Papyrus stumbled as he was pulled by his soul towards his cell. The scientist who pulled him was shaking as he marched forward far too fast for the small skeleton to keep up. Pausing only to type in the cell's passcode, he shoved Papyrus inside. The skeleton let out a cry of surprise that echoed through the empty hallway. He barely managed to stick his hands out in front of him before his body crashed against the cold metal floor. The quiet hum of the blue lasers that acted as the cell's bars started up as Papyrus pushed himself onto his knees. The scientist backed away, seeming to almost trip over himself, before he turned and left as fast as he could while still keeping his composure.
"bro?" Sans moved to sit next to Papyrus and tapped him lightly. "bro? are you okay?"
"He stopped."
"huh?"
"He stopped!" The room was filled with an orange glow as Papyrus grabbed his brother's hand. He was grinning so hard it felt like his face would split in two. The orange glow from his eyes grew brighter with every second and Papyrus started to rush out his words as his excitement grew with it. "Brother, I got him to stop! He was going to hurt me but he didn't! Sans, I knew it. I knew he could be good. If we just keep trying he'll -"
"bro, slow down, you're not making any sense." Sans put his free hand on his brother's shoulder. "now, tell me again. what happened? what did he do to you?
"Nothing." Papyrus's smile widened as he spoke. "That's just it brother, he didn't do anything to me. He was going to do something to me but he stopped. He didn't just hesitate, he stopped." He let out a laugh and clutched Sans' hand tighter. Sans just stared at him, trying to process what his brother just told him and what it meant for them. In a moment, everything seemed to change. What Papyrus had believed for so long, what Sans never could, seemed more real than it ever had before. And for the first time in his life, Sans felt hope.
Stupid. Weak. All of monsterkind is counting on you, everyone is depending on you, and you'd just let everyone down because an experiment started crying. Pathetic. Gaster hunched over his desk, hands covering his face. It felt like he was breathing in daggers, every breath bringing with it a burning pain. His chest shuddered and ached as if he'd ran a thousand miles while every other part of him felt sore and numb at the same time. Never get attached. That's the number one rule. How can you call yourself a scientist when you can't even do that? The words carved themselves into his skull, making the world seem like it was falling away from him piece by piece. Unbearable agony seeped through him and into his already burning chest. What are you going to do now? You can't just stop. You've gone too far for that. If you aren't willing to make sacrifices then how will you continue the experiment? Everyone's relying on you. What will you do? How will you save them? What are you going to do?
"I don't know." Daggers sliced open his throat as he talked making his voice no more than a painful croak. "I really don't know." His arms curled around his head, as if he were trying to protect himself from the words that called his mind their home, and slumped over until his head rested on the old worn wood of his desk. He couldn't even prevent something as simple as tears. Stupid. Weak. Pathetic.