvetty hovering over him. He charged at Pearl, swinging his fist and landing a hit square in the offending monster's pointed face. "YAAAG!" Pearl screamed, clutching their snout. Blood ran from their nostrils, their face frozen in a shocked expression, eyes filling with tears. "W-what is wrong with you?"-That's exactly what his dad had said-"I'm bleeding, I'm-AAAAAHH!" Pearl screamed as Papyrus charged them again, this time taking off in the direction of the town square. Papyrus ran after them, not able to make himself stop.
What's wrong with me...? I don't even know the answer to that!
With a tortured roar, he picked up speed, ruthlessly tearing after the terrified monster. He didn't have any intention of fighting Pearl anymore, but he couldn't make himself stop chasing them. He was so angry, and sad...and confused. Why did everyone have to treat him like this? What did he do wrong?
"HELP! HELP ME! HE'S CRAZY!" Pearl screamed, ducking under and inbetween monsters in a desperate attempt to get home, Papyrus following their every move. "HEEEEELP!" No one came to their aid, the blood trickling down their face unnoticeable due to how fast they were running, and the adults chalking up the chase to some crazy game.
"Uhuhu...what energetic children," An old bunny monster chuckled as the two flew past.
Weaving through monsters, buildings, trees, Papyrus was slowly gaining on them. He had no idea what he was gonna do when he caught them, but he was almost...almost...
Papyrus, heaving, finally gave up as Pearl suddenly bolted towards a specific house not far away. He let his legs carry his body a few more feet before he stopped, collapsing on the snow. "Better luck next time, buddy!" A snowdrake twittered from his porch, having watched their demented game of tag and seeing only innocence. Papyrus huffed out the last of his frustration, turned tail, and trotted home, legs wobbly and head spinning.
Evening was approaching as he returned, the shadows growing long and the frosted streetlights flickering on, their dulled light illuminating Papyrus's path. "Papy!" His brother yelled upon seeing him approach. Sans hopped off the porch and jogged up to his brother, eyelights bright with anxiety. "Are you okay? Why'd you punch that kid?"
"He pushed me."
Sans hummed in thought. "Does that deserve a punch?"
"He pushed me hard."
Sans frowned. "It deserved a punch. Let's go inside, dad made dinner and-"
"Where'd all the other kids go?" Papyrus interrupted, looking around the yard. It looked lonely now, abandoned snow projects casting dark shadows upon the trousled snow.
"They went home," Sans replied, shaking his head. "I think they all tried to follow you guys at first, but you were too fast. I knew I didn't stand a chance." He chuckled a little sourly at that, glancing down at his somehow chubby legs.
Sans was just big boned.
"That little blue monster was really worried."
That caught Papyrus's interest. "What'd she say?"
"Her parents picked her up, she said she'd come to play another time just to make sure you were alright."
Papyrus found his permagrin growing wider at that. Yvetty liked him...had he made his first friend outside of Sans?
"C'mon bro," Sans said, grabbing Papyrus's glove and pulling him along. "Let's get some food."
----
"..."
"...Why are we here?"
It was long after Sans had gone to bed, and Papyrus and his father were strolling through the small lab in Hotland, Sans under the impression that they were both in bed as well. "Why'd we lie to Sans?"
Papyrus's follow up question was left unanswered as the two eventually made it to the lab's basement, the elevator doors sliding shut behind them.
"I wanted to do this in the Capitol, but it would've taken to long to get there tonight..." Gaster muttered under his breath as he led his son through a dark, narrow hallway. Papyrus was pulled along harshly, making him uncomfortable. He was distracted by his surroundings, however, as they looked like a scene from a horror movie he wasn't allowed to watch. This place was spooky.
Cool...
They passed a new-looking vending machine, wound through many long hallways, and through a large room littered with freshly-made beds, curtains hiding whatever would be on them from view. Papyrus grew tired, the combination of so much hurried walking and the late hour taking its toll.
The pair eventually made it into a dark room. In it sat a TV, an examination table made of metal, a dusty counter and sink, and many cabinets. So many, in fact, that they seemed to be poorly crammed into the room, sides splitting with the pressure. Random objects and papers spilled out of the bottom ones and onto the floor.
"What's this place?" Papyrus had never been to this lower part of the labs before. He was interested, but confused.
This is kinda fun.
"This is the True Lab," Gaster replied, voice clipped.
"True...lab..." Papyrus repeated in wonder.
There was silence sans the rustling of paper for a moment as Papyrus's father rummaged in around the lower cabinets for something. "So," He huffed, finally finding what he was looking for. It appeared to be a metal box, and he inputed a passcode to open it. He pulled a dark object out, Papyrus not quite seeing what it was in the dim light. "I heard you got in a fight today."
Papyrus hung his head, the corners of the room suddenly seeming much darker. He was overcome with the sudden urge to bolt out the door and not look back. "How'd you know..." Sans hadn't blabbed, had he? No, his brother would never do that. He probably heard it from Pearl's parents.
"That child's parents contacted me."
Papyrus waited in uncomfortable suspense, his eyesockets closed. As the silence bore on, slowly he opened them, one by one, finding his dad not facing him but the counter, tinkering with the object he had pulled out of the box. "Just got tested an hour ago..." He was muttering to himself in deep thought. "If i just..."
A loud click from the object made Papyrus flinch. "Aha!" His father said, grinning for a moment before turning back to his son. "Anyways." He said, looking accomplished. "You are going to go apologize for your behavior to that child and their parents tomorrow. And..."
He gave a long look to the object before returning his gaze to Papyrus, his eyelights cold, calculating.
Bright.
"You're going to be on your best behavior."
Papyrus frowned as his dad led him to the metal table. He didn't feel comfortable with what was going on. He didn't even know what was going on. Also, he hated that stupid kid.
Why isn't dad yelling at me? This is creepy... He thought worriedly, climbing up onto the table in response to his father's gestures. He wasn't going to put up a fight, despite not liking how cold the metal felt through his pajamas or not knowing why this was happening. He felt like his dad was a time bomb that malfunctioned, and one prod in the wrong direction could set him right back on the track of blowing up again. Or, at least he was paranoid that this was the case. He found himself growing more and more scared as this through ran its course, and he shrunk in on himself a litte as his dad returned to the counter, trying to make himself smaller. He wanted so badly to ask why he was doing this. But he couldn't make himself speak. He was about to consider playing dead when his dad approached him again, object in full view.
It looked like a pitch-black collar, but different than the ones the dog monsters used for fashion, or for reeling in their children. It was slightly bulky and intimidating, long silver spikes fixated all around the inside, evenly spaced apart. A small rectangular prism was attached to the outside of the collar, decorated with an intricately engraved upside-down heart; a direct representation of a monster's soul.
Papyrus's father had told him that a monster's soul represented their very being, and could often be sensed by other creatures to determine a monster's current state and outlying thoughts. It also was the source of their magic, and with monsters being made mostly of magic, Papyrus had determined that the soul was very important.
Gaster unbolted the collar from an invisible lock whose location eluded Papyrus. He reached to place it around his son's neck, Papyrus leaning back slowly away from the thing as his father's hands grew closer. He had a bad feeling about this, eyelights fixated on the collar, growing more and more anxious from some unknown instinct. Suddenly, the hands stopped, and Papyrus wrenched his eyes from the collar to look warily up at his father. "Off with the scarf," Gaster said, gesturing to Papyrus's neck. Papyrus balked. He never took off his scarf. His big bro had made it for him a year ago, despite them living in hotland, which rendered it completely useless. Papyrus cherished it greatly anyway, wearing it everywhere no matter how hot he got. He glared at his father in sudden annoyance, fear disappating for a moment. What is up with this?!
"Take. It. Off." Gaster growled through clenched teeth.
"WHATSTHATHINGYOU'REPUTTINGONME." Papyrus shouted, words coming too quickly with the incredibly supressed question and the anxiety that came with asking it.
Gaster sighed, understanding the child he'd raised alone for five and a half years perfectly. "It's a collar. A magic-powered one. It'll take your magic, use it to power itself, and it will help you behave a little better."
Papyrus barked at his father in defiance, feeling like a dog. He tried to leap off the table, but found himself flailing in the air, suspended by his father's blue magic. NO!! He internally screamed. I DON'T NEED HELP BEHAVING!
"That thing looks like its HURTS!" He yelled, suddenly feeling more afraid of the collar than he was of his dad.
"Papyrus..."
He felt himself get thrown down onto the table, non-existent stomach churning.
"Honestly. Please cooperate with me. I promise it won't hurt."
Blue magic holding him where he was, Papyrus gave up on struggling. "But...it's got spikes...is that how it makes me behave? I don't wanna put it on."
"The spikes are dull, see? They won't hurt you, they just keep it on. I promise it will not hurt you."
Papyrus's eyelights met his father's, searching for any sign of lying. Gaster kept a steady gaze, one glowing hand still outstretched to keep Papyrus still. He sighed. It wasn't like he had a choice anyway. He just had to hope his father was right about this. He closed his eyesockets tight and shivered as he felt his warm, familiar scarf get pulled off, replaced with the alien feeling of cold metal spikes enclosing his neck and weighing heavily on his clavicle. A click behind his head told him that it was on tight.
He opened his eyes and tried to look down at the collar, the object itself mostly keeping him from doing so. "Alright, boy, this might hurt a tad," His father said, reaching over to press a button on the side of his neck. Papyrus jerked away too late, panicking. "What? I thought you said it wouldn't--YAAAAAAAHHHHH!!" He cut himself off with his own scream as the collar suddenly retracted, the spikes burrowing themselves into his neck, hooking themselves deep inside the bone. Papyrus found himself unable to breathe for a moment, choking on metal and dust. He coughed painfully, tears filling his vision, ribcage heaving as he tried desperately to regain his breath. Skeleton monsters did not need to breathe, but it was still incredibly uncomfortable to be choked around the neck, especially when one is already in the habit of breathing already.
"Now," His father said, patting Papyrus on the head. "It wont come off, no matter what." He took his hand off of Papyrus's head and stood up, looming over the tearful boy.
"And if you try...that collar will spin the spikes that are in your neck with deadly force, wrenching your head off. I did try to have that feature removed, but that would've disrputed the main function of the collar, ruining its integrity."
Papyrus tried to scream, but only a strangled sound came out.
"You won't be able to speak for a couple hours, boy. But you'll be alright. Unless," Gaster warned, poking Papyrus in the chest. "You misbehave. This collar connects to your soul and can hear your mind, for the most part. I've programmed it specifically to my tastes. Any thought or action that I deem unacceptable will be punished with electrocution and pain to the very basis of your soul." He sighed.
"I'm sorry, my son. But I strive for perfection. And I just don't have the time to work on you myself."
Papyrus glared at his father, tears streaming down his cheekbones. You liar, you terrible, awful-
Hoarse screams suddenly ripped from his damaged throat as wave after wave of electric shock crashed through him, lights blinding him for a couple seconds before both the flash and the pain subsided, leaving him twitching on the metal table, tears completely dried up.
The last thing he saw before he passed out was his father reaching down to pick him up, no emotion to be found on his face.
Don't touch me...
Don't...